Rhaegar rolled across the ground, his head spinning as he looked around in a daze.
He turned to look behind him and saw Illyric, clad in silver armor and a white cloak, pinned on top of him, shielding him with his body.
"Illyric, you were supposed to guard the entrance. How did you end up here?"
His mind couldn't quite catch up. Rhaegar asked groggily.
"Your safety is my most important duty!"
Illyric's voice was muffled. He sprang nimbly to his feet, scooped Rhaegar into his arms, and took off running.
Rhaegar hadn't heard what he said. He couldn't help looking back.
He still wanted to see what Dreamfyre looked like.
He'd almost managed to tame Dreamfyre.
But everything had changed so quickly. Dreamfyre had turned on him in an instant, and all his efforts had gone to waste.
"Siga~~"
Illyric ran swiftly, covering the distance to the exit in a few strides before sprinting down the passage.
Rhaegar kept his eyes on Dreamfyre, watching the pale-blue beast vent its fury.
Suddenly, he noticed the chains around Dreamfyre's neck.
Dreamfyre writhed back and forth, gnawing at the thigh-thick chains with sharp dragon teeth, grinding out showers of sparks.
"It's the chains! They interrupted Dreamfyre's bonding ritual and enraged it!"
A sudden flash of insight struck him. Rhaegar cried out, glaring furiously at the chains that had caused his failure to tame the dragon.
Once he realized the cause, Rhaegar exploded with rage.
He felt no less furious than the raging Dreamfyre, and could hardly stop himself from killing the bastard who'd put those chains on it.
Before he could say anything more, Illyric ran around a corner and Dreamfyre disappeared from view.
A short while later, they burst out of the lair and returned to the entrance where they'd started.
Menas hurried over at once, anxiously asking, "How is the prince? Is he hurt?"
Illyric shoved him aside and snorted. "Shut your mouth. You'd better pray the prince is all right."
As he spoke, he set Rhaegar down and crouched to examine him from head to toe.
Rhaegar was still consumed by regret and let Illyric do as he pleased.
Damn it, I was so close to taming Dreamfyre!
He regretted it terribly.
Illyric turned Rhaegar's head this way and that, checking it before examining his limbs.
"Arms and legs are fine, all fingers and toes accounted for..."
As he muttered, Illyric looked at Rhaegar's back. His expression immediately darkened.
The clothes on Rhaegar's back had burned away completely, and his normally pale skin was covered in dense blisters.
"That's a severe burn!" Menas cried, as if the blisters had appeared on his own body.
"Quiet. I'm not blind!" Illyric glared at him angrily, wishing he could cut down the bastard Maester who'd goaded the prince into attempting to tame a dragon.
After their brief separation, Menas had regained his composure.
He knew what would happen to him if the prince had been injured.
At the thought of the gallows waiting for him, Menas felt the world go dark.
"Wait, I know herbalism and medicine. I can treat the prince."
Though frightened, Menas still had his wits about him and thought of a way to make amends.
Afraid Illyric wouldn't listen, he even pulled a necklace from under his clothes. Three different chain links hung from it: black iron, silver, and gold.
"Get out of the way. I don't trust you."
Illyric wouldn't listen to him. He picked Rhaegar up and started to leave.
During the life-or-death crisis, Rhaegar hadn't noticed much.
Now that they were out of danger, Illyric's movements made him suck in a sharp breath. He nearly passed out from the pain.
"Ser, wait! It hurts too much!"
His entire back, along with the back of his neck, was badly burned. The searing pain constantly tormented his nerves, and was already beginning to worsen into numbness.
"Let me treat the prince first, at least. He can't take the jolting in his current condition. He needs treatment immediately."
Menas spread his arms and blocked Illyric's path.
Illyric understood the urgency of the situation. He hesitated and looked to Rhaegar.
Grimacing, Rhaegar said, "Treat me! I can't take much more!"
