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the Guard later.”
    Penelope Ann jumped. “Why? I thought you were staying home for a while. You’re not going off on another patrol, are you?”
    Aquilla took the bowl from her hands. “I’m meeting them here.”
    Penelope Ann stopped in her tracks. “Here?”
    “We’re meeting to discuss that prisoner,” he told her. “I knew you didn’t want me to leave home again, so I arranged to have the meeting here so we don’t miss one instant of our precious time together.”
    Penelope Ann shook herself and held out a bowl to Anna, but Anna shook her head. She couldn’t even look at the food. “I’m not hungry.”
    Penelope Ann eyes widened. “Are you sick?”
    “I’m just not hungry,” Anna replied. “I don’t have any appetite right now.”
    “You have to eat. You have to keep up your strength or you’ll get sick.” Penelope Ann set the bowl on the counter and took her seat next to Aquilla. They both ate.
    Anna sat on the floor against the wall the way she usually did, but she said nothing. If only she could run away somewhere, she wouldn’t be here when Aquilla discussed Menlo with his Guards. But someone had to keep an eye on them. Aquilla could do anything, and no one else would do anything to stop him.
    Aquilla and Penelope Ann murmured low into each other’s ears. They couldn’t be talking about Menlo or anything else unpleasant. They were too full of each other and their romantic whims to notice anything but themselves.
    All at once, Aquilla shot off the couch. He startled Penelope Ann, and Anna stiffened. He slammed his bowl down on the counter and made for the store room.
    He dragged Menlo back into the room, slashed the cord binding his hands behind his back, and stood him on his feet. He pointed into Menlo’s face. “Stay there.”
    Menlo stared him down, but he didn’t move. Anna could barely look at him, but her eyes instinctively migrated to his face. To her relief, he looked stronger, more fortified by his meal of eggs. His predicament didn’t rattle him as much now that he could face Aquilla on a full stomach.
    Aquilla confronted Menlo. “You fought in the last war between the Avitras and the Ursidreans, didn’t you?”
    “I fought in the last two wars,” Menlo replied.
    Aquilla waved his hand. “I don’t care about that. I only want to know about the first Ursidrean war against the Avitras. You admit you fought in it.”
    “There never was an Ursidrean war against the Avitras,” Menlo countered. “The Ursidreans never made war against the Avitras. The Avitras attacked the Ursidreans in both the last two wars. In the first one, we beat you back and fought you on your own territory. In the second war, the Avitras broke our peace agreement and launched a surprise attack on our city. That’s the only reason we fought that war on our own territory.”
    Aquilla chopped the air with his hand. “I’m not here to argue over details. You fought in the first Ursidrean war, so you must know about the Ursidrean military structure. What do you know about the commanders of the divisions who fought in this part of our territory?”
    Menlo shrugged and looked away. “I was a common soldier, and the war was a long time ago. How am I supposed to know who commanded what division?”
    Aquilla took two rapid paces across the room. He glared at Menlo. “You know, all right. Don’t waste my time denying it. Who commanded the division that breached our border along the Eastern Divide?”
    Menlo lifted his eyes to Aquilla’s face. He locked his gaze on the Avitras. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    Aquilla grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoved him to the window. He pointed over the expanse of treetops to a line of mountain peaks in the distance. “That is the Eastern Divide. If you fought in the war the way you say you did, you know that perfectly well. It’s the line between Ursidrean territory and Avitras territory, and that peak there is Corbell’s Crossing.