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censure in her voice evident. “Everyone knows that.”
    I came clean. “I didn’t.”
    “No?”
    My quick laugh made her eyelids flutter before she glanced over at Koren.
    “Who are you, may I ask?”
    He moved forward, hand extended. “Koren Church.”
    She took the offered hand. “Oh, yes, I see the resemblance to the semel-netjer now. Pleasure to meet you.”
    “You know Logan?”
    “I’ve had the pleasure, yes,” she sighed, “and of meeting his mate, as well. Your tribe is blessed to have them both.”
    “We think so.”
    “When is Yuri due home?” Her focus was back on me.
    “In a couple of days.”
    “Where did he go?”
    “Again,” I said on a huffed exhale, “he went to speak to a semel for me.”
    “Yes, but where did he go specifically? I didn’t ask and you didn’t say.”
    “You could have questioned Kabore.”
    “It’s unseemly for me to make that inquiry of your steward when I should ask you.”
    I grunted. “He went to Ipis to meet with the semel and the djehus.”
    “Whatever for?”
    “The semel of the tribe of Tegeret—”
    “Ehivet Milar, yes?”
    “He’s missing his son.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “If Ehivet is missing his son, why on earth would Yuri be involved? And why would he go to Ipis? He needed to go to Minya, where the—”
    “Ehivet sent his son to Ipis.”
    “I’m missing something.”
    “He and the semel of the tribe of Feran have a covenant bond for their children.”
    “ Oh , I see.”
    “And he’s also speaking to two of Tarek’s djehus. There’s a land dispute or something. The catacombs figure into it.”
    Her breath caught excitedly, which surprised me. “And is he going to see the catacombs while he’s there?”
    “I would think so, yes. Why?”
    “Oh, I always wanted to go to see the great cavern, but Ammon would never take me.”
    “Why?” I was instantly on edge. “Is it dangerous?”
    “No, quite the opposite. I understand the catacombs are gorgeous and quite safe.”
    “So why, then?”
    “Ammon said that until the petty feuding was forcibly ended that he would not dignify the semel with his presence or mine. He felt that—oh, and now I can’t think of his name—”
    “Hakkan Tarek.”
    “Yes, Tarek.” She seemed relieved. “He felt that as a semel he should simply discipline his tribe and take matters into his own hands.”
    “I hate to agree with a power-mad tyrant, but, yeah. Hakkan Tarek needs to send his sheseru and khatyu to the homes of each djehu, bring them to his house, and everybody stays there until it’s fixed or he just executes them and starts over.”
    “Domin!”
    “What? It’s true,” I insisted.
    “You have to understand the problems, not negotiate at knifepoint.”
    “I think you’re missing the point. There would be no negotiating.”
    “There are two distinct groups,” she pointed out. “They have to learn to coexist.”
    “They’re all panthers; they need to get over it.”
    “You realize that you’re not just talking about Ipis, yes? This scenario can be used on the whole world. Why can’t people just get along? They’re all human.”
    I shook my head. “It’s not the same thing.”
    “Of course it is.”
    “Panthers must adhere to the law. We are all bound to our semels and our tribes. The semel made a mistake allowing these two factions to coexist within his tribe. He compounded his error by allowing them to elect their own people to take their complaints to.”
    “Yes, but now they all have to learn to get along within what they’ve constructed.”
    “That’s crap. If Yuri comes back and tells me that these two djehus are unreasonable, I will take men back there, sit everyone down, and talk it out. If that doesn’t work either––then I will discipline.”
    She was glaring at me.
    “What?”
    “These things are not so simple,” she tried to impress upon me.
    “Sometimes they are,” I said, and then something occurred to me. “So Ammon was aware of these problems