Kerse was sitting on the ground, near the campfire. The flames crackled softly, casting restless shadows over his figure as he listened to Molegro's report.
"My lord, I regret to disappoint you, but we were unable to discover who took Drogo's corpse."
Kerse did not respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the night sky, where the stars stretched like an infinite mantle, ancient and indifferent.
In truth, he did not care much about who had stolen Drogo's body.
He had learned of the disappearance the very day it happened, and had barely given it a thought. The question he had asked was not born of concern, but of simple curiosity… a faint discomfort, like a splinter buried beneath the skin.
Yet deep within his mind, a persistent intuition refused to be ignored.
The disappearance of the corpse.
The absence of the three dragon eggs.
Wedding gifts that never reached Daenerys's hands.
Everything was connected.
Kerse knew he should feel alert, perhaps even alarmed. But instead, a different emotion grew in his chest: pure anticipation, almost childlike.
"Interesting… I hope you don't disappoint me."
The thought crossed his mind as a spark of excitement gleamed in his eyes.
He remained that way for several more minutes, contemplating the firmament. Finally, as if he had reached a long-awaited decision, he turned toward Molegro and spoke in a low voice, firm and unappealable:
"Call Daenerys and Rhaenys. Tell them to bring the dragon eggs with them."
Molegro blinked, confused. Even so, he bowed his head and obeyed without question.
Aegon BlackFire.
His voice echoed through the tent with a dangerous calm:
"Jon Connington, bring out the body and the dragon eggs."
Jon obeyed without delay. Minutes later he returned carrying a heavy chest, followed closely by several men transporting a wooden coffin.
Aegon watched the scene with eyes lit by contained urgency. His fingers tightened firmly around the hilt of his vibranium sword.
"A simple sword is not enough to face the other time travelers."
His thoughts raced.
"I need dragons. And I need them soon. The problem is that dragons grow slowly… and time is the one thing we do not have."
His eyes settled on the coffin. He remembered the report he had received about Drogo's death and could not suppress a grimace of surprise.
"That man… is stronger than I thought. He killed Drogo far too easily."
Aegon opened the chest carefully. Inside rested three enormous dragon eggs.
One was dark green, speckled with bronze blotches.
Another was creamy white, threaded with delicate golden veins.
The last was black as midnight, streaked with deep red swirls, like lava beneath the surface.
When Aegon touched them, he felt the heat.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"I suppose it's time to hatch."
Jon stared at the eggs with wide eyes and asked, incredulous:
"Can we make them hatch?"
Aegon turned his gaze toward Drogo's body and replied with absolute confidence:
"Of course."
He took the black egg first and walked toward the fire, placing it carefully among the burning embers. The surface of the egg seemed to absorb the heat; its scales gleamed, and small tongues of fire licked the dark stone.
Jon placed the other two eggs beside it and then retreated hastily, trembling, breathless.
The fire gradually diminished into glowing embers. The air shimmered with heat, and wandering sparks rose like dying fireflies.
Then Aegon gave the order:
"Throw in the body."
The coffin was shoved into the enormous brazier prepared in advance.
Aegon did not fully understand the secrets of dragon hatching, but he had seen enough to reproduce the ritual.
He regretted not having found a mage or witch. It was said that sacrificing beings with magical affinity strengthened dragons at birth.
At that moment, Jon Connington lifted his gaze.
A red comet slowly crossed the eastern sky.
In a dark and silent tent, two dragon eggs rested on the ground, emanating a solemn and ancient atmosphere, like relics of a forgotten age.
Daenerys lifted one carefully. The weight surprised her. The golden shell was hard… but warm.
She then touched Rhaenys's red egg. It too was hot.
She frowned and asked:
"Why are the dragon eggs hot today?"
Kerse smiled, a smile laden with meaning.
"Because the time has come."
Rhaenys stared at him intently. In her eyes shone a trembling hope.
"Can we really make them hatch?"
She had tried before. She had offered her blood. But it had not worked. She had always felt that something was missing.
Kerse had tried as well… and unlike her, he had felt rejection. As if the eggs did not accept him.
Even so, he observed them calmly and answered the expectant looks of both women:
"Of course. The time has come."
Outside the tent, the red comet burned silently in the night sky.
The world was changing.