Figuring out the kitchen on my own would be a challenge—one I’d deal with when I came to it.

I moved through the house to the final wing. When I approached, I heard Eli’s voice, taunting someone. It didn’t sound serious, but I sped up just in case. The last thing I needed was another fight.

Several familiar voices drifted from the first room on the left. The door stood open, so I slipped inside and found myself in a large, well-equipped gym. Eli was giving Anja pointers—some helpful, most not—as she and Chira circled each other on the padded sparring floor. Anja taunted Eli as often as she taunted Chira.

Both Anja and Chira had donned lightweight protective gloves and didn’t appear to be trying to kill each other, so I didn’t intervene. Chira had a few centimeters of height on Anja, but Anja had several kilos of additional muscle, so they were evenly matched.

Havil stood next to Eli, but his eyes spent more time on my first officer than on the two sparring women. Of course, most people’s eyes were drawn to Eli. The man really was too damn handsome for his own good.

The rest of the room was empty. I figured Kee was still hiding with her tech, but both Lexi and Varro were missing, too.

“Care to go a round, Tavi?” Eli asked, without taking his eyes from Anja and Chira.

“I heard the terrible advice you gave Anja. I’m pretty sure that she’ll happily kick your ass for me.”

“Sure thing, Captain,” Anja agreed with a grin. She dodged a quick jab from Chira and retaliated with a flurry of light blows.

“Just keep it friendly so I don’t have to come back and crack skulls,” I warned.

They all murmured their agreement, so I left them to it and retreated to the hallway with a wave.

Across the hall, the door slid open to reveal a tropical oasis. Plants crowded the edges of the room, and the air was warm and humid. What looked like a natural hot spring had been widened into a pool big enough for a dozen people. Heat rose from the surface of the water.

I skirted around the heated pool and found another pool hidden beyond the foliage, this one large enough for swimming. I debated it for a second and then decided Torran wouldn’t have a toxic pool in his house.

Probably.

I crouched down and dipped my fingers in the water. It was pleasantly cool. I didn’t have time to swim—or a swimsuit—but I really wished I did. It had been nearly a year since I’d seen this much water in one place.