"Rise, knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Lynn!"
Robert's roar thundered in everyone's ears.
Lynn rose to his feet.
In the sunlight, his black armor was a badge of honor.
His cloak, embroidered with a direwolf, snapped in the wind, as though proclaiming the birth of a new legend.
The entire tourney ground erupted.
The crowd shouted the name "Black Knight" with wild abandon, as though they meant to carve it into every stone in King's Landing.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Robert watched with satisfaction and threw an arm around Lynn's shoulders, gripping him hard enough to nearly dent his steel armor.
"Tonight! A feast in the Red Keep!"
"To celebrate our new hero!"
The victory feast was more lavish than anyone had imagined.
The long banquet tables were laden with roast suckling pigs, honey-glazed hams, lamprey pies, and sweetcorn drenched in butter.
Aged wines from the Arbor flowed like river water, poured out as though they cost nothing.
Lynn was seated at the high table, right beside King Robert and Ned Stark.
He was, after all, the star of the day.
His seat took precedence even over those of many illustrious great lords.
Almost everyone lined up with a cup in hand to toast him.
There were knights who genuinely admired him, nobles hoping to forge a connection, and members of the royal family who forced smiles as they tried to ingratiate themselves.
Lynn turned no one away, but took only a token sip each time.
His gaze swept calmly across the banquet hall.
At the Tyrell table, he saw the brothers Loras and Garlan conversing in low voices, occasionally casting looks his way filled with curiosity and wariness.
Margaery Tyrell held her wine cup elegantly, an unreadable gleam in her beautiful eyes.
He also saw Jaime Lannister