Chapter Summaries

Viserys offered Redd the title of King of the Narrow Sea and asked Rhaenyra to convey the decision, revealing their exchange as a political negotiation rather than a father-daughter conversation. Rhaenyra left Viserys’s chamber composed but inwardly shaken, remembering Daemon and the mutilated body in his coffin.

• Viserys asked Rhaenyra what she thought of his decision to grant Redd the title of King of the Narrow Sea.
• Rhaenyra recognized Viserys was treating her as a political channel to Redd and calmly agreed to convey the decision.
• Viserys thanked Rhaenyra, but she did not take his offered hand and left his chamber.
• Viserys wondered aloud whether Aegon the Conqueror thought he had been wrong.
• As Rhaenyra walked through the corridor, she remembered Daemon taking her flying and then recalled the black coffin and the mutilated corpse inside.

Rhaenyra hid her grief from Alicent after learning of Redd and Daemon, then went to the Dragonpit to ride Syrax to Dragonstone and find another rider. Alicent stayed beside the sleeping Viserys, exhausted by the masks she wore in court and family life.

• Rhaenyra told Alicent that Viserys had taken his medicine and gone to sleep, then urged the pregnant Queen to rest.
• Alicent entered Viserys's bedchamber, kissed his forehead, and reflected on her weariness from acting different roles for her husband, Rhaenyra, the courtiers, and her children.
• Rhaenyra descended to the Dragonpit and approached Syrax, recalling the dragon's hatching.
• Rhaenyra told Syrax they were going to Dragonstone to find another rider.
• Syrax spread her wings and rushed with Rhaenyra through the passage leading out of the Dragonpit.

Rhaenyra flew from King's Landing to Dragonstone to speak with Redd about Viserys's proposed bargain and the limits of his ambitions. At Redd's study, she found Mysaria leaving in disarray while Redd calmly dressed behind his desk.

• Rhaenyra flew Syrax from King's Landing to Dragonstone, thinking of Viserys and the negotiations she needed to have with Redd.
• Rhaenyra landed in Dragonstone's courtyard and went straight to Redd's study, determined to ask about the title King of the Narrow Sea and the boundary between Westeros and Essos.
• Mysaria opened the study door wearing a revealing gown, her appearance suggesting she had just been intimate with someone.
• Rhaenyra looked past Mysaria and saw Redd behind his desk, adjusting his belt with a satisfied, unruffled air.

Rhaenyra visited Redd to tell him that Viserys intended to grant him the title King of the Narrow Sea. Redd learned that the offer would make him an independent king with recognized rule over the waters surrounding Dragonstone, while Rhaenyra recognized that Dorne had submitted because of Redd’s power.

• Rhaenyra entered Redd’s study despite Mysaria’s offer to let her wait.
• Redd told Rhaenyra that the Prince of Dorne had agreed to swear fealty to the Iron Throne after receiving his letter.
• Rhaenyra realized that Dorne had yielded to Redd, not to Viserys or House Targaryen.
• Rhaenyra told Redd that Viserys wanted to give him the title King of the Narrow Sea.
• Rhaenyra explained that the Iron Throne would recognize Redd’s ownership and rule over the waters around Dragonstone, making him an independent king equal to the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

Rhaenyra asked Redd to keep his forces from advancing beyond Driftmark, and he promised her that his army, fleet, and dragon would stay away from Blackwater Bay and King's Landing. After she left, Redd revealed to himself that his wording still left him free to land west of Driftmark and attack King's Landing by land.

• Rhaenyra told Redd that the Dragon King's army must not pass beyond Driftmark or enter Blackwater Bay or the Seven Kingdoms.
• Redd praised Rhaenyra for speaking honestly and promised her that his army, fleet, and dragon would not approach Blackwater Bay or King's Landing.
• Rhaenyra thanked Redd and left his study, remarking that Mysaria was a very good helper.
• Redd considered his promise and realized he could still land west of Driftmark and attack King's Landing overland.

After overhearing Rhaenyra call her a helper, Mysaria resolved to secure a lasting place beside Redd by becoming the mother of his child. She attended to him in his study, and he carried her to the bath, leaving their intentions uncertain.

• Mysaria overheard Rhaenyra describe her as a good helper and felt she was considered replaceable.
• Mysaria entered Redd’s study and offered him a bath, then massaged his shoulders.
• As she saw the letter confirming Dorne’s submission, Mysaria decided she would make herself indispensable to Redd as a mother.
• Redd carried Mysaria toward the bathroom while the maids withdrew from the corridor.

Mysaria sought reassurance from Redd about having his child and whether he would keep her, while Redd offered no definite answers but held her close. As Rhaenyra flew away from Dragonstone, she weighed his promise and began to suspect he might abandon Westeros for their son.

