All the Ironborn ships Euron had sent to Meereen were now fighting the Royal Fleet to the death in the west. Only the Invincible Ironborn sailed alone among the captured warships from Volantis, heading straight toward the Iron Fleet.
If Euron had been cautious enough, this alone should have made him suspicious and alert.
But the word cowardice did not exist in Euron's dictionary. Everything he possessed today had been gained by following his instincts and charging forward.
He was about to order the Serenity to approach the longship that should not have been there when he realized the other vessel was also coming directly at him with a clear target. Without lowering its sails, its speed was so great that it left the friendly ships on both sides far behind. Leading the way, it charged straight into the core of the first formation of Euron's fleet, composed entirely of the Iron Islands' main longships.
The Leviathan and the Night Stalker also spotted the prominent giant longship. While launching ranged attacks against it, they moved toward the Serenity to protect the flagship. Both sides advanced at full speed, heading toward each other. Their approach was astonishingly fast. With a deafening crash that seemed to tear the sky apart, the Serenity and the Invincible Ironborn, the new and old flagships, collided head on. Their massive rams embedded into each other's hulls. The force was so violent that every crew member without support was thrown onto the deck without regard for dignity.
Both ships were reinforced warships. Although the damage from the collision was severe, it was not fatal. Before the shaking stopped, Euron leaped from the bow and landed on the opposing deck.
He wanted to kill. He wanted his battle axe and armor to drink blood.
The former owner of the Invincible Ironborn was not only his brother but also a Lord Commander of the Fleet beloved by the Ironborn. Even though Euron found him troublesome and cared little for gossip, he had not openly persecuted Victarion after taking the Seastone Chair. Instead, he deceived him into sailing to the far side of the world and used a scheme to ensure he would never return.
The scheme had succeeded, but the ship had returned to Westeros like a ghost.
Today, no matter who commanded this vessel, or where he came from, Euron would personally cut off his head and offer his blood and tongue as a sacrifice to the great being that had suddenly ceased speaking to him.
The Captain and King leaped onto the enemy ship without hesitation. The sailors hurried after him, climbing over the gunwale with wooden shields covered in iron plates and wet cloths soaked in seawater. Euron possessed immense strength, and his Valyrian steel armor was nearly indestructible, but it could not withstand wildfire. If the enemy used incendiary weapons, they would have to extinguish the flames and rescue their king at once.
Yet on the broad deck of the Invincible Ironborn, as large as the Serenity's, no soldiers came forward to resist. Only a dozen sailors ran about in panic. The moment Euron landed, they dropped everything and fled into the cabin, leaving him full of murderous rage with no one to slaughter.
"A bunch of cowards," Euron roared. "Where is your captain? Tell him to come out and die."
"Uncle, there is no need to look. I am right here."
The clear female voice in such a moment was unsettling. Euron turned and saw Asha standing calmly before the cabin entrance.
Compared to the last time he had seen her on Pyke, when she had supposedly escaped the clutches of the Night's Watch, she now appeared energetic and radiant. Her fitted battle gear outlined her slender waist and long legs. The battle axe and round shield in her hands made their hostility clear. The black dye covering her leather and cloth, dark as the deepest night, seemed to declare openly that she now stood with the Night's Watch.
"My sweet Asha," Euron said, laughing in fury as he approached her slowly, his face twisted. "Aegor sent you to kill me, and you failed. Your uncle sent you back to kill him, and you failed again. Tell me, what can you actually accomplish?"
"Perhaps nothing, Uncle, but I can confirm one thing." Asha tapped her shield lightly with her axe. "When Daenerys rides her dragon into this battle, the vast and invincible Iron Fleet will crumble. Today is the time and place of your burial."
"Hahaha. You are spirited. But your sailors do not seem to share your courage."
During their brief exchange, every enemy on deck had fled through the cabin door behind Asha. On the open deck, aside from the Serenity's sailors following Euron with shields and wet cloths, only the Kraken's Daughter remained.
He was pleased.
Even in madness, he had to consider the Islanders' judgment.
He had committed kinslaying before, but never openly in broad daylight. Today Asha stood before him in black armor, declaring this his burial ground. She had given him the chance to commit public kinslaying.
The thrill of killing his niece was far greater than slaying a stranger. Offering the blood of one's closest kin to the gods sounded devout. Most importantly, countless witnesses could testify that Asha had sought her own death.
Surely this was the second chance granted by fate.
Grinning, Euron raised his axe. "All right, little girl. Let your uncle see what you have learned from the Slayer of White Walkers."
Without waiting for a reply, he charged at her like a raging beast.
Asha was a skilled fighter, and Euron knew it. If she dared challenge him here, she must have some reliance. Yet with his potion-altered physique and priceless Valyrian steel armor, he believed no warrior alive could match him.
He expected a fierce clash between blood relatives, a tragic and glorious duel that bards would one day sing. Instead, facing his attack, Asha gritted her teeth and hurled her battle axe at him with all her strength.
That was all?
Throwing an axe was no novelty. Euron tilted his head and easily dodged it. Before he could mock her, Asha crouched slightly and hurled her round shield at him as well.
Euron deflected the spinning shield with his axe, but his momentum had already been disrupted. As he prepared to strike down his now unarmed opponent, Asha did the unexpected.
After throwing her weapons, she turned and fled into the cabin without hesitation.
"Running?" Euron roared and chased after her.
He considered the possibility of a trap, but they were close. He was confident he could catch her before falling into any ambush.
There were no lamps or torches. Entering from the bright deck, his vision dimmed at once. The Invincible Ironborn shared a similar structure with the Serenity and the Leviathan. Euron and his mute sailors ran through narrow passages, turning corners and descending stairs, always close behind Asha. The chase thrilled him. At last, after turning a final corner and entering a doorway, Asha was cornered in what appeared to be a storage room.
What was that smell?
It was like rotten eggs.
He saw Asha by the window, struggling to lift the panel and tossing what looked like ropes out into the sea. By the faint light, he realized the room was filled with shelves. Black wooden barrels were neatly stacked and secured with ropes. A small spark caught his eye. A thin fuse beside him was burning.
Wildfire.
The barrels must be filled with it. This girl intended to die with him.
Without hesitation, Euron swung his axe, severing the burning fuse and the wooden support it was tied to. The cut fuse burned briefly on the ground before extinguishing in a wisp of smoke.
"Hehehe." Euron grinned, pleased with his quick reaction. When he looked up, Asha stood by the window, sneering. She bent and leaped gracefully through the opening into the sea.
She ran?
Where could she go?
Though winter was ending, the sea remained bitterly cold. Anyone who jumped in would soon freeze.
Euron leaned out and saw her swimming away. The urge to pursue nearly drove him to leap after her, but reason restrained him. He was King of the Iron Islands and commander of a fleet on the verge of victory. To chase a powerless woman into the sea would waste precious time and risk disaster.
He struck the cabin wall with his axe, nearly splitting the frame, then turned to his followers.
"Kill everyone on this ship. Leave a dozen men to control it. If it sinks, I will feed you to the fish. And move all the wildfire in this room…"
He stopped.
He remembered Asha's sneer.
Turning, he saw another fuse burning at the end of a shelf, and another spark on the opposite side.
After a brief stunned silence, Euron understood. Every shelf likely had a lit fuse. Asha could not have ignited them all in a single second. The sailors who fled had not been running in fear. They had been setting the trap.
There was no time to count. With fury and unwillingness, Euron grabbed the window frame and forced himself through, plunging into the sea below.
(To be continued.)