Chapter 157: Chapter Hundred And Fifty Six

A short time later, the hallway was completely quiet.

Damon had gone to a different room to change. He was already standing in the hallway, waiting patiently.

He had changed into his own personal training attire. He wore a simple, dark, sleeveless tunic made of breathable linen. The fabric clung tightly to his broad chest. He wore loose, comfortable black trousers designed for high kicks and fast movement, and flat, soft-soled leather training boots.

He stood with his hands resting casually behind his back.

The door of the master bedroom clicked open.

Damon turned his head. He watched Camilla step out into the hallway.

The moment he saw her, Damon was mesmerized. His eyes widened slightly. He absolutely couldn’t take his eyes off her.

For an entire year, he had only ever seen his wife wearing silk dresses. He had only seen her in tight corsets with yards of flowing fabric that completely hid her true shape.

But right now, she looked entirely different.

She was wearing the training outfit he had ordered the maids to prepare. It was a very dark, midnight blue color. The soft, durable linen tunic was well-fitted to her small waist. The dark trousers hugged her slim legs perfectly. Her soft leather boots were laced tightly around her calves, making her look incredibly agile and fast.

She had not left her beautiful red curly hair falling loosely over her shoulders. She had brushed it completely back and tied it up into a high, practical ponytail that swung gently behind her head.

As she walked out of the room, she was holding a long piece of clean white cloth. She was carefully wrapping the cloth tightly around her knuckles and her wrists to protect her small hands during the physical training.

She moved with an effortless, natural grace that completely captivated him.

Camilla finished tying the knot on her left hand. She looked up from her hands and saw him standing in the hallway.

"My Lord," Camilla said simply.

Then, it was Camilla’s turn to be mesmerized.

She completely froze. She stopped walking. She too couldn’t take her eyes off him. She stared directly at Damon. Her jaw slowly, slightly dropped open.

Without his stiff military coat, the sheer size and power of his body were put on full, absolute display. His broad, massive shoulders looked even wider. The dark sleeveless tunic he wore left his thick, heavily muscled arms completely bare. She could see every single hard line of his chest muscles pressing against the thin fabric.

But it was not just his body that caught her attention. It was his face.

His dark hair wasn’t perfectly combed and styled in its usual, strict manner. It was slightly messy, falling casually over his forehead, making him look wild and untamed. His dark brown eyes were intense and completely focused on her.

He looked incredibly, devastatingly handsome. He looked exactly like an ancient, powerful god about to step onto a bloody battlefield to fight a massive war.

Inside her head, Camilla’s practical, cold mind completely shut down for three seconds. Her internal voice let out a loud, breathless gasp.

"Oh my God, Camilla," she thought to herself, her mind staring wildly at his thick arms. "Are you absolutely, completely sure you don’t want to taste this man? Look at those shoulders. Look at those arms. He is absolute perfection."

Damon stood in the hallway. He heard her sudden, breathless thoughts clearly in his head. He heard her call him perfection. He heard her wonder if she wanted to ’taste’ him.

A sudden, intense rush of heat hit Damon’s chest. He felt his face grow warm. He kept his expression perfectly blank, but he felt an incredible surge of male pride.

But Camilla did not let herself get distracted by his handsome face for very long. She quickly shook her head, forcing the romantic, foolish thoughts completely out of her brain.

She blinked her eyes rapidly, scattering her distracting thoughts.

"No," Camilla scolded herself internally, her voice returning to its normal, cynical tone. "I am absolutely not interested anymore. I don’t care how incredible his muscles look in that tunic. He is a grumpy, stubborn rock. He can keep his stingy, boring body completely to himself."

Damon heard the sudden shift in her mind. He heard her call him a ’stingy body’. The intense heat of pride in his chest instantly turned into a sharp, highly annoyed sting.

"Stingy body?" Damon grumbled silently in his own mind, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I offered you a good amount of gold yesterday, and you still call me stingy."

