Prince Damian kept his eyes on me, smiling like he had figured something out; something none of the other soldiers or even me could understand.
He leaned back into his seat’s backrest, placed his right palm on his face, and let out a soft laugh.
His laugh was terrifying to say the least.
Nervous, I gulped and took a stepped back.
“Rowan, Rowan, Rowan, you’ve gone and done it again.
And this time it wasn’t even a soldier,” Damian uttered, and now I was very confused.
Why was he suddenly calling his brother’s name?
and what in the goddess’s name was he talking about?
I looked left and right and found that all the other soldiers including Moriah were just as confused as I was.
Damian suddenly stretched out his palm.
“Hand me a knife,” he demanded, and my heart sank.
My heart started to beat rapidly as one of his soldiers brought forth a dagger and handed it to him.
Damian got up from his seat and walked past Moriah, saying, “Bring him to the tent.”
After giving the order, he walked to his tent, threw the curtains open and walked in.
Moriah grabbed the rope that was used to tie my hands and pulled me toward the prince’s tent.
“No, please, I don’t want to die, I can’t die now,” I pleaded with tears in my eyes, struggling to break free from the ropes tied around my wrists.
“Shut up and accept your fate like a man.
You should be glad that my lord wants to take your life himself.
As a farmer it is the greatest honour you will ever get, so be happy,” Moriah replied, pulling the rope even harder.
“But I’m not a…” I was about to speak again when Moriah pushed the curtains open.
The orange lights from lantern flames hanging around the interior of the tent fell on my face and I went quiet immediately.
My eyes moved from one point in the tent to another, admiring all the fancy and beautifully designed drapes used to decorate the walls and ceiling of the tent.
The princes’ tent was significantly larger than the others, and anyone who stepped in could easily tell that this was indeed for royalty.
A throne carved from wood and decorated with animal skin, just like the one set outside, was placed at the centre of the tent, and a wooden table stood in front of it.
My eyes continued to dart from point to point until they finally fell on prince Damian, who stood in front of another table, sharpening the dagger that was handed to him.
My heart resumed beating rapidly as I remembered the reason I was brought to this place; to be executed.
Prince Damian turned around slowly, and his eyes locked with mine again.
“What is your name?” Damian asked, walking toward me.
“My name?” His question made me realise a mistake I had made.
Ever since I left the forest of the damned, I’d acquired a fake body, fake clothes, fake ethnicity, but not a fake name.
For some reason, even Elena didn’t ask for my name the day we met, we just became friends like our identities didn’t matter at all.
I had to think of something to say fast, a male name that was common, or made sense at the very least.
“Selwyn.
My name is Selwyn,” I responded nervously after pondering on his question for more than a minute.
“Selwyn; that’s a very unusual name,” Damian said.
He turned to Moriah and waved his right hand to dismiss her.
Obeying him, Moriah let go of the rope, bowed to him and walked out of the tent.
Immediately Moriah left, Damian turned back to me.
“I know you’re very nervous at the moment because you think I’m going to kill you, but you shouldn’t be worried.
I’ve never killed a person, and I never will.
Not that I can’t, though, I just don’t think Royalty should ever have to soil their hands with the blood of commoners.”
I exhaled deeply, feeling relieved as I heard those words.
But as my eyes moved to the dagger again, I got confused as to what he intended to use it for if not kill me.
He moved a step closer to me and raised the dagger.
I stepped back in fear.
“I know what you are, Selwyn.
I know your people, or at least the people my brother has forced you to become a part of,” Damian said softly, squinting his eyes.
“What… do you mean?” I asked nervously.
“Hmm, so you’ve stepped into waters you know nothing of, haven’t you?
The confusing part is the fact that you’re a new blood, your initiation has only just begun, and I can’t figure out how you and Rowan met when he’s away on a trip with my father,” Damian answered with a low voice his eyes emotionless and unreadable.
“I do not understand a single word you’re saying,” I faltered with a stutter, even more confused than before.
“Don’t worry, first I have to confirm if you’re really one of them.
I could tell just by looking at your eyes, but to make sure I’m not making any mistakes, I’d like to run a little test.” Damian grabbed the rope that was used to tie my hands and pulled me forward.
“Wait, wait, what are you doing?
I thought you were not going to kill me,” I whimpered, struggling to pull my hand out of his tight grip.
Unfortunately, the moonstone around my neck might have given me the form of a man, but I was obviously very lacking of the strength of one.
“I said not to worry, Selwyn,” Damian muttered with a crazed look in his eyes, then swung the dagger toward my palm without hesitation.
I let out a loud scream as the blade pierced through my skin and burst out of the back of my palm, spilling my blood all over the ground.
Moriah, who sat with some soldiers outside the tent, heard my scream and turned to the tent quickly.
Smiling deviously, she got up from the ground and walked closer to the tent to listen to me crying.
I breathed in and out heavily, falling to my knees.
Tears rushed out of my eyes and down my cheeks, as I stared at my bleeding hand.
Damian just stared down at me with a blank, cold expression on his face, waiting for something to happen; something that would confirm his suspicions.
As I stared at the hole in my palm, I noticed that it suddenly stopped bleeding.
The long slit that went all the way through to the back of my palm slowly started to close.
The sorrowful expression I had on my face turned into shock as the wound healed completely in a matter of seconds, leaving not even a scar.
Damian smiled; his suspicions had been confirmed.
He used the dagger to cut off the ropes that held my hands together and pulled me outside the tent.
I could see the look of disappointment on Moriah’s face when she saw that I was still alive and completely unharmed.
“Moriah, I have new orders for you,” Damian said.
Moriah stepped forward quickly and asked, “What are your orders, my lord?”
”Selwyn here, will be your new apprentice.
After my fathers welcoming ceremony, and of course, after our dinner, you will train him in the art of combat,” Damian ordered.
“But, my lord, he’s an Argarian, we should end his life,” Moriah argued.
“Do not question my orders, Moriah.
I want you to break every bone in his body until he learns how to wield a sword, or at least use his fists.
Rowan is going to regret letting this one out of his sight,” Damian reiterated, turning to me.
“As for your lover,” he continued.
“She will be taken with us to Valtoria to become a servant of the king for the rest of her life,” he declared, then walked back to his tent.
After he had gone inside his tent, Moriah turned to me with a look of spite and disdain, gritting her teeth in anger as her blood boiled.
I swallowed silently and let out slow breaths as I stared back at her, the orange light from multiple camp fires around us, shining brightly on our faces.