The horn sounded again. Oberyn spurred his horse into a gallop, the Double-Headed Lance spinning like a windmill in his hands. The spectators held their breath. His Venomous Snake Whirlwind had humbled many knights.
This time, Aurelion finally moved. He raised the Oak Spear with one hand. As the runes along its shaft lit up, a dazzling purple light burst from its tip-the dragonglass set into the spearhead was shining.
The instant the two riders clashed, Aurelion drove his spear straight into the center of Oberyn's whirling weapon.
Crack!
The Double-Headed Lance snapped, bursting into a shower of wooden splinters. Aurelion's spearpoint stopped steadily before the Dornish knight's throat, no more than a sheet of parchment's thickness from his skin.
The entire arena fell silent.
Heavy panting came from beneath Oberyn's visor.
"You... how could you..."
"The eyes of a great dragon,"
Aurelion withdrew his spear.
"Can see through all illusions."
Only then did the judge recover his senses.
"Prince Aurelion wins!"
Cheers erupted like a volcano. In the commoners' stands, people proudly shouted his title, "Son of the True Dragon."
An eerie silence settled over the nobles' section. Several Dornish lords looked as though they had swallowed lemons whole.
King Daemon sprang to his feet, his Valyrian Steel Armor clanking.
"Excellent! Excellent! That's my son!"
His voice rang through the arena, pride blazing in his silver-purple eyes.
Queen Danyla, however, frowned slightly. She had noticed the dragonglass glittering on her son's spear. That craftsmanship was a closely guarded secret of Holy Flame Island. To use it so openly in the Fighting Arena was really...
"You've revealed your trump card too soon, my child."
She murmured to herself, her gaze sweeping over the nobles and their varied expressions in the stands.
As Oberyn left in disgrace, a red-robed figure quietly