General Helias was a centaur-troll, more commonly known as a tauroll, which meant he looked like a troll with two horse hind legs. The most distinctive feature of Helias was his white hair that covered his legs and flowed off his head like a horse’s mane. It was a sharp contrast to his dusty-brown skin, which was common to most centaurs.

Titania, watching from a distance, disguised as a soldier, thought otherwise. His hair was unusual, but what she took note of was the tauroll’s attitude. It wasn’t that he was cold, or unfriendly. He was aloof, but there was an almost calculating gleam in his teal-green eyes that she did not like.

As to why she was in disguise, she was spying on the tauroll. As to why she was spying on her own side.

“Dear, I’ve done some digging on Helias with my contacts. I think you need to hear this.”

Antigones put his papers down and clasped his hands, eyes all on her. Titania, smiling at the attention, sat down next to her husband.

“Helias Macayjon is related to King Thorgoth.”

Her husband’s eyes widened, but although his jaw clenched, he said nothing. Titania, seeing Antigones looking like he was going to burst, gave him a wave and a smile.

Only then did the orc splutter, “What? How? Why didn’t he mention that at our meeting?”

“Helias is the son of Marta Bortroll, who is the daughter of Princess Tellenia, my father’s aunt. And I see you recognize Princess Tellenia’s name.”

The orc general nodded. “I remember she was one of your father’s mentors, but she was banished by King Tagus, your grandfather, but even now the reason why is unknown. I heard rumours that say that she was involved in an incestuous relationship with Thorgoth. Others say that it’s because she committed some kind of crime.”

“Technically both.” Titania pursed her lips, thought for a moment, but decided to just forge on. “Princess Tellenia raped Prince Thenakles, my father’s older brother, the truth coming out when he killed himself.”

Antigones’s lips curled with disgust. “Oh Galena, what a shit tornado.”

“Here’s the kicker. My father and she seemed to have kept up a correspondence and although she and Marta are dead, Thorgoth has looked after Helias for some time. They’ve often been seen in court together with my father’s inner circle, even after Helias failed to take Freeburg.”

“Your father’s been grooming Helias, and likely indoctrinating him in his goals. I recall he was unnecessarily brutal at Freeburg.” Antigones scowled. “He didn’t have to kill the entire garrison, he could have exchanged them, or even turned them against the humans.”

Titania nodded. “Indeed, and not to mention, before Freeburg, Helias led several huge raiding parties through Roranoak. We’re talking about wagons of plunder and a lot of dead humans. His troops are similarly human-hating.”

“They honestly might be a liability in the final taking of the city. If the humans find out about his history, they’ll fight even harder.” Antigones stroked his beard. “Dear, I know this is an odd request, but can you say…. wander into Helia’s camp, and if possible, figure out what he’s doing here?”

The princess stared at her husband. “You’re… asking me to go on a mission? You never ask me to go on a mission.”

Antigones nodded slowly. “Yes, and yes. I got that bad of a feeling from him, and you know my instincts have rarely failed me.”

Titania tried to smirk, but couldn’t quite repress her shiver. Her husband’s instincts weren’t ever specific, but they were uncannily good. She could remember more than one time she’d brushed him off only for him to be proven right.

“I’ll do it. What… what kind of feeling did you get?”

“A most foul sensation.” The orc shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “One that makes my old bones brace themselves and a shiver run up my spine whenever I turn my back on him.”

“That’s worse than what you feel around my father,” Titania said slowly.

“It’s definitely more acute than what I feel around your father.” Antigones grimaced. “Thorgoth is proud and dangerous, like a raging inferno. Helias feels more like he’ll suck you in and choke you to death.”

And this was why Titania was sneaking around one of the camps on her own side. Helias looked to be waiting for something or someone with his entourage.

She soon found out that they were waiting for someone, a lot of someones. A wagon train escorted by goblin wolf riders was arriving in the camp. The wagons didn’t carry Alavari, though.

Titania’s blue-green eyes narrowed. The wagons were full of humans, and from their dust-coated dress, they weren’t soldiers either. How did Helias get ahold of so many civilians?

