Ruler 2

"Are you still planning to save those traitors? Hiss!"

Theon sucked in a sharp breath from the pain again after moving too much, his entire face scrunching up.

He bit down hard on his lower lip, struggling to suppress the pain as he glared viciously at Asha, as though she had suggested the most absurd thing in the world.

Warm sunlight slipped through the narrow window into the room, casting mottled shadows across the floor.

Asha paused, then suddenly said, "Go stop them."

At that, Theon shot up from his chair despite his pain. "Honor! Traitors have no sense of honor whatsoever. If they are not dealt with severely, it would be a betrayal of House Greyjoy's justice!"

Spittle flew from his mouth. "If I show mercy to traitors, how will the family's dignity be upheld?"

Their gazes collided. Asha's chest rose and fell slightly as she said, "The Ironborn have never betrayed us. Their loyalty has always belonged to House Greyjoy. Don't forget, Crow's Eye was Father's brother."

Theon froze for a moment, then paced back and forth angrily for several steps. "I'm not going! They betrayed me. I absolutely cannot forgive them lightly. This concerns the highest honor of House Greyjoy!"

He abruptly stopped. "I have to make my subjects understand the fate of traitors!"

Asha watched her agitated younger brother for a while, then raised her eyes to the ceiling and murmured, "I truly suspect Lord Regent Gryn anticipated this day long ago."

As she spoke, Asha turned her gaze back to her brother. "We are still caught in Gryn Crabb's fishing net, Theon."

A fishing net?

Theon's heart tightened, and he fell silent. Only the occasional birdsong outside the window broke the brief stillness.

Theon slowly sat back down in the chair beside the bed, but