Chapter Summaries

Danyla secured the support of minor nobles through the Hundred Birds Pavilion and brought Shirei to meet King Jaehaerys. When a Dragonkeeper reported that Amoros was dying, Jaehaerys took Danyla to the Dragonpit and revealed four dragons he had hidden there in memory of his daughters.

• Danyla received Oggian's list of minor lords and impoverished knights who would attend the Dragonstone tournament and could be gathered under her banner.
• Danyla returned to the Red Keep with Shirei, and King Jaehaerys agreed that she should raise the girl as a Targaryen.
• A Dragonkeeper reported that Amoros was in very poor condition, and Jaehaerys hurried to visit the dragon.
• Danyla flew Jaehaerys to the Dragonpit on Dreamfyre, where he explained that four dragons belonging to his deceased daughters had been kept hidden there.

Danyla accompanied King Jaehaerys into a hidden chamber beneath the Dragonpit, where she found the weakened dragon Amoros and used magic to restore his strength. She asked to take him to Holy Flame Island, but when Jaehaerys hesitated, she commanded Amoros to use his dragonfire.

• Danyla learned that Jaehaerys had hidden four dragons in the Dragonpit and that several of his other descendants' dragons had died or escaped.
• Danyla reassured Dreamfyre that she would not be locked inside the Dragonpit again, then followed Jaehaerys through a secret bronze door.
• Danyla approached the frail Amoros despite a Dragonkeeper's warning and restored his vitality by chanting in the language of Old Valyria.
• Amoros showed affection toward Danyla, who asked Jaehaerys to let her take the dragon to Holy Flame Island.
• Jaehaerys hesitated to release the dragons, so Danyla chanted again and commanded Amoros to use his dragonfire.

Danyla helped Amoros accept her as his rider and persuaded King Jaehaerys to release him from the Dragonpit. After Amoros flew freely over King's Landing, Danyla arranged for him to stay outside and fed him seasoned goats.

• Danyla commanded Amoros to breathe dragonfire, convincing King Jaehaerys that the dragon had accepted her as his rider.
• King Jaehaerys ordered the Dragonkeepers to remove Amoros's chains, and Danyla guided him out of the Dragonpit.
• Amoros flew freely above King's Landing for more than half an hour, thrilling the onlookers and alarming the Dragonkeepers with his eager flight.
• Danyla asked King Jaehaerys to let Amoros remain outside until she could take him to Dragonmont, and Jaehaerys entrusted the dragon to her care.
• Danyla seasoned the goats Amoros had roasted, and the hungry dragon ate more than a dozen of them.

Danyla comforted the recovering Amoros and Dreamfyre before visiting the other dragons in the Dragonpit. With King Jaehaerys’s permission, she freed Aposos, Himolos, and Antheros and let them take flight.

• Danyla asked the Dragonkeepers to seek King Jaehaerys’s permission for her to inspect and release the other dragons.
• Danyla soothed Dreamfyre’s jealousy, then rested beside her while Amoros slept.
• The Dragonkeeper returned with King Jaehaerys’s permission, and Danyla entered Aposos’s lair.
• Danyla sang to Aposos, saw that chains restrained him, and ordered the Dragonkeepers to free him and let him out of the Dragonpit.
• Danyla also released Himolos and Antheros, allowing both dragons to take flight.

Three newly hatched dragons took flight over King's Landing, drawing attention to the succession struggle, and Danyla began tending to them at the Dragonpit. She bonded with Antheros and left him and Amoros outside under her command, while Himolos and Aposos were returned to the Dragonpit under guard.

• Himolos, Antheros, and Aposos flew over King's Landing, where residents discussed how the new dragons might affect the succession struggle.
• Danyla had Dreamfyre roast goats for the dragons, and Himolos, Antheros, and Aposos returned to the Dragonpit after short flights.
• Himolos threatened Antheros and Danyla over the roasted goats, so the Dragonkeepers drove him away with their dragon-taming poles.
• Danyla sang and chanted Old Valyrian spells to Antheros, who became more comfortable with her and gained a stronger appetite.
• Aposos ate several goats and settled down to sleep, while Danyla ordered the Dragonkeepers to return Himolos and Aposos to the Dragonpit and leave Antheros and Amoros outside.

Danyla brought Amoros and Antheros from King's Landing to Holy Flame Island and settled them in a cave near Dreamfyre's. After returning to Dragonstone Castle, she reunited with her parents and received a necklace from Rhaenyra, whose dragon-riding business had ended after Syrax threw Harwin Strong.

