Viserys did not describe every detail of every battle or confrontation, but he laid out all the key information clearly.
His tone was calm, as though he were recounting something that had nothing to do with him, but the other two women in the room could both sense the harrowing scenes beneath that calm.
Viserys had no fear that anyone here would leak this information. It was a trust born of their long time together. Besides, in his view, even Jeyne would never choose to betray him, nor would she have any opportunity to do so.
After listening to Viserys's account, Rhaenys fell silent for a long time.
Only the firewood crackling in the hearth broke the silence, its flames casting flickering light and shadow across her lovely profile.
She was no longer looking at Viserys. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed with her gaze lowered slightly and her hands resting on her knees, staring at a stone tile worn smooth by the years, as though she could read the answer she wanted in its grain.
Only after a long while did she raise her eyes again. Her purple gaze was now filled with deep uncertainty and thought. Slowly, she said, "That Female Other... Lyanna. Since she claims she was once part of the 'Old Gods' and an ancestor of House Stark, then, according to her account, should we consider her an enemy in her current state, or a potential ally?"
She had keenly seized on a crucial ambiguity in Viserys's account: where that ancient being stood. This was not a simple matter of black and white, but one involving her fundamental allegiance and an unpredictable future.
This was the insight Rhaenys had developed from growing up around Viserys and Ashara, learning through their example how to