Stannis's eyes, red with fanaticism, were fixed on Melisandre.
That question meant the last line of defense in his heart was on the verge of collapse.
The temptation of the throne was simply too great!
Especially for a man as obsessed as Stannis.
In his mind, with his elder brother dead, he, the second brother, had become the eldest. The Seven Kingdoms rightfully belonged to him.
He was the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms!
Watching him writhe under the torment of his desires, Melisandre broke into a smile of utter devotion.
"Absolute certainty."
Her voice carried unquestionable conviction.
"As long as you sacrifice Princess Shireen, her bloodline will provide the finest fuel."
"Once it is poured into those stone statues, the true dragons that have slept for a thousand years will surely roar for you!"
She spread her arms as though embracing a glorious future.
"Imagine it!"
"You will ride upon a dragon's back and look down upon all of Westeros!"
"The walls of King's Landing will crumble to dust before you! The Lannister lions will howl beneath your dragonfire!"
"You will no longer be the duke of Dragonstone with only five thousand troops, mocked by the world. You will be the one true dragon king of the Seven Kingdoms!"
The true dragon king!
Stannis's breathing grew labored.
Veins bulged across his rigid face, twisting it with the intensity of his struggle.
He could almost see it already!
Himself riding a blazing dragon, trampling all his enemies beneath his feet!
He would accomplish feats even Robert had failed to achieve!
He would become the greatest king in the history of House Baratheon-of all Westeros!
But...
Another face rose unbidden in his mind.
Shireen.
His poor daughter.
The girl whose face had been half turned to stone by greyscale.
The