"Mind your language, Son," Baron Marcus said in a tone that was anything but amused. "He is my guest and the savior of half the lords gathered here. Cower behind your stone walls if that's what you wish, but do not mock our only hope for a fighting chance against the coming doom."
Many of the lords who had seemed offended a moment ago now looked down. They knew what was at stake and what would happen if Damian simply refused this arrangement.
"Lady Souldealer, no one doubts your abilities, but our young prince is not delusional," Lord Silas said, standing beside his friend. "We—those of us who returned alive—you can ask anyone. This boy fought three Transcendents: one of them the Dragon Emperor himself, another the second strongest knight in the Five Kingdoms, Sundering Blade, and the turncoat Moondancer."
