Chapter 25.1- The Seadragon's Roar

EARLY 109 AC

Pate offered me a glass of wine. I looked at it, looked at him, and then looked over at mother who nodded in my direction. I accepted it happily enough, taking a healthy sip and enjoying the way it sang as it passed my throat. I had been an enthusiastic enjoyer of the liquid pleasures in my past life, and this one seemed to offer its own array of alcohol. Maybe when I finished doing the other one thousand things on my mind, I could look into making my own alcohol. Of course, we had to survive what was coming next as well,

I watched Pate walk over and offer Daemon another glass. The Rogue Prince didn’t even look at the serving boy, accepting it and halving it in one gulp. He was in a good mood. Everyone was in a good mood to be sure. Borros was calling Pate over and sending him off for some Stormlander Ale. The fact that he had somehow managed to convince Vaemond and Mother to secure new shipments of ale with every resupplying that came from the mainland was impressive. I could have sworn that Mother would have cut him off after the first two. But it seemed she was much more accepting of alcohol overconsumption when it happened with men she didn’t have any responsibility over.

Off to the side, Vaemond was surrounded by a few of the Captains, watching them joke and cajole each other. I would have to do something about that eventually. He’d been quiet so far, but I wouldn’t be forgetting that stunt he’d pulled anytime soon. The Stepstones was ours now. And it was only a matter of weeks until the Triarchy and Dorne would launch their attack.

Icarus Jordayne proved to be an even more useful tool than I expected. I didn’t take his words at face value and even now we had sea patrols stretching far and wide. It would be easy for him to tell us a later date so his people could take us by surprise when they attacked earlier. I did have a feeling he wasn’t having me on though. Just some things in the way he’d spoken of the plan and the letters he smuggled me every now and then gave me the impression he was more than happy to be betraying his Prince as he was.

I took another gulp of the wine as I felt someone slide into the seat by my side.

“Are you not going to dance?” Laena asked. I looked over at her before pointedly looking down at the ‘dancefloor’. Sailors screamed shantys at each other as they jumped and spun every which way. It was a boisterous affair, and far from the kind of dancing we’d been taught.

“Regardless. Dance with me?” It sounded like it was a question, but she didn’t seem to get that memo, rising from her seat with just as much grace as she had taken it and stretching out a hand.