Roman walked with Satsu and Max down the crowded streets of Kanto and considered it may have been a mistake coming with her to Tacitus.

Not that Roman wouldn’t follow Satsu anywhere she led him. But he’d forgotten what open worlds were like. Castle Faust, the Hub, darkspace—Roman spent his life surrounded by walls and ceilings, or in the protective cocoon of his spacesuit. All this open space—the wide avenues and trees and sky—it was disorienting. It felt wasteful, decadent, and entirely too big.

Even the light was different, the wrong shade, with a yellow sun in the sky instead of the familiar white-blue.

All that would have been enough to make him anxious. But on top of it, Satsu still hadn’t told Roman why they were here.

No denying Kanto was a beautiful city, one of the most popular vacation destinations in the Empire. With oceans on one side and mountains on the other, the opportunities for excursions were endless. But it wasn’t just beaches and skiing that drew people here. Kanto had a reputation as a city in which you could find anything. If you had a wish, a desire, Kanto was the place you could fulfill it.

Roman’s wish was to be back out in darkspace, flying, hunting, and then to come home to a good night’s sleep with no demon dreams. He was pretty sure Kanto couldn’t provide that for him. He needed…

The news this morning had been full of talk about the ship that had been lost to darkspace, containing the Dragon ambassador to the court and the Emperor’s own brother. Roman knew it wasn’t his fault, that he wasn’t singly responsible for the safety of everyone in darkspace, but he was sure he wasn’t the only Wolf feeling like he’d failed the clan, the Empire.

It didn’t help that he’d recognized the Dragon ambassador when he’d seen her picture. Hers was the body he’d seen the demon eating in his dream. Which meant the ship had actually disappeared days before anyone told the public. Days before Satsu had dragged him to this “vacation.” It meant Roman had been on patrol, and might have been able to save them.

Beside him, Satsu sighed. “You might try to look a little less you’re expecting to be dragged in for torture at any moment.”

“Sorry.” Roman dredged up an honest smile for her. “It’s just been…it’s hard to adjust.”

“I understand.” Satsu leaned in to bump their shoulders together. “For me, Bulwark is the adjustment.”

“For most people. Even most Wolves in service grew up on Cradle. But for me, Bulwark’s always been home and this,” Roman waved his hand to encompass the city around them, “it’s too big, too open, and too crowded.”

“It’s good for you,” Satsu countered with a smile. “Push your boundaries. Expand your horizons.” She reached down absently to scritch Max’s head. “If we had a few weeks, I could make you fall in love with this city.”

Roman wasn’t so sure. More than the open skies, Kanto was just uncomfortably different. The architecture, the clothing, the greenery…the people.

Kanto was a Serpent city. There were plenty of tourists, sure, but most of the people he saw—most of the faces on the street were covered in masks. So many of them, everywhere. It was creepy. “Why are we here again?”

“You’ll find out when it’s time, so stop asking.”

They took lunch at an outdoor counter, and Roman indulged in a plate full of fresh fish and vegetables and fruit that were rare treats on Bulwark. After, Satsu bought them both ice cream and they walked through one of the countless parks, trading bites of chocolate and salted caramel while Max ran chasing after birds and squirrels and leaves. Between the food, the flowers, and Satsu’s companionable presence, Roman relaxed.

Their hotel was a beachfront tower of glass and steel. Satsu had booked them a corner suite near the very top, where the wraparound balcony gave them a view of the ocean in one direction and mountains in the other. The rooms were fragrant with fresh-cut flowers and ocean brine, and luxuriously appointed. Roman had no idea how much it cost. Satsu had brushed aside the question with a reminder that she was paid well enough, and there were limited opportunities on Bulwark to indulge.

They each had their own bedroom, but as Roman unpacked in his, Satsu perched on the arm of the bedside chair to watch, rather than going to settle in to her own space She was fidgeting with a smooth black coin, flipping it through her fingers. After a long and strangely awkward silence she asked, “Have you had any more dreams?”

Roman kept his eyes on the clothes he was re-folding far too carefully. “About the demon, you mean?” Her silence was a yes.

Roman shook his head. “Nothing like the last one, but…” This was still difficult to talk about. “I’m scared of another dream, but I also…I want it. I can’t stop thinking about it. About her. I just keep imagining…”

Satsu spoke softly into the silence that hd fallen. “You imagine—you obsess—over what it would be like. This taste of the forbidden. There’s a promise that you wonder if it’s true. Until you know, you can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Yes.” Roman wasn’t surprised that Satsu understood and could put it into words better than Roman had. She knew people and she knew him. “I know it’s trickery. I know what I’ve been taught. I know what happens to people who give in to what demons say. But…”

“I have something for you.” Satsu spoke slowly, almost hesitantly. “A gift. I think…I hope it can give you what you need.”

Roman turned to look and she was holding out the coin. Roman took it, turned it over in his palm. It was cold and heavy, but Roman couldn’t tell if it was made of metal or stone. One side was smooth as glass; the other was covered in a patterns of tiny bumps, so small he couldn’t see them and could only barely feel their presence. “What is this?”

“A token for a pleasure house here in the city.”

Roman held it back out to her. “I don’t need—”

Satsu closed her hand over his, wrapping his fingers around the coin. “Take it. Use it. Trust that I understand—that I know what you need.”

Trust her a little longer. “Where would I go?”

“Press your thumb along the smooth side.”

Roman did as he was told. The coin grew warm. A wisp of nima energy floated up and formed a line pointing into the city.

Satsu slid off her chair. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here when you get back.” She left him and he heard the quiet click of her own bedroom door closing.

Roman finished unpacking. He took a long shower. He watched the sun set over the ocean.

Then he took the coin and followed its guidance into the city.