Alright, if the words are in bold, they are the "Dothraki" conversations. If they are italicized, they're the "Valyrian".
This is the final chapter of Desert Embers. The third installment of this series will be called "Flares of Freedom". I have yet to write it, but I promise to have the first chapter uploaded in a week. Thank you for your patience, and enjoy this last chapter!
"A house of ghosts, Princess and Khaleesi. It is known." Kovarro tells us as we walk up the path towards the House of the Undying, a familiar looking structure. I stop for a moment, and my sister turns to me.
"What is it?"
Daavi makes a noise and nuzzles into my neck as I stare up at the tower. "It's as though I've been here before."
"Your dreams?" My sister guesses.
"I never did tell you what happened, did I?" I respond, softly. She takes my hand and I look at her.
"You can tell me now."
I nod. "I kept seeing this place. Walking these halls. There's a room, it has Blackfyre in it."
"Our family's sword? You've seen it?"
"I hold it. But I also see him. Aegor Rivers. He talks to me about destiny."
She nods. "Then the sword is meant to be yours."
We keep walking, finally reaching the stone steps. "Where are the guards?" He nervously twirls his arakh.
"No guards. The warlocks kill with sorcery, not steel." Ser Jorah tells him.
"Let them try." My sister responds, our hands still interlocked. We lead the men up the steps and through a low archway, entering the circular court of the House of the Undying. We breathe heavily. "Is this a riddle?" My sister asks, and I groan.
"I hate riddles." My sister nods at me and we look around, walking. I can hear Jorah walking behind us, but his footsteps fade when we find a doorway. We enter, and I turn with a gasp. "Oh for fuck's sake." I mutter.
My sister nods, then takes a torch from the wall next to us. "Come on. I need to find my dragons."
"And I need to find my blade." She hands me another torch, and we both come to the same realization. "We have to do this alone."
She sighs, then kisses my forehead. I kiss hers in return. "Stay safe."
"You, too. Find your babies."
"Find your sword." With a nod I turn down the opposite hallway as hers. In the distance I hear her yell, "Are you trying to frighten me with magic tricks? You want me? Here I am. Are you afraid of a little girl?"
I snort. There's that Targaryen fire.
The further I get from her, the colder the air gets. The walls turn damp, and I can see my breath. Daavi chitters next to my ear, crawling down my arm. I hear wings flapping and stop moving, looking down.
My daughter flutters her wings, carefully rising from my arm. She falters for a few moments becoming steady, going high enough that she's flying next to my head. I smile. "You are full of wonders, Daavi."
She chitters back, and we keep moving. And I feel my dreams coming true. I can hear the wings, see Daavi's shadow. This must truly be my destiny.
My steps become quieter, and I move slower. As I turn down a hall, torches light up. In the distance I hear dragons screeching, Daavi making her own noise. But I must not follow them. That is not my path, it is my sister's.
Finally, I reach a door. The door. The one from my dream. It's stone, just as before, and more like a wall. Closing my eyes I press against it. It moves back with a hiss, a cool breeze escaping. I turn my head to make sure Daavi is following. She lands on my arm and I walk through the doorway, torch miraculously still lit.
It closes behind me on its own, and dread erupts in my stomach. But I keep moving, walking forward. As my steps further, my feet squelch in mud, and I look around. I'm back on Massey's Hook, only I'm no longer asleep. At least, I don't think I am.
Peering over the edge of the cliff, I see the waters below crashing against the rocky shore. The smell of blood is pungent, and I look around to see the dead littering the wet grass.
In the middle of the chaos stands the man I've come to know. Aegor Rivers's violet eyes bore into mine, and I walk towards him. In his hand is Blackfyre, the lost blade.
"You've found me, Jaenarys." He says, Bittersteel approaching.
"Is this… are you…"
"Am I real? As real as you believe me to be." He answers, as usual in his cryptic way.
I reach out and touch his arm, our flesh touching. I almost expected to pass through him. "You're here. Somehow, thanks to Pyat Pree."
The man's face darkens. "Warlocks are not to be trusted. Always expect more if they offer you help."
"So, this is a trap. Dany and I are in danger. I have to go, I -"
"Walk with me." The man interrupts, and I find myself being pulled away by him. We walk through the bloodsoaked grass, and he leads me past the hill and into a desert, more forgiving than the Red Waste. In the distance I see a great kingdom, a pyramid in the middle.
"What is that place?"
"It will be yours, one day." He answers, and I turn to look at him.
"Mine? I am not a ruler. I am not meant to wear a crown."
"That is your brother talking." Aegor gently reminds me. "Do you truly believe you are only meant to see the world?"
I shake my head. "I do not deserve a throne. I am not worthy."
"And yet you follow your sister, who has no greater a claim than you to rule."
"I do not want Westeros."
"But you can have Essos. This blade," he holds up Blackfyre, "first belonged to the great Targaryen conqueror. Aegon I. It calls to you, now."
"I am no conqueror."
"You are. I've seen it. We've all seen it."
"Who?" I ask. "Who is watching? How do I know they are?"
"Rhaegar looks down at you from beyond. You are much like him."
I blink, twice. I'm imagining things. Pyat Pree has won. I've lost my mind.
"Come. Further." He leads me down a dirt path, silence surrounding us. A forest emerges and we make our way through the thick trees. A couple and a priest stand before us, both man and woman with dark hair. Only the torchlight illuminates their faces, the forest dark. It's night.
"I am hers and she is mine, from this day, until the end of my days."
"I am his, and he is mine, from this day, until the end of my days." They say to one another, before the man pulls her into a loving kiss.
