Damon watched her.

He watched how her eyes followed every single movement the dancer made. He watched how her pink lips parted slightly in awe. He watched how she occasionally bit her lower lip when the dancer flexed his chest.

Damon felt a sudden, sharp feeling rise deep inside his own chest. It was a very strange, uncomfortable heat. It was a feeling he had never, ever experienced in his entire life. He did not know the name for it, but it made his jaw clench tightly. He did not like the way she was looking at another man.

"My lord," Camilla whispered softly.

She reached out her hand again. She tugged his sleeve gently.

But she did not turn her head. She did not look at Damon at all. Her eyes remained completely glued to the handsome dancer spinning in the room.

"This one is Ilias," Camilla whispered, introducing the men one by one like a merchant selling fine goods. She pointed a delicate finger at the spinning man. "He’s a very good dancer. He is incredibly agile. He would be excellent at dodging enemy arrows on the battlefield."

She pointed toward the corner of the room.

"And the other one playing the music is Elian," Camilla continued, her voice full of praise. "He has very fast, very precise fingers. He would be excellent at handling delicate military equipment."

She was trying to sound professional, but her voice was slightly breathless from watching the performance.

"Which one do you want?" Camilla asked smoothly, her eyes still locked onto Ilias’s moving chest. "Which one should we recruit first?"

Damon stared at the side of her beautiful face. He listened to her breathless praise for the other men. The strange, tight feeling in his chest grew heavier.

Damon replied. His deep voice was quiet, smooth, and completely focused. He was still looking only at her.

"Which one do you like best?" Damon asked back. It was a simple question, but it carried a heavy, hidden weight.

Camilla, still looking entirely at Ilias, did not realize she was stepping directly into a massive trap. Her brain was too distracted by the beautiful visual display in front of her. She spoke completely absentmindedly, answering him with her honest, unguarded thoughts.

"It’s difficult to choose," Camilla whispered softly, letting out a small sigh. "They are all so perfect. Their muscles are incredible."

She leaned forward just a tiny bit more as Ilias leaped high into the air again.

"But I’ll choose Ilias," Camilla decided openly, a wide, appreciative smile spreading across her face. "He looks exactly like a god."

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

The moment the words "looks like a god" hung in the quiet air, Camilla’s brain suddenly woke up. Her instincts screamed a loud, blaring warning alarm inside her head.

DANGER!

Her internal voice shouted in pure panic.

What did you just say?!

Camilla completely remembered herself. She remembered who was sitting right next to her. She remembered she was supposed to be a loyal, devoted wife.

She quickly snapped her head away from the dancer. She turned to face Damon. She saw his eyes staring directly into hers. His expression was completely unreadable, but the air around him felt dangerously cold.

Camilla knew she had to fix this massive mistake immediately. She had to flatter his male ego before he decided to execute Ilias on the spot for being too handsome.

She quickly reached out both of her hands. She grabbed his arm firmly. She pulled herself closer to him on the sofa.

She completely changed her expression. She erased the look of lust and replaced it with her best, most innocent, most adoring face. She looked up at him with wide, incredibly sweet eyes.

"But," Camilla said quickly, her voice raising in pitch slightly. "What about them?"

She waved her hand dismissively toward the center of the room, acting as if the five gorgeous men were suddenly nothing but boring people.

"They are just ordinary boys," Camilla lied smoothly, pouring as much fake love into her voice as possible. She snuggled closer to him. She pressed her soft shoulder gently into his hard, muscular arm, acting like a clingy, affectionate kitten.

"They are not even as good as my husband," Camilla purred softly, looking deeply into his eyes. "You are much stronger, My Lord. Your shoulders are broader. You are the greatest General in the kingdom. None of them could ever compare to you."

Damon sat perfectly still on the velvet sofa. He felt her soft body pressing warmly against his arm. He felt her small hands holding his sleeve.

He looked down, deep into her eyes.

His stare was so incredibly intense, so heavy and searching, that it actually made Camilla feel physically uncomfortable. She felt a sudden, strange flutter in her stomach. She could not hold his intense gaze.

She made a tiny shift on the velvet cushion. She looked away for a split second, blinking her eyes nervously, before forcing herself to look back up at him.

Damon saw her nervous shift. He knew she was acting. He knew every single word she just said was a complete, fabricated lie to cover up her mistake.

"Do you think I believe you?" Damon asked.

His deep voice was perfectly calm. It was a simple question, stated without anger, but it cut straight through all of her fake sweetness.

Camilla knew her flattery had failed. She immediately switched to her backup plan. She played the ultimate victim card.

