"My lord, that was many years ago, when Viserys was still only a child. I haven't seen him since he took Rhaenys Targaryen to Dragonstone thirteen years ago. But I still remember his eyes..." Varys said, recalling the past.
"What about his eyes?" Tyrion asked, a little curious.
"His eyes didn't look like a child's," Varys said softly. "He hid it very well, but I still felt as though he could see right through you. At any rate, I couldn't see through him."
Tyrion was silent for a moment, then smiled.
"Interesting. A child even you, the Spider, couldn't see through." He turned and got straight to the point. "Last time, I sent men to negotiate with him, but he wouldn't even see them. So this time, I want you to deliver a message to Viserys for me. Tell him the Lannister dwarf wants to meet him."
Varys narrowed his eyes slightly. "My lord, are you certain you want me to deliver this message?"
"Don't play that game with me," Tyrion said. "Don't tell me you have no contact with Viserys."
Varys's smile froze for an instant, but quickly recovered. "My lord, you're worrying too much."
"Am I? Perhaps. Varys, I really don't care who you're in contact with behind my back," Tyrion said, looking into the distance again without turning around.
Varys was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Very well, my lord. I'll do my best to arrange it."
After Varys left, Tyrion resumed his inspection of the city's defenses to reassure the newly conscripted soldiers.
He first climbed the stretch of wall above the King's Gate. Looking out through the battlements, he could see the dense ranks of tents and banners outside the city-Viserys's army. The banners bearing the Three-Headed Fire Dragon fluttered in the wind, weighing