But Aegon, who had been in Rhaenyra's room just moments earlier, truly had not expected tonight's first visitor to be his uncle Daemon rather than his sister Rhaenyra offering reconciliation.
Daemon had behaved himself for several days after his return, only to be provoked by that confrontation between the Blacks and Greens and his nephew Aegon's astonishing move.
He no longer had any desire to play the "good little brother" to Viserys. Watching his eldest niece sulk for days, he swiftly formed a wicked plan.
And so, just moments earlier, he had felt his way through a secret passage and slipped into Rhaenyra's room.
Back in Rhaenyra's room...
A faint, unusual noise suddenly came from the fireplace in the corner.
It was not the crackle of burning wood, but the dull scrape of stone against stone, coming from deep within the wall.
Rhaenyra, the room's owner, sprang to her feet, her hand already reaching for the dagger on her bedside table. Aegon jumped down from beside the bed as well, his purple eyes fixed warily on the fireplace.
A stone beside the hearth slowly sank inward, revealing a pitch-black passage barely wide enough for one person.
Daemon Targaryen emerged from it.
He wore close-fitting black leather without a cloak, his silver hair tied back to reveal a face bearing a wickedly charming smile. He brushed nonexistent dust from his cuffs and raised an eyebrow at the startled siblings.
"Good evening, niece. Good evening, nephew." His voice was low and languid, as though he had strolled over from the next room rather than crawled out of a secret passage. "Still awake?"
Rhaenyra loosened her grip on the dagger, but her brow furrowed more deeply. "Daemon? How did you..."
"Secret passages." Daemon gestured casually at the stone wall behind him. "There are