Six years later, Lord Corlys Velaryon is wounded fighting in the Stepstones, and the Driftmark succession suddenly becomes critical: his brother, Ser Vaemond, petitions King's Landing to be named heir, asserting that Rhaenyra's sons are illegitimate. Rhaenyra and Daemon return to the capital to defend the claim. King Viserys is now bedridden, disfigured and mentally muddled, with Alicent and Otto overseeing all royal matters; Alicent covers up Prince Aegon's rape of a handmaiden. Attempting to strike a bargain with Princess Rhaenys, Rhaenyra proposes two marriage arrangements with House Velaryon to gain her support, and implores Viserys to defend her succession, quoting Aegon the Conqueror's dream about the Prince That Was Promised.
When Vaemond's petition is presented at court, Viserys reaffirms Luke as heir to Driftmark, and Daemon beheads Vaemond for denouncing Rhaenyra and her children. The family appears to reconcile during a feast until Aemond incites a fight. Alicent's lady-in-waiting, Talya, regularly passes information to Daemon's former mistress, Mysaria. Near death and mistaking Alicent for Rhaenyra, Viserys mutters parts of the Conqueror's dream, which Alicent mistakenly believes refers to her son Aegon.