"Viserys, shut up already."
Jaehaerys grabbed his little brother by the arm and pulled him away from the Dragon Guards before he could keep yelling like a spoiled kid.
Viserys yanked free, face red, and shouted, "Get your hands off me! You're messing with true dragon blood here!"
Daeron gave him a flat, cold stare.
The kid used to just be dumb. Now he was acting like he didn't know how to behave.
"Viserys. We need to talk," Jaehaerys said, steering him off to the side.
Daeron didn't follow. He gave Diana Pojiali a short nod as she stood there staring at him with wide, starstruck eyes, then turned and walked toward the foggy eastern shore.
Diana was clearly not the sharpest, but at least she knew when to stay put. She picked a flower and smiled to herself like nothing else mattered.
---
On the side path, Viserys kept struggling. "What the hell? I was talking to our brother!"
Jaehaerys looked at him, calm but tired. "You still haven't mastered life force, have you?"
Viserys's face fell. He mumbled something and looked away.
Of course he hadn't. He spent his days on Dragonstone swimming, drinking, and wasting every advantage their family had given him.
"You had the best training, the best food, even William Darry said you had real talent with a sword," Jaehaerys said quietly. "And you're still wasting it."
Viserys flushed. "I'll get serious soon. I swear."
Jaehaerys just sighed and let it drop. Then his expression shifted, like something heavier was on his mind.
Viserys noticed. "What's wrong? Don't tell me those Triarchy bastards are back and you two have to run off again?"
Jaehaerys shook his head. "Not the Triarchy. Something bigger. Something farther away."
He paused. "Daeron and I are taking the dragons to Slaver's Bay. There's going to be a war. The kind that decides whether our family stays on top or gets dragged down."
Viserys's eyes went wide. "Slaver's Bay? You're serious?"
"That's not your concern right now," Jaehaerys said. His tone made it clear the conversation was over.
Viserys stood there feeling strangely small.
Jaehaerys pulled a book from his belt and pressed it against his brother's chest. "Take this. Keep it on you."
Viserys looked down. The cover read Walls of Bronze and Iron.
The moment he touched it, a quiet pulse ran through his fingers.
Jaehaerys didn't wait for questions. He turned and walked back to Daeron.
Viserys stayed where he was, holding the book like it weighed more than it should.
---
Before they left, Daeron found Viserys alone.
"Train properly," he said, voice even. "Don't slack off."
Viserys looked at him, confused and a little nervous.
Daeron reached out and straightened the collar of his brother's shirt. "When I come back, I want to see a man standing here. Not a boy still playing around."
He placed a hand on Viserys's shoulder, firm but not rough. "The family's counting on you while we're gone."
Viserys felt the weight settle on him like a stone. For once, he didn't have a cocky answer ready.
Daeron gave him one last look, then turned and walked away.
Jaehaerys was already waiting by the dragons.
They didn't say much as they mounted. Caraxes and Valar lifted into the sky, wings cutting through the mist above the eastern cliffs. Toothless followed a moment later, black scales flashing once before the clouds swallowed them.
Viserys stood on the shore long after they were gone, the book still clutched in his hands.
For the first time in a long while, the easy life on Dragonstone didn't feel quite so easy.