The jousting continued. Built from rainbow dragonstone and filled with dazzling crystal lamps, the vast Fighting Arena was as bright as day even at night.
As multicolored light rippled across Otheryon City, the nobles' restless hearts were finally stirred to the point that they scarcely knew what to do with themselves.
The luxurious noble stands were already laden with fine food and wine. As they watched the knights pour their passion into the Fighting Arena, they savored the pleasures that power and status brought them amid the clinking of cups.
But the brighter a place was, the more easily overlooked dark corners could fester within it.
Outside a luxurious manor by the sea in Otheryon City, groups of people dressed in assorted clothes, but unmistakably Dornish in appearance, were gathering furtively.
Yet every move they made was clearly visible to the night owl perched in the weirwood in the courtyard of Dragonkiss Garden.
From her throne in the Fighting Arena's stands, Danyla gave a quiet instruction to the shadows in the corner.
"The night is lovely. Perhaps a dazzling fireworks display would make everyone even happier."
In the Fighting Arena, young knights were still charging fiercely to win their glory. In Dragonkiss Garden, the hundred-odd Dornish nobles who had finally been gathered together again had barely warmed their seats.
Sevan, riding the great dragon Seasmoke and leading three hundred elite members of Otheryon City's garrison, had already surrounded the place.
There was no suspense whatsoever. They were all arrested before they could offer any meaningful resistance.
Shoved along by the garrison, the Dornish nobles were taken onto Otheryon City's walls. This was the battlement nearest the tournament grounds, with more than a dozen enormous ballistae positioned nearby.
The guards defending the city were carrying crates of specially prepared fireworks and