• Mysaria asked Redd if she could conceive his child, and he answered, "Perhaps."
• Mysaria asked Redd if he would always keep her, but he stayed silent and comforted her as they embraced in the bath.
• A maid overheard them, recalled the Queen calling Mysaria a "Helper," and left the corridor.
• Rhaenyra flew from Dragonstone through the cold night, trying to think clearly about Redd's promise to her.
• Rhaenyra doubted that Redd would give up Westeros for her, but suspected he might do so for their son.

Rhaenyra returned to King's Landing after Redd promised to keep his army and fleet away from the Seven Kingdoms in exchange for the title King of the Narrow Sea. She hurried to tell Viserys, but found his bedchamber door barred from within.

• Rhaenyra rode Syrax over Driftmark and landed in the Red Keep’s dragonpit.
• Rhaenyra recognized a Dragonkeeper as one of the men Otto Hightower had placed in the dragonpit, then watched him lead Syrax away.
• Rhaenyra recalled that Redd had promised not to take his army beyond Driftmark or bring his fleet into Blackwater Bay.
• Rhaenyra hurried toward Viserys’s bedchamber, imagining his relief and gratitude when she shared the news.
• Rhaenyra tried to open Viserys’s door and found it barred from inside.

Rhaenyra was stopped from entering Viserys’s bedchamber without permission, then admitted after waiting outside. She found Viserys looking healthier but greeting her with urgent desperation.

• Rhaenyra found Harrison and a young guard barring Viserys’s door and realized that access to the king now required permission.
• Harrison sent the young guard inside to announce Rhaenyra, leaving her to wait outside the bolted door.
• The young guard returned and gestured for Rhaenyra to enter.
• Rhaenyra entered the bedchamber and noticed the medicinal, unpleasant smell replacing much of the familiar lavender scent.
• Viserys tried to sit up when he saw Rhaenyra, then fell back against the pillows, gasping for breath.

Rhaenyra returned from meeting Redd and told Viserys that he had agreed to keep his army out of the Seven Kingdoms. She left after Viserys focused only on the news and Alicent tended to him with carefully composed concern.

• Viserys urgently asked Rhaenyra what Redd had said, without asking about her journey or wellbeing.
• Rhaenyra told Viserys that Redd had agreed, and that his army would go no farther than Driftmark or enter Blackwater Bay.
• Viserys relaxed with relief and offered Rhaenyra no thanks or praise.
• Alicent gently settled Viserys in bed while Rhaenyra watched her measured, polished movements.
• Rhaenyra asked to leave, waited for Viserys to say more, and then left without receiving any further acknowledgment.

After delivering news from Dragonstone to Viserys, Rhaenyra returned to her room and fell asleep, feeling separated from the family portrait that once represented her place in the family. Alicent watched Viserys sleep, then wrote to Otto about Rhaenyra’s visit and the bewilderment she had seen in her.

• Rhaenyra passed the old family portrait without looking at it and returned to her room, where she collapsed into bed and fell asleep.
• Viserys settled into peaceful sleep after hearing Rhaenyra’s news.
• Alicent rested a hand on her pregnant belly and considered how another child would strengthen her position in the Red Keep.
• Alicent sat at her desk and began writing a letter to Otto, first asking after her family.
• Alicent described Rhaenyra’s overnight trip to Dragonstone and her bewildered expression when she was admitted to Viserys’s bedchamber.

Alicent wrote Otto a detailed account of Viserys and Rhaenyra, then considered the power Redd held over the succession. In Oldtown, Otto opened her letter and recalled the strategy he had advised her to follow.

• Alicent recorded Viserys's reaction to Redd's reply and Rhaenyra's departure, leaving the question of whether to drive them apart to Otto.
• Alicent sealed her letter to Otto, tended to the sleeping Viserys, and reflected that Redd could take the Iron Throne if he wanted it.
• Otto received Alicent's letter in the Citadel and remembered advising her to yield to Rhaenyra until Viserys felt he needed a loyal counterweight.

Otto Hightower read Alicent's account of Rhaenyra being made to wait outside Viserys's bedchamber and saw an opportunity to shift Viserys's attitude toward his daughter. From Oldtown, he planned to make the king feel his authority slipping until Viserys invited him back to King's Landing.

• Otto read Alicent's letter and concluded that Viserys had begun treating Rhaenyra as someone outside his inner circle.
• Otto considered fleeing to Oldtown if Rhaenyra took the throne, but resolved to regain his place at the center of power.
• Otto wrote to Alicent, instructing her to act humble and friendly toward Rhaenyra and avoid showing hostility.
• Otto told Alicent to mention his past advice casually when Viserys felt the Small Council was falling under Rhaenyra's influence.
• Otto expected Viserys to invite him back because the king depended on others to make decisions for him.

Otto Hightower sent Alicent a letter and looked forward to being invited back to King's Landing, while Rhaenyra reflected on the widening gulf between herself and Viserys. Rhaenyra decided to seek allies among the great houses, whose courteous letters had begun arriving from across the kingdoms.

