All the soldiers were gathered in the middle of the camp. They looked troubled, avoiding eye contact with the general. Drought stood on a ptform, magnificent, gleaming in the afternoon air. His fiery hair and numerous gold jewels swayed gently in the breeze, which also lifted his long red cape in fits and starts. He had a hard, cold gaze, rge circles under his eyes, and drooping ears. But despite everything, he exuded an aura of command that would have made any impressionable person bend the knee. The others, the soldiers opposite him, whose dirty uniforms demonstrated the chaos of past events, were simply frozen. Not a single one whispered as usual. The silence was heavy and filled with a palpable unease.

  - We are gathered here for several reasons. Some more painful than others. But first, I'd like Generals Greta and Tibug to come forward.

  The crowd parted to let the short, round man and the woman with the red braids pass. They were both very pale and sweating profusely. Around them, the troops were giving them pointed looks. Everyone had heard Drought's orders before the battle, so it was no secret that these two generals had disobeyed. One of the other leaders, the one who usually stayed away, leaned over to Greta and whispered a few words in her ear, with a smile colder than the northern gciers. No one had heard the exchange, but the massive human woman wore a look of fear, her legs trembling. Nevertheless, she continued to advance under Tibug's questioning gaze, until the two of them stood in front of the dais where the capital's general stared at them with anger and disgust.

  - Today, your stupid pn worked. But your disobedience nearly cost the lives of every soldier trapped in the camp. It's not enough to succeed; we must execute the best scenario, the one that would allow us to win while suffering the fewest losses on our side. The fewest deaths and injuries among our men. The pn I had prepared.

  He had very little control over his anger. His horns, except for the two that usually protruded from his forehead and which still hung like two limp trunks, began to crackle before the worried eyes of the soldiers. Would they see a scene of violence and bloodshed again?

  The atmosphere was getting hotter and hotter, and Drought ran his hand through his fiery hair, trying to calm himself. But nothing worked. Finally, he let his anger explode.

  - What was your goal ? To prove you could outdo me ? That your pn was better than mine ? That you could do everything on your own ? Congratutions, you failed ! If we hadn't been there to stop them from digging, and to fill the hole, the entire hill would have colpsed. They'd already dug under the entire camp, for Héliote's sake !

  Sparks were now flying in the air, and the soldiers were backing away, afraid their hair or uniforms would catch fire. But Tibug and Greta remained where they were, heads bowed. The former with obvious anger, the tter with a guilty expression.

  The general from the capital took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Laboriously, the sparks gradually disappeared, and the air became cold and damp again. He then stood up, once again overlooking the crowd in all his grandeur and nobility.

  - I will have to execute you immediately for your actions, but since the crisis has been resolved, and given the recent battles and the state of our supplies, we will soon return to the capital. You will be tried by the High Court. The three priests will decide your fate. In the meantime, your commands will be under the jurisdiction of Generals Bully and Jericho. That's all for this point.

  He looked around for someone in the crowd. He finally found him, standing back, arms crossed, head bowed, his dark skin hiding his expression even more than his gray curls.

  - The same goes for Elry, the aberration who saved us all not once but twice. The one without whom none of you would be here today. I believe she has earned the right to stand trial instead of being executed right away.

  Shouts of outrage rose from the crowd, accompanied by uncertain murmurs. But Drought didn't want to hear their voices. Besides, he already knew what they were thinking.

  - My orders have been given, the discussion is over. Go about your business.

  Without waiting for the soldiers to move, he gracefully jumped down from the ptform and stomped toward his tent. He had given the order. He was going to bring Elry back to the capital to be judged. What had gotten into him ? The general knew perfectly well how this would all end. He was well aware of the opinions of the capital's bigwigs, which were even more close minded than those of the soldiers because, unlike them, they never left their cozy paces and therefore couldn't experience the outside world and form their own opinions.

  She was going to die there. He knew it. In fact, he knew from the start that she would be eliminated at some point. But he had wanted to believe that after her acts of kindness, she would be accepted. Drought was nothing but a naive idiot.

