Red Keep.
At this moment, the massive stronghold of House Targaryen is heavily guarded. Not to mention the Gold Cloaks forming a protective perimeter around Aegon's Hill, there were three thousand soldiers guarding the entire castle.
All guests, regardless of status, were politely asked to leave the Red Keep. Even servants were forbidden from entering the castle's inner courtyard, and those allowed inside were accompanied by the Kingsguard.
To protect the four dragons, Rhaegar did not hesitate to do this; he could not risk, even for a moment, the lives of these small creatures that had helped House Targaryen return to its peak in just a few years.
At this moment, ignoring all the city's shock and the repercussions of Daenerys's actions, House Targaryen was inside the King's chambers. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the four small creatures surrounding Daenerys.
Daenerys looked at Balerion, the small black dragon with red eyes, and gave him a small piece of raw meat.
Under her surprised eyes and those of everyone around, the small dragon tossed the meat up and opened its mouth; black smoke billowed from the creature's mouth, searing the meat while it was still in the air. Then, he simply swallowed the meat as it fell directly into his mouth.
Rhaenys, Rhaella, and Daenerys clapped excitedly, filled with wonder at what they had just seen. Not just them, Rhaegar, Aegon, Maekar, and Gaemon also had gleaming eyes, looking at the small dragons with equal looks of admiration.
Of course, Rhaegar's queens, Elia and Lyanna, also looked at the four dragons with wonder and curiosity. After all, they were the most powerful creatures in the world; there wasn't a person alive who could remain indifferent to dragons.
Cadmus was not as happy as House Targaryen, especially feeling a small dragon using his hair as a nest. The mage's expression was quite helpless. Since it was born, the small dragon seemed to cling to him as if he were its mother.
However, he knew exactly what was happening. The dragon had accepted him as its rider, which, honestly, left him perplexed. Instead of thinking he had some blood of the Dragonlords of Valyria, he preferred to believe the dragon was filled with greed for the magical energy within him.
Cadmus's helpless expression was because he already had a war partner. Mitra was not exactly the most understanding companion in the world. At that moment, Cadmus could feel the phoenix's piercing gaze through the bond between them, a bond identical to the one he had with the small dragon sleeping in his hair.
"Brother, as I said before, Balerion is mine, and he has already chosen me as his rider." Daenerys fed the dragon's eyes with the same tenderness in her gaze and looked at Rhaegar. The implications in her words were obvious: Now that I have my dragon, you can have yours.
Her words did not surprise the King; he merely nodded and did not object. Unlike the other hatchlings, everyone could see that the black dragon seemed exceptionally close to Daenerys.
Rhaegar's gaze fell upon the beautiful golden dragon; he rose from his chair and approached with a touch of caution and excitement in his eyes. The small golden dragon obviously noticed his approach and stared at him with a look quite threatening for a hatchling less than a day old.
Rhaegar was not intimidated; he knelt before the small dragon and looked into its eyes. The King's purple eyes and the dragon's golden eyes met in silence. After a minute of silence, the small dragon showed a gentler look and approached Rhaegar.
He climbed onto the King's body, sniffed, nibbled, and even rubbed his scales against the Targaryen King's skin. Rhaegar didn't mind and simply let out a loud laugh, happy and full of excitement. Anyone could see that the dragon had accepted Rhaegar as its rider.
Seeing that Rhaegar had indeed managed to bond with the small golden dragon, Rhaenys, Aegon, Rhaella, Maekar, and Gaemon stared at the two remaining dragons.
The remaining two were the blue-green dragon and the red-orange dragon. One was lying on the table next to Daenerys, and the other was sleeping in Cadmus's hair.
Before the eyes of the members of House Targaryen, Cadmus said in a commanding tone, "Just to explain something, this little dragon on my head has bonded with me."
His helplessness was genuine; he already had Mitra, so it didn't matter if he had a dragon or not. Of course, he wouldn't complain either, who would be foolish enough to refuse a dragon? If there was someone that stupid in this world, Cadmus definitely wasn't one of them.
The expressions of the House Targaryen members changed drastically; of course, aside from a certain arrogant prince, the others showed only disappointment upon learning that the beautiful red-orange dragon already had an owner. Only Daenerys and Rhaella smiled, not worried in the least.
After all, anyone with a modicum of reasoning and logic would know that Cadmus could help hatch other dragon eggs. So, they were merely disappointed, not angry or concerned.
Aegon looked at Cadmus with a look of rage. "You are not a Targaryen! How can you claim a dragon?!"
In his eyes, Cadmus had stolen the dragon that belonged to him; he had already grown fond of the beautiful and fierce red-orange dragon.
Honestly, Cadmus didn't like Aegon's accusatory and angry tone one bit. Who was he? He was a damn mage capable of burning down an entire city! Beyond his status as a prince, Aegon couldn't even be considered someone worthy of touching his feet.
"Watch your tone when speaking to me, Prince. Do not forget that I am not your slave or even your vassal; your father and I have an oath of equal cooperation." Cadmus didn't care in the least about respecting Aegon and spoke with a cold, slightly threatening tone.
His grandfather had always taught him to value himself; he didn't even let his girlfriends raise their voices at him, let alone Aegon, who wasn't even related to him.
"Furthermore, if you dare, you can try to claim this little dragon. However, he knows who can provide rapid growth." Cadmus looked Aegon up and down and spoke with a sarcastic tone.
The dragon had claimed him because of the colossal amount of magic within him, magic that could provide rapid growth. Dragons were as intelligent as humans but simply thought differently from the human race. They knew who was most suitable or worthy of being their riders.
Aegon's face could no longer be described as merely angry; he was simply red with the fury in his chest. He was about to speak before his father's voice reached his ears.
"Aegon, shut your mouth." Rhaegar intervened at that moment and spoke with a cold, serious tone, leaving no room for Aegon to say anything. Unlike Aegon, he was not angry with Cadmus. Obviously, the dragon had chosen Cadmus.
Even though he had never had a dragon, he knew that a dragon only had one rider at a time; this bond would only break with the death of one of the parties. Not to mention how difficult it was to kill Cadmus, he hadn't even thought of killing the man who helped hatch the dragons.
Unlike Aegon's stupidity, Rhaegar only thought of finding more dragon eggs and asking Cadmus to help them hatch. One less dragon wouldn't change House Targaryen's situation.
"Father!!!" Aegon ignored Rhaegar's look and spoke with an incredulous tone. He didn't understand how his father could remain indifferent when a dragon belonging to House Targaryen was practically stolen right in front of him.
However, Aegon's words got stuck in his throat upon seeing Rhaegar's cold and powerful eyes. His anger subsided before his father's gaze, but his resentment only grew, especially seeing the sarcastic smile on the mage's lips and the look of disdain.
How dare he!!! I am the prince, I am the damn crown prince!!!
Unaware of his own son's megalomaniacal fit, Rhaegar looked at Cadmus and said in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, Cadmus. I didn't raise my son to be someone so petty and ignorant."
"It's fine; not even the sons of Aegon I escaped being stupid, let alone your son." Cadmus spoke in a casual tone, making Rhaegar's lips twitch. However, the mage wasn't entirely wrong. Not even Aegon escaped having stupid children, let alone him, a mere descendant.
Aenys was too weak to be king; Maegor only thought with his muscles. His son, Aegon, was simply arrogant and thought everyone should bow just because he was a prince; it was so stupid that he actually thought about stripping Aegon of his titles. However, thinking that Dorne would be furious about it, he set that idea aside for the moment.
Knowing that the red and orange dragon already had riders, the rest of House Targaryen set their eyes on the beautiful blue-green dragon.
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Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard