The atmosphere in the Council Chamber grew heated under Robert's deafening roar.
Ned Stark felt the world spin around him.
He stared at Lynn in disbelief, then at Robert, whose face was flushed with excitement.
Madness.
They had all gone mad!
A man of the Night's Watch offering to assassinate the surviving Targaryens in exchange for permission to enter a tournament.
A king so ecstatic over the proposal that he was willing to promise a lordship.
King's Landing was a hundred times more absurd than he had imagined.
"Good! Good lad!"
Robert's enormous hand slapped Lynn hard on the shoulder, with enough force to send an ordinary man staggering.
But Lynn did not budge. He stood as steady as a rock.
"That's the spirit I like!"
Robert's eyes brimmed with approval.
"Unlike these spineless bastards who think of nothing but counting coins!"
He glanced at the deathly pale Ned and swept out his hand.
"From this moment on, you have free rein in the Red Keep!"
"The finest armor in the armory, the finest warhorses in the stables-take your pick!"
"I can't wait to see what havoc a wolf pup from the North like you can wreak in the lists!"
Robert's promises brought Lynn's plan full circle.
He had achieved what he had come for.
In the study of the Tower of the Hand.
The moment Ned closed the door, he could no longer contain his anguish.
He seized Lynn's arm, his honest gray eyes filled with pain and accusation.
"Lynn! How could you agree to that? How could you bargain with the lives of two children?"
"That's Viserys and Daenerys! They're just two children driven from their home!"
Ned's voice trembled with emotion.
Someone he trusted had actually made such a cold-blooded bargain.
Lynn watched him calmly, letting