Daenerys Targaryen is an only child.
A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire , a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin . Daenerys Targaryen . Introduced in 1996 's A Game of Thrones , Daenerys ( along with her older brother , Viserys ) is one of the last confirmed members of House Targaryen who , until fifteen years before the events of the first novel , had ruled from the Iron Throne for nearly three hundred years . Knowing no other life than one of exile , she remains dependent on her abusive older brother , Viserys . Despite this , her brother loses the ability to control her as Daenerys finds herself adapting to life with the khalasar and emerges as a strong , confident and courageous woman . She becomes the heir of the Targaryen dynasty after her brother 's death and plans to reclaim the Iron Throne herself , seeing it as her birthright .