“Yeah, they’re big on taking trophies to prove their victories.” Blaze rubs at the back of her neck, though of course she doesn’t actually remember any of what happened. And her people aren’t that different- Blaze has a few trophies of her own. They just aren’t skulls. “Or giving them as offerings to their machine gods. But House Winter lost theirs ages ago, I heard.”

Blaze has to shrug. She has no special insight into the Fallen’s feelings, but she does know a few things about war. “We’ve got to assume there’s a practical reason for everything she does. Damned if I know exactly what they’re after, but they must be trying to gain some kind of advantage. And they want us off their backs while they do it.”