Sworn Fate // Aegon Targaryen II

Chapter 12

Wind whipped wildly through Aerion's hair as he and Ajax fell through the sky in a twisting dive. As they plummeted to the ground, Aerion saw a flash of blue and gold scales as they fell past Dreamfyre and Sunfyre. The adrenaline of the fall never failed to make his veins sing. Both he and Ajax were united in waiting until the very last possible moment to arrest their momentum.

Seconds before it would have been too late to stop their fall, Aerion leaned back in his saddle and Ajax spread out his wings to slow their dive before using them to push them back up into the clouds again. There was nothing Aerion loved more than flying, not even sailing. Whenever he was flying with Ajax, he felt safe. He felt like the entire world was open to him. He could go anywhere, do anything. It wasn't the reality, but Aerion always let himself indulge in the fantasy.

He urged Ajax up higher until they were coasting through the air beside Aegon and Sunfyre. Aerion smiled brightly, probably looking windswept out of breath, and Aegon gave him a look of fond exasperation. Ajax was the only one of their dragons able to perform the aerial stunts Aerion loved. Both Vhagar and Dreamfyre were too large to change their movement in moments and while Sunfyre was by far smaller than either of them, he was still too large to have the same precision Ajax possessed.

Aerion adored the agility Ajax's small size gave him. They could twirl, dive, and speed through the clouds together in an intricate dance that never failed to leave Aerion breathless and filled with adrenaline. He and Ajax almost seemed to move as one and see the world through each other's eyes. Neither of them had ever once been worried about trusting the other. That absolute faith was what allowed them to accomplish the admittedly dangerous things they enjoyed doing.

Sunfyre let out a happy screech of greeting that Ajax quickly returned. The two of them were almost as close as Aegon and Aerion were. He knew in most cases that human relationships didn't change dragon's feelings towards one another, but sometimes when he was back at Dragonstone and saw Vermithor and Silverwing curled up together, he wondered if that was always true. Long after the deaths of their married riders, Vermithor and Silverwing still refused to be separated from each other.

Slightly higher above them, Helaena soared on Dreamfyre looking calm and regal as the wind blew back her braided silver hair. She wasn't fond of the races and other antics Aerion and Aegon indulged in with their respective dragons, but she enjoyed flying along with them observing the world from a peaceful place above all the chaos.

When it came to Vhagar, both Aerion and Ajax made sure to give her a wide berth. On a good day, she was standoffish to everyone besides Aemond, and given the fact that Aerion and Aemond had a slightly strained relationship, he'd decided long ago it was best to stay away and leave Vhagar alone as much as possible.

Ajax and Sunfyre dove in tandem as the familiar curved cliff face of their beach appeared beneath them. Whenever they had the opportunity, Aegon liked to plan these secret dragon rides with his siblings and Aerion. He had a feeling Aegon wished this was how things always were between them with all the people he cared about coexisting together and happy.

Both of their dragons dropped into the cove, sending up clouds of sand as their feet made contact with the beach. Aerion started to undo the chains and leg braces that connected him his saddle as Ajax dipped his wing low enough for Aerion to be able to climb off easily once he was free.

The first time Daemon had seen the chains and leg braces on his saddle had led to another one of their legendary blow out fights. Despite never having attempted to kill Daemon after that night in the rain, the idea was often tempting. Daemon was of the opinion that chains and other restraints were a hazard if he needed to dismount quickly. Aerion thought it was more of a hazard to fly through the air doing the kinds of stunts he did without being properly strapped in.