• Danyla sent the Dragonkeepers back to report to the king, then flew toward Dragonstone with Dreamfyre, Amoros, and Antheros.
• The Dragonkeepers Captain told a young Dragonkeeper that no one in House Targaryen's history had commanded several dragons at once, though some ancient dragonlord houses had used Dragonbinder.
• Danyla struggled to communicate telepathically with Amoros and Antheros during the flight, but she guided them to a natural cave on Holy Flame Island.
• Amoros and Antheros settled into the cave and began using dragonfire to shape their lairs.
• Danyla returned to Dragonstone Castle and told Viserys and Aemma about her time in King's Landing.
• Rhaenyra gave Danyla a ruby necklace bought with money from taking Harwin Strong for a ride on Syrax, then complained that Syrax had thrown him and ended her business.

Danyla reconciled with Rhaenyra, then visited the manor where Princess Senyra’s three bastard sons were held. She confronted the brothers and demanded to know whether they wanted to live or die.

• Aemma complained that her daughters cared too much about making money, while Viserys defended the value of wealth and strength.
• Danyla and Rhaenyra praised Viserys, and Danyla joked that the royal family had saved money by letting her take dragons to Holy Flame Island.
• Danyla forgave Rhaenyra after she gave her a necklace, and Viserys arranged a banquet for the nobles at Dragonstone.
• Danyla sent Rhaenyra a simpler set of Pink Diamond jewelry and flew Dreamfyre to her secret manor, where a grown Myracis caught up and playfully showed off before squabbling with Dreamfyre.
• Danyla summoned Sevan, Setu, and Sethsley, who feared she would kill them after confiscating their weapons and treasure.
• Danyla faced the three brothers beneath Dreamfyre and Myracis and asked whether they wanted to live or die.

Danyla interrogated Senyra’s sons, uncovered House Cuy of Sunhouse’s role in their mission, and obtained letters and a written confession as evidence. She also learned that the Kingdom of the Three Daughters had assembled a fleet against the Stepstones and planned to respond, while promising the prisoners they could return to Volantis if they cooperated.

• Danyla used Dreamfyre and Myracis to intimidate Sethsley, Setu, and Saewan, then threatened them with dragonfire unless they answered her questions.
• Sethsley revealed that Senyra sent the three men to learn King Jaehaerys’s position on the succession assembly and repay a debt to Viscount Cuy of Sunhouse.
• Sethsley explained that they tried to tame Cannibal because becoming Dragon Warriors might strengthen their claim to the throne.
• Sethsley handed Danyla sealed letters proving House Cuy’s dealings with them, and Danyla ordered him to write out a confession.
• Saewan told Danyla that the Kingdom of the Three Daughters had assembled a fleet to clear pirates from the Stepstones, and Danyla decided to teach them a lesson.
• Danyla accepted Sethsley’s confession and promised the three men they could return to Volantis if they cooperated.

Danyla gathered her allies in White Sheep Town and prepared to seize the Stepstones while the Three Kingdoms Alliance fought the pirates. She sent forces to establish a base on Tarth and agreed to postpone the tournament until after the war.

• Cameron reported that the Skinning Warriors had 360 trainees, the Dragon Guards had grown to 300, and the Holy Flame Fleet had 35 ships ready to sail.
• Samwell explained the Stepstones' strategic importance, and Dax reported that the Unicorn Mercenary Company had recruited 500 fighters despite the bruises sustained while subduing them.
• Danyla ordered Cameron and Dax to take the Dragon Guards, mercenaries, and fleet to Tarth, then wait for the Stepstones conflict to near its end before attacking.
• Watcher reported training 30 girls in archery and finding seven wargs, all bonded with cats; Danyla assigned the seven as her handmaidens at Dragonstone Castle.
• Medrick suggested postponing the tournament until after the Stepstones war and holding it as a victory celebration, and Danyla agreed.

Danyla addressed White Sheep Town’s shortages by planning a cremation platform and making purple dragonstone with Dreamfyre and Myracis. At a Dragonstone banquet, Mund Hightower offered House Hightower’s ancestral sword Vigilance as a possible betrothal gift to her.

• Samwell reported that cremation rewards were draining timber and money, while construction had exhausted the dragonstone supply.
• Danyla designed a large cremation platform and instructed her attendants to prepare it for dragonfire, steelmaking, and training the dragons to feed there.
• Danyla directed Dreamfyre and Myracis to make dragonstone at the Stone Yard, producing a deep purple batch from their combined flames.
• Danyla attended the banquet, greeted Rhaenyra, and checked on her pregnant mother Aemma, who said Herb’s care and Danyla’s ruby belt had helped her.
• Mund Hightower presented Danyla with Vigilance and offered it as a betrothal gift if she liked the sword.

