Stannis had put every ounce of his strength into that slap.
Only his ragged breathing remained in the room.
Melisandre stood where she was, unmoving.
She did not even touch her rapidly swelling, reddening cheek.
She simply watched the man trembling with rage before her, her red eyes calm.
There was neither resentment nor fear in that gaze.
Only the pity of someone who saw through mortal weakness.
"I have felt your anger."
"Your love for your daughter is equally moving."
"But, my king."
"That love will soon become the noose that hangs you."
"Shut up!"
Stannis pointed at her, his eyes bloodshot.
"I'm warning you, never speak Shireen's name again!"
"I will not."
Melisandre was unexpectedly compliant.
"Because you will soon discover how insignificant one girl's life is compared with true royal power."
She turned and slowly looked toward the castle's enormous floor-to-ceiling window.
Beyond it lay Dragonstone's ceaseless winds and gray waves.
At the highest points of the castle, several enormous stone statues stood silently in the wind and rain.
Shaped like dragons, they perched atop the towers as though they had slumbered for centuries.
"My king, do you believe a shadow assassin is the mightiest weapon the Lord of Light can grant you?"
Melisandre's voice drifted over from the window.
"You possess royal blood, and the essence of your life holds immense magical power."
"Whether that blood comes from a reigning monarch or an ancestor, its power holds true as long as the bloodline is genuine. You have just proved that yourself!"
"You have Targaryen blood. Your grandmother was Rhaelle Targaryen, so you meet every requirement."
"And that makes your daughter your most powerful weapon!"
Stannis froze.
His mind, rigid with anger, could not process her words at first.
*Could there be something even more powerful than