“The annual gaming match is coming up!” one soldier said excitedly.
“It is a tradition of Cloud Land.
But we need you to play.
For the last three years, we have lost every single match.
We need to win this time!”
Aira tilted her head, curious.
“What kind of game?”
“It’s our annual sports event,” the soldier explained.
“We play Polo on horseback.”
“Polo?” Kael grinned, his eyes lighting up.
“I’ve heard stories about it, but we never play that in the mountains.
There isn’t enough flat ground!
But count me in, I want to try.”
Ria was more practical.
“How many players are on a team?”
“Eight players per side,” the soldier replied.
“We need five more people.”
“The team is already decided,” the soldier said, looking a bit nervous.
“It will be the five Princes and the three of you.”
Aira narrowed her eyes.
“Already decided?
By whom?”
The soldiers went quiet, looking at their boots.
They knew that if the Trio found out who organized this, they might refuse.
But a familiar, arrogant voice drifted from behind them.
“It was me,” Leon said, stepping out from the shadows of a stone pillar.
He had a fake, sweet smile on his face.
“My brothers told me I should try to get along with you guys.
What do you say?”
The Trio looked at each other.
They didn’t trust Leon for a second, but they didn’t want to disappoint the young Lucan or the kind Elias and Theo.
“Fine,” Aira said coolly.
“We will play.”
Leon’s smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Wonderful.
It will be a day to remember.”
As he walked away, Leon’s mind was racing with his secret plan.
He hadn’t invited them to be friendly; he had invited them to humiliate them.
He had already met with his friends—other noble sons who were expert Polo players—to coordinate a plan.
He wanted to make sure that in front of the entire city and the King, the “Great Generals of the North” would look like fools who couldn’t even handle a ball on a horse.
He wanted to break them mentally and physically on the field.
The Trio knows Leon is up to something, but they are expert riders.
They just don’t know the rules of the game yet.