Helias glanced at an aide. “I expected more.”

The aide winced. “I’m sorry, general. Most of the ships leaving Erlenberg are sailing in convoys. We caught this one by chance when it fell out.”

“Ah, I suppose then we should be lucky then.” Helias clapped his hands. “Bring the humans and the blood-traitors with us to just outside of cannon range of their walls. Also, I’d like mages to amplify my voice please.”

“All of them, sir? Even the children?”

Helias nodded. “Yes. We need to send them a message and strike fear into their hearts. The humans have already slain many of our dear Alavari. We ought to pay them back.”

With those words, Titania knew exactly what the tauroll planned, but she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Yet, before her eyes, the men, women and children, human and Alavari, unarmed civilians, were being marched at spearpoint out of the wagons, hands tied behind their backs.

The humans, Titania didn’t really care for. And yet, something in her stomach squirmed as she watched little boys and girls, with ages not even in the double digits, sniffling as they followed their parents

For a moment, Titania wondered if she could throw her disguise off and order Helias to stop, but she thrust that inclination out of her mind. There was no way she would be able to stop this without blowing her cover and besides, she had no authority over this battlefield, especially given her hostile relationship with her father. Her husband had to know if they had any chance of stopping this.

Her feet pounded on the wet grass as she raced back to Antigones. She hoped she wouldn’t be too late.

Frances would never forget the moment she and her friends were told about what became known as the Massacre at Erlenberg.

They were all in the bank’s courtyard. Frances had been teaching Ayax how to cast her lightning spell. Her friends had paired off and were sparring. A much-healed Ginger was clashing swords with Martin. Elizabeth was fighting a group of their soldiers. All had blunted weapons or had wrapped their weapons in cloth to blunt their edges.

Thundering hooves had caused them to look up and see Elowise had thundering into the courtyard, backed by a group of cavalry.

“Elizabeth? Frances?!” Elowise bellowed, coming to a halt.

“Commander Elowise? What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked.

Eloise swallowed. “Rouse your battalion! You are to prepare to execute your prisoners if the order is given.”

Frances gawked at the centaur. “Execute them? Commander, what do you—”

“The newly arrived General Helias and his Alavari just massacred three hundred civilians in front of our western walls, and warned us that if they catch any more escaping civilians they’ll do the same to them!” Elowise hissed.

Frances stared at the centaur, her arms falling limply to her side. She had to have misheard. There was no way. The expressions of Elowise and her escorts told otherwise, though. Even as Frances glanced at her friends, she could see by their poleaxed faces that no, she hadn’t misheard.

Ayax shook her head. “But how did they capture so many?”

The centaur made a face. “They captured one of the evacuation ships leaving the city. The point is, if they decide to kill the troops they captured at Aijin, you’ll need to execute their prisoners immediately.”

Martin stammered. “But… But…”

Elowise sighed. “If they kill our soldiers without consequence, then they will continue to kill them again, and again. We have to send a message.”

“By killing unarmed prisoners?” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“You have your orders, commander.”

Frances grabbed Ivy’s Sting. “We w—”

“We’ll carry them out.”

Everybody’s eyes shot to Ginger. The redhead’s fists were clenched, her teeth grinding together. Before any of the teens could say anything, she ran over to them and hissed. “Follow me.”

The moment the five were in the room they repurposed as a dining room, Ayax shrieked. “Ginger, what the hell do you think you signed us up for?”

Ginger whirled on her, eyes filled with tears. “Oh for fuck’s sake, Ayax I stopped your cousin from direct insubordination! If she refused that order, what do you think would happen to us?”

Frances swallowed but said nothing. She’d already realized as they were going to the room that Ginger had just saved her from saying something really stupid. No, Elowise wasn’t going to punish her seriously, but Elizabeth’s explicit refusal would have gotten her in trouble.

Her hands digging into her hair, Ginger marched to a chair and slammed herself down. “Shit! Look, here’s the plan, we restrain—no that won’t work.”

