106 Family reunion

Family reunion

Theon POV

Khal Motho left the city after I gave him more gifts, so his journey here wouldn't have been worthless. As much as I liked the guy, he wasn't my ally and might be my enemy if Volantis or Qarth decided to ask for his assistance to deal with me. I couldn't so easily let my guard down, but hopefully, he will reconsider and will join our forces.

As one left, another arrived. Hundreds of ships came into Yunkai waters. Every single one of them had a golden kraken on black sails. As our celebrations for the victory came to an end, Asha arrived. I had been waiting for her for a long time, and finally, my patience was justified, just in time when I was starting to worry about how I would be able to move my spoils of war.

Now, most of the Iron Island army was here. Asha wasn't foolish enough to leave the Iron Islands undefended. And seeing that the Iron Victory wasn't among the ships, it seemed that Victarion was left behind. It was a good choice to leave him behind, as he wouldn't do much here, and his presence at the Iron Islands should be enough to deter anyone from attacking them recklessly.

"Brother," Asha greeted me as I waited for them to land in the harbor. "It has been a long time."

"Indeed," I agreed, returning the greeting. "I was expecting you at an earlier time."

"There were some complications on my way here," Asha replied, and she looked somehow angrily behind her.

"How rude," A man with one of his eyes hiding under an eyepatch replied with an innocent smile as he approached us. "Calling you uncle a complication. That is uncalled for, don't you think so, my dear nephew Theon."

"Eran?" I asked as I barely recognized the man before me.

"Euron," He corrected me.

"Same difference," Just from one look, I could tell I didn't like him. "It has been too long, uncle. Yet, I was expecting never to see you as you were exiled from the Iron Islands."

"Now, is that how you talk to your family you haven't seen in years?" Euron asked, acting like he had been gravely insulted. "But I guess it should be expected. What I have done was wrong; now, after years away from home, I realize it. I have already apologized to Victarion, and I came to you to ask for forgiveness and let me join your efforts to conquer the world."

I couldn't remember much about him. But from my notes, I knew he was dangerous, and I should be careful around him. And it seemed my notes were right. He spoke too eloquently not to be a lie. He didn't seem to be someone who would accept his wrongdoing. And the way he claimed that I was conquering the world would have high expectations from others. Expectations that I was bound to fall short of.

From the looks of it, Asha would agree with me, but what about the others? Nobody seemed to be against Euron; nobody blocked his path toward me, nor did anyone say anything to him. Even if they didn't feel it was their right to interfere, the Ironborn might take it badly if I refused Euron's help. At least they would question me why I did something like that. And from doubt, something bigger would grow.

And there, I thought it would be easy sailing from here on. Weighting down my options, I couldn't dismiss Euron without a reason. All I could do now was smile and accept him. My father exiled him, and he was quite famous for making bad decisions, especially after he killed me by throwing me and himself into the sea. Euron will use it to prove his case.

"I will be frank with you: I don't know you," But again, maybe I was overthinking it, and Euron would do anything to prove himself and help me. "But family is family. And if I can't trust my blood, who can I trust?"

"Well said, my dearest nephew," Nephew, not king. Yup, Euron will try to dispose of me and take control of the Iron Islands. "Together, we show the world that we are the ironborn, and conquering time has returned. Our name will be heard everywhere the sound of the waves reaches. I say we take it all! I say we take the World!"

"Ohhh!" The ironborn gathered around us all showed their agreement with Euron's words.

Now, there was no mistaking. The way Euron spoke was to get into the hearts of the ironborn, and he succeeded. And since I can't disagree with his words, it will be seen as I support him. Euron probably knew how I would take his words, and he knew that I couldn't say anything about it. He was probably enjoying himself putting me in this situation.

Looking at Asha, I could tell she wanted to punch Euron, as she knew what he was doing. Not even five minutes have passed since I met him; he made me his enemy. I know it will be hard to get rid of him, but I will watch him. Every move he will make, I will know. And I will devour him once he tries to bite more than he can chew. Oh, how much I will enjoy it.

…

Asha's expression was between ashamed and angry. Once the reunion was over, men went to work, filling the ships with my spoils of war. I made sure to show everyone how much I have gained since I came here. No matter how many riches Euron had in his ship, mine were a hundred times more. I had to make the difference between him and me.

He was just like any Ironborn, and I was the King—the Drowned God-chosen champion. What Euron could do, I could do a hundred times better. So, if he plans to do anything, he will try to take my reputation down. Then, he will raise his reputation. I could see him smooth-talking the other Ironborn into doubting me and supporting him.

