lu

Adera's screams echoed again, and Larys was tempted to pour himself another glass of wine, but he didn't. He had to be sober when he met his son. He couldn't show up drunk; Adera would be furious. She might ignore him for weeks, or she might get out of bed just to kick him out. And Princess Rhaenys would feed him to her dragon simply because he had dared to upset her daughter.

It felt unreal. Larys never imagined he'd have a child. No father wanted to marry his daughter off to a cripple, let alone have a second son who wouldn't inherit anything, so he never thought he'd get married and have kids. And he was okay with that because children in general were a real pain. But then Harwin neglected Adera, and he managed to charm her, so she gave him a chance. He was sure neither of them thought they'd become addicted to each other's bodies. It wasn't in his plans for her to end up pregnant. But it wasn't a problem. He wouldn't say he was specifically happy, but he could say he was proud—proud to have done what Harwin couldn't, and now the Strong line would continue through his blood. Proud to see how happy Adera was as the child grew inside her. He couldn't deny that he liked seeing how happy she looked as she and Alicent sewed blankets for the baby. He also liked hearing how excited Adera was as she talked about the names she had in mind for the child. He would never forget the smile on her face when he took her hand and Alicent's and let them feel the baby kick for the first time. Adera looked happier than he had seen her in years. He's the one who made her happy, not Harwin.

Larys wasn't a fearful or nervous person. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt fear, nervousness, or anything close to anxiety. He knew it was foolish to feel that way; Adera was a strong woman, a dragon rider, and he was certain she could defeat any man in the City Watch. The birthing bed wouldn't kill her. Besides, Rhaenys Targaryen had arranged for the best midwives to assist her during the delivery, and then there was Queen Alicent—she would never allow anything to go wrong.

He knew Adera would be alright, but a small part of him was still anxious. He felt weak, powerless. He didn't like worrying about Adera. He felt out of control. He hated feeling this way.

He wanted to go to the black cells and torture someone until that horrible feeling disappeared. He wished he could stop hearing Adera's screams and hear the prisoners' screams as he pulled out their teeth. But again, she would get angry with him for doing other things instead of going to meet his son.

The door burst open, and Laena appeared with a big smile. "Everything went well," she announced.

Of course, Harwin was the first to rush toward his wife's chambers. Corlys, Laenor, and Rhaenyra quickly followed. They were eager to see Adera. They needed to see for themselves that she was alright.

Larys remained seated. Although he wanted to go see her, he knew he would have to wait a while. It would be conspicuous of him to be so eager to meet his nephew.

"What are you waiting for? She wants us all there," Laena said, entering the room when she saw that Daemon, Lyonel, and Larys didn't seem inclined to leave. Larys was sure Laena looked at him longer when she said "all," and as if she couldn't be more obvious, she stood beside him. "Come on, go meet your nephews," she ordered, squeezing his shoulder tightly. Perhaps from the outside it looked like an affectionate gesture, but he could feel his lover's sister digging her fingers into him.

“I’m sure you’re excited to meet your grandchildren too, Lord Strong,” Laena added, trying to avoid drawing Daemon’s attention. She knew her sister would never forgive her if she let her secret slip. Laena loved Daemon, but her siblings came first.

Laena had only found out about the affair between Adera and Larys because she didn't know the meaning of privacy and had entered Adera's chambers without knocking. Larys was sure that even the children of Alicent knew that one should knock and obtain the other person's permission before entering a room that didn't belong to them.

After they both got dressed again, Larys had to endure an interrogation by Laena. He thought he'd had enough when the queen who never was forced him to join her for tea to discuss his relationship with her daughter. He preferred Rhaenys Targaryen's cold stare to Laena's endless questions.

“Grandchildren?” Lyonel repeated, shocked to have more than one grandchild.

“Twins,” Laena replied, still smiling.

That was enough to make both Larys and his father get up and head towards Adera's chambers. On another occasion, Lyonel would have quickened his pace, considering his son's limp, but this time he was excited. Twins weren't common in the Strong family. Larys felt even prouder of Adera and him, but also a little anxious. He was just getting used to the idea of ​​one baby. Now there would be two, and he had to make an effort to please both of them. What if they were identical twins and he couldn't tell them apart? What if Harwin could tell them apart? Would that make Adera forgive him? He dismissed those stupid thoughts the moment he saw Rhaenyra grumbling outside the door. Evidently, they hadn't let her in again.

“Princess, you should go and rest. Lady Strong must be too tired to receive any more visitors. She will surely receive you tomorrow. We don’t want to overwhelm the new mother now, do we?” he said before opening the door and entering, ignoring the incredulous look the king’s eldest daughter gave him for daring to send her away.