“Ginger, you’re not planning to carry out this insane order aren’t you?” Elizabeth asked.

Ginger slumped even further into her chair, looking up at the group. “Liz, we need to. Or at least, we need to figure out how to pass this to someone else. The fact is, if the Alavari kill the soldiers they hold, then we’ll have to do the same.”

Ayax stammered, “We’d be executing prisoners of war. We’ve been feeding them, talking to them!”

“But if we don’t… the Alavari will just keep killing anybody they capture.” Frances clasped her hands to her mouth as it dawned on her. “And what’s to say the Alavari won’t? Or haven’t already? Or what’s to say that they aren’t doing worse?”

Martin shook his head. “They wouldn’t—”

“But they just did.” Elizabeth staggered to the nearest wall and slid down it. “They just killed three hundred civilians to send a point.

“Even if they did that, we can’t kill these Alavari. They surrendered to us because they trust us not to kill them!” Ayax was looking around, a desperate, pleading look in her eyes. Martin was nodding in agreement, but Elizabeth and Ginger’s eyes were distant, shocked.

Frances found herself shaking her head. “Ayax, their commander just demonstrated he’s willing to hurt people he captures. If the worst happens and we don’t execute the prisoners, what’s to stop them from just killing any more prisoners they capture?”

Ayax spluttered, “Morals? Decency—”

Ginger sprang to her feet, pointing westward. “They just killed three hundred civilian non-combatants including children! The army outside there has no decency! The only reason Elowise didn’t order us to kill these prisoners right now is because they’re holding more of our own hostage! That’s precisely why their commander killed these civilians!”

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Ayax sniffled, nodded, and buried her head in her hands as she burst out into uncontrollable sobbing. “I don’t understand. They said… They lied. They said their commander was honourable.”

Elizabeth stammered, “Ayax, wait, it wasn’t General Antigones. Elowise said it was a general Helias.”

“Really? Then, it wasn’t them.” Martin gasped. “We might not need to kill the prisoners!”

“But if they do kill our prisoners? What then?” Frances whispered. She crossed her arms, trying to think of a solution, but none came to her mind. Not only did they have their orders, but if they weren’t prepared to kill the prisoners, there was nothing to stop the Alavari from doing the same.

Ginger met Frances’s eyes. “We’ll have to kill them. Or at least, we’ll have to help.”

“Can’t we just ask someone—” Ayax swallowed and shook her head. “Wait no, that’s… that’s passing it off. It’ll be just as bad killing them ourselves.”

“Yes. At least we can make sure they die humanely.” Ginger swallowed. “Look, I know none of you don’t have the stomach to do it. I’ve killed in cold blood before, let me do it. I’ll get a few volunteers, and we’ll behead them, or shoot them at close range. We’ll figure out a way.”

Martin was by Ginger’s side in an instant, hands on her shoulder. “You’re lying. You’re sick to your stomach too and you don’t want to do it.”

The convict shook her head. “Martin, I’m the one with blood on my hands. I ought to—”

“No. I’ll do it.” Frances touched Ivy’s Sting, conveying her thoughts as she spoke them. “I am the only one who can do it quickly. We drug them to sleep, tie them with metal chains. I’ll cast a single lightning spell and they all die instantly.”

Elizabeth gasped. “Frances—”

Frances forced herself to smile, even though it hurt her to do it. “It’s alright. It’ll be alright. This way, only I have to do it and nobody else. Nobody will have to bear the guilt but me and… I’ll be doing it for a good reason.”

“But why you, Frances? Why does it have to be you?” Martin asked.

Frances swallowed, forcing herself to meet the gazes of her friends. “Because I can and because that way nobody else has to suffer for it.”

Ginger shook her head. “Kid, you are not doing this alone.”

“I’ll be fine. If it means you all don’t have to do it then I’ll be alright.” Frances looked at her friends, pleading that they’d give up. That they’d just let her shoulder this burden. She’d seen how close Ayax and Elizabeth were to breaking, and poor Ginger had enough pain for two lifetimes. Besides, she’d still be alive. Her friends would be fine.

