Into the Dragon's Den

Hard to Breathe

⚠️Warning: noncon/exdubcon in this chapter⚠️

Starfyre lit the sky up with fire as Laena commanded her to burn them both, white-hot fury dancing behind her eyeballs. She didn't care if Aemond held half of her heart. She didn't care how the greens would react. She didn't care if she died right along with them... Laena wanted them to burn. The stream of fire missed and, unlike Arrax, Vhagar was used to the little grey dragon's presence and seemed unfazed by Starfyre's outburst. Aemond's eye met hers and he began shouting commands at the beast, urging her to follow Laena as she swerved past them and dove down into the storm, a plan forming in her head.

I'm going to kill him... she decided right then. She would avenge her brother's murder then and there. She tucked Starfyre into a spiraling dive and closed in on the land beneath them. The hills were littered with rocks and the ground was slippery as Laena commanded Starfyre to land. She swallowed her tears back, determination and fury taking hold of her. The rain continued to pour as she dismounted quickly, sliding down Starfyre's wing with her heart pounding in her throat.

"Jikagon. Jikagon arlī naejot muña.  Kesan brōzagon skori nyke jorrāelagon ao." Go. Go back to mother. I will call when I need you. The dragon stared at her, as though she was confused by her rider's request. "Go, Starfyre! Go back to Dragonstone!"

Mates be damned, if she was unsuccessful in her next endeavor, she would at least be certain the greens would never control her dragon. She watched with an ache in her heart as her dragon finally lifted off and disappeared into the storm, and then she waited, barely aware of the rain and the cold. She only hoped that she was right and Aemond would follow. Laena knew him well enough: he did. She felt the ground tremor as Vhagar's colossal body touched down somewhere in the distance.

"Laena!" She gritted her teeth as her name, coming from his mouth, reached her ears. How dare he think he had the right to address her so informally, after all that he had done? She saw red and the moment he came into view, she launched herself at him, sword drawn.

"Laena, stop!" He barely managed to get his sword up, narrowly avoiding her slicing into his shoulder. She didn't hear his words, though. Instead, she heard her own screams and her heart thudding in her ears; again, she saw Vhagar close her mouth over her brother and his dragon. Fighting the all-consuming ache in her chest, Laena struck repeatedly at him, and Aemond countered each time. Over and over she hit at him, her breathing growing ragged, her throat beginning to sting. He wasn't even trying to fight back; merely blocking her blows. She grazed his arm once and he hissed in pain, but it was the only victory she would get.

It shamed her when she realized she was tiring and he was not, as her feet slipped repeatedly over the mud. When he knocked the sword from her hands, he sheathed his own blade, seemingly thinking he had won. He always thought he won; she would make him regret it. The smug look on his face spurred on her fury. Seeing her opportunity, she removed her dagger from its sheath and lunged at him. He caught her at the wrists and grappled with her for a mere moment before he let out a grunt and released her hands, falling to his knees in front of her.

"Do it," he finally said, looking up into her eyes. She blinked at him stupidly, thinking she had somehow misheard his words through the torrential downpour.

"What?" she gasped.

"Do it!" he hissed at her, "I helped my family steal your mother's throne; I killed your brother. Do it!" She raised the blade to strike, aiming for his chest, but paused at the last moment, trembling. He killed him... He killed Lucerys.... Do it... she told herself. Her teeth ground together and her entire body shook from its own effort, but no matter how she berated herself, she couldn't make her arm move. She couldn't kill him, especially when he was staring up at her so earnestly. The dagger fell from her hand, clattering into the mud as she dropped to her knees with a sob. Aemond seemed to sag with relief and reached toward her, but she wouldn't let him off that easily.