Late that night, Stannis endured a painful inner struggle.
Davos's warnings still rang in his ears, but the pressure of defeats at the front and the news that Storm's End was in peril left him unable to hesitate any longer.
He made up his mind and headed for Melisandre's room, ready to embrace the shadows once more and create a Shadow Assassin that could take Young Griff's life.
When he entered Melisandre's room, she was already eagerly awaiting him.
With a smile on her lips, Melisandre slipped out of her red robes, revealing her delicate, snow-white body.
Stannis's breathing immediately quickened.
They embraced.
Yet just as his ritual with Melisandre reached its critical midpoint-
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Dothraki are storming the city!!"
"The gate! The western gate has been opened!"
Shrill alarms and terrifying battle cries suddenly tore through the night sky.
Bronzegate instantly descended into chaos.
Once the agents inside succeeded, the Dothraki Screamers lurking outside poured in.
The Dothraki were extraordinarily savage, brandishing their Arakh blades and letting out inhuman shrieks filled with pure delight in slaughter and plunder.
The hastily mustered defenders tried to form ranks and resist, but their spear formations proved clumsy and fragile before the devastating charge of the Dothraki cavalry.
Curved blades swept effortlessly across the defenders' necks, sending up sprays of warm blood.
Arrows loosed from bows struck true, killing soldiers on the cold streets.
In an instant, the sounds of hacking and killing filled the city.
Stannis jerked away from Melisandre, his face instantly turning deathly pale. Shocked and furious, he demanded, "What is happening?! How could the gate have opened?! Weren't those Horsemen besieging Storm's End?!"
He scrambled into his clothes, grabbed his Sword, and made to rush out.
Just then, Davos burst through the door, panting, his