Along with fresh air and sunlight, food was going to be the best part of this trip. Real, fresh food that hadn’t had to be frozen or otherwise preserved to travel to Bulwark.

Rinn had flown them down to Weissberg from the spaceport, and immediately suggested dinner. “I know a place,” she said, and Satsu was happy to follow along.

They were on the outskirts of the city, and Rinn led them even farther out. They walked, rather than calling for a flyer, which was also perfect, as far as Satsu was concerned. Max took the opportunity to stretch his legs, racing back and forth across the path, and Satsu let him have his fun. Honestly, it was hard not to do the same herself.

The restaurant they stopped at was small, with only a dozen tables and an open kitchen where two people were working. One of the cooks looked up as Satsu and Max came through the door. “Hey, you can’t bring that dog—” He stopped as Max lifted his head at the word “dog” and his red-and-black collar with the wolf crest became visible. The cook’s face lit up and he nudged his companion, who gave a similarly bright smile. She wiped her hands on a towel and came over to greet them.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “we don’t get a lot of empath teams in here. Of course he can stay. You just tell me what he’d like to eat and I’ll whip it up.”

This trip was going to be a treat for Max as well. “Anything you’ve got is fine, but he loves organ meats. Some eggs and green vegetables. And thanks, he’ll be thrilled.”

“It’s no trouble. And I’ve even got a couple raw bones in the back I could clean up.” Her hand twitched towards Max, then she pulled it back. Satsu appreciated the restraint.

The woman turned her attention to Rinn. “Your table’s open. Special today is lamb roast.”

“Perfect,” Rinn answered. “But my friend here may need a menu.”

“The lamb roast sounds wonderful. And a beer, if you would.”

Satsu followed Rinn to a table in the back corner. As they sat, Rinn was fighting a smile. “You two draw a lot of attention.”

“Hazard of the trade.” Satsu idly stroked Max’s head as he settled in next to her chair. “But we don’t mind.”

The woman brought them beer and a platter loaded high with meat, potatoes, and vegetables. More than enough for Rinn and Satsu to share. It smelled wonderful.

Max thought so too and gave a soft whine.

Rinn heard it. As she cut off a slice of roast and dropped it onto her plate, she asked, “Can I give him a bite?”

Max knew the word “bite.” His ears pricked and he looked up at Satsu in entreaty, drawing a surprised laugh out of Rinn. “He’s smart.”

“He absolutely is. And yes, he’d love a bite.”

Rinn pulled free a chunk of gravy-soaked meat and tossed it in Max’s direction. He neatly snapped it out of the air.

“When I was young,” Rinn said, “I wished so hard that I’d adapt as an empath. Then I would have had an excuse. Otherwise, my parents wouldn’t let my sister or I have pets. Said they were messy, and a distraction from things that mattered.”

“We just met, so I hate to start out saying negative things about your parents…”

“No, it’s all right. They’re both assholes.” Rinn shrugged, like it didn’t matter, but Satsu could feel an ache around this topic. It would have been rude to ask, but if Satsu had to guess, she’d say Rinn’s parents were tied in to the reason Rinn had run away to the Wolf.

“I suppose I could get a pet now,” Rinn mused. “If we weren’t about to go hunting for a darkspace breach.”

Satsu reflexively glanced around. No one was close, but that didn’t mean no one was listening. “Rinn…”

“I know, I know. Sorry.” She sighed, lowering her voice to a near whisper. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

“I hate secret mission crap. I’m not great at it.”

The confession was so charmingly candid, Satsu had to smile. “So why are you here?”

“Because when people start messing with planetary defenses,” she caught herself, looking around to make sure no one was listening before going on, “when lives are in danger you don’t stand back and call it someone else’s problem. Not when you know you can help.”

“And you know this—that you can help?”

“Yeah.” Just that simple confident affirmation.

The cook returned with a bowl for Max and more beer for Rinn, who had already polished off her first glass. When the woman was gone again, Rinn said, “I tell you, something I do find interesting. Neither of us are Wolves.”

Satsu had noticed the same thing, but she kept her tone noncommittal as she said, “Perhaps it simply happened that way. That we were the best options for this assignment.”

Rinn stabbed another piece of meat with her fork. “You believe that?”

“Not at all,” Satsu admitted. “It is interesting.”

Rinn’s gaze had shifted to the closest window, staring up at the sky and worlds beyond. “What must it be like to be Lord Faust? To have to trust your people absolutely, but also live in constant paranoia?”

As a Serpent, that lifestyle wasn’t alien to Satsu. Not that she could say so. “I’m not sure her paranoia in this case is justified. I can’t imagine a Wolf being party to what happened. And Lord Faust may be making the mistake I’ve seen clan lords make before—forgetting that Wolf don’t hold a monopoly on the hikmaic gift.”

“That’s one assumption that could get her in trouble. The other is assuming this has to have been a hikmaic at all.”

Satsu gave another little glance around, noting that no one seemed to be watching them too closely. “Don’t you need a hikmaic if you’re going to open a rift into darkspace?”

“It helps, certainly.” Rinn focused on her food again, and didn’t elaborate.

Satsu was getting more curious about Rinn with every passing second. She desperately wanted to ask who Rinn was, where she came from, how she knew these things.

And not just because Satsu wanted answers. Not just because Satsu’s curiosity was going to overwhelm her. In simple fact, she just wanted to know Rinn better. The more they talked, the more it became clear that Rinn was a sharp, confident mind wrapped in a lovely package, and that was catnip to Satsu.

Dangerous catnip. A distraction from her mission. From both her missions.

On which she should be focusing. “So. Where should we begin our investigation?”

Rinn nodded, as though she approved of the question. “We’ll start with what we know. We’ll go to the…to the site Lord Faust identified. I’ll talk to the nima there, and get a sense for what we’re dealing with. After that…” she gave Satsu a toothy smile that could have belonged on the face of any Wolf in the pack, her dark eyes sparkling and eager, “after that, we hunt.”