[ It's fine enough that he's asking; it's not exactly a secret, what Katsa's done. If anyone she knows Gendry probably wouldn't be too shocked hearing it, it's just something she's never had to talk about before, because everyone knew, and it's weird. ]

If a man withheld his taxes too late or underreported his lands, he'd send me to break a finger, to take a limb. Torture a lord until he gave Randa what he demanded, be it money or crop or a daughter's hand in marriage to an alliance. If it were a more serious offense like treason, I would kill him in ways that Randa specified: break his neck, bleed him slowly, skin him, do it in front of whole towns and villages until everyone knew of his lady Graceling killer. I was ten when he sent me on my first assignment.

[ Katsa clenches her jaw. She's angry just thinking about it, and her anger still overwhelms her sometimes. Gendry's gotten a lot of backstory out of Katsa today. ]

We've both led people to death for their crimes, and you've wars of your own, but maybe you're able to say you did it it to try to end it. To survive.