Visaera leaned against Carrion's snout, patting him and murmuring assurances as the dragonkeepers fixed the saddle to his body. Every few minutes, the dragon would growl and shift, kicking up sand and blinding them all, clearly uncomfortable with the device being strapped to his back.
"You're alright," Visaera reassured him. "This will help me to be safe when we fly." He emitted another low growl and the princess smiled and pressed her face affectionately against his nose. He breathed out, the smell of smoke enveloping her, sticking to her hair and skin as she kissed him.
Despite the fact that they would soon be flying across the continent to rain fire on Old Town, Visaera couldn't help the feeling of happiness that her dragon brought her. "The Cannibal" they had called him, and yet Visaera could feel him in her soul and felt nothing but the love he had for her and the feeling of freedom he carried that she would never quite understand.
How she had been blessed to bond with such a creature when the gods seemed to have cursed her family, she would never know...
The saddle Daemon had made for her was onyx, as black as her dragon, and from a distance, you couldn't tell Carrion was even wearing one. Visaera ran her hands over the leather, stroking her fingers over the red, three-headed dragon embellishment on the side.
As Visaera loaded her satchel the next morning, worry settled in her gut and she paused, trying desperately to shake the feeling.
"What's wrong?" Rhaena asked, leaning against the doorway, watching her sister intently.
"Is this a bad idea?" Visaera dared to voice her doubt, "I can't help but feel like this is a bad idea..."
"Oh, it's a terrible idea," her sister agreed, "But the wheels have already been set in motion. If you don't go, father will, and father will burn the entire fucking city, including the Citadel, if we let him." Her answer gave Visaera little comfort and she let out a shaking breath. "Visaera, I know you want to see the good in everyone, you've always been that way, but when Aegon stole the crown—"
"Aegon didn't steal the crown, Otto and Alicent did. Aegon doesn't want it." Saying his name made her chest tight and she leaned over the bed, inhaling through her nose to keep herself steady.
"It doesn't matter who did it, Vis. They started a war; people die in war. They killed our grandmother and your brother; it cannot go unanswered." Visaera nodded. It wasn't that she disagreed, it was the fact that her anger had ebbed and sorrow filled the hole where her heart used to be, leaving fear and doubt in its wake.
When she thought of Aemond and Aegon; she wanted to hate them, but memories of lying between them came to her mind instead; memories of them agreeing to parley with her mother, to abdicate the throne and do anything to keep her safe...
Jace met her in the great hall and the pair broke their fast together, before packing cheese and fruit into their bags for the journey. When Visaera filled a waterskin with wine, Jace raised an eyebrow but said nothing. During her stay in the Red Keep, she had grown accustomed to drinking too much wine and she hoped it would steady her nerves during the journey.
As they readied their dragons, Daemon appeared on the beach, watching while Visaera tied her satchel to the back of the saddle. She didn't want to speak to him, but he held his arms out expectantly, so she dismounted and stepped into them, allowing him to embrace her.
"I'm so very proud of you, my love," he whispered. The words should have made her delighted, instead, she felt sick. He wasn't proud of her for being Visaera; he was proud of her for being a dragonrider, for being ruthless and vengeful. The princess didn't want to be like her father; she didn't want any of this. Visaera wanted to be back in the gardens with Aegon, with the entirety of her family safe and sound.
When she choked on a sob, Daemon held her out at arms-length, staring into her eyes.
"You can do this, my love. I believe in you." Visaera knew that she could do it; but she no longer wanted to. "Your mother and I need you to be strong." Guilt gnawed on her insides but she nodded. The Rogue Prince kissed her affectionately on the forehead and then she stepped out of his arms.
Rhaenyra kissed her forehead in quite the same fashion, just before she mounted, wishing her luck. She had yet to look her mother in the eye since her brother's death. Visaera still loved her, but the loss of Luke made her realize that the Queen would give up anything to obtain her throne, including the lives of her children. After all, her son was dead and she still hadn't called an end to the war, instead, she had encouraged her two eldest children to fly to Old Town and dole out retribution.
Despite her fierce words only days before, Visaera knew there would be no coming back from this. Once they attacked the Hightower, House Targaryen would officially be at war, and Visaera would be an active participant, instead of a bystander.
It was nearly a ten-hour flight from Dragonstone to Oldtown. Visaera and Jace had promised their mother that they would stop and rest if inclement weather hit or when the sun went down, whichever happened first.