Camilla did not notice his slight frown. She walked closer to him, letting her hands fall to her sides.

She smiled up at him politely. It was a very calm, very composed smile.

"After you, my lord," Camilla said softly, gesturing with her wrapped hand down the long hallway.

Damon cleared his throat softly to hide his annoyance. He nodded his head.

"Yes," Damon replied simply.

He turned around and began to walk. Camilla followed a few steps behind him.

They walked in complete silence until they reached a dark door at the very end of the hall.

Damon pushed the door open.

They walked into Damon’s private study.

The study was exactly the same as always. The heavy desk sat in the center. The walls were completely covered from floor to ceiling with massive, tall wooden bookshelves filled with thousands of thick, leather-bound books and military maps.

Camilla looked around the room. She was slightly confused.

"Are we going to train by throwing books at each other?" Camilla thought to herself, raising a delicate eyebrow. "I thought he said an underground arena."

Damon did not stop at his desk. He walked directly toward the largest, tallest bookshelf on the far back wall of the study.

He reached up his hand and grabbed a thick, dark red book resting on the middle shelf.

He pulled the top of the book firmly toward himself, tilting it forward like a lever.

Click. Clack.

A loud metallic sound echoed from deep behind the wooden shelves. It sounded like massive iron gears turning and chains pulling.

Suddenly, the entire massive bookshelf began to move.

The heavy wood slowly slid completely to the side. The bookshelf parted perfectly in the middle, revealing a dark opening hidden right inside the stone wall of the mansion.

Inside the opening, a set of wide, smooth stone stairs led straight downward into the deep darkness. The stairs were lit by flickering orange torches resting in iron brackets on the walls.

Camilla stopped her mocking thoughts. She stared at the hidden passage. Her eyes went wide with genuine amazement.

She slowly mouthed the word silently.

"Wow."

Damon turned his head and looked at her. He saw her amazed expression. He felt a small spark of satisfaction. He liked impressing her.

Damon turned back to the stairs. He ducked his head slightly and entered the dark passage.

Camilla immediately followed right behind him. She stepped onto the first cold stone step.

As soon as Camilla fully entered the hidden staircase, the massive wooden bookshelf behind them began to slide back into place.

Click. Clack.

The heavy wood sealed completely shut, hiding the secret door perfectly. They were totally sealed inside the secret passage.

Damon led the way down. The air grew much cooler and smelled faintly of old stone and burning torch oil. They walked down dozens and dozens of steps, going deep, deep underneath the foundations of the massive mansion.

Finally, they reached the absolute bottom of the stairs.

Damon stepped out into an open space.

Camilla stepped out right beside him.

She looked up.

She was amazed.

They were standing inside a massive, enormous underground cavern.

It was a huge arena. The ceiling was incredibly high, supported by thick, carved stone pillars. Dozens of bright, burning torches lined the walls, making the huge space completely bright and easy to see.

The floor was covered in a thick, soft layer of clean, fine sand, perfect for falling and rolling without getting injured.

Along the stone walls, there were massive wooden racks holding every single type of weapon imaginable. There were rows of shining silver swords, heavy iron battle axes, long wooden spears, and incredibly sharp throwing knives. There were thick wooden training dummies wrapped in leather, and large, round targets for archery practice.

It was completely private, absolutely massive, and incredibly well-equipped.

Camilla stared at the sheer scale of the secret room.

She thought about the noisy, dusty, crowded training field at the military camp outside the city. That camp was impressive, but this private, hidden sanctuary was completely different.

"This is amazing," Camilla thought to herself, her eyes scanning the shiny weapons on the racks. "It is ten times better than the one in the camp. It is completely silent. It is cool. It is perfect."

She walked forward a few steps, her soft leather boots sinking slightly into the clean, soft sand. She looked around the massive, glowing space.

Camilla thought to herself in amazement. Her internal voice was filled with complete awe and deep respect.

"Oh la la."