Before she could finish, however, Viserys caught her chin again and said, "I know you're shy, so I had everyone cleared out beforehand. Haven't you noticed that no one's been here all this time?"
Rhaenys widened her purple eyes at his words and hurriedly glanced toward the surrounding corners. Sure enough, not a single one of the gardeners who usually tended the garden was in sight.
Still, her burning ears flushed an even deeper red. She slapped away Viserys's wandering hand, straightened her rumpled neckline, and bit her lip before saying stiffly, "You always use that to tease me."
But before her words had quite faded, footsteps sounded at the garden entrance, and one of Daenerys's handmaids approached them.
Rhaenys immediately looked at Viserys, only to see him shrug. Only then did she realize he had lied to her. He must have simply used that ability of his to know that no one had been nearby.
Viserys raised an eyebrow, but released his arm from Rhaenys's waist and straightened the neckline she had disheveled. The careless smile on his face vanished in an instant as he asked gravely, "What is it? Does Dany need something from me?"
Realizing she seemed to have intruded, the handmaid hastily curtsied. Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her dress as she said urgently in a lowered voice, "Your Majesty, Princess Daenerys requests an audience. She is waiting for you in the study in the King's Tower."
"I understand. I'll go there now. You may return first," Viserys said calmly.
The handmaid hurriedly murmured her respectful assent and cautiously dipped into another curtsy. She kept her gaze fixed on the smooth flagstones, not daring to look around.
Her hand remained clenched tightly around her skirt as she retreated from the garden step by