To push their dragons the entire way would be dangerous and foolish, but the thought of making camp or staying at an inn worried the princess. Highgarden had yet to choose a side, but Old Town would stand behind Otto and Alicent. If they were not careful, anyone could spot them and send a warning to Old Town. Carrion dropped his wing so she could mount him and she blinked away her tears as she secured her legs to her saddle.
Lifting off made Visaera's stomach flip and then they were ascending up over the island, and her heart felt lighter than it had in days. The air whipped around her, stinging her face and making her cold, but the princess laughed with delight. Nothing in the world made her feel quite as free as riding her own dragon.
"Pālegon, Carrion!" Without hesitation, the black dragon tucked his wings and spiraled through the air, making Visaera's heart jump into her throat and sending a thrill through her. As they straightened out, Jace merely shook his head at her, wearing an amazed grin.
Dragonstone disappeared behind them and the pair headed toward Duskendale, trying to cross toward The Reach while avoiding the skies of the capital. When Visaera flew on Syrax with her mother, it had always been for pleasure; pushing Carrion to his full speed was something else entirely. She found Jacaerys and Vermax falling behind and looped around, pulling the dragon back and letting him glide on the wind.
Visaera was not used to long flights on dragonback; by the time they reached Mander River, her legs were aching and her back was sore. While she longed to touch down and stretch her limbs, the princess knew they were still too close to King's Landing for comfort. Nearly an hour later, when Bitterbridge came into view, Visaera commanded Carrion to descend, touching down in a wide field of grass, and immediately releasing the straps on her legs. Sliding down his side, her legs nearly gave out when her feet hit the ground beneath her. It took her brother a few minutes to catch up and join them, easily dismounting from Vermax and stretching his hands over his head.
"Fucking hells, my back hurts," she complained the moment her brother joined her.
"You haven't flown enough for the saddle to be comfortable, yet," he replied, gesturing for her to turn around. Jace kneaded the muscles along her spine with his thumbs, easing the ache, and Visaera let out a sigh of relief. "It will get easier the more you ride."
"Jace... Do you think we're making a mistake?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip. Rhaena had already given her an answer, but it was Jace who was about to destroy the Hightower with her.
"Vis," he sighed, "Don't do that..." She whirled around to face him.
"I want mother on the throne as much as anyone, but... Is this the way to do it? I mean, the war will be—"
"The war is already fucking happening, Visaera, it's been happening! I know you may not understand this since you were curled up in bed in the Red Keep for three weeks, but we've all been suffering! We thought you were dead, more than once, and now Luke is dead and there's nothing we can do except avenge him!"
The princess gaped at her brother, a sinking feeling in her chest. "Have you thought about Daemon?" Jace continued, "About Mother? About how hard all of this had been on them? I haven't seen Mother smile once since you left for Storm's End. She tries to put on a brave face, but she's breaking. The least we can do is see the death of her son paid back."
Jace was right. She had been safely cocooned between her uncles while her family was planning a war that she was clueless about. She had been fucking them both while her family was worried for her safety. Visaera had never cared for the politics of the realm, she cared about herself and her own happiness. She had been completely fucking selfish...
"But Daeron hasn't done anything," she whispered, her stomach churning at the thought, "His only crime is being Alicent's son..."
"Sometimes, that's the price we pay to see a war won, Vis."
"And what if this doesn't work, Jace?" she asked, "What if we both end up at the bottom of the Whispering Sound?"
"Then Mother and Daemon will see us avenged as well," he answered seriously. It didn't make any sense to Visaera, a never-ending game of revenge until they were all dead, just as her vision had always warned.
"I have a bad feeling, Jace, a very bad feeling... Like my vision is taking form, like we're all going to end up ashes before the war is over..."
"Vis, I love you," he said, annoyance prominent in his voice, "But when has trusting your visions ever done us an ounce of good?" She recoiled from him, feeling like he struck her in the gut as her mind reeled. Once again, her brother's words were right... Her visions had brought her nothing but pain, every decision she made based on them only made situations worse.
"Alright... But, Jace... We burn the Hightower and then we leave. The people of the city have done nothing wrong. If we attack the people or destroy the Citadel, the entire realm will turn against us and we're fucked..." Her brother gave her a hesitant nod and then they were mounting their dragons once more and lifting themselves into the sky...
The ground had been cold and uncomfortable and the princess rolled her shoulder as she stretched, wincing in pain. It was later than she expected, the sun already cresting over the eastern hills. Visaera and her brother had fallen asleep, wrapped between their dragons, somewhere between Highgarden and Horn Hill.
