Bryce ignores her mother's medwitch appointment and instead heads to the Meat Market with Hunt during the day, hoping vendors will be more talkative. They visit three warehouses, but vendors deny any knowledge of drugs. Hunt stays back during conversations since his legionary and Fallen status scares people off. Along the way, they banter about Bryce's reluctance to accept his opinions, her dating history—she didn't date until college because Randall intimidated all the boys—and Hunt admits he wouldn't have been deterred. He buys her a white opal "luck charm" for joy from a magpie vendor, pressing it into her hand with quiet sincerity. Bryce accepts the gift with a warm smile, and Hunt reflects that it's the first time in two hundred years he's bought something for a female, comparing the gesture to his past with Shahar, who would have let such a small gift vanish among her troves of jewels.

Their investigation takes a turn when a teenage feline shifter at a hide stall reveals that all the Meat Market vendors are on a group chat and have been warned about Bryce and Hunt's questions. The girl relays a message from the Vipe—the market's boss—stating that synth is too dangerous for the Meat Market and the Vipe doesn't deal in it. However, the Vipe advises them to "check the river" and "ask the mer."

Despite Hunt's protests that they shouldn't rush to accuse the mer of drug dealing, Bryce sends a message via otter to Tharion and heads to the Meat Market docks. Tharion surfaces and, when Bryce asks who's selling synth on the river, he reveals shocking information: the intel about synth came in a day before Danika's death, and Danika Fendyr herself was spotted making a deal on a boat near the Meat Market. This revelation connects Danika directly to the synth trade.