"The blood of Lucerys will be repaid tenfold. A brother for a brother."
In which Daenys Velaryon, the oldest child of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon, must come to terms with the fact that the man she loves has committed an unforgivable crime...
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"There will be no hymns to your glory. History will cut your throat and bury you in an unmarked grave as you deserve."
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"You weren't there."
"What."
"I needed you and you weren't there, Daenys."
"Luke...?"
Daenys blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head, feeling as though it was stuffed full of cotton. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings as it had been a while since she had last been there, but she was back in her chambers at the Red Keep. It was a surreal experience, made all the more bizarre by the lurking presence of her brother, standing just a few feet in front of her looking exactly the same as she had last seen him.
She could see him so clearly, clearer than she had been able to in a while, his dark hair a stark contrast to his pale skin, wearing the formal attire he had donned at her wedding feast. He looked so real, Daenys almost sobbed with relief.
The last few weeks must have been some awful dream then. Lucerys was alive and well and he was here in King's Landing to take her home. They would greet their mother together and everything would be alright. She took a hasty step toward him, to embrace him, to hold him, to touch him to make sure he was real. He took a step back.
"Luke...?"
When he did not respond, her smile slipped off her face. His boyish young face was impassive and cold. He stared at her with what she could only describe as thinly veiled disgust.
"Luke, what's wrong? Are you angry with me?"
"You were not there!" he spat out again, his brows furrowing in a melancholy frown.
"I wasn't where? You know I'll always be there for you, just say the word."
"Save it, your lies are of no more use to me now. You did not come for me the one time I truly needed you."
"No..."
"Now I am dead. What use are empty promises."
Daenys collapsed to her knees, her heart hammering in her chest, her grief and guilt flooding her eyes—she had them both now— and streaming down her face. No, no this could not be. It was like losing him all over again.
"I...I am sorry. I am so so sorry. I wanted to be there. I swear it. If I had known, I would have been there."
"That does not matter now though, does it?" Luke looked down at her with hatred burning in his eyes. "YOU. WERE. NOT. THERE!"