Old Town was only a few hours' flight. They followed the river, occasionally dipping and allowing their dragons to fish. But the closer they came to Old Town, the worse Visaera felt. On one hand, she wanted to obtain retribution for Luke and please her parents; on the other hand, she felt like scum for betraying her uncles, especially after Aegon had been wounded while he was trying to parley for her. Visaera felt like the worst person that ever lived and, as the Hightower came into view, she swallowed the lump in her throat and tried not to throw up her breakfast.
Jace gave her a single, encouraging nod and then Vermax surged forward as the river opened to the sea; Old Town sprawling out around them.
We can do this... It's only the Hightower... Visaera prayed that she and her brother would be able to follow through without turning the entirety of Old Town into a smoldering pile of ash. Jace shouted the command first, the moment they glided over the sound, and Visaera followed suit, knowing her brother needed her support, now more than ever.
As Vermax opened his maw and emitted a stream of green and gold flames, Carrion did the same; black and orange fire surging so hot Visaera could feel the sting on her skin. The bells had already begun to toll and shouts could be heard from the ships in the sound, but Visaera ground her teeth together and focused her energy on the task at hand.
The dragons looped around the Hightower, taking turns breathing fire at the center of the massive lighthouse. At first, the dragonfire seemed to have no effect, but with a second wave of flames, and then a third, the stones around the outer edges began to melt and fall.
Smoke was rising from inside the lighthouse and Visaera could smell the burning flesh of the tower's occupants, making her stomach cramp with nausea. Commanding Carrion to turn away, the pair glided around the tower and caught the wind as it changed direction, allowing Visaera to inhale a long gulp of fresh air.
"Dracarys!" she commanded once more, feeling a small swell of pride when Carrion unleashed another stream of flames and the walls of the Hightower began to melt and cave in. Jace gave her a victorious grin, but as he did, a flash of cobalt glimmered in the sun behind him. "Jace!" she screamed, gaining his attention a mere moment before blue flames burst out of Tessarion's mouth. Vermax dove immediately, evading the she-dragon's fire by mere inches.
Daeron Targaryen followed behind Jacaerys at a frightening speed, quickly gaining on the green dragon. Visaera's heart dropped into her stomach and she commanded Carrion into a dive. She followed with terror filling her as the blue dragon snapped at Vermax's tail. While Vermax and Tessarion were small and agile, Visaera's dragon had the bigger wingspan, quickly closing the distance between them.
Inhaling a deep breath, Visaera made the only choice she could make in such a situation... She would not stand by as another one of her brothers died at the hands of one of her uncles.
"Carrion, arghugon se kasta zaldrīzes!" she called, gripping the saddle as her dragon's demeanor immediately shifted following her permission to hunt. He let out a fierce roar and tucked his wings, surging forward on the wind. With Carrion obeying her words, Visaera could do nothing but cling to the saddle and watch her dragon follow Tessarion eagerly, unleashing dragonfire the moment they were close enough.
The moment the black flames hit the cobalt dragon, she turned on the wind, leaving Vermax forgotten, and engaged the onyx beast. Carrion wasn't deturbed in the slightest, evading her blue flames and looping around, snapping at her wing with his huge mouth. Visaera could hear Daeron shouting commands at Tessarion, but all she could feel was the bond with her dragon making her blood pulse with delight as Carrion was able to hunt freely.
Despite Vermax being smaller than Tessarion, Jace and Visaera had the advantage of two dragons, and Daeron found himself focused on evading Carrion rather than defending the Hightower. As they looped around, the black dragon widened his mouth and let out a long stream of black fire, hitting the lighthouse and the tail of the blue she-dragon.
Tessarion let out a loud shriek and spiraled down toward the sound; Carrion following closely behind. Visaera could feel her heart pounding like a drum in her ears and she was terrified, for her dragon and for herself. Just above the surface, the cobalt dragon leveled out and twisted, surging herself up toward Visaera and Carrion. With a small shift and a roll to the left, Visaera felt her dragon's victory tremor through her own body as the onyx dragon snapped his jaws closed around Tessarion's wing. With a sickening crack, the wing was torn from the she-dragon's body and the cobalt dragon tumbled toward the water.
Relief filled Visaera as she realized what Carrion had done. Her blood was singing and her eyes were shining from the adrenaline, but the sound the blue dragon made as her wing was ripped from her body would haunt Visaera for countless nights to come. Living up to his title, Carrion crunched on the bones and membranes and swallowed the wing in mere seconds, before following the Tessarion down onto the surface of the water.
