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Across the room, Dreven stood washing blood from his hands. Most of it belonged to other people. His long hair had come partly loose from the tie at his neck, and the dark strands had fallen across one horn. Without the rigid posture of command, he looked tired enough that Kesta remembered he had been working at the condenser long before the emergency began. He caught her watching.

“What?”

Kesta took the cup Sera offered her.

“You listened.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “In the infirmary?”

“Yes.”

“You knew what you were doing.”

“That has not always stopped powerful men from interfering.”

Something changed in Dreven’s face. He looked down at the water running pink across his hands.

“No,” he said. “Nor powerful empires.”

The answer carried no defensiveness. Kesta drank. Sera handed her another cup before she could object.

“Drink before your principles become dehydrated.”

Kesta looked at her.

“I hate that sentence.”

“Good. You will remember it.”

The outer door opened. Keth entered carrying a damaged condenser valve wrapped in cloth. His mechanical eye focused briefly on the sleeping child before turning toward Dreven.

“We found the failure point.”

He placed the valve on an empty table. Tavi immediately abandoned the scanner and came closer. Keth pointed to a crack running along the base.

“Pressure split.”

Tavi bent over it.

“No.”

Keth looked at him.

“The seam should have failed first.” Tavi turned the valve beneath the light, his lower hands supporting the weight while the upper pair traced the metal. “This fracture begins outside the stress line.”

Kesta set down her cup and joined them. Under magnification, a narrow groove appeared near the base of the fitting. The cut was shallow enough to escape casual inspection and darkened around the edges by deliberate heating. She felt cold despite the warmth of the infirmary.

“Someone weakened it.”

Keth’s jaw tightened. Dreven’s expression changed immediately.

“Sabotage.”

Tavi nodded. “Unless the valve developed tool marks by itself.”

“Who had access?”

“Half the maintenance crew,” Keth said.