"What is this?"
"This is what is happening across the sea, Princess."
"And why does it concern me? Who are they?"
"The woman is of Volantis, but it is the man who will come to mean everything to you. It has been written in the stars, as sure as Blackfyre is to be in your hands."
"What do you mean?" The world around me begins to fade, and I hear Daavi nervously chittering. I'd almost forgotten she was with me. "Aegor?" I ask.
The man turns to me, our violet eyes meeting once more. "Our time is up. Take it. It is yours. And remember, we are watching over you."
I nod and hold out my hand, wrapping it around the hilt of the blade. It isn't heavy, and my grip is perfectly lined. It was as though the blade was forged only for me.
As soon as Aegor releases me, the world around us disappears. He is gone, and I am left standing in an empty stone room, the sword still in my hand. I look up, shocked. The hangar is there. My dreams were right - I would find Blackfyre here, held up by a stand. Aegor would speak to me.
I look down at the blade and hold it up, admiring how the metal glints in the torchlight. That is when Daavi begins to fly once more, letting out small roars.
"Daavi?" She flies out the now open door. "Daavi!" I cry after her, and put my blade in my former sword's sheath.
I follow my small dragon down the winding halls, heeled feet clicking on the floor. I don't have time to be careful. I know in my heart that Daavi is leading me to my sister and her dragons. I will not lose the only person I care about. At least, for now.
"The man will come to mean everything to you." That was what Aegor told me. But who was the man? Why would someone so far away mean anything to me? A stranger.
Any further thoughts are put on hold when I hear the dragons screeching louder.
"You found it."
I turn and see Pyat Pree and pull out my sword faster than the warlock can notice. It slices through him and he turns to air. Sword still out I dash after Daavi, kicking a door open to find my sister in chains, Pyat Pree surrounding her.
"Do not worry. Your sister and her child will keep you company." The man says, and there's a heavy weight on my arms. I look to see my wrists have been cuffed, but twirl my limb so the Valyrian steel cuts through it, then hack at my other one. Daavi lands next to her cousins, behind my sister, and I cut down every Pryat in my path.
"Dracarys." I hear Dany speak. The warlock watches in amusement as they cough. But seconds later, her dragons blow small balls of fire at our captor, burning him.
"Daavi, Dracarys!" I call to my dragon, who flies up and continues to blow streams over at the screaming man. Ignoring the smell of burning flesh and Pyat Pree rolling on the ground I slice down my sister's chains, grinning.
"Maybe I should be 'the Breaker of Chains'." Despite our situation, she rolls her eyes.
"Come one. We have to go." I nod and we follow the flying Daavi out the door, my sister cradling her children in her arms.
Xaro and Doreah are fast asleep in the man's golden bed, unaware of their own fates. And as much as I will miss the girl, I miss Irri more.
Kovarro reaches over and yanks the key from Xaro's chest with his arakh. The man shoots up, crying out, "What the…"
Doreah wakes up, holding the sheets to her bare chest. Before she can move further my blade sings in the air, resting at her neck. "Princess, Khaleesi, please!" She whimpers. I only look to my sister, who stands beside Jorah. Her dragons are still in her arms, Daavi sitting on my shoulder. "He said you'd never leave Qarth alive." She tries to reason.
"Come." My sister cuts her off, unimpressed and tone flat.
I remove my blade and toss a dress at the traitorous handmaid, following my sister out of Xaro's chambers. We lead them down to the vault Xaro had once shown us and Kovarro presses the key into its lock. He turns it and opens the vault with Jorah's help.
"Where is what you promised us, when I said I'd marry you?" I ask the larger man, referring to the empty vault.
My sister turns from where she's standing to address our host. "Thank you, Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Thank you for teaching us this lesson." She nods at a Dothraki, who pushes Xaro past her and into the vault.
"I am king of Qarth. I can help you now, truly help you." Xaro tries. "We can take the iron throne. I'll bring you a thousand ships."
"Khaleesi, please! Please, Princess!" Doreah looks at me, tears falling down her cheeks. I feel my own eyes water and close my mouth, swallowing down any change of heart.
"All that you've dreamed is within your reach!"
"Please, I beg you!" Doreah cries out, the Dothraki pushing her into the vault. The two keep calling to us as Jorah closes the vault, shutting them in. I walk forward and hold my hand to the vault, saying a quick prayer and goodbye from under my breath. Jorah locks the door and hands the key to my sister. We lead what remains of our khalasar up the stairs and into Xaro's chambers, taking everything we can carry.
"It's all a lie." Jorah tells us, looking around.
"Looks real enough to me." I nod at my sister's words.
"Real enough to buy a ship?" I ask our friend, holding up a golden bowl.
"Aye, a small ship." He takes it from my hand as my sister links our arms, leading us from the chambers. Behind us, Jorah gives the Dothraki orders. "Take all the gold and jewels!" The Dothraki cheer as my sister and I leave to walk to the gardens, waiting for our people to finish. I pick up a small gold necklace with a ruby pendant and attach it around my neck. My sister smiles, her fingers tracing the ruby at the end of my new sword's hilt. Her dragons purr, nuzzling whatever part of her they can reach. Daavi remains perched on my shoulder, rubbing her head against mine.
"Soon, we shall have our army. And we will go to Westeros." I nod at her words, but my mind is replaying what Aegor showed me, over and over. "What is it?"
I look back over at her. "Nothing. At least, I don't think it was." She nods and looks ahead, and I follow her gaze.
In this moment, all my worries and thoughts of the future cease. Because my sister and her dragons are safe, and we stand together, ready for whatever we must face next.