Only, those friends were staring at her in horror. Elizabeth was in front of her, holding her wrists. “Frances, you are not doing this alone and that’s final.”

“Why are you refusing me? You just said you don’t want to do this. Just let me do this!” Frances exclaimed. She tried to step back, wrench her hands out of Elizabeth’s grasp, but Ayax was by her side.

“No! You are not sacrificing yourself for us, cuz. Not when you don’t have to!” Ayax exclaimed.

“You’re my friends!” Frances shrieked.

“And you’re our friend too! We are not letting you do this on your own!” Martin was touching her elbow. Ginger was soon behind him, an arm over her shoulder. They were all huddling, together, a tangle of arms and hands.

Frances sobbed, tears falling into the space between them. “Then we’re back at the start!”

“No. We’ll do it together.” Elizabeth sniffled, her voice choked. “Maybe it’s the wrong choice. Maybe we’ll be damned for it, but we’ll be damned together.”

Frances knew this was the worst possible outcome. She hated it with every fibre of her being. She wanted to scream at her friends and tell them to stop trying to help her. They didn’t deserve this. They could have just left this disgusting task to her, someone who… who was already traumatized. Now they’d all be scarred for life.

“I hate this,” Frances croaked.

Ginger snorted. “I think we all need a drink.”

“Let’s break the news to the men first,” said Martin, in a shaky voice.

“I’ll… I’ll tell the prisoners,” said Ayax.

Frances sniffled. “I’ll come with you.”

They’d been worried about the prisoners panicking and so had brought additional guards. However, Captain Nikolo and his soldiers just stared at them in complete shock.

“Children too?” The ogre captain whispered.

Frances nodded. “Yes.”

“What the fuck. There’s no way the general approved this! He’s explicitly given orders that children aren’t to be harmed!” Nikolo bellowed.

“Before we came, I confirmed with my father Alexander, the city commander.” Ayax swallowed her thoughts on her father’s dead-eyed look. “He saw the bodies himself. He… he couldn’t believe how small they looked.”

One of the older orcs jumped to his feet. “Wait, they’re still there? They weren’t buried?”

“They’re starting to bury them now, but they left them out for a while.” Frances forced herself to look the Alavari in the eye. “Right now, you’re still safe, but if General Antigones starts killing the prisoners he took at Aijin Fields, then we’ll have no choice but to do the same.”

“He won’t. He couldn’t have done this.” Nikolo shook his head. “This has to be a mistake. A misunderstanding.”

“It’s possible it isn’t Antigones.” Ayax took a deep breath. “Remember, we said that a new general called Helias was the one who made the announcement.”

A flash of realization spread across Nikolo’s features. “Helias? You mean Baron Helias of the Royal 2nd Corps?”

“He’s now General Helias,” said Frances. She recalled Helias from the Battle of Freeburg and how he’d eliminated Freeburg’s garrison, but she’d never heard of the 2nd Corps.

“Who was the moron who made him General?” one soldier hissed.

Frances blinked. “Can you tell us more about him? If you’re alright with that?”

“We got nothing good to tell you. Helias and his 2nd Corps are well-known for their hatred of humans and Alavari sympathetic to them. They fought in the Roranoak area for some time, carrying out various raids on human settlements.” Nikolo grimaced. “Galena only knows why he’s remained in command.”

“I heard that’s because he has Thorgoth’s favour,” said a goblin.

“That can’t be right. Sergeant Jesren told me that it’s because he’s the king’s son.”

Nikolo groaned. “That sergeant loves to blab.

“Have any of you personally served under Helias?” Ayax asked.

The prisoners glanced at each other, shaking their heads. All except for one.

“I’ve… worked with him.” The speaker was a young centaur female. Her arm was in a sling, having been wounded before she was captured. Frances recalled her name was Kissandra. “Most of the rumours aren’t entirely true, but they’re not wrong either. He doesn’t have a hatred of humans. He just thinks they’re entirely beneath him and less than livestock and that Alavari who sympathize with them are blood traitors.”

Ayax swallowed. “That’s… bad.”

“I can’t say too much. We are at war and I’m not putting my fellow soldiers at risk. But he’s cruel and very convincing.” Kissandra winced. “I… I didn’t have to kill any humans civilians, but until I joined Antigones’s army, I felt like it was fine to do so.”

Frances knelt so she was eye to eye with the centaur. “Thank you for sharing with us, Kissandra.”

Kissandra nodded. “If… if it comes to… to that, please make it quick.”

Frances wanted to throw up right there and then, but she’d not been able to eat the entire morning. Blinking past fresh tears, she nodded and fled the cell, Ayax behind her.

Alavari Camp…

As they marched toward Helia’s tent, Titania arched an eyebrow at her husband. Antigones, with his handsome beard, was resplendent as always in his forest green military jacket, which honestly barely contained his broad chest. At his side was a heavy arming sword. White trousers and tight black boots showed off his muscled legs and also left very little to the imagination.

Right now, Antigones was stomping towards Helias’s tent, Titania holding onto one of his elbows.

“You know, you kind of look hot when you’re angry.”

Titania had timed that while Antigones was mid-step. The orc slammed his foot into the ground and came to a halt, one hand clamped over his mouth. He stood, shivering slightly for a moment, before bursting into half-choked laughter. The guards around the pair took that as their cue to loosen up and laugh as well.

Taking a deep breath, Antigones smiled at Titania. “How do you always know what to say to make me feel better, dear?”

Titania grinned. “What can I say, husband? I’m very talented.” There was no need to hide her relationship with Antigones now. To match her husband’s forest-green military uniform, jingling with medals, and white dress shirt, Titania was wearing a dark green velvet greatcoat, embroidered with gold lapels and tassels. Underneath that she wore an ornate light green dress that ended at her knees, styled in a way that the pieces of cloth resembled armour. Her wand was attached to its holster on her left arm, but she also had a basket-hilted broadsword that hung from her waist. Atop of her head was her silver princess’s crown, adorned with black and white feathers taken from the king’s own menagerie.

The princess and the general looked the part and they damned well needed to, given what they were walking into.

While the pair passed through Helias’s camp to his main tent, the soldiers, seeing both her crown and her husband, bowed or curtsied. They didn’t acknowledge the gestures and didn’t stop until they were facing the guards for Helias’s tent.

The guards politely let them into the tent, but their faces wore stoney expressions.

Helias in contrast was smiling, sitting at his desk, as Antigones and Titania strode in. “Your Highness, General, please take a seat.”

“We won’t be long, Helias, so let me get to the point.” Antigones slammed both hands on the desk, making the tauroll jump. “Are you stupid, general?”

“What do you mean, sir?” Helias stammered.

Titania winced. Being on the receiving end of a dressing down by her husband was kind of like being on the end of a rockfall. Inevitable, unstoppable, quite terrifying and Antignoes’s grumbling voice certainly helped evoke that image.

“You killed three hundred civilians in front of the walls of Erlenberg. Have you considered the consequences of that?” Antigones asked.

Helias blinked. Titania frowned as the tauroll smiled. He was still braced, obviously frightened by her looming husband, but there was a confidence that he really shouldn’t have.

“Ah, General, I was carrying out His Majesty’s Orders.” Helias slid a scroll on his desk towards the pair, which Titania snatched up. “I have orders to use any and all measures to secure the city of Erlenberg, and should I—we succeed, the consequences of any drastic measures we would have to take would be pardoned.”

Antigones’s eyes slid towards Titania, who was reading and re-reading the words on the scroll.

“It’s legitimate.” The scroll dropped to the desk, as Titania put her hands on her hips. “Ah well, that sounds like my father.”

An inquisitive look came over Helia’s features. “You don’t seem surprised, Princess.”

Titania giggled. “He’s a clodthrog, and so are you.”

Helias narrowed his grey eyes. “Whore—”

He got that word out and found Antigones’s sword tickling his chin. The guards froze, blinking, trying to figure out when the orc had drawn his sword. “Finish that sentence and it’ll be your body I’ll offer to the Erlenbergians as appeasement.”

