"Seven hells—it's here!"
Daeron clutched his head as he watched Haze dive toward the ground. He never would've guessed that after the dragons had scoured the land for so long, the real entrance to the bunker would be in that spot.
Beneath the river they had tried to divert into the bunker.
Motarion had cleverly avoided the riverbed, which risked leaking water, and instead picked a spot with thicker bedrock to place the main entrance.
Everyone had assumed there was no way the bunker could be related to the river's path—yet Motarion had hidden the most crucial part of it right under the river.
Who could you even complain to about something like that?
Still, for dragons, unless the earth was several thousand feet thick, tearing through it was only a matter of time.
Especially since two of the dragons here were beyond standard size.
Dreamfyre, and the young Sendros, whose flames were already hot enough to melt iron and fossil rock.
Daeron nodded toward Dan, who had already landed nearby. Dreamfyre's massive body slammed into the ground, her claws digging deep into the soil. With her wings outstretched, she tore a massive slab of rock from the surface, revealing a damp, loose soil layer beneath—and still-solid bedrock.
Sendros eagerly clawed at the ground. It had been a long time since he'd felt this excited. The last time was during a slaughter—boring. Before that, fighting Skyfire and the Golden King—Skyfire was dull, and the Golden King was too weak. He'd even had to hold back to avoid killing him, or Dan would've been upset. Boring.
But now, finally, he could unleash his dragonfire without restraint.
Sickly green and golden-red flames burst out together, scorching the ground. The stone melted again, seeping downward. The two massive beasts launched into the air and slammed down repeatedly, using their sheer weight to pound the earth.
Soon, the rock melted, the dirt exploded, and visible cracks spread across the surface.
And below, the people could do nothing.
"What do we do? What do we do?!"
A mercenary who had followed Horus for years murmured nervously. He'd been in that battle, and the terror of dragons was still fresh in his mind. He knew well that the only reason this hollow had held out so long was because the dragons couldn't pinpoint its bizarre location.
But now that they had…
The natural cavern used for the bunker already had a ceiling as thin as paper. With the dragons tearing it apart, collapse was only a matter of time.
The mercenary didn't even have time to come up with a plan.
Scalding-hot boulders rained from above, mixed with golden-red and sickly green flames, forcing Horus' soldiers to retreat again and again.
Sendros' massive antler-like horns pushed through the opening, the savage dragon diving into the collapsing cavern before the old lady Dreamfyre could get there.
Unfortunately, the cave wasn't big enough.
It couldn't contain such a colossal beast.
Dan caught sight of Emon and his soldiers raising their shields in defense.
He also saw the massive bronze gate and the arrow slits carved into the stone walls.
"Sendros, melt it."
The dragon's throat began to glow with a greenish light.
"Fire! Fire! Aim for the dragonrider! Without the rider, the dragon will flee!" the mercenary roared, rushing to a ballista. He kicked the soldier operating it aside and took aim at Dan.
Unfortunately for him, Sendros seemed to understand exactly what they were trying to do. His enormous wings folded in just enough to shield his rider.
"Aim for the dragon's eyes! If you want to be called a dragonslayer, don't hesitate! Now! Fire!"
The mercenary immediately switched targets and aimed for Sendros' eye.
But just as he pulled the trigger—
A flood of sickly green dragonfire crashed against the stone walls and the massive bronze gate.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The mercenary didn't even survive the first "boom." The entrance where he stood was struck directly by the sickly green dragonflame. A surge of green fire poured into the tunnel, incinerating the soldiers on watch and the fired bolt along with them, reducing all to ash.
"No!"
The soldiers not yet caught in the blaze screamed in agony and fled, but their legs could never outrun the flames. The sickly green fire wrapped around them like a demon, seizing their ankles—then the rest of their bodies.
In the blink of an eye, another wave of charred skeletons appeared in the world behind the stone wall.
Wave after wave of dragonflame sent the temperature within the tunnel soaring.
Aemon and the others, waiting farther back, were instantly drenched in sweat.
Lord Reyne watched as the bronze gate and stone walls began to glow red and melt before their very eyes, and he couldn't help but lower his head.
The House of Reyne must never suffer such a fate.
The Red Lion must remain loyal to the dragons. The dragons had allowed them to invade distant lands with impunity, to seize territory and wealth with almost no losses—and could just as easily take it all away again.
Lord Reyne understood this truth once more.
This fortress—far more complex than Castamere—was slowly falling under the assault of several dragons and a force of hardened soldiers. What then was his precious Castamere in comparison?
Even Casterly Rock, with its heavy mountainside and winding halls, might withstand dragonfire longer—but what then?
In time, Casterly Rock too would become a ruin under dragonflame.
Better to swear fealty to the dragons and gain their protection.
The look in Lord Reyne's eyes as he turned to Aemon burned even brighter.
But Aemon noticed none of this. He was simply thrilled, watching as Sendros's sickly green dragonflame incinerated the enemy stronghold.
Molten copper flowed down the rock wall like a river.
With the final burst of dragonflame blasting against the stone, a gaping black hole appeared before them.
Some sharp-eyed knights could already make out the charred skeletons and heaps of ash just beyond the opening.
"Brothers!" Aemon shouted as he rose to his feet. "Prince Dan has destroyed the barrier for us. Now it is our time! Plundering is forbidden—His Majesty will personally reward all once the battle is done. We take no prisoners, only heads! The heads of Horus and Motarion are worth an earldom each. His Majesty himself will name the taker Lord of Lake Myr!"
"Hurrah!"
"Prince Aemon, hurrah!"
"All hail King Daren!"
"All hail Prince Dan!"
The cheers rang in every knight's ears until they converged into two words:
"Aemon the Citybreaker, Dan the Destroyer!"
Deep within the bunker…
Horus no longer had the strength to rise from his throne.
He could hear the dragons' roars, the explosions of fire. No matter how much he wanted to lie to himself, he knew—the greatest line of defense between him and the Iron Throne's army had fallen.
The army of the Iron Throne could now enter the bunker at any moment through the hole ravaged open by the dragons.
The defensive system had collapsed.
Trembling, he reached for his prized weapon—a Valyrian steel longsword with a dragonbone hilt—and slowly brought it to his throat.
Clang.