  Horrible images fshed before his mind. Elry burned at the stake, the crowd cheering her screams of agony. Calixte cut up alive to advance science. These scenes pyed over and over, repying themselves in slow motion, fast motion, and reverse, and all his senses were heightened each time, the visions becoming clearer until he could smell burning flesh and taste baby blood.

  He ran over his chamber pot and vomited his entire stomach until it wracked with uncontrolble spasms, but nothing came out but bile. He remained there afterward, kneeling before the odorous container, staring at its contents in disbelief. What was happening to him ? He was once the upright and just general, acting under the will of the goddess and the Council of Elders. But now ? What was he ? He was disobeying his country, flouting the w to save someone he had been ordered to execute. Someone... He didn't even think of them as a creature anymore, but as a person in their own right. The conversation he'd had earlier with S'rinj came back to him. "And don't call them 'it.' They're a person in their own right." He'd said the words without even thinking, without considering the implications. Had he lost his mind ?

  He stood up, shakily, and grabbed a jug of clean water to spill its contents on his face, taking the opportunity to gargle and spit on the muddy floor of the tent, trying to get rid of the sour taste.

  - Knock knock, boss !

  - I really don't want to see you right now S'rinj, the pacle sighed without even turning around.

  - We need to talk about this. You can't run away from the problem.

  - No, we've already talked about it.

  Drought put down the carafe. He didn't have the strength to turn to face the physicist. He was afraid the sight of him would bring back memories of the previous hours. Calixte, the scalpel stuck in his abdomen, his white fur stained red, moaning and screaming for his mother. Elry, looking demented, screaming for her life, trying to save her baby but Makile's sword preventing her. And the boy's gaze. His eyes, once filled with admiration and timidity, now reflected only indifference and disappointment. Moments earlier, Drought had thought they were all a family. Without the boy. What an idiot he was. This little boy was part of their family. And if he wasn't, then what was he ? He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts and continued in a calm and, he hoped, kind tone :

  - I understand, you know. I'm not questioning the usefulness of scientific and medical research. I'm not questioning what you are or your profession. I know very well that if a physicist, and not a healer, is on the front lines, it's to study bodies. To experiment. To understand our enemies, but also to understand us. You want to help save people, and in any case, the bodies won't be able to be transported to their families. I understand all that.

  He bit his lip, his throat tight, holding back tears he didn't even know his body still contained. How could he express his feelings ? This pain in his chest as if a dagger had been stabbed into it, this urge to scream and cry at the same time, to tear out his heart, to bang his head until this hurricane deep inside him disappeared forever... How could he describe all this ? How could he say it eloquently and sincerely ?

  Drought was tired of repressing it all. He had been devastated by the events of the st few hours, and he had reacted as usual by pretending everything was fine. By going to see his family to check on them and reassure them. But who was worried about him? Only Elry could do that, to cheer him up and save him when everything went wrong.

  - I hadn't exactly understood the situation, I apologize.

  Drought turned around, his eyebrows raised like two stars above his watery eyes. S'rinj, facing him, scratched his head in annoyance.

  - You said it yourself, I know you better than your father. And since I'm an old codger with fixed ideas, I always feel like I know better than you what you should do. I'm often right, and you know it.

  He chuckled softly, a ugh devoid of any joy.

  - You're a boy full of feelings, but they're usually directed toward your subordinates, the soldiers, the generals, the war in general. This is the first time you've grown attached to a particur person, so I guess I missed the signs. Well, no, I saw, but I didn't really understand.

  The general remained silent, hanging on the forty-year-old's every word. He tried to process what he was saying, to read between the lines, because he knew S'rinj was never direct and frank when he was upset. And this time, he really seemed that way.

  - I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry. I tried to kill your girlfriend and cut open her still-living kid. So yes, it's absurd and perfectly justified since it's part of the w, but given your involvement in this case, I should have talked to you first. Or at least tried to separate you two so you wouldn't be so affected when it happens, because it will, and you know it.

