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The captains began shouting Euron's name.
The Valyrian steel armor had already shaken them. The treasure opened their greed. Dragonbinder set fire to it.
Theon watched the mood turn.
Some were Euron's men, island chiefs who had come prepared to support the Crow's Eye. Some had once leaned toward Asha. Others had sworn neutrality in public and sold themselves in private.
Then Ramsay Bolton raised his voice.
"Euron!"
The captains under his control followed at once. Their shouts pushed the crowd over the edge.
Euron Greyjoy was chosen.
The drowned priest proclaimed him king. Some cried out that he was Euron Greyjoy, Eleventh of His Name, though whether by law, boast, or drunken excitement, no one stopped to untangle it.
Euron's single visible eye turned toward Asha.
It was cold.
Her old Black Wind men and the captains she had gathered had not all supported him. Their agreement had cracked in public.
Theon did not look at Euron. He looked at Ramsay.
"Why?"
Ramsay's smile was almost gentle. "Perhaps Lord Robb ordered it. Perhaps I have developed an appetite for more than second place. When the prey are gone, even a loyal hunting dog may become meat."
Theon forced his anger down. "You think you can stand against Bloodwind?"
"No mortal can. But dragons are not mortal." Ramsay's pale eyes glittered. "And Daenerys Targaryen is a woman. Women can be reached by other means."
Before Theon could answer, the drowned priest called Euron forward to be drowned and raised.
Theon turned to leave.
Ramsay stepped into his path.
Asha moved first. She shoved Ramsay hard enough to make him stumble.
"I warned you," she said to Theon. "After I met Euron, I told you this dog would betray you."
Theon stared at her.
Asha's mouth twisted. "I was acting. Someone had to draw out the men who would never accept you. Dragonstone killed many of them. This gathers the rest."
Ramsay laughed. "A fine performance, Lady Asha."
Euron came back before the drowning. He had understood enough. His hand rested on the hilt of a Valyrian steel dagger.
"Treason before the bones of Nagga," he said. "How traditional."
Asha drew her axe. Loyal captains closed around Theon. Euron's men formed a ring around them.
Theon slipped one hand into his sleeve.
The explosive fruit struck the ground between them.
Euron reacted quickly. He dragged one of his mute crewmen in front of him, using the man as a shield.
Nothing happened at once.
Euron smiled. "Was that meant to frighten me?"
Theon smiled back. "Wait for the echo."
The explosion cracked across Old Wyk.
The sound carried to the Great Kraken.
On the deck of Theon's flagship, Bloodwind stepped out of the cabin and began to grow.
Men screamed when the white direwolf rose above them, swelling into a towering monster of ice and mist. Robb Stark stood beside him, cloak snapping in the sea wind.
Ramsay's smile vanished.
"Robb was in the Red Keep two weeks ago."
"That was half a month ago," Theon said. "No ship could have crossed that fast from King's Landing, true. That is why I stopped at Sunspear and Oldtown. I was waiting for him."
Ramsay looked toward Euron. "Run."
The Crow's Eye remained calm, but he gave a sharp order to a bald mute with a bird tattooed across his scalp.
"Cragorn. The horn."
Cragorn ran for Nagga's Hill with Dragonbinder in both hands.
Euron turned to the captains. "If you stand still, Theon will not spare you. Fight, and you may yet live."
Robb and Bloodwind reached the outer ribs.
The first ice spears flew straight at Euron. They struck the Valyrian steel armor and burst apart into glittering shards.
Robb's eyes narrowed.
"Magic will not bite you, then."
He drew Ice.
"We will try steel."
Cragorn blew the horn.
The sound of Dragonbinder tore through Old Wyk like a thousand souls screaming in a furnace. Men clapped hands over their ears. Some dropped to their knees. Others stared wide-eyed, faces twisted with rage, lust, terror, and hunger they could not explain.
Robb felt something hostile press at his thoughts.
It did not control him, but it stirred every dark fire inside him. Anger. Desire. Malice. The horn dragged them up like sparks from a pit.
Cragorn's mouth blistered as he blew. The bird tattoo on his scalp split and bled. Smoke poured from the horn and from his lips. When the sound ended, he collapsed like a burned offering.
Robb did not know the name Dragonbinder. He only knew the horn was a dangerous magical artifact, and that its effect was aimed at Bloodwind and him.
Bloodwind charged.
The ice direwolf tore through Euron's men, jaws closing over shields and faces alike. Robb moved with him, Ice flashing in his hand.
Euron dodged the first strike. Robb's second blow knocked the axe from his hand.
The Crow's Eye drew a Valyrian steel dagger and began chanting.
His body blurred.
Two Eurons stood before Robb.
Then four.
Each breathed. Each smiled. Each moved with sound and shadow.
'Illusions as well?'
Robb struck one. The blade passed through empty air.
Another Euron darted in from the side, dagger flashing. Robb twisted away and answered with Ice, but the figure scattered before the sword touched him.
Wingbeats rolled over the hill.
Every ironborn who still had sense looked up.
A black dragon broke through the clouds.
Red marked its wings and throat like banked coals. Its mouth opened, and the roar shook Nagga's bones.
Drogon locked onto Bloodwind.
Then he dropped from the sky.
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