After Mund Hightower insulted Danyla at the banquet, she planned to strike back at House Hightower and unveiled a dragonfire cremation ritual at the Cremation Tower. The ritual turned iron and steel into smoky-gray plates beneath the cremated dead, while the dragons and assembled priests responded to her prayer.

• Mund Hightower offended Danyla at the banquet, so Viserys had his guards drag him back to his quarters.
• Danyla invited her father and sister to the Cremation Tower, where she demonstrated a prayer that strengthened Vhagar's dragonfire and melted iron and steel in the cremation platform's troughs.
• Danyla taught the priests and Dragonkeeper Apprentices the prayer while she and her family fed their dragons roasted sheep.
• Danyla ordered twenty bodies placed in the hot metal troughs and led the gathered people in chanting her prayer.
• When the chanting reached its third repetition, Danyla commanded the dragons to breathe fire over the platform, reducing the bodies to ash and leaving the iron plates smoky gray.

Danyla established cremation rites on Holy Flame Island, discovering that Valyrian prayers strengthened magical energy and the dragons’ bonds with their riders. She appointed Meryl and the other temple priests to serve the dragons and the dead, while the cremation process became organized enough to run without her direct involvement.

• Samwell and Medrick speculated that Danyla’s grand cremation ceremony could become a profitable tradition.
• Viserys sensed new power after chanting Valyrian prayers and felt his bond with Vhagar grow stronger, while Danyla detected magical energy in several people present.
• Danyla dismissed those without signs of magical energy and asked the red-haired slave priestess Meryl about her faith in the Lord of Light.
• Danyla told Meryl and the other priests to serve the dragons and pray for them and the departed, promising that all faiths would be welcome on Holy Flame Island.
• Little Balerion, Grey Ghost, and Vhagar cremated successive batches of bodies as the priests chanted, and the Dragonkeepers and Skinning Warriors learned to conduct the rites independently.
• Danyla found that the prayers replenished her magical energy, and the priests became Holy Flame Island’s first Funeral Priests.

Danyla strengthened the care of the Dragon Eggs and considered how to counter House Hightower, while Watcher warned her against controlling minds. The chapter ended with Setu and Sethsley fearing Danyla might kill them to keep their ships’ treasure and silence them.

• Danyla found that all five Dragon Eggs were pulsing with life and ordered the Dragonkeeper trainees to pray over and care for them alongside the Skinning Warriors.
• Danyla arranged knightly training for the Dragonkeeper trainees and visited the mutated weirwood with Myracis, where its magical energy sharpened her thoughts about House Hightower.
• Danyla asked Watcher and Herb whether the Children of the Forest could control minds, and Watcher warned that doing so could bring out people’s worst impulses.
• Danyla told Watcher and Herb that her dragon dream showed House Hightower might destroy most of House Targaryen’s dragons and that Mund Hightower was key to her plans.
• Setu and Sethsley worried that Danyla might kill them to keep their Valyrian weapons and the treasure from their three ships.

Mund Hightower led a group of House Hightower men to rescue Sevan, Setu, and Sethsley, then took three Dragon Eggs from the Cremation Tower. They escaped toward the beach, where House Hightower ships waited.

• Sevan, Setu, and Sethsley argued over their failed plans until Mund Hightower burst in with armed men and offered to rescue them.
• Mund threatened the three captives into following him, and they went with his men to the Cremation Tower.
• At the hatching chamber, Sethsley realized Mund had rescued them to help him take the three Dragon Eggs.
• Mund removed the scorching eggs from the furnace and packed them into bags despite the heat burning through his gloves.
• Mund's group hurried to the beach, where several House Hightower ships were waiting.

Lady Florence took her seat as Master of Laws, becoming the first woman on the Small Council, and the king approved a feast to celebrate. As Danyla and her companions prepared to visit King's Landing's poor, Grand Maester Runeter arrived with alarming news from Dragonstone.

• Lady Florence attended her first Small Council meeting as Master of Laws, and Lord Lyman Beesbury proposed a feast in her honor.
• King Jaehaerys approved the celebration and allowed Danyla to visit orphans and elderly people with Margaery.
• Margaery prepared bread and linen for the visit, while Ser Garlan Beesbury joined the group to protect them.
• Rhaella startled Garlan by pointing out three dragons overhead, and Bethany eased the awkward moment by thanking him for honey.
• Grand Maester Runeter brought Jaehaerys a confidential letter reporting that Mund Hightower had stolen three dragon eggs from Dragonstone.

