"Father, I'm all right..."
His back was numb, but Rhaegar forced himself to speak.
"Rhaegar, my child, did I wake you?"
Viserys sat helplessly on the edge of the bed. He reached out to touch his son, but didn't dare.
"No, I wasn't sleeping very deeply anyway."
Rhaegar smiled and took his father's large hand, reassuring him. "I have the White Hart's blessing. I can live to be a hundred."
Viserys clasped his hand in return and nodded repeatedly. "You're right. The Seven favor you. Pain won't make you give in."
Forcing a smile, Viserys ventured, "Tell me, someone said your injuries came from trying to tame a dragon. Is that true?"
Rhaegar replied regretfully, "Yes. I was this close to taming Dreamfyre."
"Seven hells! How dare you try to tame a dragon behind your father's back, all by yourself? Dreamfyre has always been a fierce one!"
Viserys was nearly beside himself. He couldn't believe his eldest son had been so reckless.
Rhaegar explained, "But I really was close to earning Dreamfyre's acceptance."
"I didn't see that. I saw only my beloved child lying in bed, his back covered in blisters as big as beans!"
Viserys scolded him in a low, anguished voice.
He wanted to express his anger, but was also afraid of frightening his badly injured son by raising his voice.
With salt rubbed into his wounds again, Rhaegar flushed. "I'm not lying. I could feel how furious Dreamfyre was about being imprisoned. It accepted me!"
"But Dreamfyre nearly killed you with dragonflame!"
Viserys growled, his eyes full of lingering fear.
Rhaegar blurted out, "Someone replaced Dreamfyre's chains. The chains enraged it at the final step of the bonding ritual, and that's why it went berserk and attacked me."
"The chains!?"
Viserys froze, his brow furrowing.
"The chains holding Dreamfyre were wrong. They forced it to lie on the ground."
Rhaegar immediately revealed the truth.
Viserys fell into thought, wondering who had replaced the chains and why.
Lyonel's voice came from behind him. "Your Grace, Ser Illyric is waiting outside. Will you receive him?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Viserys said irritably, "Bring him in. I want to ask how he managed to protect my child."
Illyric entered the room and walked straight to the bed, dropping to one knee.
Viserys fixed him with a cold stare. "Give me a full account of today's events, especially how Rhaegar was injured. Don't leave out a single detail."
"Yes, Your Grace."
With everyone in the room watching, Illyric frankly recounted the day's events.
From their departure from the Red Keep to the blacksmith's shop...
From entering the Dragonpit to meeting Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon...
From Rhaegar trying to tame a dragon alone to escaping its jaws...
In just a few minutes, Illyric had laid out every detail.
The more Viserys heard, the darker his expression grew. He glared angrily at Illyric, blaming him for not staying by Rhaegar's side every moment.
Lyonel spoke up at the right moment. "Your Grace, that Maester named Menas is suspicious. We can begin a thorough investigation with him."
"Where is the bastard?"
Viserys nodded in agreement and demanded brusquely of Illyric.
Illyric replied quietly, "I locked Menas in the dungeon."
"Ser Harrold, handle this personally."
Viserys nodded and sent the experienced Harrold to deal with it.
With the suspect already in their hands, Viserys's anger eased a little, and his attention returned to Rhaegar.
Rhaegar looked hesitant. "Father, Menas probably wouldn't dare to harm me. Could you spare his life?"
Viserys snorted. "You're still thinking of others at a time like this. I can't tell whether you're kind or foolish."
Still, he didn't refuse his eldest son's request. He instructed Harrold to leave Menas alive.
Rhaegar turned to Illyric and said softly, "Ser Illyric did his duty. I was too reckless. You..."
"Enough. I know what you're going to say."
Viserys cut him off, pressing down on his hand. "I won't punish him, all right?"
"Thank you, Father."
Warmth filled Rhaegar's heart, and he obediently lay back down.
For a while, father and son fell silent.
Seeing this, Lyonel beckoned to Illyric and Mellos, and tactfully led them out of the room.
After a long pause, Viserys gazed at the sunset outside the window and asked hesitantly, "You... really were close to taming Dreamfyre?"
"Yes. If it weren't for those damned chains, I would have succeeded."
Rhaegar answered dejectedly.
Viserys fell silent again, a glint of coldness passing beneath his lowered eyelids.
Dreamfyre was an Adult Dragon. Though it was smaller than the same-age Vermithor, it was far fiercer than the young Syrax and Sea Smoke.
It was even a touch more powerful than the Red Queen Meleys and Blood Wyrm Caraxes.
His eldest son could have tamed such a powerful ally.
But a ridiculous chain had tripped him up and nearly cost him his life.
Viserys couldn't accept such a loss or the crushing disappointment that came with it.
Gently stroking Rhaegar's tousled short hair, he said gravely, "Good boy. Your father will see that justice is done."
Rhaegar said, "I recently had a dream about the Dragonpit. You told me to trust my dreams, so I wanted to tell you about it."
"Go ahead! You have the gift of a Dreamwalker. Whatever you say, I'll listen carefully."
Hearing that it was a prophetic dream, Viserys was eager to hear more.
Rhaegar used the same explanation he had given Rhaenyra.
He stressed the danger of the Dragonpit. "Dragons must not be bound with chains, or they'll suffer a curse!"
Viserys considered this. "Do you mean Dreamfyre's loss of control was the so-called curse?"
"No! Dreamfyre's outburst was mostly caused by human interference. It wasn't a true curse."
Rhaegar warned, "This may only be a warning. If chains are used to restrict a dragon's freedom again, something far worse will surely happen."
He was certain that the wisdom recorded in the ancient texts was no idle talk.
If Dreamfyre hadn't been shackled, he wouldn't have been hurt.
The dragonflame might have burned right through him, from his back to his chest.
"Thank you again, Balerion!"
Rhaegar thought of Balerion's skull, displayed in the center of the sept, and relief flashed in his eyes.
Thanks to God's Partial Favor for the 3,000 coins.
Thanks to Little Yellow Sheep for the 100 coins.
Before you continue