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"Who is behind the Mermaid Queen?" Viserys asked as they glided across the floor, his voice low enough to be lost in the swell of the violins.
"The Preston family," the Black Pearl whispered, her eyes scanning the room over his shoulder. "Braavos is a city built on secrets, Viserys. Sometimes it is safer not to peel back the curtain."
Viserys recognized the name. The Prestons were an ancient house, former Sea Lords whose glory had faded slightly behind the rising suns of the Antaryon and Ferregan families. Yet, they remained titans in the city, their square towers dominating the skyline of the Long Canal.
As they reached the center of the dance floor, the Nightingale, the Daughter of Darkness, and Moonshadow lingered at the edge of the circle. They sought no other partners; they were content to watch the dragon dance with the pearl.
Viserys's silver-white hair and mask shimmered under the opulent chandeliers, a sharp contrast to the Black Pearl's dark yellow silk and mahogany skin. The young Braavosi gentlemen, who had been adjusting their tunics and rehearsing their lines to win her first dance, watched with eyes that spat fire. They wondered who this silver-haired upstart was to steal the night's greatest prize.
"Honorable Miss Bellegere, it is my honor," Viserys said with a courtly incline of his head.
"The honor is mine, mysterious Silver Traveler," she replied, her smile teasing.
They began to move. At first, Viserys was stiff—the courtly dances of his childhood were a half-remembered dream buried under years of survival.
"Your dancing is a bit rusty, Knight," she noted, her hand light on his shoulder.
"Practice makes perfect," Viserys replied. He relied on his enhanced Agility to find the rhythm. Within minutes, the rust fell away. His movements became fluid, swaying and spinning with a grace that silenced the critics. They hit their stride, performing complex swerves where he would push her away only to pull her back into a sharp, breath-stealing embrace.
The hall erupted in applause.
"Do you have more lyrics?" she asked as they spun. "Or perhaps another feast?"
"I have both," Viserys said. "But my price remains the same: gold, dragon bone, and the fruits of the deep—Sea King crabs and purple lobsters."
"Greedy," she murmured, "but frank. I like that. I will find what you need, but be prepared to pay in kind."
As they danced, Viserys felt a prickle of unease. He scanned the room and saw the Mermaid Queen dancing with a young man in brown silk. He had sharp, resentful eyes that followed Viserys's every move.
"You're not mistaken," the Black Pearl said, sensing his tension. "That is the young master of the Preston family. He intended to lead my first dance tonight. He is a man who values his pride and his lineage above all else."
"So, I've made an enemy before the first song is over?" Viserys asked dryly.
"Are you scared?"
"Not really. Trouble is the only thing that has never abandoned me."
He pulled her closer, his hand firm on her waist. The young Preston master watched them, his face a mask of polite indifference that couldn't hide the cold fury beneath. Viserys knew that look; it was the look of a man who would wait for an alleyway to settle a debt started in a ballroom.
When the song ended, the Black Pearl retired to catch her breath, but the dance was far from over. The Daughter of Darkness approached, her black gown flowing like ink.
"Are you inviting me?" Viserys asked.
"Come," she replied simply.
They danced to a slower, haunting melody. "The song 'No Meeting Again'... did you write it?" she asked. Her skin felt cool to the touch, and her presence was like a shadow in the moonlight.
"I did," Viserys said.
"It is the song of a wanderer," she confessed. "I know that road well."
She moved with a lightness that suggested hidden training—a lethality disguised as grace. When the second song finished, Moonshadow was already there to claim the third.
The whispers in the hall reached a fever pitch.
"Who is he? How can he dance with three of the Seven in a single night?"
"The Silver Traveler... the lyricist."
Viserys's name was soaring, but as he looked at the resentful faces of the young Braavosi nobles, he knew the Black Pearl was right. In the arena of power, fame was a double-edged sword. He was the most envied man in the Hall of the Sea King, which made him the most hunted.
"Let them come," Viserys thought, his hand brushing the dagger at his belt as the music swelled. "The dragon doesn't hide from the wind; he uses it to rise."
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