“That makes sense.” He lifted his eyes, surveying the room of people chatting with one another. “Are they all Högdragen? That’s what you call it, right?”

“No, most of them aren’t.” I turned and pointed to where Kasper stood next to Ember, going through her iPod. “Only Kasper is.”

Tilda saw us pointing at her boyfriend, so she made her way over to where Finn and I were talking, and relief washed over me as Tilda came to rescue me from awkward party conversation as she had a hundred times before. I liked Finn well enough, but I doubted that the two of us could talk comfortably for very long.

“Did you say something about Kasper?” Tilda asked when she reached us. It felt warm in the house—at least to me, after walking the mile here—but her dress left her well-toned arms bare, and she rubbed at them absently.

“I was just telling Finn that Kasper’s on the Högdragen,” I explained.

“That’s true.” Tilda smiled proudly as she looked back at her boyfriend.

“I’ve always been curious. How does the Högdragen work?” Finn asked “The Trylle don’t have that.”

I shook my head. “How do you protect the royalty?”

“Most trackers pull double duty as guards, and when they retire from tracking, many of them guard at the palace.” He looked down at me. “It’s like how you’re working at the party tomorrow.”

“I have basic training, but trackers aren’t in combat that often. And we’re not trained to work together, if there were an invading army,” I countered. “The Högdragen have all kinds of specialized training.”

“How often do you really have an invading army?” Finn asked. “When was the last time anyone’s attacked you guys?”

“That’s because they know how good we are. We’re the only tribe that has a real army to speak of,” Tilda added, bristling a bit. She held her head up higher, making her taller than Finn. “Nobody is equipped to go up against us.”

“What about the business with someone going after the changelings?” Finn asked, undeterred.

I looked at him sharply. “What do you know about it?”

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Not much. We’ve heard rumblings back in Förening, and Ember mentioned a few things to me.”

I glanced over at Tilda, wondering if I should say anything. Her gray eyes were hard, and her lips were pursed together in an irritated pout. If it were her choice, she wouldn’t tell Finn anything. Not just because of his comments about the Högdragen—Tilda preferred to keep private business private. Ember was a bit of a gossip, which was why she’d become closer to me than she had with Tilda. I had a higher tolerance for that kind of thing.

“I’m not a gossip at the market,” Finn said, sensing our unease. “I’m a guard, working with an allied tribe. Discretion is something I’m well versed in.”

He had a point, so I relaxed a bit. Besides, he was Ember’s brother, and she trusted him.

“As of right now, there is no business with any changelings,” I told him matter-of-factly. “Two men went after one of our high-ranking Markis. That’s all we know, and as far as the King and Queen are concerned, it was an isolated attack.”

“And who stopped it?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“I was—” I started to answer him, but I happened to glance past him and saw Ember go over to answer a knock at the door, barely audible over the music and chatter of the party.

When she opened the door, she let in a draft of cold air, along with Juni Sköld and Ridley. Juni came in first, and Ember helped her slip off her long black jacket. Once Ember took their coats to put them away, Ridley put his hand on the small of Juni’s back, and as they walked toward the party, he leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

I had seen Ridley with plenty of girls over the past years, but that was because I’d barged into his office without knocking and caught him kissing someone, or I’d gone to his place after work and found a girl slinking out his door. This was the first time I’d seen him on an actual date.

“Bryn?” Tilda asked, leaning toward me. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I shook my head, clearing it, and then I looked back at Finn, forcing myself to keep my eyes on him and not wander to Ridley any longer. “As I was saying, I was tracking the changeling and prevented them from kidnapping him, yes.”

“That’s exactly my point.” Finn folded his arms over his chest. “You’re not a member of the Högdragen, and yet you were perfectly capable of fighting off two men without any of their training. Are they really necessary, then?”

“If anything, that’s a testament to Bryn’s work, not a condemnation of the guard,” Ridley interjected. I looked over to see both him and Juni sidling up next to Tilda, joining our conversation.

“Ember really just invited everyone to this, didn’t she?” I asked as pleasantly as I could and gave them a crooked smile.

He nodded and adjusted his narrow tie. “Apparently so.”

“Ridley, this is Ember’s brother, Finn,” I said, making the introductions between the two of them. “Finn, this is the Rektor, Ridley. And this is…” I pointed to Juni, then feigned a memory lapse. “Sorry. I’ve forgotten your name,” I lied, and Tilda gave me a peculiar look.