House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Although Maekar did not know how Daemon had gotten hurt, that no longer mattered; the Stepstones were partially defenseless.

The whole place fell silent. With Daemon injured and unable to ride Caraxes, the earlier plans would have to change. Although it did not strictly affect the war, since Corlys was still holding the line, without Daemon it would be even harder to control the Narrow Sea.

Maekar looked at everyone present and showed a calm expression. "From now on, I will spend only a few hours at Dragonstone. My patrols will be longer."

He was prepared to fly daily between Pentos, Myr, and Tyrosh. As for Lys, Maekar felt that Caraxes could serve as a means of coercion, even if people did not actually see Daemon.

"My prince, do not worry, we will look after Dragonstone." Roland Tarly, the younger brother of Lord Tarly, said in a solemn tone. This was exactly the chance he wanted to prove his worth to Maekar. Besides, defending Dragonstone was not a difficult task.

Maekar looked at Roland and nodded. It was not only Roland who wanted to prove himself to him; every man in the Chamber of the Painted Table wanted this same chance. He found this fitting, since, behind Ollyr’s back, he could learn what these men had done and how they had performed in the meantime.

Letting out a sigh, Maekar felt that this war was exhausting, even for him, riding a dragon as he was.

-

The Stepstones, Bloodstone.

Daemon looked at the five naked women on his bed and drank a bit of wine to quench his thirst. Looking down, he saw a shirt, but, beneath the shirt, his stomach was wrapped in bandages.

Daemon’s eyes narrowed, feeling the sharp pain in his stomach. One of the reasons he could not ride was this pain, along with his wounds reopening at every moment. Unfortunately, he simply had to grit his teeth and show that everything was fine.

Because of this, he had ordered Hubary to bring some prostitutes. He spent most of his time in the cabin, having sex to numb the pain he felt and using it as cover to conceal his wounds.

However, after a week of doing this, even being a powerful man, he felt his waist was on the verge of giving out. Daemon felt that, once he returned to King’s Landing, he would stay away from brothels for some time.

"Damn it, Viserys, have you still not arrived?" Daemon, feeling the sharp pain in his stomach, twisted his face and could not help but curse his older brother.

For the first time, Daemon felt that Viserys not having a dragon was something extremely bad. If his brother had a dragon, he should have already arrived within these two weeks. Yet here he was, alone, while his brother was probably still on his way to Sunspear; it would likely take another week or two for him to arrive.

Faced with such a situation, Daemon had to swallow his own pride and sent a letter to Maekar, informing him of his wounds. He did not want Maekar to fly all the way to Bloodstone; he only wanted Maekar to fly with Bahamut between Pentos, Myr, and Tyrosh.

Even while wounded, his safety was assured. Even being arrogant, Daemon never let Caraxes stray far from his side for long.

Unfortunately, Daemon had forgotten something, or rather, he did not know that Corlys had just won a naval battle and was pursuing the fleeing enemy toward the Stepstones and the surrounding waters. This was a major problem, since the archipelago was completely defenseless to stop the advance of any naval fleet.

"Hubary." Daemon shouted as his expression returned to normal, as though he were feeling no pain at all.

The door of the cabin opened, and Hubary, wearing visibly clean clothes, despite their piratical nature, entered the cabin.

"Any enemies?" Daemon asked in a cold, indifferent tone.

Hubary glanced discreetly at the five women on the bed and then at Daemon. There was a look of admiration on the middle-aged pirate’s face. If before it had been admiration for the dragon’s power, now it was admiration for Daemon himself.

Daemon had that charm of being able to win over friends and allies, especially the men he trained.

The captain of the ship Black Triton looked down and showed little reaction. Although Daemon thought he had been very discreet and that no one had discovered his wounds, that was not true. To be a pirate, the first thing one must learn is how to observe.

Hubary had already noticed that Daemon was wounded, but he had always stayed silent and even tried to help Daemon conceal it.

The reason for this was simple. Being a pirate was not a pleasant life. It was different from the dreams he had held as a young man. A world of riches, women, and honor.

However, after nearly thirty years as a pirate, his life was far from the dreams he had once longed for as a teenager. He spent all his money on women and drink, on top of it being an extremely dangerous profession.

In short, Hubary was poor, without a home or family, and, most importantly, death was common among pirates. But Daemon’s arrival had changed his outlook. Even if he never became a noble, he would be satisfied to serve as Castellan or Master-at-Arms of Daemon’s future castle at Bloodstone.

"I am patrolling the waters, but nothing so far." Hubary answered in a calm tone. He looked at Daemon with a rather casual expression. "However, some men are already unhappy with me and are planning a mutiny to kill me."

Hubary seemed quite used to the situation since he showed little reaction, or rather, he seemed to have been expecting this to happen at some point.

"It seems these rats still have not woken up to their new reality." Daemon mocked in a tone full of scorn. Looking at the pirate before him, who had adapted far faster than the other pirates, Daemon’s gaze showed an expression of satisfaction.

Although pirates tended to be rather stupid, there were still some clever ones, like Hubary. After all, to be captain of a pirate ship, one had to have some quality, or he would never even manage to gather pirates to go raiding.

"You have free rein to do as you wish." Daemon said in a cold tone. "Kill, quarter, burn alive, or hang; I do not care about the methods, only the results. The pirate fleet must be ready to sail and defend the Stepstones."

Hubary smiled upon hearing those words. If there was one thing he liked about Daemon, it was his cruelty and just how decisive he could be.

"Yes, my prince." Hubary said, baring his yellowed, somewhat rotten teeth. He simply had not done this before because he had someone above him, Daemon himself.

Being a pirate captain, he knew better than anyone how important hierarchy was. No pirate captain could allow a subordinate to grow bold. Such men had to be eliminated before they could cause any harm.

Knowing this, he had first asked Daemon’s permission, since the pirate fleet was now his.

"Rest well, my prince, I will take my leave." Hubary said, glancing at the five naked women on the bed, and left the cabin.

Daemon watched Hubary’s back with a deep look. At that moment, the prince already knew this pirate was aware of his wounds. However, he soon realized that Hubary was an ambitious man.

This pleased Daemon greatly. It showed that Hubary truly wanted to follow him, not merely for the chance to escape this war alive in the end.

"I never thought there would be someone useful in this godforsaken place." Daemon muttered with a smile. He liked clever men; they were far easier to control than fools who could not recognize their own limitations.

-----

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Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard