Kylee started to say something—was smart enough to figure that Falise might not have the stomach to handle it if she discovered she was eating the quetzal that had eaten Ednund.

Finally Falise said, “Part of the problem between Derek and me? I mean I never would have guessed that was my brother. He’s not the same petulant whiner that I last saw in Taglioni Tower. That Derek . . . ?” She seemed to be struggling for the right words.

“Dek says he was a loathsome beast back then.” Kylee attacked her own steak. Pointed with her knife. “It’s not my place to tell his story. But, lady, there’s a lot you could learn from it.”

“You don’t act like a sixteen-year-old.” Falise was studying her through those perfect emerald eyes. Designer eyes, like Dek’s had been before the TriNA had remodeled them.

“Got too much of Talina up here.” Kylee tapped the side of her head. “And down at Mundo, I was treated like an adult. All of us were. My mothers had me doing genetics and molecular biology by the time I was six. And then I bonded with Rocket. After he was killed . . . well, the shit just kept coming down.” She gestured around the room with her knife. “Once, I was dedicated to coming here and killing them all.”

Kylee paused. Smiled. “And here I sit.” A beat. “So, see, fancy lady? If I can learn, so can you.”

That stone-green gaze was still wary as Falise gestured at her hat, tapped the rifle with an insistent finger. “You bought all of this. Paid out almost a thousand SDRs. What do you expect to gain in return?”

Kylee waggled her fork in Falise’s direction as she chewed the piece of meat. “See, here’s the thing: I don’t really give a fuck about you. But Dek’s lineage, and you’re on Donovan because he’s your Taglioni brother. So here’s what you can do as payback for buying you an outfit. I don’t want you fucking up Dek’s life. And, shit, like I said, I’m curious. Never met a fancy Transluna noble before.”

“You always have such a foul mouth?”

“Yeah, picked it up from Talina. And, out in the bush, Flute and Tip don’t care. Madison and Chaco tried their best to ‘make a lady’ out of me. But times like this, when I’m face-to-face with soft meat I don’t trust? It just comes natural.” A beat. “And you remind me of Dortmund Weisbacher. That didn’t end well.”

“The scientist from Vixen?”

“Yeah, he was a real shit bag. I don’t want you doing to Dek what he did to Talina.”

“Whatever that was, it wasn’t in the records.”