After a long evening with her cousins, aunt and uncle, and with a belly full of Herise's marvelous lemon cake, Theora finally settled into her bed back at the Military Hall with her little stack of letters. She had tried to be polite toward her aunt and uncle and enjoy the dinner, but all evening, her mind had been on the little stack her aunt had handed her earlier. She just couldn't wait to read them, and she was grateful to Cylea, who had picked up on her mood and quickly pushed her sister to leave Theora alone to go back to the Military Hall and read her letters. She had used Theora's safety as an excuse to let her cross the Capital before it got too late, and since Aunt Gevenia, too, was nervous about the latest news, she hadn't opposed Theora leaving. However, her cousins insisted th
