Viserys knew perfectly well that his proud cousin would never throw a lavish feast merely for a name day.
This had undoubtedly been Corlys's idea from beginning to end.
But Rhaenys had not refused, which meant House Velaryon was indeed trying to draw closer to the Iron Throne, to heal the rift that had remained open ever since Viserys rejected Corlys's proposed marriage alliance years ago.
That was exactly what Viserys wanted.
And he had been planning to do the same.
So this time, he did not travel with a small retinue. He brought his entire family, the three dragons Syrax, Dreamfyre, and Sunfyre, and twelve Royal Warships, sailing for Driftmark in grand procession.
He wanted his cousin Rhaenys and her husband Corlys to see that the Royal Family had not forgotten House Velaryon;
he also wanted the powerful figures on both shores of the Narrow Sea to see that the might of the Targaryen dragons endured.
He raised his head and looked at the two dragons circling overhead. On Syrax's back, he could just make out two slender figures-Rhaenyra sat in front, holding Helaena in her arms.
Rhaenyra rode on Syrax's back, her long silver-gold hair blown straight by the fierce winds high above.
At eighteen, she had blossomed into a breathtaking beauty-her distinctive Targaryen purple eyes shone like two amethysts in the sunlight, her jawline combined softness with stubborn resolve, and her fitted riding clothes traced the graceful curves of her slender waist.
As for six-year-old Helaena Targaryen, she sat quietly in front of her sister, gazing past the dragon's wings at the vast expanse of blue-green waves below with pale violet eyes.
The little girl had exquisitely delicate features, inheriting her mother Alicent's fine looks and her father Viserys's gentle contours. Yet her eyes always held an