Theon Greyjoy was panicking.
Never in his life had he felt such terror.
Listening to the increasingly clear sounds of moans and whispers approaching from below the Broken Tower, Theon frantically searched the upper floor for sowhere to hide. Unfortunately, the tower had been abandoned for years. Aside from layers of dust and crumbling stones, the room was completely empty. There was nowhere to conceal himself.
In the end, his gaze landed on the broken window and the protruding stones outside the tower wall.
"I can only hide out there for now."
"Seven hells, the Queen is actually eting Jai here!"
"If they discover , I'm dead."
Theon gritted his teeth, climbed onto the crumbling windowsill, and carefully shifted his body outside. Pressing tightly against the cold stone wall, he stepped onto the protruding stones lining the outer wall of the Broken Tower.
Only after steadying himself did he dare let out a shaky breath.
"As long as they don't lean out the window, they shouldn't notice ."
"Gods, please let them finish quickly and leave."
Theon turned his head slightly toward the room behind him, his emotions tangled between terror and excitent.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that simply following the mysterious letter to the Broken Tower would lead him to discover the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms together with Ser Jai Lannister.
And not rely together.
Their intimacy made the nature of their relationship unmistakably clear.
Theon understood instantly that if they realized he had seen them, he would never leave the tower alive.
"Damn it…"
"Why today of all days?"
"Couldn't they have co after I was gone?"
"And the Queen actually dares to do this…"
"If word spreads, the entire Lannister family will be destroyed by the King."
A horrifying possibility suddenly surfaced in Theon's mind.
"Wait…"
"The King's children…"
"Could they actually be Jai's bastards?"
Theon pressed himself harder against the wall, his heart pounding wildly as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
A cold wind swept across the tower, making him shiver uncontrollably, yet he didn't dare move even slightly.
He only stared desperately at the raven nests atop the distant towers and silently prayed for Jai and Cersei to leave quickly before they noticed him.
Inside the room, the sounds gradually quieted.
Soon afterward, Jai and Cersei's voices drifted through the broken window.
Theon cautiously relaxed a little and instinctively listened.
"I still dislike that old wolf," Cersei murmured lazily while resting in Jai's embrace, her fingers lightly tracing his face. "You should be Robert's Hand, not Ned Stark."
Jai sat casually against the wall while holding her, his tone utterly indifferent.
"Gods spare from that miserable duty. Let whoever wants that burden take it."
Cersei frowned.
"You don't understand the danger. Robert trusts Stark more than anyone."
"If Ned discovers anything…"
"We'll all be in danger."
Jai rely smirked coldly.
"Then we kill the wolf just like we killed the eagle."
The mont those words reached him, Theon's entire body stiffened.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"The forr Hand…"
"Jon Arryn…"
"The Lannisters killed him?"
Shock exploded through Theon's mind.
His grip on the stones tightened so hard his fingers nearly bled. In his panic, his foot almost slipped from the wall before he barely regained balance in ti.
"If I reveal this to Lord Stark and the King…"
"The Westerlands will descend into chaos."
"And the Iron Islands could benefit from it too."
"Father would definitely praise ."
Theon swallowed hard and forced himself to stay calm.
"Just stay hidden."
"As long as I'm not discovered, I can leave alive."
At that very mont, Bran Stark climbed over from the direction of the Godswood and unintentionally spotted Theon clinging awkwardly to the outer wall of the Broken Tower.
"Huh?"
"Why is Theon here?"
"Didn't he go hunting with Father?"
Bran blinked curiously.
"Does he climb walls too?"
Instant excitent filled him.
In all of Winterfell, almost nobody shared his love of climbing. This was the first ti Bran had ever seen soone else climbing so high along the castle walls.
A grin spread across his face.
"I'll surprise him."
Bran climbed eagerly upward and quickly reached the roofline of the nearby keep. After taking a deep breath, he leaped toward one of the stone gargoyles jutting from the wall and grabbed it skillfully with both arms.
Below him, his direwolf Sumr crouched silently, smoky yellow eyes fixed anxiously upon his master.
Nearby, a black raven suddenly descended from the sky and landed atop another gargoyle statue, silently observing Bran.
It watched quietly, almost as though witnessing the approach of fate itself.
Bran noticed none of this.
Completely focused on climbing, he swung himself from one stone gargoyle to another with practiced ease.
After several breaths, Bran gathered all his strength and jumped again, landing securely upon the outer wall of the Broken Tower while gripping the protruding stones tightly.
The slight tremor instantly startled Theon.
He turned instinctively toward the source of the vibration.
Then his face turned deathly pale.
"Bran…"
Despair flooded through him.
"Please…"
"Please don't speak…"
Theon frantically pressed one hand against his lips while desperately gesturing for Bran to stay quiet.
But Bran, absorbed in climbing, failed to understand.
Within monts, he climbed up beside Theon and curiously asked:
"Theon, what are you doing here?"
The instant Bran spoke, Theon realized everything was over.
Without even thinking, he shouted:
"Bran, run!"
At the sa mont, Theon twisted around and began climbing downward as quickly as possible.
In this life-or-death situation, he no longer cared whether he slipped or fell.
But Jai reacted even faster.
The instant Bran's voice sounded, Jai shoved Cersei aside and rushed to the broken window.
One glance was enough for him to see both Bran and Theon clinging to the tower wall outside.
Bran was caught completely off guard by Jai's sudden appearance.
Startled, his fingers slipped from the stone.
He scread as he fell.
"Theon!"
Instinctively, Theon reached out and grabbed Bran's arm.
But Bran's weight nearly dragged him down as well, causing both of them to lose balance and slip dangerously toward the ground below.
At the critical mont, Jai lunged forward and seized Theon's arm, hauling both boys back upward with brute force.
Inside the room, Cersei finally understood what had happened.
Her face turned pale with terror.
"They saw us!"
"They must have seen us!"
In panic, she hurriedly pulled on her clothes while screaming hysterically:
"Jai, kill them!"
"Kill them now!"
Compared to her panic, Jai remained unnervingly calm.
Blocking the terrified Theon and Bran at the window, he turned toward Cersei and gestured for silence.
"Cersei."
"Calm yourself."
"Quiet."
Only after Cersei finally stopped shouting did Jai slowly turn back toward the two boys hanging before him.
His gaze swept over Bran's frightened face and Theon's pale expression.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Well now…"
"I never expected this ruined tower to attract so many visitors today."
"Does Winterfell truly have nowhere else for people to go?"
His tone sounded relaxed and playful.
But the murderous intent in Jai Lannister's eyes was impossible to hide.
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