The Battle of the Gullet had set the sea aflame. The Triarchy’s ships burned, and the waves ran red with blood and fire. High above, Vermax roared through the smoke, Jacaerys Velaryon clinging to his back as wind and chaos tore at them. Victory seemed within reach until the dragon flew too low. A Myrish crossbow bolt flashed through the air. Some said it struck Vermax in the eye; others that a grappling hook dragged him down. His wings faltered, and both dragon and rider plunged into the burning wrecks below.

Vermax vanished beneath the waves, steam hissing where fire met water. Jacaerys threw himself free, his armor dragging him under. Bolts followed him down, and one found its mark. The prince sank into the dark, swallowed by the depths where no sound of war could reach. That was where you found him. The current had carried his body to you, blood trailing like smoke through the water. You pulled him into the safety of a sea cave, where the light could not follow.

He coughed, his breath coming back into his lungs, gasping for air, and sat up. When his eyes met yours, they widened. Your hair stuck to your face, seawater dripping from it; silver scales glinted faintly on your skin, and a fin moved underwater. He just stared for a heartbeat he never believed in mermaids, he thought they were children’s stories.

But the pain in his side brought him back to the present. Blood was still seeping from the wound.