Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

With so much on her mind, Grace couldn't sleep. She rose, pulling a shawl over her shoulders, and walked with Lyra to Caden's chambers.

Silently, she dismissed the attendants keeping watch over him for the night. Taking a seat by his bedside, her gaze fell upon her son's delicate, youthful face. He seemed to be having a nightmare. Even with his eyes closed, she could feel the fear emanating from him.

She let out a quiet sigh, a flicker of vexation rising within her.

Asher-that was the middle name Trevor had chosen for Caden, one meant to instill virtue and teach him kindness and humility. But in truth, it was a name meant to make him docile, to mold him into a man who would yield and never fight, forever content in the shadow of others.

Why should he settle for that?

Her son had every advantage but birthright. In every way, he surpassed Kylie's

son.

It was not that Grace wished to fight, but without a fight, there was no survival.

Kylie was narrow-minded, selfish to the extreme, and utterly intolerant of threats to her position. If Caden had been dull or unremarkable, perhaps it wouldn't have mattered. But he was neither. Instead, he was the brightest and most gifted of the three princes.

How could one tolerate a rival sleeping soundly beside them?

Connor might not be so ruthless now, but who could say what the future held? He and his mother would never tolerate threats to their power. To stand aside was to court ruin; to surrender was to die forgotten and unmourned.

Tomorrow, Grace would win. There was no alternative.

She had never entertained the notion of failure.

crafted to ensure success. Every detail had been meticulously arranged, and it was a strategy that would strike two

side, watching over him in silence. At last, she rose and slipped away. Lyra quietly summoned the

rest, Your Grace.

tighter, the high collar shadowing the edges of her

foolish hope that Prince Connor will prove himself tomorrow, that the court officials might change their minds

shook her head. "If anything, Queen Kylie is torn between hope and despair. Prince Connor is improving, but has grown distant. She sought

fool," Grace

vel

her to resort to such extreme measures? She hurt her own son merely to preserve her dignity. Adults may understand her reasoning, but Prince Connopis still a child. How could he possibly accept that his own mother would go so far as to

A royal prince doesn't act lightly, but when

silent, her brows knitted

her son to stain his hands

in Serenity Palace as they always did. Victoria had arranged shared chambers for them, believing that Ryan's presence

beds had

ends of

the eldest prince's

ordered the servants to move the beds

anxious Connor turned to Ryan, asking, "You don't think I'll falter tomorrow,

ride poorly, my father will

progress. Just relax. Don't let fear get the better of you.

supposed

groaned. "Do

the Verdant