Eyes darting over her surroundings, Visaera worried when she could not find Daeron on his dragon, nor in the water, but then her own dragon dipped and clamped his teeth around Tessarion's right side. In a final effort to save herself, the she-dragon turned her head and loosed a stream of fire directly at Carrion and Visaera, hitting their left side. As she raised her hand to protect her face, Carrion let out a pained cry that matched his rider's before whipping his head around and closing his jaws around Tessarion's neck, putting an end to the blue flames.
Visaera had never felt such pain in her life. With Carrion taking the brunt of the dragon's attack, the flames had barely touched her arm but the heat had been intense, burning her in a fraction of a second. Her eyes, though shielded by her hand, seared worse than they had from any vision, and her tunic had burned away along with much of her skin, leaving agony in its wake.
While her dragon hovered over the sound, consuming the blue dragon before it sank beneath the surface, Visaera was dizzy from the pain. Tears were already leaking down her face as her brother closed the distance between them, appraising her wounds.
"Fuck, Vis! Are you alright?" he called. Visaera ground her teeth together and squeezed the saddle with her right hand, fighting the strangled sob that stuck in her throat. Visaera was absolutely not okay, she could do nothing except bear the pain.
"I'll be fine," she insisted, staring at the pieces of the blue dragon that had begun to sink into the sound. Still, Visaera could not find any trace of her young uncle and she wondered if he had fallen from Tessarion's back and drowned.
Swallowing thickly, she turned her sights back to the Hightower, watching in awe as pieces of the stone cracked and crumbled off where they had melted pieces away. Large chunks of the building fell into the sound, creating huge ripples on the surface of the water.
"Let's finish this and get you home!" Jace shouted. Visaera nodded and gripped the reigns with her right hand, using all her strength to swallow the pain she was in. Eyes still burning and welling with tears, Visaera commanded Carrion to breathe fire, Vermax joining him, until the two dragonriders watched the entirety of the Hightower give way and crash into the water below.
She squinted until she located her brother, and gave him a single nod. The moment they started to move, the wind grazed her burned arm and the pain was agonizing. Visaera ordered Carrion to follow behind Vermax and she leaned against the saddle, closing her eyes and allowing unconsciousness to claim her...
Visaera drifted in and out of consciousness with every wave of agony that washed over her. After nearly two hours of flight and no longer high on adrenaline, her eyes felt worse than they had when Tessarion's flames had hit her and she strained to keep them open.
She was jostled awake as Carrion touched down, and bit back a scream.
"Vis? Hey, I know you're in pain," Jace said, "but I need to see how bad it is..." He reached up to help unstrap her legs and she slid down Carrion's side into her brother's arms.
"Where are we?" Visaera asked, taking puffing breaths to bear the pain of her burns. The sun was setting and the hills around them began to cast long shadows across the ground.
"Somewhere in the foothills of the Red Mountains," Jace replied, helping her take a seat in the dirt. Visaera had yet to fully look at the extent of her burns and, when she finally did, she thought she might be sick. The edges around her burn were white and blistered, the skin around that was tight and leathery-looking. The center of it was worst, red and raw with deep, bloody patches and tiny areas of black char.
"Fuck, Vis. This is bad, really bad... You need a maester."
"Well, then, let's fucking go!" she growled, forcing herself up with her good arm. The pain was a thousand times worse than her shoulder had been after her injury at Storm's End. The sooner she made it back to Dragonstone, the sooner she could sleep through the pain.
"We can fly straight to Dragonstone, but the fastest route is directly over King's Landing," Jace told her solemnly.
"I don't care, Jace, I really don't. Whatever you think is best," she replied breathlessly.
"I think I should at least wash it..." he said softly, looking terrified by his own idea. Visaera nearly sobbed at the mere prospect but nodded. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself as he opened the top of his waterskin.
The moment the water touched her, Visaera hit her knees, dark spots dancing behind her injured eyes and stealing the breath from her lungs. Carrion let out a long cry, his rider's pain clearly leaving him unsettled.
"Fuck, Vis, I'm sorry!" her brother offered, sounding like he was on the edge of tears.
Minutes or hours later, she wasn't sure, Visaera finally came back to herself, letting out a pained sob as she forced herself up out of the dirt. The agony was all-consuming and Visaera wondered if she was going to survive her injury. She thought of her uncles and aunt in the red keep, all of them clueless as to what had happened in Old Town.
