Loras Tyrell was still kneeling on the ground.
Tears and snot streamed down his handsome face as he sobbed like a child.
Lynn said nothing more. Loras would decide his own fate, and the fate of the Reach.
Stannis Baratheon's face was livid.
He stared at the kneeling Loras, his eyes filled with anger and disbelief.
"Loras Tyrell!"
Stannis's voice was as cold as ice.
"You dare grovel before an enemy in front of both armies?"
Loras shuddered violently.
He raised his head, turning his tear-reddened eyes toward Stannis.
"I'm not groveling!"
"I'm doing this for the Reach!"
"For the innocent people of this land!"
"For the lives already lost!"
His voice was laced with despair.
Fight a dragon? How could Stannis even dare?
"Shut up!"
Stannis roared.
He wrenched the longsword from his hip, the burning blade he called Lightbringer.
Orange-red flames danced along the blade.
Stannis raised his sword and pointed it at Loras.
"You have forsaken your oath and your king!"
"You have sown unrest in the ranks and shaken the resolve of our soldiers!"
Behind him, the Red Priestess's eyes gleamed with fanaticism.
"Your Grace!"
Her voice was shrill.
"He has been beguiled by darkness!"
"His soul has been corrupted!"
"Purify him with holy fire!"
"Make him an offering to the Lord of Light!"
Loras's face instantly turned deathly pale.
He knew Stannis meant it.
For the sake of his laughable claim to "legitimacy," this man could burn his own younger brother to death and sacrifice innocent children.
What chance did a "traitor" like him have?
"No!"
Loras cried out in despair.
He tried to get up, tried to flee.
Stannis did not hesitate.
He urged his horse a few steps forward.
Lightbringer rose high.
Its point aimed straight at Loras.
"In the name of R'hllor,