An Eye For A Lie

8.Fight Or Flight

Aelyria stepped into the terrace of her chamber, the now dying white rose clenched into her hand.

The breeze whispered against her face, and she hungrily inhaled into its depths, craving for the familiar scent of the salt-kissed sea and the lingering traces of brimstone that used to coat her nose.

Gods, how she missed the Dragonmount!

The scorching heat, the billowing smoke and the hazy fog that shielded her from the prying world.

How she missed to fly, to feel Cannibal below her as they soared the skies.

Calmly, she closed her eyes and focused on her dragon through her bond, controlling each breath she took, slowly and surely, until she could hear only the pulse of her heart. Heat rose in her and a loud roar vibrated in her mind, as Cannibal responded to her call. She could sense his wings beckoning into the air, fighting against the wind and the steam rising from the volcano's fiery mouth.

Cannibal slowed his beat, hovering above the peak.

Sōvegon ñuha jorrāelagon, sōvegon dāez, nyke sagon arlī naejot ao aderī. (Fly my love, fly freely, I'll be back to you soon.)

Aelyria opened her eyes and sighed, returning back to her own reality. A week had passed since their arrival, but it felt like an eternity.

Aemond Targaryen had put her world upside down, and like a hurricane he devastated everything in his path.

Her emotions churned inside her, a tumultuous maelstrom of conflicting feelings, leaving her raw and exposed.His touch had sent spirals of desire between her thighs, and hurdles of want in her blood.

Her skin prickled with goosebumps at the memory of their near-kiss. His hands had been calloused but gentle, as he traced his light fingers through her hair with a possessive grasp that ignited a fire within her.

The sensation of his lips on her skin had been like a spark, sending waves of pleasure through every nerve ending.

"I want you to be mine until your body is cold and your heart black as night." His smooth voice sang like a honeyed ballad in her mind.

She looked again at the rose, then at her pricked finger.

Out of sight, out of mind.

One after another, she started to pluck nervously each petal, throwing them into the courtyard below, until nothing was left but a barren stem.

She should know better than to fall for Aemond's Targaryen wicked games.

He had made his intentions clear. This was his revenge. He wanted to taint her, to ruin her, to dishonor her as a payment for the loss of his eye, and she was falling right into his trap.

"Don't underestimate the depths I'm willing to go to get what I want. Eventually, everyone succumbs to their weaknesses. I'll find yours and when I'm done with you, you'll beg me to end your suffering."

Ridiculously enough, he was becoming her greatest weakness.

As the last petal fluttered down into the dirt, Aelyria grounded herself.

She knew she had to hold on tight until this whole charade was over and then she could return back to Dragonstone. The more distance she could put between herself and Aemond, the better off she would be.

Out of sight, out of mind, she repeated the mantra, hoping that if she said it enough times it might actually happen.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she quickly tossed the stem away.