GOT: The Great — Chapter 162 - Hostage Exchange — Words Unspoken

Selwyn Tarth stormed Storm's End twice. All he had to show for it was three hundred more corpses at the foot of the walls.

Barristan returned to the council chamber and reported to Daenerys. "He's gathering troops again."

"Which attempt is this?"

"The second." Barristan paused. "After each assault, he rests for a while."

"What are our casualties?"

"None. Grey Worm rotated the men in perfect order — those who should guard, guard; those who should rest, rest."

Only then did Daenerys exhale.

"Khaleesi." Grey Worm strode over. "Someone has come to the city gate."

"Who?"

"Selwyn. He has Qotho and Rakharo with him."

Jhiqui's face went white.

Daenerys ran up to the walls. What she saw stopped her cold.

Rakharo and Qotho were bound at the wrists with coarse rope, hung from a crossbeam, their toes barely scraping the ground. Their horsehide vests had been stripped off, leaving lean chests exposed, covered in whip marks and bruises.

Rakharo's left eye was swollen shut. Dried blood crusted the corner of his mouth. A tuft of Qotho's hair had been ripped out, leaving a wound on his scalp that was still seeping.

Jhiqui covered her mouth. Irri's tears came all at once, her fingers locking around Daenerys's skirt.

Selwyn rode between the two posts, tilted his head back, and shouted up at the walls.

"You are surrounded! Bronzegate, Grasshall, Fallwood — all in my hands! Of the men you sent out, 2 I've taken alive, and 1 is dead! You will have no reinforcements! Surrender!"

Grey Worm leaned close and said quietly, "He's lying. Qhono must have escaped. If he were dead, Selwyn would have dragged the body here too."

Daenerys's lips barely moved. "That clumsy trick won't fool anyone. He's desperate. He's afraid Drogo will come back with the army and find him still camped outside."

Selwyn waited. Nothing came from the walls. He shouted again, louder, but impatience had crept into his voice now.

Still no one answered him.

He waved a hand. Soldiers hauled firewood and piled it at Rakharo and Qotho's feet. Someone brought a bucket of oil and sloshed it over the wood.

Daenerys's hand pressed flat against the battlements.

"Release them! What do you want?"

Selwyn smiled. "Just two common soldiers, and you care this much?"

"I care about every man who fights for me," she said.

Rakharo, Qotho, and Qhono, from the day she first married Drogo, they had been the 3 guards assigned to protect her. Together with Irri, Doreah, Jhiqui, and Lale, they had never left her side. They were all close in age, and they got along well.

Tyrion had appeared on the walls at some point without anyone noticing. He stood beside Grey Worm, so short that the battlements swallowed most of him. He rose on his toes, peered out, then pulled back.

Grey Worm glanced at him, then at Daenerys.

Daenerys gave a slight nod.

Grey Worm bent down, grabbed Tyrion around the waist with both hands, and lifted him like a chicken, setting him on top of the battlements.

Tyrion sat in the crenel, his short legs dangling over the edge.

Selwyn saw it.

From below, the picture was clear: a dwarf perched on the battlements, an Unsullied commander standing behind him, Daenerys at his side. The message was unmistakable. They were using the Hand of the King as leverage.

Before Tyrion could open his mouth, Selwyn called out: "Since you value those two soldiers so much, I'll release them. But I want one man in return."

"Who?"

"Tyrion Lannister."

Tyrion's inner voice was immediate: What the hell is wrong with him? I don't want to leave.

He spoke calmly. "Lord Selwyn, I never knew the Isle of Tarth could field enough men to surround Storm's End, Grasshall, Bronzegate, and Fallwood all at once."

"We emptied the island," Selwyn called back. "And after we landed, many people of the Stormlands joined us. My forces are far greater than what you see. Lord Tyrion, have no fear — I will get you out."

"No one has ever breached Storm's End," Tyrion replied. "When Khal Drogo returns with the dragons, you will all be defeated. Why not surrender now? The queen is merciful. She will pardon you."

Selwyn didn't answer right away. He turned and murmured something to the adjutant beside him.

Then he looked back up. "Lord Tyrion, I know you're being coerced. After we routed the Unsullied at the bridge, we sent riders to King's Landing for reinforcements. We will get you out before the Horse Lord returns."

As he said it, his gaze slid off Tyrion and swept across Daenerys on the wall.

Deliberate. Every word of it was for her.

Daenerys didn't react. Her expression didn't change at all.

Selwyn's jaw tightened. He turned to his adjutant and snarled, "Light it."

A soldier raised a torch and walked toward the woodpile.

"Stop." Daenerys's voice came out a pitch higher than before.

The torch froze in midair.

Daenerys drew a slow breath.

Rakharo had lifted his head. The one eye that wasn't swollen found her across the distance.

Qotho strained against his bonds. The rope bit deeper into his wrists, and blood ran down his forearms.

"I will count to ten." Selwyn raised one finger. "If you don't hand over Tyrion, I burn them both. Then I resume the assault."

He started counting.

"One."

Irri sobbed out loud, her hand still locked around Daenerys's skirt.

"Two."

Jhiqui pressed her palm over her mouth. Tears seeped through her fingers.

"Three."

"Four."

Grey Worm's face was stone, but his grip on his spear tightened.

"Five."

Daenerys closed her eyes. Hand over Tyrion, and Selwyn wouldn't stop, he would keep fighting. Refuse, and Rakharo and Qotho would die. The 2 men who had protected her since she was thirteen years old.

"Six."

She opened her eyes.

"Seven."

"Enough."

Selwyn raised his hand. The torch stopped.

"An exchange is acceptable," Daenerys said. "Release them first, and I'll let you take Tyrion."

Selwyn narrowed his eyes. "What if I release them and you go back on your word?"

"I'm standing here, saying it to your face. The Mother of Dragons does not break her word." Her voice was steady. "But you release them first. Otherwise there's nothing to discuss."

Tyrion was still sitting on the crenel, his short legs swinging idly. He gave a small, bitter smile.

"You're really going to hand me over?"

"Mm."

Daenerys turned and spoke quietly to Grey Worm. He nodded and went down from the wall at a run.

A short while later, the side gate opened.

Grey Worm led the way. Behind him came Tyrion and Shae. Shae had hold of Tyrion's hand, her face pale but her steps even. Barristan and Sansa brought up the rear.

Selwyn reined in his horse and watched the small procession.

"Release them first," Daenerys called from the wall.

Selwyn waved his hand. Two soldiers climbed the wooden frame and cut the ropes at Rakharo and Qotho's wrists. Both men dropped to the ground and were dragged to the side.

Grey Worm signaled Tyrion forward. Tyrion let go of Shae's hand, said something low, "Wait for me", and then set off on his short legs toward Selwyn.

Shae stayed where she was. Her lips were trembling, but she didn't follow.

The Unsullied carried Rakharo and Qotho through the side gate. Irri and Jhiqui rushed to them, one weeping, one crying out.

Shae stood still and watched Tyrion's back grow smaller and smaller, until his small figure was swallowed by Selwyn's soldiers and she couldn't see him anymore.

She didn't cry. She just clenched her fists.

The exchange was done.

Sansa's gaze moved past Selwyn, out toward the distant camp.

"Where is Brienne?" she said. "I want to see her."

➤ Next: Cracks in the Gate