The Skies Above Blackwater Bay.
In the torrential rain, Aemond took firm control of the reins.
"Split up!" Jacaerys roared.
"Lucerys! Head northeast! Deviate from the course! I'll draw them off! Get back to Dragonstone! Tell Mother... tell everyone!"
"Jacaerys! No! We stay together!" Lucerys shrieked through his tears.
"Go! That's an order! Do you want Joffrey to have died for nothing?!"
Jacaerys yanked Vermax's reins, forcing a hard turn toward the southeast.
He used every ounce of air in his lungs to howl at the massive shadow of death looming above.
"Aemond! Kinslayer! You bastard-born! Come on! I'm right here! Come and kill me! Let's see who dies first!"
His provocations and venomous curses pierced the storm, reaching the rider above.
Atop Vhagar, Aemond Targaryen heard the impotent rage and allowed a smirk to curl his lips.
Kinslayer? He was merely culling strays.
He pointed a finger at Jacaerys, then turned to Morghul with a concise, sharp gesture.
He swept his hand toward the northeast, toward the fleeing Lucerys.
"(Fly, Morghul. Go kill that half-breed.)"
The orders were clear: Vhagar would handle the primary threat while Morghul eliminated the secondary.
No one was to escape.
Morghul understood instantly. He didn't offer Jacaerys a second glance.
His powerful wings beat once, twice, carving a sharp arc through the air as he pursued Lucerys and Arrax, carrying with him the fresh scent of Joffrey's blood.
Jacaerys was determined not to let Morghul succeed.
"Vermax!!! It's up to you!!"
Vermax spat a wall of dragonfire to intercept Morghul's path, flying with a desperate, suicidal fervor.
The intensity of the small dragon's assault actually forced the black dragon to stall for a moment.
Enraged by the flames, Morghul banked back and lashed his claws across Vermax's underbelly.
Vermax shrieked in pain, clawing back, but his talons could not penetrate Morghul's thick black scales.
The two young dragons locked into a dance of death, spiraling, biting, and bathing each other in fire.
Mounted on Vermax's back, Jacaerys was nearly thrown off by the violent rotations, desperately shielding himself from the heat.
In the melee, Vermax's belly was torn open by Morghul's talons, blood spraying into the rain.
Suddenly, Morghul kicked off the wounded Vermax, creating distance.
Jacaerys blinked in confusion until he saw Vhagar's shadow descend.
The ancient dragon's claw was larger than Vermax's entire body.
She snatched the dark green dragon with effortless ease and squeezed.
CRUNCH. CRACK.
Vermax let out a final, agonizing roar as his skeletal structure was pulverized.
Miraculously, Jacaerys, perched upon the neck, remained untouched by the direct strike.
Aemond looked toward the horizon where Lucerys was nearing Dragonstone, then back to the limp Vermax in Vhagar's grasp.
He commanded his dragons to continue the hunt, heading toward the shores of Dragonstone.
Captured within Vhagar's talons, Jacaerys had never known such pure, cold terror.
He felt the dying vibrations of Vermax beneath him as the rain lashed his face.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Vermax..." he babbled, weeping against the scales.
The dragon could feel his master's grief, letting out a weak, helpless whine.
"Run! Lucerys! Run!" Jacaerys screamed from the cage of the dragon's claws.
Below them, Lucerys looked back in horror at his brother's capture. Dragonstone was in sight. He patted Arrax's neck frantically.
"Faster, Arrax! Run!"
But Morghul was a shadow of inevitability.
He appeared on Arrax's left flank, the distance closing with terrifying speed.
Lucerys tried to dive, skimming the waves to use the spray as cover.
He could hear the heavy, rhythmic breathing of the black dragon behind him, smelling the copper scent of fresh blood.
"No! Stay away! Go away!" Lucerys finally broke, turning back to sob.
He saw only Morghul's maw, teeth still matted with Joffrey's flesh.
And the eyes, those vertical pupils burning with gold-red fire.
This time, Morghul chose a different method. Perhaps he felt the distance was right.
He raised his head, and a molten, black-red glow ignited deep in his throat.
"DRACARYS!"
Aemond roared the command from high above.
Morghul opened his mouth. A stream of dark-black red fire, far more concentrated and viscous than Vermax's, sliced through the rain.
Arrax roared in pain as he tried to roll, but the fire was too fast.
The edge of the flame caught the base of Arrax's right wing.
But more importantly, a splash of the sticky, napalm-like fire struck Lucerys across the back.
"AAAAAGGGHHH!!!"
Lucerys's flesh bubbled under the extreme heat. The agony was so absolute it seemed to scorch his very soul.
His vision went black. His hands slipped from the reins as his body spasmed.
He slid from the saddle and tumbled into the churning black sea below.
With his wing crippled and his master gone, Arrax lost all stability.
He spun and tumbled through the air in a chaotic blur. Vhagar dove.
CRUNCH! SQUELCH!
In a spray of red mist, Vhagar's jaws snapped shut.
Arrax was literally torn asunder, disintegrating in mid-air.
Held in Vhagar's claw, Jacaerys let out a hollow, broken howl.
"NO!! NO!! NO!!!"
He heard the sickening sounds of Vhagar chewing, the sound of bone being ground to powder, and flesh being pulverized.
Then, Aemond steered Vhagar toward the port of Dragonstone.
The garrison's remaining ships were incinerated in seconds. The town followed, the two dragons turning the harbor into a landscape of ash and embers.
As dawn broke and the rain finally ceased, Aemond returned to King's Landing, carrying the captured Jacaerys and the broken Vermax.
Jacaerys Velaryon stared blankly at the rising sun, knowing that for him, the world had already ended.
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