• Otto sealed a letter for Alicent and sent a trusted servant to deliver it to her in the Red Keep.
• Otto imagined returning to King's Landing at the king's invitation and resumed handling House Hightower's affairs in Oldtown.
• Rhaenyra spent the morning reflecting on the growing divide between her and Viserys after being stopped from entering his bedchamber.
• Rhaenyra resolved to seek allies among the nobles and lords of the Seven Kingdoms.
• Rhaenyra's study filled with formal letters from across the kingdoms, including Winterfell, the Eyrie, Casterly Rock, and Sunspear.

Rhaenyra assessed the lords’ political loyalties and wrote Rhaenys Velaryon an offer of equal alliance, hoping to secure House Velaryon’s support. While she awaited Rhaenys’s reply, she learned that Viserys would attend the Small Council again.

• Rhaenyra sorted the lords by their actual willingness to support her and pinned their names to a wall for continual reassessment.
• Rhaenyra decided she had to bring House Velaryon into her camp and concluded that Rhaenys valued formal recognition more than wealth, territory, or military strength.
• Rhaenyra sent Rhaenys a brief letter declaring that Driftmark’s banner should fly alongside House Targaryen’s.
• Rhaenyra waited for Rhaenys’s answer, but learned instead that Viserys planned to attend the Small Council again.

After nearly a month of illness, Viserys returned to the Small Council, where Rhaenyra and the ministers received him. Beesbury praised Rhaenyra for overseeing the realm but placed the credit and risks on her, while Viserys silently surveyed the council.

• News of Viserys's recovery spread through the Red Keep, and Rhaenyra acknowledged it while reading a letter from the Riverlands.
• Viserys emerged from his bedchamber and walked to the Small Council with Alicent supporting him.
• The ministers gathered as Viserys took his seat and thanked them for their efforts during his illness.
• Beesbury credited Rhaenyra with overseeing affairs while describing the ministers as merely assisting her.
• Rhaenyra recognized Beesbury's praise as a way to leave her with both the responsibility and the risks, and Viserys looked across the council before turning his gaze to her.

At the Small Council meeting, Viserys learned that Dorne had offered to swear fealty to the Iron Throne, though he concealed his reaction and continued governing as usual. Rhaenyra recognized the performance and felt increasingly estranged from the Red Keep, while Viserys lay awake that night beneath the image of Aegon the Conqueror.

• Tyland Lannister reported that the realm had been mostly peaceful and that Dorne's prince had offered to swear fealty again.
• Viserys briefly showed signs of being affected by the news, then calmly called it good and moved on to other business.
• Rhaenyra watched Viserys and the ministers maintain their practiced roles and reflected on how the real story would begin after their performance ended.
• After the meeting, Viserys left with Alicent while Rhaenyra followed and felt alienated from the Red Keep.
• Rhaenyra went to her study to write letters, while Viserys lay awake that night staring at the ceiling mural of Aegon the Conqueror.

Viserys struggled to sleep after learning that Dorne had sworn fealty without his knowledge, forcing him to confront how isolated he had become as king. As Alicent quietly listened, he wondered whether to bring Otto back.

• Viserys realized that the Small Council and Rhaenyra had known of Dorne’s submission before he did.
• Viserys told Alicent that Rhaenyra had not informed him, and Alicent suggested that they may have been sparing him while he recovered.
• Viserys held Alicent’s hand and reflected on how others let him believe that his choices were his own.
• Viserys asked whether he should bring Otto back.

Alicent gently steered Viserys toward recalling her father, Otto, while Viserys admitted he wanted someone to counterbalance Rhaenyra. Viserys considered Otto’s usefulness but remembered his bargain with Redd and his fear of breaking it.

• Viserys told Alicent that Rhaenyra already put her own interests ahead of his and that he needed someone at his side.
• Alicent told Viserys that Aegon wanted to ride a dragon with him, and Viserys promised to teach his son once he recovered.
• Alicent casually mentioned her father and how he had taught his children to ride dragons.
• Viserys considered bringing Otto back to restrain Rhaenyra’s power and promote Aegon as heir.
• Viserys remembered his agreement with Redd that Redd’s army would not enter the Seven Kingdoms or Blackwater Bay, and he feared breaking it.

Viserys decided to summon Otto back to King's Landing because he needed someone who would stand firm against Rhaenyra. As Viserys fell asleep, Alicent quietly considered her father's plan and felt the child move inside her.

• Viserys concluded that Rhaenyra's position as heir could not be changed without risking Redd's agreement and military support.
• Viserys decided he needed Otto because the Hand would resist Rhaenyra where other ministers might give way.
• Viserys resolved to wait two days, then send Otto a formal letter summoning him to King's Landing without admitting he needed him.
• Viserys fell asleep, and Alicent opened her eyes and rested a hand on her belly as the child moved.
• Alicent remembered Otto's instructions to avoid conflict with Rhaenyra, let her appear unshakable, and wait until Viserys feared losing power.