I sighed and sat down, resting against the arm of the chair. “Maybe it would’ve been better if I hadn’t come at all.”

“You mean because the King got a little miffed there for a second?” Ridley asked as he walked over to me. “He’ll get over it. And you weren’t wrong.”

“So you’re saying I was right?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Not exactly.” He leaned a hip against the table next to me, crossing his arms so his stack of papers was against his chest. “We need to protect here first, but once this anniversary party is over, then we should really implement your ideas. Even if Konstantin and Bent were only targeting Linus, we can’t just let them get away with it.”

“So you don’t think this was a one-time thing?”

“Honestly?” He looked at me from behind his thick lashes and hesitated before saying, “No, I don’t.”

“Dammit. I was kinda hoping I was wrong.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Anyway, thanks for having my back.”

“I’ll always have your back,” Ridley said with a wry smile. “Or any part of your body.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled despite myself. “Way to ruin a perfectly nice moment, Ridley.”

“Sorry.” He laughed. “I can’t help myself sometimes.”

“Mmm, I’ve noticed.”

“Have you?”

He leaned back, appraising me, and there was something in his dark eyes, a kind of heat that made my heart beat out of time. It was something new, something I’d only begun to detect in the past few months. Most of the time when we were together it was the same as always, but more and more there was that look in his eyes, a smoldering that I had no idea how to react to.

I suddenly became aware of my very close proximity to him. My knee had brushed up against his leg, and if I wanted to, I could reach out and touch him, putting my hand on the warm skin of his arm, which was bare below where he’d pushed up his sleeves.

As soon as the thought popped into my head, I pushed it away.

The door to the hall swung open, and he lowered his eyes, breaking whatever moment we’d both been in.

“Good, Bryn, you’re still here,” Dad said as he came into the room.

Ridley looked up and gave me a crooked smile, then shook his head. “I don’t even know what I’m talking about.”

That’s what he said, but it felt like a lie. Still, I’d become acutely aware that my dad was staring at us both, watching us look at each other, and the whole situation felt increasingly awkward.

“Anyway, I should get back to the office.” He straightened up and stepped away from the table. “It was nice seeing you again, Chancellor.”

“You too.” Dad nodded at him, then turned his attention to me. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked after Ridley made his escape. “A lecture on how I shouldn’t put myself in danger? Or maybe how I should retire and become a teacher like Mom?”

“That would be nice, yes, but actually I wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight.”

“I don’t know, Dad.” I hurried to think up some kind of excuse, any excuse. “I’m supposed to be spending time helping Linus get situated.”

“Bryn, you just got back in town after being attacked.”

“I wouldn’t call it an ‘attack’ per se.”

“Your mother wants to see you. I want to see you. It’s been weeks since you’ve been over to our house.” Dad used a tone so close to pleading that it made my heart twist up with guilt. “Mom will make a nice supper. Just come over. It’ll be good.”

“Okay,” I relented. “What time?”

“Six? Does that work for you?”

“Yep. That’ll be great,” I said and tried to look happy about it.

“Great.” A relieved grin spread across his face. “I know I said some stuff in the meeting that made you mad, but it’s just because I love you and I want you to be safe.”

“I know, Dad.”

And I did know that. Dad was just trying to express concern. But I wished he’d do it in a way that didn’t undermine me in front of my superiors.

“Good,” he said. “Is it okay if I hug you now, or does that break your no-hugs-at-work policy?”

That was a policy I’d instated when I was fifteen and Dad had ruffled my hair and called me his “adorable little girl” in front of the Högdragen, making them chuckle. It was already hard enough for me to earn their respect without moments like that.

I nodded, and he wrapped his arms around me. When he let me go, I smiled and said, “Don’t go making a habit of it.”

We both left the meeting hall after that. Dad had work to be done, and so did I. I knew I should go down to help Linus Berling. Even without the King’s order to guard him, as his tracker I was supposed to be the one helping him adjust to his new life here in Doldastam.

But right at that moment I didn’t think it would be the best idea. The meeting had left me in a sour mood. Things had not gone well with the King, and I really needed to burn off steam.

I could spend an hour at the gym, then go down and help Linus. It’d be better for him if I got in my daily training anyway. If someone was coming after him, I needed to be strong and sharp enough to fight them off.

The gym in the tracker school had a locker room attached to it, where I changed into my workout clothes. As I pulled on my tank top, I was acutely aware of the jagged scar on my shoulder—the gift Konstantin had given me the first time we’d fought. That only helped fuel my anger, and I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and strode into the gym.