"Always," he agrees, Beatrice giving a mournful croak as she alights back on his shoulder. "I'd surmise they're unable to breed, rather than unwilling. Which means they might be summoning all these foreign children deliberately. The rest of us could just be caught up in the net. Makes as much sense as the drek they're trying to sell us."

The general reaches up to stroke his bird on the head. She leans into the touch.