The richer quarter of Volantis glittered like a dream wrapped in sin.
By night, the streets gleamed with oil-lit lanterns and gold-veined marble. Perfume drifted through the air — myrrh, spice, and the faintest trace of incense from the Red Temple's braziers. Nobles in embroidered robes paraded beneath silk canopies while slaves trailed behind carrying fans or cages of doves.
Everywhere, laughter rang — beautiful, hollow laughter.
Kaine walked through it all with quiet ease, his boots soundless on the polished stone. Beneath his cloak, his eyes moved — not with wonder, but with calculation. He was taking in everything: the guards, the alleys, the rhythm of the city's breath.
And yet, beneath all the opulence, he could still smell it — blood and dust. Every city, no matter how polished, had the same scent beneath the perfume.
At last, he stopped before a tall building crowned with silver curtains and glass lanterns shaped like dragons. The sign above the door read, in curling Valyrian script:
The House of Silver Veils.
A harp played faintly beyond the door. Laughter followed.
Kaine stepped inside.
The scent hit him first — warm oils, smoke, honeywine. The sound came next — velvet laughter, whispered bargains, the slow beat of a drum from somewhere unseen.
It was beautiful and suffocating all at once.
The man behind the marble counter could have been sculpted from indulgence itself — rotund, gold-collared, his robe a masterpiece of crimson silk. His voice oozed across the air like honey spilled on marble.
"Welcome, my lord," the innkeeper purred. "You have found the finest establishment in Volantis — an inn for kings, a brothel for gods. We pride ourselves on pleasure, secrecy, and the illusion that you deserve both."
Kaine tilted his head, amused. "You must do well, then."
The man smiled, showing teeth like polished ivory. "I do. The Old Blood comes here when they tire of pretending to be pure."
Kaine's lips curved slightly. "Then I'll fit right in."
The innkeeper's laughter was almost musical. "And what is it my lord desires? Companionship? Conversation? A memory you'll pay to forget?"
Kaine's eyes flicked toward the balcony, where veiled figures moved like living smoke. "A room. Private. With a bath."
The smile froze. "Just a room?"
"Just a room."
"Of course," the man said, recovering quickly. "The House of Silver Veils serves all kinds of appetites — even the rare ones."
He clapped his hands. A silver-collared attendant appeared, her eyes lowered.
"The Azure Suite," he commanded. "And draw a bath with Summer Isles oil."
The girl bowed, motioning for Kaine to follow.
They walked through corridors lined with painted screens depicting dragons and lovers intertwined in impossible shapes. Curtains swayed gently as Kaine passed, revealing glimpses of candlelit bodies, laughter, and coin.
When the door closed behind him at last, the silence that followed was almost holy.
He dropped his hood and sighed. "They've turned lust into religion," he muttered.
A familiar voice curled into his thoughts, dry and unimpressed.
You picked this place on purpose.
"Of course I did." He walked toward the window, parting the silken curtains to glance at the distant coliseum torches flickering in the night. "It's closest to the pits."
And conveniently the most expensive brothel in the city.
He smirked. "I like the atmosphere."
You like temptation.
He turned his head slightly, as though listening to her from across the room. "You think I'm tempted?"
You always are. It's what makes you interesting.
Kaine chuckled softly. "Flattery, Vaerynna? I might almost think you care."
Don't flatter yourself. I just know your type.
"Oh? Do enlighten me."
You wander into places like this to see what makes mortals weak. Then you wonder why you keep finding pieces of yourself in them.
Her words struck closer than he liked. He leaned against the window frame, gazing at the city lights. "You're getting better at this."
At what?
"Talking like someone who's lived before."
I told you. I existed before Valyria ever burned its first city. I am not some hatchling to be taught.
He smiled faintly. "And yet, you're sulking like one."
I am not sulking!
He laughed quietly, the sound echoing through the empty room.
You're impossible.
"I try," he said.
A pause. Then her tone softened.
This place… I don't like it. It smells of lies. Of sweat and greed and things pretending to be love.
He nodded, walking toward the bath that steamed faintly beside the window. "That's why I chose it."
To bathe in sin?
"To disappear in it."
You shouldn't leave me here.
"You need rest."
And you don't? You're human now. You bleed, you breathe. Even gods rest when they take mortal skin.
"I will," he said, loosening his shirt cuffs. "After I finish what I came here to do."
The fighting pits.
"Very good."
You'll go alone?
"For now."
Why?
"This place offers privacy. No one will enter while I'm gone. And…" — he smirked — "if they do, they'll leave with considerably less blood."
You think you're clever.
"I don't think. I know."
Then humor me — why go there?
"I need to see something."
See what?
"Strength," he said softly. "And what this world thinks it means."
You already know what strength is.
"Yes. But sometimes," he said, stepping toward the door, "you need to be reminded why others fear it."
You'll come back with trouble.
"Most likely."
And if you don't come back at all?
He turned, smiling faintly. "Then you'll have the room to yourself."
You think this is funny?
"Not funny. Predictable."
You're an arrogant bastard.
"True. But you like me that way."
I don't.
"Then why are you still talking to me?"
Because no one else is stupid enough to listen.
He laughed, genuine this time — warm and human. "You might be right about that."
There was a pause, a flicker of silence that felt like the quiet before a storm. Then:
You really think you came here to find a fighter? Not to mate?
Kaine blinked once, then exhaled through a laugh. "You're fixated on this mating thing."
You're in a brothel.
"And?"
And you asked for a bath.
"Personal hygiene is not foreplay."
Depends on who you ask.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Remind me never to let you near a philosopher."
Remind me never to let you near anything that breathes.
He smiled, faint and teasing. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, little flame."
I'm not jealous. I'm protective.
"Of what?"
Of what's mine.
Her tone carried the faintest growl, and Kaine paused, glancing toward the empty air as though meeting her gaze. "Possessive already?"
You gave me life. You don't get to act surprised that I want to keep it near me.
He considered that, his amusement giving way to something softer. "Fair enough."
You'll go to the pits, then?
"Yes."
And I'll stay here, alone?
"For now."
You could at least bring me something back.
"What would you like?"
Meat. Fresh. Still bleeding.
"Anything else?"
Something that screams when you kill it.
He smirked. "You're definitely a dragon."
And you're definitely trouble.
"That's why we get along."
He took his cloak, fastening it across his shoulder. "Rest, Vaerynna. I'll return before dawn."
You always say that.
"And I always mean it."
Her sigh echoed like the rumble of distant thunder.
If you die, I'll burn this city.
Kaine smiled faintly. "Then maybe I should take my time."
Idiot.
"Affection noted."
He stepped out into the corridor. The music from below floated up — a sultry melody that didn't quite reach his thoughts.
Outside, the night air was cool, heavy with the scent of jasmine and smoke. The city glowed beneath the moon — a beast of marble and shadow.
From the balcony, the coliseum loomed in the distance, its torches blazing like a ring of fire.
Kaine's eyes gleamed. "Let's see," he murmured, "what passes for strength in this world."
And what passes for wisdom in yours.
He smiled. "That's the trick, little flame. They're rarely the same thing."
And with that, he vanished into the night.