Chapter Text
Lucery POV
The rain had already soaked through his clothes, and cold had begun to set deep in his bones. Lucerys felt something wrong. The thunderstorm shook both him and Arrax. Maybe the combination of the storm and his confrontation with Aemond gave him this dreadful feeling, but he knew until he made it home, this feeling wouldn't let up. He could feel the unease within the bond with Arrax. He was trying to calm down so, in turn, Arrax would feel a bit calm, but it was pointless when the lightning danced around him, and the thunder rolled profoundly and loudly through the sky.A fear starts creeping through him when he hears a loud rumble among the noise of the thunder. He panics fully and starts looking franticly around for Vhagar.
He wouldn't! He wouldn't! he knows Arrrax is sensing his panic when Arrax starts to jerk frantically and flaps his wings a bit faster, trying to get home quicker. He's too busy looking everywhere else, so when Vhagar appears in front of him, and He hears Aemond's laugh, it is too late. His heart starts pounding; the bond between him and his dragon is a ball in the pit of his stomach made of fear and panic. He's not scared, he's terrified, as Aemond laughs again among the roll of thunder, and he knows it is just a game to him, but to Luke, it's not.He tries to be brave and stay calm. He tightens the grip on his reign. He has to stay ahead of him, make it through the storm or get home first. He knows Aemond will follow and taunt him but not to Dragonstone. He sees a narrow path big enough for Arrax to fly through but small enough that Vhagar's monstrous size couldn't fit. He starts to dive down when the air around him suddenly feels weird he feels the hair on the back of his neck rise; Arrax roars and the most painful feeling travels across his body. He can't move. Arrax lets out a bitter cry as they start spinning too quickly toward the rocks and Lucery vision goes black.
Aemond's POV
He couldn't help but laugh loudly. The thrill of the chase, the adrenaline coursing through his body, made him feel a bit hot. The rain was a cooling balm, so he threw his head back and laughed louder. It seemed like his little Lord Strong was beside himself. He wondered how long he could keep this up before he had to stop and turn back. He watched, amused, as Lucery's tiny dragon jerked and flittered about in front of Vhagar. The bond let him know that Vhagar was having fun as well. He felt his smile widen as he thought about how the bond between Lucery and Arrax was fairing. He watched as Lucery started to dive down. He had to give the bastard some credit. He was making an effort to make this chase more fun. He encouraged Vhagar through the bond to pick up her speed. A bright flash of light blinded him, and he felt the discomfort of Vhagar through the bond as she started pulling up.
When his vision finally cleared a bit, and the spots stopped dancing in front of his eye, he had to look down to see where Lucery had gone. He expected to see his nephew speeding to the opening between the rocks. Instead, he watched as both of them started spiraling out of control, a trail of smoke and fire following them as they crashed into one of the rocks below. Vhagar circled in the sky as Aemond tried to get a better look and understand what had happened. Aemond pressed the palm of his hand to his eye; he could feel the headache starting to bloom. He swiped the rain off his face as best as possible and then urged Vhagar down.
The rock Arrax had crashed on wasn't big enough for Vhagar to land upon, so Aemond landed her on the rough waters near the rock. Vhagar made a disapproving noise and lowered her head so Aemond could hop off, slide down her side, and land on the rock.
"TAOBA!"
He could see Arrax lying on the rock. The dragon could barely keep its eyes open, and its breathing sounded rough, and the noises it was making were clearly noises of pain. The black smoke that rose off him confirmed that it was fire Aemond had seen and not some trick of the storm. A bit of panic crept in Aemond when he couldn't see Lucery. He started slowly approaching Arrax. The dragon's slow blinks were creeping Aemond out a bit. Was it dying? He had never seen a dragon die before. A smile crept across his face. Was this proof that the gods were siding with the greens? Lighting just struck down Rhaenyra's favorite son. His dragon lay there dying. If the gods just showed him that his family was right in taking what had rightfully belonged to Aegon, If this was them making the bastard pay his debt, then why wasn't he satisfied?
He felt sick. The smell of something burning filled the air. Even with the rain still beating down, the scent was heavy, surrounding him completely. He stepped closer and stopped when a growl ripped out of Arrax. He raised his hands to show him he wouldn't hurt him. But Arrax just opened his mouth. What Aemond could only describe as a cry that lowered into a whimper came out of its mouth.
There were a lot of noises overwhelming Aemond. The rough waters slapping against Vhagar and the rocks surrounding them, Vhagar's unamused grunts, Arrax's painful whimpers, the rain pouring down around them, the thunder above them, then a noise cut through all of it and caught his attention. The sound of metal scraping against stone came from behind Arrax and slowly moved underneath Arrax's wing. Along with the scraping, a heavy and painful wheezing could be heard. Aemond's right hand instinctually went to his sword and slid his left foot back, readying himself.
Arrax lifts up his wing painfully slowly. Aemond stares as Lucerys takes two steps forward, wheezing, his sword barely held in his right hand dragging across the stone behind him. Aemond is reminded of his father's walk up to the iron throne as Lucerys slowly makes his way to Arrax's head. The wheezing and scraping sound is so deafening that Aemond doesn't hear what Lucery says to Arrax but notices that the dragon has closed his eyes and rested his head on the ground beneath him.
Lucerys moves his sword in front of him and uses it to lean on. The wheezing is agonizing, and Aemond doesn't understand how he's standing alive. Aemond hand drops away from his sword as he stares in horror. Lucery has blood seeping down from his head and long scrapes on his left side, from his forehead to chest. Most of his clothes seemed to have burnt off except part of his pants, but the most terrifying thing Aemond could see was the marking upon the body from his right shoulder diagonally down to the left side of his hip. It looked like a long tree branch with many branches stretching across his chest. They were glowing, no burning from within, and with every heavy breath, Lucery took, the fire within seemed to shine brighter. It reminded Aemond of blowing on embers. He only had one thought cross his mind What the fuck is going on?
Lucery POV
Pain. That's all Luke's feeling. Pain and confusion. The bond was screaming with Arrax's pain. Luke didn't know how but knew he just had to get to Arrax. Slow steps and deep painful breaths. Something heavy in his hand. His sword? More slow steps, breathing was too painful, but he was getting near just a bit more.
Slow steps.
Heavy breathing.
Get to Arrax.
More steps.
Heat and cold?
Arrax.... just get to Arrax.
Luke didn't know how many times he repeated these simple tasks. It became his mantra. Take some steps. Take a deep breath. Get closer to Arrax. Finally, he reached Arrax face and placed his forehead against Arrax.
"It's ok. I'm here. I'm so sorry…. Rest… thank you."
He could still feel pain through the bond, but Arrax felt relief to be near him. Arrax closed his eyes and rested his head down. So much pain was felt across his body. Luke felt like he was missing something. He did have his sword in his hands, and after Arrax laid his head down, he used his sword to put his weight on it for extra support. What was he forgetting?
He looked around, trying to make sense of where he was when his eyes landed on Aemond.
A fit of anger consumed him. He felt a heat rise from within him. The pain he felt intensified, but he didn't care. It was Aemond fault that he and Arrax were in this state. He just wanted to get home. Aemond didn't have to chase them. He took a step forward and groaned. Maybe his body was more damaged than he thought. He let go of his sword and took another step. Aemond took a step back and laughed. The laughter ranged loudly in Luke's ear and angered him more. He raised his hands and screamed.
" IS THIS PAYMENT ENOUGH, UNCLE?"
He takes a step forward, and Aemond takes one back, a look of confusion across his face.
" DO YOU STILL WANT ANY EYE?"
His body protested as he took another step. The heat inside him gathers in his chest. Aemond had a look of horror as he shouted for Vhagar. The dragon wing came slamming down in front of Aemond, blocking Luke from him. The heat inside him pushed out, and Luke let out a scream as his body finally gave up and he slammed into the wet ground. Before he lost himself to the pain and darkness, his mind raced. Did fire just come out of my body?
Aemond POV
Aemond was amused at the broken boy in front of him shouting at him. The amusement was short-lived as Lucery kept taking steps toward him. The markings on his chest started glowing, and Aemond cursed as he felt the heat waves coming off the boy in front of him. He saw flickers of flames across the markings and realized what was happening.
" Vhagar! Shield! Protect!"
The impact of the wing on the ground so close to him knocked him back. The blast lasted only a few seconds, but the heat had him sweating despite the cold and the rain. He heard a wet slap on the ground. He waited a few minutes before moving. Did Lucery really just shoot a fireball out of his body?
Vhagar raised her wing away. He felt amusement through his bond with her, but he wasn't sure if it was at him or Lucery. He sends his gratitude through the bond. Lucery is lying face-front on the ground, the waves of heat not as intense but still hot enough that there's steam rising off of him. He's standing before him, watching as the glow slowly fades down. He isn't moving and is barely breathing. Aemond thinks about leaving him there and going home, letting his half-sister and her bastards deal with this, but as he's about to walk away, Lucery and Arrax let out whimpers of pain in unison. The rain comes down harder at that moment, and guilt washes over him.
" Vhagar! Protect! Shelter!"
Vhagar gives him a look, and again the feeling of amusement crosses the bond. He removes his outer leather jacket and kneels before Lucery. He turns him slowly around and places Lucerys head on his lap. Vhagar finally spreads her wing over them and blocks the onslaughter of rain. He put the jacket across Lucerys body and stared at his face.
" What do I do now, my Lord Strong?"