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

Chapter 125: Chapter 124 – The Festival of Flames and Ashes (II)

Although he didn’t enter the castle, Maekar made Bahamut stay in the middle of the bridge. The dragon’s gigantic body was fully occupying the bridge that connected across the Green Fork River. Bahamut was looking directly at the castle.

Maekar looked at the soldiers approaching with a calm look, hiding the icy feeling in his eyes. Then, he noticed that the man leading House Frey’s soldiers was ugly, looking like a weasel, though thin.

He assumed this was the current Lord Frey’s nephew, Franklyn Frey.

“My prince, I greet you.” Franklyn spoke with trembling legs, looking at the gigantic beast before him. The prince could be seen sitting in the saddle, looking at him with a calm look. “My uncle has prepared a feast; it would be an honor for House Frey to have your presence at the castle.”

Hearing no response, Franklyn raised his head and looked at the prince. He noticed the prince now wore a smile full of sarcasm and scorn.

“Honestly, if I didn’t know the treacherous, vile, and servile nature of House Frey, I might enter the castle. But, Ser Franklyn, you and I both know your house isn’t worthy of trust.” Maekar didn’t hide the contempt in his words.

Franklyn’s body trembled; his face showed anger and fury. There wasn’t a noble who didn’t care about his own reputation. Unfortunately, for House Frey, they didn’t have a good reputation, or rather, they had a great reputation for being treacherous and traitorous.

However, all his fury drained away in the face of the dragon, which drew closer to him, showing teeth as large as daggers. Franklyn could feel the dragon’s breath, smelling of volcano, ash, and burnt coal.

“I order Lord Frey to come greet me. Bring your uncle, Ser.” Maekar didn’t want to waste time. He wanted to kill Addam Frey and burn this whole filthy castle to the ground. Even though the castle had one of the best strategic positions on the continent, he preferred to wipe every trace of House Frey off the face of the earth. Either way, he could build another castle.

Franklyn swallowed hard and quickly ran back toward the castle. The guards followed their commander; all of them seemed to be fleeing, not really retreating. Showing that they weren’t elite soldiers, just a bunch of peasants after some training.

Which wasn’t a surprise. A house like the Freys’ trusted no one, because of their own actions. Commoners are a reflection of their lord, at least that’s what House Frey believed.

After waiting five minutes, Maekar, seeing no sign of Lord Frey, already knew the man had refused his orders. Since he had refused, the prince also didn’t want to waste time on someone as despicable as Addam Frey.

“Dracarys, Bahamut,” Maekar spoke in a cold tone.

The dragon showed a cruel smile and opened his jaws. In the next second, flames poured from the dragon’s mouth, striking directly at the castle gates.

The gates, which were largely made of solid wood reinforced with iron, didn’t last more than a few seconds before vanishing beneath the incredibly hot flames.

However, instead of having Bahamut enter the courtyard after the gates fell, Maekar made the dragon take flight and burn the castle from above. Although the Twins had no weapons to kill dragons, they had weapons to kill humans.

Maekar knew he wasn’t invincible, and instead of taking the risk, he would burn the entire castle, cooking Addam Frey and all of House Frey. Lord Frey should feel honored, since he would receive the same treatment as House Hoare, a house with a royal bloodline.

Of course, Maekar was certain Addam Frey wouldn’t like to hear that news.

Just as Maekar was about to order Bahamut to burn the castle, he saw the castle’s inner gates open and a retinue emerge from within. Surprisingly, an old man rode out of the castle.

Maekar made Bahamut land again on the bridge, but this time, in front of the gates he had just burned. This was exactly why the retinue couldn’t get through, since the path was partially blocked by molten iron.

But Maekar felt it was better this way; he could see and hear what Lord Frey was doing or saying.

“I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but we both know that isn’t true.” Maekar spoke in a calm tone, looking at the ugly old man before him.

“My prince.” Addam ignored Maekar’s sarcasm and greeted him with a smile, showing yellowed teeth, some even rotten. He continued speaking with a touch of concern. “Shouldn’t Your Grace be at Dragonstone for the naval blockade? After all, it’s of the utmost importance for the prince to build fame in preparation for the Great Council.”

Addam’s words might have sounded kind, but they were a subtle threat. Yes, Addam wasn’t trying to make amends; he was trying to appeal to Maekar’s interests, the Iron Throne.

“I will be king,” Maekar said in a calm, confident tone. He didn’t see how Viserys could win the Great Council when the lords had a better option. “However, I’m not here because of my future titles but for personal reasons.”

“Tell me, Lord Frey, you know a witch, don’t you?” Maekar asked in a cold, deep tone.

“I don’t know what the prince is talking about.” Addam kept smiling. “House Frey has always been devoted to the Faith of the Seven; we don’t allow any kind of witchcraft or witches. We kill every woman who dares proclaim herself a witch.”

“If you tell me where the witch is and who ordered the witch to kill my son, I can spare your descendants.” Maekar looked at Addam coldly.

“What a shame the princess lost the child.” Just as Addam was about to finish speaking, a powerful roar sounded as the dragon drew dangerously close to him.

“Lord Frey, if you dare mention my wife and son again with that filthy mouth of yours, I will kill you, you shit-eating worm.” From Bahamut’s saddle, Maekar spoke in a chilling tone.

“I’ll give you one more chance to answer my question: who ordered my son’s death?” Maekar asked again; this time, all emotion had vanished from his face. His voice sent chills through everyone who heard it.

Addam lost his smile; he showed a calm expression and looked at the dragon just a few meters from him. The creature’s enormous body couldn’t fit into the courtyard, but the monster’s head could.

Just as Addam was about to answer, he heard the prince’s voice again.

“It was the High Septon, wasn’t it?”

An icy sensation ran through Addam’s body. The prince had guessed right. He had received a letter from the High Septon about dealing with Maekar’s child, a warning for him not to cross the line accepted by the Faith of the Seven by accepting the Red Faith.

However, there was something House Frey or the High Septon hadn’t considered. That was what Maekar was; he was no different from Aegon or Maegor. All three didn’t care about the consequences of their own actions, especially when riding a dragon to burn their enemies.

“I’m curious, did you really think killing my son would make me back down?” Maekar asked in a cold tone full of murderous intent. “Now I’m going to burn everything, burn every religious bastard, burn every piece of trash who dares defy my will, and burn until no one remains who dares speak the name of the Faith of the Seven.”

“You’re mad; it was just a child,” Addam said in a trembling tone. It was just one child; Maekar could have many others. He himself had dozens of bastard sons and daughters. He couldn’t believe Maekar had dared to make an enemy of the Faith of the Seven over a mere child who hadn’t even been born.

“You killed my son; you made my wife endure a pain no woman should ever feel. Now I’m going to do something much worse. Go, go back to the castle, but go back knowing I will burn the Twins with all of you inside.” Maekar didn’t hide what he planned to do. He wanted Addam to know how he would die.

Seeing the young man with an almost mad look in his eyes, Addam finally realized he had made one of the worst choices of his life. Originally, he had thought that, since Maekar wanted to be king, he would be more cautious in his actions, but his plans fell apart after Maekar remained indifferent upon learning the true motives behind House Frey.

Without saying a word, Addam took hold of his horse’s reins and quickly rode back to the castle. Maekar merely watched Addam’s back disappear as the inner castle gates closed with a thunderous crash.

———

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