Titania had flinched at Helias’s insult, but now she was grinning at the barely-hidden fear on Helias’s impudent face.

“You wouldn’t,” hissed the tauroll.

“He would,” Titania said in a sing-song voice.

Antigones sighed, glancing at Titania. “Dear…” Titania sighed and stopped smirking. Only for the orc general to turn to Helias and smile almost sheepishly. “Well, to be honest, she’s right. I totally would. The only reason I’m not is because we do need to take Erlenberg if we are to have any chance of winning this war.”

Titania nudged Antigones playfully as he sheathed his sword, and Helias let out a long and rather angry sigh of relief.

“That’s why I killed those civilians. We need to break their spirit. Turn their remaining civilians against their defenders. Make them scared to leave and so render their supply situation difficult.”

“At the cost of making a lot more people in the city willing to fight to the death and endangering the prisoners they are holding.” Antigones cut off Helias’s attempt to speak up with a growl. “No, a reasonable person wouldn’t dare kill our prisoners when we’re holding so many of theirs hostage, but what if they weren’t reasonable?”

“Well, they haven’t killed them have they?” Helias shot back, rising to his feet. “And now they’ll be desperate to get any of their prisoners back, so you can request a much higher cost for reparations.”

Antigones frowned. “That is appreciated, but you still have steeled the city against us.”

“They were already steeled against us, General. What I’ve done has provoked them. They’re going to act irrationally. Sally forth to attack us. Try to take revenge on what we did. We can take advantage of this.”

“Oh come on, an idiot would know they were going to counter-attack us at some point. What’s your real plan here?” The orc general sneered at Helias, his fangs bared. “Are you trying to provoke them into attacking my army and rescuing their prisoners?”

Titania grinned as Helias stiffened almost imperceptibly, but the twitch on his tail, always a good tell on Alavari, gave it away.

Suddenly, Helias stilled and his lips curled in a grin.

“And what if I am? The Black Banner army can handle a little bit of heat can they?” The tauroll leaned forward on his desk. “Besides, what can you do about it?”

Antigones didn’t move, and neither did Helias, the two glared at one another.

They were at an impasse, and Titania knew it. As a general acting under Antigones’s command, Helias had been insubordinate, but because he’d done it in line with his orders from King Thorgoth, he was safe. That and he had Thorgoth’s favour, so Titania and Antigones couldn’t even get him removed.

“Well, nothing, but needless to say, we’ll be watching you.” Titania paused and smiled. “Oh and we’re going to be trading our prisoners away for theirs.”

Helias’s poleaxed expression made Titania wish she had a recording crystal so she could capture the moment. Alas, she didn’t, but she couldn’t wait to laugh over it with her husband later in the night.

“What.”

Antigones smirked. “We can’t trust you to guarantee the safety of our soldiers. Not if you and your Alavari are so willing to kill humans. So our only option is to not keep any prisoners. That and it’ll make it clear to the humans that we’re reasonable… but that we want their surrender.”

His shock turning to fury, Helias clenched his fists. “You’re just putting a target on my back.”

“What’s wrong General? The 2nd Corps can’t take the heat?” Giggling, Titania tugged on her grinning husband’s elbow and the pair practically danced out of the tent without another word.

Alone, in the room she’d been given for a sleeping space, Frances sat in her bedroll.

She felt that she was going insane. If it came down to it, she and her friends had to kill Alavari in cold blood. These Alavari had families, people who cared for them. They weren’t even killing them in retaliation for killing civilians. They’d be killing them to prevent the deaths of soldiers they might capture in the future.

It was absurd, ridiculous, and also the only conceivable course forward.

That cold truth was why Frances felt sick. Her heart ached that her friends would have to kill these Alavari in cold blood. It was bad enough that the Alavari had to die, but that her friends had to do it. No, her friends had refused to let her do it alone.

It was comforting that her friends cared. No, it was amazing they wouldn’t let her suffer alone. Yet, at the same time, Frances hated that she couldn’t shield her friends from this. She wanted to tell them not to worry, but she hadn’t been strong enough.