The moment Adera saw Larys enter, her face lit up. She had wanted him to be with her during the birth, but that would have drawn attention at court. It made no sense that the supposed father wasn't allowed in the room, but her uncle was.

At least Adera had Alicent by her side, who had taken care of wiping the sweat from her forehead and neck. Clearly, that was the job of a maid, not a queen, but no one said anything, and Alicent let Adera take her hand without complaint, even though Adera was sure that the queen would be left with the marks of her nails. The presence of Alicent, her mother, and her sister made the situation less terrible for Adera. Probably without them, Adera would have been even more terrified.

The midwives had already left after Rhaenys dismissed them. Knowing Adera wanted privacy, she only allowed them to stay so they could see Harwin hold one of the babies. Before they arrived, Rhaenys had had to persuade her daughter to let Harwin hold the child, and the same with Lyonel. Adera had wanted Larys to be the first to hold Alyn and Aethan after her. But it would have been too conspicuous.

“Harwin, let Larys meet the future of the House Strong,” Adera ordered, the coldness in her saying her husband’s name evident when compared to the way she smiled when saying her brother-in-law’s name.

Harwin felt as if someone had stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. He wasn't stupid; that simple gesture confirmed what he already knew. From the moment he held Aethan in his arms and saw that blue eye, he knew the twins were his brother's. He knew he wasn't imagining it; his father had turned pale when he held Aethan, his gaze darting between the child and Adera in surprise. Harwin had begun to worry when he saw how much his father had hesitated before switching the twins. Now, as he looked at Aethan, he understood. It probably wasn't obvious to everyone else; it would go unnoticed in court. But Harwin could never mistake his brother's eyes.

He knew the gods were making him live this nightmare because he deserved it after all the pain and humiliation he'd caused Adera with his affair with Rhaenyra. But it seemed cruel that the gods had made the children look like how he'd always dreamed his children with his wife would look. He always imagined they would have her beautiful black hair and mouth, but they would also have her nose and eyes. The twins' skin was a little lighter than hers, but there was no doubt her blood was stronger because both children had small black streaks in their hair, her mouth, and her beautiful dark purple eyes. Except that Aethan also had an eye of the same color as Larys's.

Her chest felt heavy, the chambers suffocating her. Had Adera felt like this when she first saw Jacaerys? How had she endured holding him for so long, how had she endured looking at him? Harwin couldn't bear to see the child any longer, so he handed him to Larys.

"Harwin!" Lyonel scolded him, seeing that he hadn't even given Larys time to prepare. If he hadn't instinctively dropped his staff, which made a loud clatter as it hit the floor, the baby probably would have slipped out of his grasp. Of course, the baby cried from the fright.

"Are you crazy?" Adera shouted and made to get out of bed, but Alicent and Rhaenys made her lie back down when she winced in pain.

At the same time, Larys was saying to her brother, "Are you an idiot?" while glaring at him, unconsciously pulling the baby closer. He began to rock the child, trying to quiet its cries.

Harwin felt himself tense up. Of course, he hadn't meant to hurt the child; it was an accident. But how dare Larys look at him like that? How could his brother have no shame? How could he have betrayed him?

The tension in the rooms was palpable. Corlys was confused, perhaps because he hadn't yet held any of his grandchildren or because he was the only one unaware of his youngest daughter's escapade, but for everyone else, it was the unspoken truth.

"I think my good brother drank too much because of nerves. He'd better go to sleep," Laenor interjected with feigned amusement, as he put his arm around the man's shoulders and led him to the door. Fearing that Harwin might do something stupid like beat his own brother to death, Laenor was grateful when Harwin didn't fight back and left, but his furious footsteps could be heard in the hallway.

The tension didn't magically disappear, but it wasn't as heavy anymore. Luckily, the baby's crying subsided quickly. So Larys allowed himself to look closely at his son. He'd never imagined what his son would look like, so he wasn't bothered that the baby resembled Adera; in fact, it relieved him. But then the baby opened his eyes wide, one purple and one blue. Larys wanted to laugh. Now he understood Harwin's reaction. Good, that he felt just as humiliated as Adera had when she first saw Jacaerys.

"The one you're holding is Aethan, the youngest, and your father is holding Alyn," Adera said proudly, smiling as she noticed Larys trying to hold back a smile.

They were both lucky that Daemon hadn't walked in at that moment, because if he had seen how Adera was looking at Larys, he would have quickly discovered the truth, instead only later when Corlys and Rhaenys were holding their first grandchildren.

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