"How did this happen?" I asked once Asha and I were alone.

"Don't start blaming me. He showed up on the Iron Islands while we were preparing to leave for you," Asha replied. "It seemed like he knew everything that was going on. Of course, everyone distrusted him at first, but to gain the trust of the Ironborn, he gave out gifts to everyone: gold, precious gems and metals, and so on."

"Why do I have the feeling that Euron's gifts are poisoned and they will slowly kill us all?"

"You sound like Victarion," Asha said. "But I have to agree. He is using gifts to poison the ironborn minds."

So, I was correct to think that he already had support from most captains. It wasn't as big a support as I had, but Euron would have used it against me if I had questioned him. He wanted me to flip at him, so his words were so obvious to me. How cunning; before we even met, he already had a trap prepared for me.

"Theon, calm down," At first, I didn't understand why Asha looked so concerned at me and even backed away, but soon I realized what I was doing. "We can deal with him, somehow. In the end, he only has a few supporters, and with your word, they will turn on him. He won't be able to do anything."

Asha's words weren't very convincing as she slowly walked to the doors. I couldn't blame her since, without realizing it, I dug my nails into my palm while making a fist. The blood ran through my hands and caught on fire. Seeing her brother with burning fists and probably crazed eyes, Asha would be concerned, as she might think I blamed her.

"Relax," With a wave, the flames disappeared, and I calmed down. "I just got a bit excited, that it. You don't need to worry. I already know what kind of person Euron is and what he will try to do. He will try to use me for more power until he is confident enough to eliminate me. There is only one thing he wants, and that is everything."

"So, how should we deal with him?"

"He plans to use us to gain more power, so we do the same. We use him to gain a foothold in Essos."

"Don't we already have Astapor and now Yunkai?" Asha asked. "And Meereen is our ally too."

"To secure our foothold, we need to get rid of everyone threatening it," I replied. "Volantis, New Ghis, and even Qarth must be burned for me to feel reassured when I leave this place. They need to realize that they should stop their foolish ambition."

Nobody will know how to react. Volantis might have thought that with their support, they could restrict Daenerys and mine movements and actions. But all they managed to do was paint a target on their backs. And I never miss my target. New Ghis shouldn't be too much trouble; they don't have as much power as other Free Cities, and since they failed to establish their alliance with Yunkai and Volantis, they are the perfect next target.

With New Ghis done, Qarth will be completely isolated from Volantis. Slaver's Bay, Gulf of Grief, and soon the Summer Sea will belong to me. A new empire will rise in Essos; nobody can stop it anymore. Those who still think that they can crush us as they wish will realize that they are powerless against me.

…

For the first time, I had dinner with Euron. Upon close, he was even creepier. Maybe others couldn't see it, but I saw madness and maliciousness in his eye. Yet, the way he acted around me could be anything but mad. His speech and movement were elegant; he only said things everyone wanted to hear and did what was expected of him.

From Asha, I knew that Victarion tried to dismiss Euron's gifts and told him to fuck off from the Iron Islands. Only for Euron to turn the tables. Not only did he apologize for his actions, but in the same way, he put doubt on everyone that Victarion wasn't suited to accompany me since he had already lost to Lord Hightower, and ever since Stannis defeated him, he hadn't proved himself.

Unlike Euron, whose ship Silence was infamous in every port from Ibben to Asshai with its black sails and dark red hull. What got me more curious, though, was the Valyrian Steel armor he gifted me. It felt and looked real, just like my Valyrian steel dagger. It proved that Euron was in Valyria. The first man to go there and come back.

As believable as his story was and as generous as the gift was, I would be a fool to be blinded by it. But what could I do? Euron was something I didn't plan for. Doing something recklessly will only put my rule in question. And after a generous gift I receive, I would look like someone ungrateful. Whatever Euron is hiding will probably give me more trouble in the future. So, I needed to be careful.

"You made quite a name for yourself, nephew," Euron said as he got another cup of wine. "But I have to ask: Why surrender yourself to some woman? Am I right, boys?"

"Uncle," I smiled as the men around me shouted in agreement with Euron. "I will pluck your last eye like I did with the Mountain if you question my actions again."

No matter how much support Euron might gain with his gifts and speeches, one word from me and the ironborn knew who their king was. I am not some foolish kid or cowardly old man. I am Theon the Undead. My rule was accepted and revered by every single ironborn. Euron will have to try harder if he wants to undermine me.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.