Illyric nodded, fixing Menas with a hostile stare. "If I catch you trying anything, you'll regret it."
Menas gave a faint snort. "I value my life more than you think."
Then he told Illyric to carry Rhaegar and walk steadily out of the passage.
"My quarters are near the Dragonpit. I have herbs and equipment there."
Once they emerged from the passage, Menas led the way up a staircase and into a narrow wooden hut on the edge of the Dragonpit.
"You live here?"
Looking around at the dilapidated furniture and musty smell, Illyric hadn't expected a Maester to live in such a state.
Menas hurried to the bed and crouched down, pulling a square wooden box from underneath it.
Inside were all sorts of bottles and jars, filled with medicinal powders and pills...
"Lay the prince flat on the bed. I'll clean the wound first."
Menas spoke hurriedly, too preoccupied even to trade barbs with Illyric.
"This may hurt a little. Please bear with it."
Illyric warned Rhaegar, then laid him face down on the bed.
"Argh! Was that warning just a little late?"
Rhaegar's face twisted in pain. He protested indignantly.
"Don't talk. Save your strength, Your Grace."
Menas found two ceramic jars and gently sprinkled a layer of powder over Rhaegar's back.
"It hurts, it hurts..."
Rhaegar clenched his teeth. His hands and feet spasmed uncontrollably.
He turned his head toward Illyric and asked in agony, "Why didn't I pass out? Wouldn't someone normally faint from an injury like this?"
Illyric was at a loss for words. "People lose consciousness when they endure unbearable pain. If you haven't passed out, it means the pain isn't bad enough."
"But it feels plenty bad to me."
Rhaegar argued at the top of his lungs.
It wasn't that he was talkative.
If he didn't chat with someone to distract himself, he might really pass out from the pain.
"Seven hells! A burn this extensive, and from dragonflame, no less. How did the prince survive?"
As Menas applied medicine and bandaged the wound, he couldn't help exclaiming.
Judging by what he'd learned, the dragonflame of an Adult Dragon could melt steel.
A human body exposed directly to dragonflame would turn to ash in an instant.
It was hard to imagine that Rhaegar could still be conscious after being grazed by dragonflame.
Hearing Menas's astonishment, Rhaegar instead asked, "Weren't you waiting outside the lair? Why was it Ser Illyric who came to rescue me?"
Menas froze, his face turning ashamed. "I lost my head for a moment and led you into Dreamfyre's lair."
"The moment you went inside, I regretted it."
"I ran out specially to ask this White Knight for help, afraid you'd be in danger."
"I didn't expect Dreamfyre to go berserk so quickly. I still ended up getting you hurt so badly."
Rhaegar ignored him and looked at Illyric.
Illyric didn't deny it. He dropped to one knee with a thud and said solemnly,
"The king charged me with keeping you safe. Letting you put yourself in danger alone was a grave dereliction of my duty."
"I... I have failed the white cloak I bear."
After speaking, Illyric lowered his head and pulled off the white cloak, most of which had been burned away.
Seeing the ruined cloak, Rhaegar looked with concern at Illyric's back. "Are you hurt, Ser?"
Illyric paused. "No, Your Grace."
Rhaegar let out a sigh of relief, then said bitterly, "That's good. It's my fault for being so headstrong. If I'd gotten you hurt too, I'd never be able to forgive myself."
"It's my duty."
Illyric replied coolly.
"No, your orders were to stay where you were and wait."
Rhaegar buried his face in the crook of his arm, dejected. "Ser, thank you for putting the past aside and coming to save me. I'm truly sorry!"
The previous chapter's events were meant to set things up for later, so there's no need to dwell on the fact that he failed despite having dragon blood.
Strictly speaking, the protagonist succeeded.
He'd already formed a bond with Dreamfyre, but the chains interrupted it halfway through.
Before taming Vhagar, Aemond had also tried approaching Dreamfyre, but a single blast of dragonflame had scared him off.
Every Targaryen had to grow up.
Before you continue