  Drought remained speechless for a few moments. The only words he managed to stammer were :

  - She's not my girlfriend...

  The physicist threw his arms up in the air, an angry yet sad look on his face.

  - Please, kid, this isn't the time to sort out your feelings ! Of course she's your girlfriend ! You had the same look I did when Ire and Shun...

  He stopped suddenly, a grimace on his face, as if the mention of those two names was painful. The pacle finally moved, walking towards the man to touch his arm tenderly.

  - Uncle… It's not your fault…

  They were words spoken automatically, as if they were both used to this scene. But they were truly meant. Drought looked at S'rinj with pain and compassion, gently caressing his skin. It was like a child trying to reassure his father.

  This was what happened every time the man thought about his wife and son.

  - They disappear a little more each time, you know… I have trouble remembering their faces now…

  - You don't have to bme yourself, it's normal. It was a long time ago. You don't have to feel guilty.

  The physicist took a deep sniff, his rge nose vibrating, then exhaled deeply. In a snap of his fingers, he was serious again.

  - What I mean is, right now, if you lose her, you'll go crazy. But you know keeping her isn't an option. So sort out your affairs, take a step back, and get her away from you. A heart broken by a breakup can be mended. But a guy in pieces because the person he loves is being torn apart in front of his eyes, even in the name of science, you can't mend that.

  His two bck eyes were fixed on the general's.

  - People won't wait until you've mourned your retionship before jumping on this thing. And even though I love you very much, you know I'm going to have to do something. So, I beg you, sort things out. And if you still care even a little about the future of your country, make sure she comes back. We need to study her.

  These words froze Drought in pce. He put his hands to his temples, trembling.

  - I… No…

  S'rinj patted his head affectionately.

  - Yes. And you have to get used to it. But if it's too hard for you, at least let me talk to her.

  The pacle raised his head, his ochre face having turned livid, and his ceremonial makeup dripping down his cheeks.

  - Talk to her ?

  - Yes, just talk. There are things you can't learn by opening people up. Where she was created, how she got here, what she can and can't do, how she learned to speak, whether she was educated or raised herself, who the baby's father is and how they managed to reproduce when aberrations are normally sterile... I have so many questions I need answers to. And if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that.

  The man leaned over Drought, his mischievous smile back and his eyes shining with curiosity.

  - I won't do anything to him until I have answers to all my questions.

  ***

  - We need to talk.

  Icy rubbed his face, sitting on one of the makeshift beds in the infirmary. Deadly stopped compining for a moment to look at him. Behind the curtain of her bck hair, matted together by blood, her features were twisted with worry.

  - About what ?

  - About us.

  The bodar had answered without looking at her.

  - We like each other, I think that's clear. But between a bodar and a pacle...

  - I don't want children.

  He turned around with a start, his cheeks flushed. Deadly was looking at him intently, her blood-red eyes fixed on his.

  - I didn't want to get attached to someone either, but it seems like it's too te. I can't fight it and pretend it doesn't exist; it's not my thing. But a kid is a no-go. I already hate myself too much; I'm not sure I could love a mini-me. And then you saw the treatment aberrations get. That's why you wanted to talk, right ?

  Icy said nothing. He kept his eyes lowered, his lips pursed in a pained grimace. He silently thanked Héliote that there was no more room in the infirmary and that they were both on a bed outside the tent. If anyone heard them, it would be the disciplinary committee, or even the High Court ! He took a deep breath, gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts, then decided to get everything he had on his mind out.

  - Do you really think being an aberration is bad ? I mean, yes, I knew plenty of aberrations when I was in the lower city; it's not like order was maintained in the lower part of the capital. And all the ones I knew, at least the vast majority, were wild and unpredictable, very aggressive, and impossible to control. Even their own parents couldn't. Many suffered too, they had severe physical deformities, and it was rare for them to live beyond three revolutions. Some managed it, and they were the worst. Their retives often killed them in their sleep, for their own good. So I almost wet myself when I saw Elry. But when I saw Drought with her, when she saved us, I understood. She's not mean or aggressive, even if she's still a little wild. She has feelings and she thinks. She's not an animal, despite what the authorities tell us. I think we should treat them like normal people, and yes, that includes punishing them when they cross the line. But also letting them be when they're not a threat.

