CHAPTER 139
"Euron... Your Majesty?"
Asha's expression froze, and it took her a long moment before those hoarse words escaped her lips. She glared fiercely at Garon. "What are you trying to tell me?"
Garon offered no reply. Instead, he calmly reached forward and pushed the newly arrived letter across the table toward her.
Asha's gaze followed his hand until it settled upon the parchment. Her entire body trembled as the unease in her heart reached its peak, and a fierce struggle flashed across her face. After several moments of hesitation, she finally picked up the letter.
With a single glance, she recognized the handwriting as belonging to her uncle, Rodrik Harlaw. More importantly, the seemingly careless twisted symbols scribbled in one corner were the secret code she and Rodrik had devised during her childhood.
"Father... killed... by... Crow's Eye..."
The hidden meaning surfaced in her mind, and the world around her seemed to collapse.
"Euron... you kinslayer!"
"I'll kill you!"
"I'll kill you!"
Her bloodshot eyes burned with fury as her enraged roar echoed throughout the dungeon.
Without another thought, she lunged toward Garon. Despite fully understanding the vast difference in strength between them, she still threw her fist at him, determined to force her way out of the cell.
Garon simply raised one hand and caught her punch with an iron grip.
"If you think knocking me down will let you escape, I'd advise you to abandon that idea."
"Miss Asha, you know perfectly well what I can do."
With only a slight exertion of force, he sent her stumbling backward until she crashed against the cold stone wall.
The pain, combined with the chill of the stone, gradually restored Asha's reason.
She clenched her fists.
Released them.
Clenched them again.
Repeated the motion several times, trying desperately to steady herself.
Watching her, Garon thought quietly,
"At least she's still capable of thinking."
"Otherwise, I'd truly have to put in some effort."
Once he saw she had abandoned the idea of escaping by force, he spoke again.
"Miss Asha..."
He looked directly into her eyes before calmly dropping words that struck her harder than any blade.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Iron Islands never intended to conquer the North."
"Your true objective was Skagos."
"Or rather..."
"The dragon on Skagos."
Asha's breathing halted.
Disbelief flashed across her eyes.
She had never imagined Garon could uncover the Ironborn's true objective.
Seeing her reaction, Garon smiled faintly.
"You planned to exploit King Robb's southern campaign by invading the North from three directions and seizing control of Winterfell."
"Once the North was secured, your army could safely cross its lands, reach Skagos, and capture the dragon."
"The entire strategy was interconnected."
"It was an impressive plan."
He paused before adding coldly,
"Unfortunately..."
"Your luck was terrible."
His gaze remained fixed on the silent Asha.
"I want to ask you something."
"Was this plan Euron's?"
At first, Asha intended to remain silent.
Yet after seeing Garon's expression, something stirred inside her.
In a hoarse voice, she finally asked,
"How do you know it was him?"
Garon answered without hesitation.
"If the Ironborn had known about the dragon's whereabouts years ago, would your people really have waited this long?"
"I've also heard that when your father, King Balon, exiled Euron, he swore that as long as he lived, Euron would never return to the Iron Islands."
"And yet..."
"He returned."
"He even convinced Balon to invade the North."
"He brought slaughter to Torrhen's Square and Castle Cerwyn."
"It seems obvious now."
"Your uncle never truly cared about conquering the North."
"He only wanted to open a road."
Garon's voice suddenly grew colder, filled with unmistakable mockery.
"A road paved with the corpses of Northern warriors and Ironborn alike."
"From the Stony Shore..."
"Across the Bay of Seals..."
"Then onward to that frozen island."
"All to fulfill his mad dream..."
"To claim a dragon."
Asha trembled violently.
It was as though an old wound had been ripped open once more.
Garon pressed on mercilessly.
"Look at this letter."
"King Euron."
"I truly pity both you and your father."
"You..."
"And even Victarion, who died at Ox Horn Hill..."
"Were nothing more than pieces he sacrificed whenever it suited him."
"You're lying!"
Asha suddenly raised her head.
Her voice was sharp, yet the tremor within it betrayed the chaos raging inside her.
"Lying?"
Garon's voice became almost devilishly soft.
"Am I?"
"Miss Asha..."
"Surely you're the one who knows the truth best."
He tapped the letter.
"Your uncle doesn't care whether you live or die."
"No."
"He doesn't even care whether the Iron Islands survive."
His eyes sharpened as he slowly stepped closer.
Within moments, Asha found herself backed tightly against the stone wall.
She could clearly hear her own rapid breathing.
Garon sneered.
"The only thing Euron cares about is fulfilling his dream."
"Controlling dragons."
"Then conquering Westeros."
He paused, carefully observing the fear flickering across her restless eyes before delivering the final blow.
"To achieve that ambition..."
"He would gladly sacrifice the entire Iron Islands."
"What do you think, Asha?"
She froze completely.
Her face lost every trace of color.
"Father is dead..."
"Killed by Euron."
"And now..."
"He intends to gamble the future of the entire Iron Islands on his madness..."
The conviction that had sustained her until now...
Her family's honor.
Her own worth as Balon's heir.
The belief that her capture still held meaning.
Everything shattered in an instant.
An overwhelming sense of betrayal and despair swallowed her whole.
Seeing the light fade from her eyes, Garon knew the moment had arrived.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He slowly lifted one finger beneath Asha's chin, gently raising her lowered head until their eyes met.
When he spoke again, his voice had become much softer.
Yet it carried an even greater authority.
"Miss Asha..."
"There are only two roads left before you."
"You can continue serving as another sacrifice for Euron's ambitions..."
"And sink into the abyss together with him and the Iron Islands."
"Or..."
"You can work with me."
"Tell me everything."
"The shipping routes."
"The coastal defenses."
"The noble houses."
"Which captains can be persuaded."
"Everything."
His crimson eyes held her gaze without wavering.
"And I will help you stop this madman."
"Then..."
"You will sit upon the Seastone Chair."
"And lead the Iron Islands toward a different future."
It was bait.
Yet it was also the only lifeline left to her.
Asha stared at Garon as though thunder had struck the sea itself.
The warmth of his presence lingered only inches away, sending an unfamiliar shiver through her body.
More importantly, a desperate instinct for survival surged within her.
For the first time, she fully realized that she was no longer the proud heir of House Greyjoy.
She was merely a woman standing at the edge of a cliff.
Forced to choose.
Garon's composure.
His foresight.
And the cruel truths he had laid bare.
Together they shattered the last remnants of the world she had always believed in.
At the same time, they forced her to look again at the terrifying young lord before her.
A man who might also be her only remaining hope.
The walls around Asha's heart slowly crumbled.
She struggled silently for several moments before finally whispering,
"What... do you want to know?"
A faint smile touched the corner of Garon's lips.
He knew their cooperation had already begun.
Just as he prepared to press his advantage and question her further, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor outside.
"Garon."
Sansa's voice called anxiously from beyond the dungeon door.
But the moment she stepped inside and saw her betrothed standing intimately close to Asha, with the Ironborn woman pressed against the stone wall before him, her voice stopped abruptly.
A chill immediately ran down Garon's spine.
The atmosphere in the dungeon instantly became unbearably awkward.