In fact, the scene Larys feared had happened just moments earlier, when Daemon had first entered the area with Rhaenyra and Aegon. Larys and Garwin had just received Alyn Celtigar's signal and begun following the three of them at a distance.
The air in the dark alley was damp and stifling, as though steamed by countless breaths, mingled with sour alcohol, perfume, and the rotten stench rising from the gutters.
Rhaenyra had been jogging after Daemon, stumbling over the uneven paving stones. The hem of her cloak was already covered in unidentifiable stains.
Aegon followed at her side. In her haste to catch up with Daemon, she gripped his little hand hard enough to hurt, but he did not pull free.
Daemon walked ahead of them, his steps as leisurely as ever, as though this reeking alley were a corridor in the Red Keep.
Occasionally, he turned his head and glanced behind him-not because he feared being discovered, but to check whether the two little ones were still there or had fallen behind.
Rhaenyra jogged with her head down, watching the crushed shells beneath her feet-
Several stalls near the Street of Silk sold fish and shellfish from the Blackwater Rush and Blackwater Bay. The shells were casually tossed onto the ground and trampled into fragments, gleaming a sickly white in the dim light.
Preoccupied with her thoughts and hurrying to catch up with Daemon, she naturally failed to watch where she was going.
A dark figure suddenly emerged from around the corner.
With a thud, Rhaenyra collided squarely with him. She staggered back half a step, but the man did not budge-he was immensely strong. A hand like an iron clamp abruptly seized her forearm.
"What have you done, boy? Why are you in such a hurry to get