Guardsman Bruno calls us to attention. “You’re getting a midday meal today,” he says. “Your instructors have work to do, so go eat your grub. We’ll fetch you from the dining hall when we’re ready for you.”

“Instructors?” Aldo whispers. “What instructors? No one has taught us anything yet.”

“The first few days are just to get rid of the riffraff,” says a voice in my ear. It’s Pedrón, stepping in between Aldo and me. “Actual training will start soon.”

“How do you know that?” Aldo asks.

“My brother is a third year.” Another reason why DeLuca likes him. “Red, I’m going to sit by you in the dining hall, all right?”

“Whatever you say,” I tell him, trying not to act surprised. I was hoping to sit next to Iván. I need to talk to him about getting inside Captain Bolivar’s quarters. That’s assuming neither of us gets cut, of course. “Pedrón, do you know what this work is that Bruno mentioned? Are they deciding who to cut?”

“Oh, definitely. After we eat, they’ll call us into the bunk room in small groups to present us with our uniforms. See, they don’t want to issue uniforms if you’re not going to be here very long; they always wait for the first few recruits to wash out. The empress has a budget, you know.”

I’m well aware. Ever since the Year Without a Summer, when crops failed and the coffers never filled, Elisa has had to be circumspect about how she outfits and arms her Royal Guard. It also meant I got a smaller allowance than her ladies-in-waiting, even though I was her official ward.

My mouth begins to water as soon as we enter the dining hall, because I smell yeast and butter and piquant spice. We line up, and instead of yellow slop, we’re served black beans seasoned with epazote, roasted peppers, and a chunk of fresh bread glazed with honey.

“Is this a special occasion?” Aldo says. “I was expecting slop.”

“It’s one of Hector’s reforms,” I tell him. “We’ll get a real meal about twice each week. Tradition was that Guard recruits grew strong and tough through deprivation, but Hector observed that they actually performed better if they were well rested and well fed.”

“It’s another reason army recruits try to transfer to the Royal Guard, if they show promise,” Pedrón says. “Royal Guard recruits are treated better.”

Iván says, “That’s why they wash out as many as they can in the first few weeks. Guard training is expensive.”

We find seats at the tables. As threatened, Pedrón sits at my left, a little too close for comfort, but I can’t move away because I’m hemmed in by Aldo and Iván on the right. Beto sits right across from us. He glares at me over his bowl as he eats.

“You and Juan did really well on the course today,” I say, just to make conversation.

A muscle in his jaw twitches, but Beto doesn’t respond.