"Jace..." she whispered, "will you promise me that if I die, no one will try to get vengeance for me. We did what we set out to do; this was just an unfortunate circumstance that came from it. Please, please try to make peace..." The sound of Tessarion's wing being torn from her body echoed in Visaera's mind and she turned her head and spewed the contents of her stomach into the dirt.
"Fuck, Vis... You need rest..." he insisted, helping her try to find a comfortable position.
Tears sprang in her eyes as she leaned back on her uninjured elbow. She closed her eyes, easing the pain that seared behind them, and swallowed thickly. Somehow, miraculously, Visaera managed to sleep, if only for a few hours. When she forces her burning eyes open again, it felt like mere minutes had passed
"It's nearly dawn, Vis. We have to get you home..." Jace whispered. She nodded weakly.
"Please, promise me no one else will die after me, Jace," she begged, resuming the conversation from hours before.
"You're not going to die, Visaera." Jacaerys insisted, gripping her around the waist and hauling her up off the ground. "Come on, let's get you back to Grand Maester Gerardys. He'll know what to do..."
While Visaera gripped the reigns in her right hand, Jace stood on Carrion's wing and tightened the straps of her saddle. "I'm so sorry, Vis. If I had known..."
"It's not your fault, Jace," she insisted, "This whole thing was my idea, remember?" She leaned against the saddle, scarcely breathing, and tucked her arm behind Carrion's head as best she could to block the wind, then commanded him up into the sky.
"Vis! Visaera!" The sound of Vermax's roar followed and Visaera blinked her eyes open against the sun. They still burned and the green dragon was little more than a blurry outline beside her. "We're minutes away from King's Landing!" he shouted. "If all goes well, we can be home in just over an hour!" Visaera merely closed her eyes and sagged against the saddle. She had no energy left to pray that things would, indeed, go well.
Jacaerys informed her the moment he spotted the Red Keep, but Visaera was hardly listening. She could feel her heartbeat in the radiating sting of her arm and she focused on the pattern of her pulse. Detached from herself and her dragon, Visaera closed her eyes and drifted, feeling like she was floating.
"Visaera!" Her brother's scream brought her back to herself, forcing her stinging eyes open.
Following her brother's gaze, Visaera could just barely make out two shadows in the sky in the distance. Two shadows in the sky... Fuck...
The pair broke apart, Carrion diving right and Jace going left. Visaera prayed that Vhagar would be the one to follow her. Scrubbing her eyes with her elbow, she blinked against the light, trying to make out her surroundings. Golden scales reflected the light of the sun and Visaera vaguely realized Sunfyre was in front of her.
"Mīsagon Vermax!" she commanded, gripping the saddle and relinquishing control to Carrion. The black dragon dove immediately, following. Vermax and Jace tried to outrun Vhagar. "Dracarys!" Visaera shouted, squeezing her eyes shut at the warmth of Carrion's flames spread around them. She only opened her eyes when the heat dissipated, praying it was enough to distract Vhagar and help her brother.
"Jace, go!" she screamed.
"I'm not leaving you!" her brother shouted stubbornly.
"I swear to the gods, I will kill you myself! Go back to mother!" she cried, watching as the blurry little green dragon finally dipped into the current of the wind and faded into the distance ahead of her. Catching sight of the huge, olive dragon giving chase, Visaera closed her eyes and prayed.
Please, please... Save my brother... Please let him home safely...
"Visaera!" she could hear Aemond shouting behind her and the scene reminded her of Storm's End all over again. Only this time, she had a saddle. This time there was no rain. And yet, again she was nearly blind, relying solely on a dragon who had only hunted smaller dragons.
When Sunfyre blocked their path, Carrion dove, righting himself just before they crashed into the Blackwater. The force knocked Visaera's face into the handle of the saddle, pain radiating through her cheek and up into her eye.
As Daeron was in Old Town, Visaera was now at a disadvantage, facing two dragons to her one. Weighing her options, Visaera fought the overwhelming urge to head toward Dragonstone. She needed to make sure Jace made it home safe, but she also didn't want to leave Carrion in the hands of the Greens. I'm dying anyway... she thought to herself.
With one deep breath, she released the straps from around her legs, ordered Carrion to return to the Dragonmont, and dropped from the saddle into Blackwater Bay. The irony of falling from her dragon a second time struck her as funny, for a brief moment of time, and then she hit the surface of the water. Pain radiated over her arm, burning through her like Tessarion's flames had, and then she sucked in a mouthful of water and the world faded away...