She immediately feigned deep emotional hurt.

She quickly let go of his arm. She pulled her body away from him, sliding a few inches across the sofa to create distance. She turned her head away, looking deeply offended.

"My Lord," Camilla said, her voice shaking with fake disappointment and wounded pride. "How can you say that?"

She placed her hand over her heart again.

"I have done so much for you," Camilla argued softly, acting as if she had just traveled across deserts and mountains for his sake. "I came all the way to this strange, scary place just to help build your army. I am trying to be a supportive wife. And you still don’t trust me? Your words wound me deeply."

She needed someone to back up her ridiculous story. She could not fight him alone.

Camilla looked quickly across the low glass table. She looked directly at Zade, who was still sitting nervously on his smaller sofa.

She narrowed her eyes. She gave Zade a very sharp, very clear, highly demanding eye signal. It was an unspoken command that clearly said: Help me right now, or I will kill you myself!

Zade saw the fierce, threatening glare from his older sister. He understood the assignment perfectly. He had to be the perfect witness.

Zade quickly sat up perfectly straight on his velvet sofa. He raised his hand in the air, acting like a man swearing an oath in a royal courtroom.

"Yes, My Lord!" Zade spoke loudly, his raspy voice echoing in the room. He nodded his head rapidly. "I am a witness to this truth!"

Zade pointed firmly at his sister.

"What my sister says is absolutely, completely true," Zade lied with total confidence. "She really came here today solely to pick some strong recruits for your army. We were just testing their physical fitness and their endurance. There is absolutely nothing romantic happening here."

Zade needed to make his story sound even more convincing. He needed his friend to agree with him.

"Right, Austin?" He asked .

Underneath the low glass table, hidden from the General’s sight, Zade moved his leg. He reached out his leather boot and stepped directly, and very hard, onto Austin’s foot.

CRUNCH.

Austin’s eyes bulged completely out of his head. A sudden, massive shock of pain shot up his leg.

Austin opened his mouth wide. He inhaled a huge breath of air. He was just about to shout loudly in pure agony. But as he opened his mouth, he saw Zade glaring absolute daggers at him. Zade’s eyes were wide with a frantic, desperate warning.

Austin understood immediately. If he screamed, he would ruin the lie, and the General would chop his head off.

Austin quickly snapped his mouth completely shut. He swallowed his loud scream down into his throat. He bit his own tongue to stop the sound. His face turned a bright shade of purple from holding his breath.

Austin forced himself to smile through the terrible pain. He nodded his head rapidly, looking like a manic, terrified puppet.

"Yes! Yes!" Austin mumbled loudly, his voice strained and tight. "Recruits! Absolutely! Just strong men for the army! We are all very loyal to the kingdom!"

Damon sat quietly on the sofa. He looked across the table. He saw Zade’s desperate, lying face. He saw Austin turning purple, holding his breath in obvious, complete physical pain.

Then, Damon slowly turned his head to the head of the lying department. He looked back at Camilla.

She was still looking innocent, and so deeply offended by his lack of trust.

Damon looked at the three of them. They were the worst liars he had ever met in his entire life. The entire situation—the half-naked men, the military recruitment excuse, the terrible acting—was so incredibly ridiculous. It was so completely, totally absurd.

For the past year, Damon’s life had been nothing but dark, strict military discipline. He never smiled.

But right now, sitting in this bizarre room, watching his wife try to convince him that a half-naked dancer was a military recruit, something inside Damon’s strict mind finally broke.

Damon stared at Camilla’s innocent face.

And then, Damon started chuckling.

It started as a very low, very quiet, deep sound rumbling in the bottom of his broad chest.

Heh.

Camilla blinked. She stopped acting hurt. She stared at him in pure shock. She had never, ever heard the General make a sound like that. She did not know if he was angry or amused.

She smiled a very small, highly nervous smile. She decided to join him, hoping it would save her life.

Camilla let out a small, quiet chuckle too.

Haha.

Damon looked at her nervous, smiling face. He saw the complete relief in her eyes when he didn’t yell at her.

The low chuckle in his chest grew. It bubbled up into his throat. He could not hold it back anymore. The absurdity was too much.

Damon then progressed to real, actual laughter.

His broad shoulders shook. The hard, cold lines of his handsome face completely vanished, replaced by a look of unadulterated amusement.

Seeing him laugh, hearing the wonderful, deep sound, Camilla felt a massive, overwhelming wave of relief wash over her entire body. She realized they were not going to die today.

Camilla threw her head back. She too started laughing loudly.