Her Graceful War Song by Summer's Blaze

The stables had already been thoroughly inspected. The horses were fed and groomed, ready for the day's festivities. The four children chattered excitedly, each tending to their own mount while exchanging lively remarks about the grand occasion.

Despite Sylvia's fall from favor, Cecil seemed entirely unaffected. His face was bright with a cheerful smile.

Naturally, Sylvia was present as well. No matter how she was treated within the harem, she remained, in the eyes of the public, Cecil's mother and an esteemed concubine of the kingdom.

However, Jeanette had been too unwell to make the journey and had remained behind.

Leading their horses out for a short ride, Cecil decided to test himself. Previously, he had always required assistance to mount. Today, he attempted the feat alone. To his delight, he succeeded in swinging himself onto his horse's back without aid.

His face lit up with triumph. "Connor, Caden, Ryan! Look at me! I did it all by myself!"

His exuberance was infectious. The others doubled over with laughter and showered him with praise.

"That's only because your horse is smaller. If you could mount any of ours, then I'd be impressed," Caden said with a smile, clenching his hand inside his pocket.

Cecil's competitive nature flared at once. Sliding off his horse, he strode determinedly toward Ryan's mount.

In truth, there was not much difference in height between their horses, though Ryan's and Connor's were slightly taller. But the challenge lay elsewhere-the other horses did not recognize Cecil as their master and showed signs of resistance.

be deterred. He made several attempts, undaunted by failure. At last, he managed to hoist himself onto Ryan's horse. His

horse likes me—I did

in mild agitation,

stepped forward at once. "All right, we acknowledge your skill. You should come

the saddle before

made it his mission to try every horse in turn, leaving Connor's for last. Having

you yield now?" he asked

lift his brother down. "I concede defeat. Our dear younger brother is

heavier than expected. It took Caden two or three tries to

imp, you're heavier than you look," Caden said with a chuckle, though his

pride. "That's because I eat a lot. Mom says the more I eat, the taller I'll grow. One

don't just want to be as tall as Uncle Rafael, I want to be as skilled as he is

of legend. They longed to

one day prove themselves worthy of

speak, but hesitated and cast his eyes downward. He had always thought Connor's talent for combat was middling at best, and that he might never

Connor may not even be able to