Book One – Chapter 18

Bubs had not been told, at least not after the party had entered the common room. And looking at her, he would have no reason to suspect. The girl’s pale complexion and the copper tinge in her hair could easily pass for one of the fiercer tairan mixes, those striking hybrids of flaxen blond and burning red that was so common among those with strong ancestry. This was tairan traits, if Yu had ever seen any.

Her appearance was so convincing that even Yu had not questioned it. A borman, of all people, had carried this girl in his arms, and Yu still had not concluded anything from just how wrong that was. He had suspected nothing, even though it made no sense at all that a borman cared for a tairan girl. Even though it made all the sense that instead, said borman would very much want his personal human to be fixed.

And still, even now, Yu would not believe that she was classified as a human, if Deltington had not declared it with so much calm and certainty, and if the krynn had not confirmed it a moment later.

How had Deltington known so quickly?

Through Estingar, probably. The borman might have told him while they had been waiting in the walkway. For the most part, Yu had not listened to their conversation as they acclimatised. But then again, it did not matter. Whatever Deltington knew, Bubs would not be able to guess from the human’s appearance.

No one would, from the outside.

It must be her mind. Her habitat administration must have tested her. She must be mentally deranged. Profoundly deranged. That was the only reason a habitat human born with tairan traits was not handed over to the tairan. If they could not sustain themselves, they either died in infancy or were taken out of the habitat and disposed of. Otherwise, they were simply sterilised and kept amongst the other humans until they died.