  The pacle said nothing, simply untwisting her hair around her horns, as usual. She slid the strands between her fingers, carefully considering the young man's words, his feathers standing on end with emotion. He went back to rubbing his face, ruffling the white plumage covering his cheeks.

  - And that question prompted another, but I know you won't like it because it calls into question the authority of the Council of Elders.

  Deadly suddenly tensed. Even if she didn't look it, she was a fervent believer in the goddess Héliote and her representatives. She absorbed the chamberins' words, and even if she had questioned their statements regarding aberrations, she could understand the misunderstanding given the many problematic aspects they raised. So far, Elry had been the only one to show her real intelligence and feelings, and one exception didn't make the rule.

  But she had a feeling Icy was about to broach a much thornier subject, and she wasn't really in the mood for a debate. This serious conversation was really starting to make her anxious.

  - The samaltas.

  That simple word made her gray hairs stand on end. She could already feel anger rising within her.

  - I hope you're not going to say what I think !

  - Yes, I am. Why do we hunt samaltas as if they were monsters when it's possible they're just descendants of aberrations, or even just another people, another race, just like bodars, humans, or pacles !

  Deadly grabbed her makeshift pillow and threw it in the bodar's face, heaving.

  - Get out ! I don't want to hear any more of your bullshit, you've lost your mind !

  - No !

  The bodar straightened up, his face more serious than it had ever been.

  - Where do you draw the line ? When are they just different people, and when are they monsters ? Yes, I never said they were allies, but the city of Ul has always been in conflict with us too, and yet you never said its inhabitants were monsters and you never tried to mutite them without giving them any hope of returning their bodies to their families !

  - You have no right to say that, Deadly yelled, you never had your family decimated by those beasts !

  - Of course you did !

  Icy was screaming too, his eyes slowly filling with tears. The pacle sat up suddenly, losing her aggressive air.

  - I'm sorry, I was angry, I didn't mean to...

  But the bodar avoided her touch.

  - I grew up in the army. It's my family, and you know it. I lost as many loved ones in the war against Ul as against the samaltas, and even during the Empire's expansion. Yet I try to think for myself. I'm trying to form my own opinion, and understand our enemies, how they must feel when a nation challenges them to become part of its territory. I'm trying to understand all that. I'm not a pdog of the Council of Elders.

  He picked up the piece of cloth, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it back to Deadly. She caught it in mid-air and tried to stop Icy, but he was already gone. She stood there, alone with her thoughts, repying the discussion in her head over and over again.

  A little further away, a tall, curly-haired pacle with porcein skin, a hole in one ear, and a crooked hoof, was finishing transcribing the conversation.

  - This is what they said.

  The small, brown-haired human who accompanied him remained impassive, his face hard. His companion, another short-legged pacle with curly white fur, stamped beside him.

  - You were right ! They're all traitors !

  The human sighed deeply and tossed his freshly cut hair back.

  - That's what I feared. Even though they're part of my old family, I can't let them act like this. Unfortunately, on the battlefield, their word is w. But when we return to the capital, I'll go directly to the Constable for an audience.

  The curly-haired woman snorted disdainfully.

  - Not just the Constable ! With my parents' support, we can go directly to the Council of Elders !

  The third, still hopping on the spot, looked at her with wide, anxious eyes.

  - Are you sure, Keera ? General Drought is from the Sh'oz family, after all ! The Constable is from the same dynasty !

  But the young woman, participating in the host like the other two, dismissed this problem out of hand.

  - Shall I remind you of the properties of my magic ? I've already recorded this conversation. I'll present it exactly as it is to the Council; they won't be able to say anything in the face of such damning evidence. And I'm sure that if we spy on the general a little, we'll have some equally interesting things to present !

  The two young men nodded, convinced. They had great respect for the general, but they had to denounce him. For the good of their nation.