The blond young man leading them was none other than Laenor's "Knight of Flowers"-Joffrey Lonmouth.
He wore dark-toned plate armor polished to a gleaming finish. Emblazoned at the center of his breastplate was House Lonmouth's distinctive six-part sigil: crimson lips scattered across bright yellow on one half, golden skulls scattered across black on the other.
The sea breeze lifted the cloak on his shoulders, revealing the delicate silver trim along the edges of his armor and making his already handsome face look all the more striking.
Yet now, those green eyes that always held a smile were filled with undisguised terror and towering rage.
None of that mattered anymore, though.
He held nothing back, utterly disregarding the hundreds of guests watching him, the king and royal family seated in the stands nearby, and the great dragons circling overhead, still snorting scorching breaths.
Leaving his attendants behind, he stamped across the hot beach, his boots scattering fine grains of sand as he raced like a madman toward Laenor, who lay collapsed on the ground.
"Laenor! Are you all right?!"
He all but threw himself down beside Laenor, oblivious to his knees slamming into the sand.
One hand clamped around Laenor's trembling shoulders, while the other urgently reached for Laenor's hand beside Seasmoke's head-
Dragon blood was still flowing freely. He lacked the heat resistance of Valyrian blood, and the scorching heat burned his fingertips through his glove, but he did not pull away.
This was Laenor Velaryon's "Knight of Flowers"-Joffrey Lonmouth, known as the "Knight of Kisses."
Born to House Lonmouth of the Stormlands, he had earned that elegant nickname from the red lips on his family's sigil and his own charming, rakish nature.
Everyone on Driftmark knew he was Laenor's closest companion-with an intimacy that had long since crossed the