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She blinked, her brain lurching back to the present Mortified, she stood A superior officer had never been required to repeat orders to Stella before She stiffly followed hie carved door that was firmly shut He opened it and ih

Stilling her nerves, Stella walked into the room, then stood to attention at a respectful distance from the desk The heavy door behind her closed with a thud

The unifore desk didn’t look up He didn’t tell her to stand at ease Didn’t tell her to sit Didn’t tell her anything Instead he stared down at the personnel file open before hiaze fixed on the wall behind him—yet another portrait of the Princes Peripherally she are of the lasses to read the report The General had been serving in this are would have retired already He never would He was there for life Because his life was the military

She respected that She understood that Because she felt the same

‘Lieutenant’ He finally addressed her

‘Yes, sir’ She saluted

He still didn’t look up ‘On the afternoon of July the twenty-sixth you were based at the San Felipe barracks, is that correct?’

Her stomach dropped That date was branded on her brain

‘I believe so, sir’ She licked her horribly dried lips

There was no waiting now Her instinct had been right: this wasn’t the newfor

‘Did you remain on the base, as required, for all that afternoon and evening?’

She sed hard It had been one hour One hour in which she’d—

No Don’t think about it Don’t remember

Calling on all her years of discipline, she blocked thealmost successfully these past feeeks But betrayal curled around her