She cocked her head, but her eyes didn’t leave the jerky in my hand. I made her wait for a beat before tossing it high. She leapt to catch it, then disappeared out of the room with her prize. If we planned to stay here for more than a week, I would have to build her some sort of climbing tower or she’d resort to perching on whatever she could find, likely with disastrous results.

With Luna taken care of, I delved deeper into the unfamiliar part of the house. I let Kee know where I was going, just on the off chance that one of Torran’s staff decided to jump out of a room and murder me. I didn’t think the odds of that were very high, but if it happened, I wanted my crew to know who to avoid.

The house was far larger than it appeared from the front. The sloping roof and curving lines hid exactly how expansive it was. The guest and family wings were at the back of the building with another hallway between them that I hadn’t explored yet.

The final hallway branched off from the front of the house, following the curve of the front wall. I explored it first, since it was closest to the kitchen. I expected it to be the public rooms, and the first door I opened proved me correct.

The office was pristine, with a beautiful, sculpted desk and plush chairs. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the gorgeous landscaping. The colorful, understated art on the wall reflected the colors of the flowers outside.

The room was lovely but completely lacking in personality. I doubted that I’d find a single useful piece of information, but I rifled through everything anyway. The desk didn’t have any drawers, hidden or otherwise.

A long cabinet against the wall turned out to be a bar cabinet. I poked around inside but it didn’t reveal any secrets except that Torran kept a lot of liquor on hand for his guests.

The rest of the wing was much the same—beautiful and cold. A sitting room, bathroom, lounge, and game room were all exquisitely decorated, spotlessly clean, and completely impersonal.

By the time I was finished with the wing, the sun had sunk below the horizon. It was only late morning local time, but my body clock thought the darkness meant that it was time for sleep. The house lights tried to compensate, blazing bright, but my body knew the sun was gone and was having none of it.

My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I’d split my lunch bar with Luna. I’d forgotten to ask Torran about the meal schedule, but I would explore the other wing, then start on dinner. My team would be ready to eat, even if it was earlier than local dinnertime.