King Jaehaerys learned that Mund Hightower had stolen three Dragon Eggs and ordered the arrest of Otto Hightower’s household and a search for the eggs. While Danyla continued distributing aid in Flea Bottom, she detected several people with strong magical energy and went to investigate.

• Grand Maester Runeter reported that Mund Hightower had killed the Cremation Tower guards and stolen three Dragon Eggs, while Prince Viserys pursued him on Vhagar.
• King Jaehaerys summoned Earl Hightower, Prince Daemon, and Princess Rhaenys, and ordered Ser Ryan to arrest Otto Hightower and the other Hightowers in King’s Landing.
• Danyla and her companions distributed food and clothing in Flea Bottom as Garlan and Harold organized the crowd.
• Danyla sensed powerful magical energy among the crowd, left Margaery in charge, and identified an old woman, a gloomy middle-aged man, and a little girl as its sources.

Danyla was attacked by Faceless Men in Flea Bottom and used her hounds and Dreamfyre to capture them. Furious that the crowd had done nothing to help her, she took the prisoners to the smithy as sacrifices for Sweet Widow’s final blood ritual.

• Danyla tried to reach Great Sept Square as three Faceless Men closed in on her through the fleeing crowd.
• Danyla rode Galdan through the crowd and fought off an ambush with Firefall, while Omm and several cats attacked the Faceless Man.
• Dreamfyre arrived and burned the attacker, then Danyla pursued the other Faceless Men and had Dreamfyre knock them unconscious, trampling civilians along the way.
• Danyla declared that she no longer cared about the crowd’s lives and took the three and a half captured Faceless Men to the smithy.
• Danyla ordered the smith’s apprentices to strip, search, and chain the prisoners for Sweet Widow’s blood sacrifice ritual.

After the Faceless Men tried to assassinate her, Danyla decided to use blood sacrifice to complete two unfinished Valyrian steel swords. She began the forging ritual with Master Ohn, Dreamfyre, Aposos, and Himolos as the ten condemned prisoners were pushed into the furnace.

• Danyla ordered Harold to bring ten condemned prisoners to Ohn's smithy and tell King Jaehaerys that the steel swords were ready.
• Danyla examined the Faceless Men's belongings and found dozens of magically charged human-skin masks.
• Danyla cut a Faceless Man with Firefall and warned the surviving assassins that its victims' souls would suffer inside the dagger.
• Danyla summoned Dreamfyre, Aposos, and Himolos, then began the ritual to finish forging the two Valyrian steel swords.
• Master Ohn ordered the ten condemned prisoners pushed into the sword-forging furnace as the unfinished blades began to resonate.

Danyla used dragonfire, a Faceless Man, and human-skin masks to forge two Valyrian steel swords, then named them Dark Night and Dawnlight. After the surviving Faceless Men begged for mercy, she whipped them while demanding that they talk.

• Danyla kicked a Faceless Man into the forge, and his soul became dark energy that flowed into one of the Valyrian steel swords.
• Danyla ordered Harold to throw another Faceless Man into the forge, then burn the human-skin masks to weaken the Faceless God’s power.
• Harold fed six masks to the forge, and the second Faceless Man was reduced to ash as his energy flowed into the other sword.
• Danyla stopped chanting, and the dragons ceased their fire as two finished swords emerged from the forge.
• Danyla named the swords Dark Night and Dawnlight, and Master Ohn began their finishing work.
• Danyla picked up Master Ohn’s barbed steel whip and lashed the two surviving Faceless Men while demanding that they talk.

Danyla returned to the Red Keep with two newly forged Valyrian steel swords and confessions implicating House Hightower in an assassination attempt. As the Small Council debated how to respond to the missing Dragon Eggs and House Hightower’s alleged crimes, Danyla proposed flying to Oldtown and bringing the family back to King's Landing.

• Danyla ordered compensation for commoners harmed in the chaos and told Harold to make clear that House Hightower had hired the Faceless Men.
• Master Ohn presented the finished Night Sword and Dawn Sword, and Danyla let him keep the leftover Valyrian steel to study.
• Danyla flew back to the Red Keep, where Otto, his family, and others connected to House Hightower were imprisoned.
• Danyla presented the swords to King Jaehaerys, reported her encounter with the Faceless Men, and handed over their confessions.
• The councilors argued over whether Danyla should go to Oldtown, and Jaehaerys asked how she would treat House Hightower.
• Danyla said she would make House Hightower pay the fare for riding a dragon and then invite them to King's Landing.