Alliser Thorne's knees slammed into the snow with a dull thud.
The sound was like a signal.
Everyone in the courtyard stared at the scene before them as though they had seen a ghost.
They had expected Thorne to fly into a rage, deny everything, or even draw his sword in a desperate last stand.
But they had never imagined that this insufferably arrogant man, who never stopped flaunting his title of "Ser," would fall straight to his knees!
Was he... admitting it?
Admitting that Lynn's accusations, which sounded so unbelievable yet cut straight to the heart of the matter, were true?
Was he really a Targaryen lackey?
Did he intend to exploit the White Walkers' invasion, invite the enemy in, and help restore the Targaryens?
The thought sent a chill down the spine of every member of the Night's Watch present.
If it was true, then Alliser Thorne's crime went far beyond hiring someone to commit murder.
It was treason!
A betrayal of the entire Night's Watch, of the North, and even of all the Seven Kingdoms!
"Thorne..."
There was a note of helplessness in Jeor Mormont's voice.
He looked at Thorne, kneeling on the ground like a heap of mud, his aged eyes filled with profound disappointment and fury.
He could tolerate Thorne's spiteful tongue, and even his stubborn arrogance.
But he could never tolerate a man of the Night's Watch, a sworn brother in black whose oath bound him until death, harboring divided loyalties!
"Raise your head and look at me!"
Mormont drew a deep breath and roared.
Thorne shuddered violently, then slowly lifted his head.
The face that had once been filled with arrogance and malice was now ashen.
"Is what Lynn said true?"
Mormont forced every word through clenched teeth.
Thorne's lips moved.
He wanted