Frances blinked and stood up. Someone was knocking on her door. She opened it to find black hair and a smile full of relief.

“Frances, we just got a message from General Antigones, he’s offering to trade all our prisoners for his prisoners,” Elizabeth spluttered. “We won’t have to execute them, ever!”

The brown-haired girl blinked. “What? How? Why?”

Long fingers grabbed Frances’s shoulders, shaking them. “I don’t know, but it’s a miracle and it has to be true! Antigones already released a hundred of our prisoners as a show of good faith! Don’t you see? We won’t ever have to execute them!”

The weight on Frances’s shoulders fell. She found herself smiling, but only for a brief instant.

“What?” hissed a voice Frances didn’t know she could make.

Elizabeth’s dark brown eyes widened. “Frances? Aren’t you… aren’t you happy that happened?”

No, she wasn’t. Frances’s hands were clenched, and something ugly, vicious was bursting up from her chest. She almost shrieked the words at Elizabeth, but restraint, thinner than a thread, held her back.

“They… this is… what kind of ridiculous bullshit is this? They killed three hundred civilians, put us in the worst fucking dilemma in the world and just solve it by a prisoner trade? Do they expect us to believe that they want to deal with us fairly? After murdering children?”

Those words wiped the smile from Elizabeth’s face. Frances rarely swore. She did get angry, but the fire that blazed in her eyes, made her small form tremble, it made Elizabeth think she was looking at Edana for a moment.

The thing was though… “That is… that is ridiculous,” Elizabeth whispered.

“Did they even acknowledge what they did was wrong?” Frances demanded, amber eyes filling with tears. “They didn’t, did they? They didn’t even mention the children they killed?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. Commander Alexander just said that they wanted a prisoner exchange. No mention of the dead civilians.” Her mace-callused fingers clenched, Elizabeth scowled. “No mention that they essentially held our prisoners hostage, even if they didn’t say they were.”

“Of course, we can’t even refuse their offer. We need to get those Erlenbergians out of there if they are sincere,” Frances growled.

“They… they probably are,” Elizabeth stammered. “The prisoners mentioned General Antigones has a sort of honour.”

“But General Helias has no honour. He’s just a kid killer.” Frances’s eyes widened and she ran to her pack. She opened her book and started to rummage through it. “He needs to pay.”

“Yes, but what can we do about it?” Elizabeth asked.

Frances slowly turned to her friend, pencil and paper in her hand. “Elizabeth, we are Otherworlders. We have one of the best battalions in the army and Ayax, Martin and Ginger.”

“You’re saying we kill—no, assassinate him.” Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open and she shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. How will we get in?”

“Magic? Ships? We have options.” Frances thought of a certain mage with a preference for the colour orange. “We can talk to other mages, like Ophelia. I bet she knows some good disguise spells.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, but… it’s… it’s too late to talk about this now.”

“Elizabeth, I might be wrong, but I think you don’t want to do it.” Frances frowned. “Why?”

Her best friend ran fingers through her curly black hair. “It’d be murdering someone in cold blood, not on a battlefield.”

“I think the dead children he killed wouldn’t care as long as he dies,” said Frances.

“You don’t know that,” said Elizabeth.

“I know I’d prefer if my parents were dead,” Frances said, not bothering to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

Elizabeth blinked, staring at Frances with wide eyes. The small girl in front of her didn’t flinch at her look. She looked back, amber eyes reflecting a burning, seething anger, like the bright glow of embers.

It was a glow that shot a pang of worry in Elizabeth’s heart.

“If we’re killing him, we’re not killing him because of revenge,” Elizabeth said slowly. “We’re killing him because it’s the right thing to do and because we’re preventing the deaths of more children.”

Frances frowned. “That doesn’t matter.”

“Frances, intent does matter.” Elizabeth reached across to take her friend’s hand. “If we plan this, we plan this when we’re all awake, and we plan this right. Okay?”

Frances thought for a moment, and nodded, “Okay.”