“Why are you here?” I asked finally, since it appeared he might never say anything. “You never come to my apartment.”

“I’ve been here before,” he corrected me. He shoved a hand in the back pocket of his jeans and shifted his weight.

I folded my arms over my chest. “You don’t usually come here. Why are you here now?”

“Do you wanna sit down?” He motioned to the couch to the side of me, but I didn’t move toward it.

“Why would I want to sit down? What’s going on?” My blood pressure had been steadily rising since Ridley had opened the door, and my whole body began to tense up. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing bad.” He exhaled deeply and brushed his dark curls back from his forehead. “I mean, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Just spit it out, Ridley.”

“Ember ran into Konstantin Black on her mission.”

For a moment I couldn’t breathe, and I barely managed to get out the word, “What?”

“There was a small altercation, and she was hurt, but—”

That was all I heard, and all I needed to hear, and then I was scrambling to get out of there. I tossed my book down on the couch and ran over to my dirty jeans in the hamper.

“Bryn.” Ridley walked over to me, but I ignored him.

“I need to get to her, Ridley,” I said, nearly shouting by then, in a quavering voice.

“No, listen to me, Bryn.” He put his hands on my arms, and I suppressed the urge to push him off and hit him. His grip felt solid and strangely comforting, so I looked up at him and tried to slow my ragged breaths.

“Ember is okay.” Ridley spoke slowly, his words clear and calm. “She was injured, but it’s nothing critical, and she managed to get out with the changeling. She’s on her way home, and she’ll be here tomorrow morning. You don’t need to go after her.”

I breathed deeply, letting his words sink in, and then I nodded. “She’s okay?”

“Yes, I talked to her on the phone, and she sounded good.” He smiled crookedly, trying to reassure me.

“What about Konstantin?”

Ridley didn’t answer immediately, but he didn’t look away, so I searched his eyes, looking for a glimmer of hope, but found none. His smile fell away, and I knew the answer.

“He got away,” I surmised.

“The important thing is that both Ember and the changeling are safe,” Ridley reminded me.

“I know.”

I pulled away from him, and at first he tried to hang on, but then he let his hands fall to his sides. I ran a hand through my hair and sat back on the bed behind me. My legs felt weak, and my shoulders ached. The sudden surge of anxiety and adrenaline, followed by the news of Ember’s injury and Konstantin’s escape, left me feeling sore and out of sorts.

“I should’ve been there,” I said softly.

“No.” Ridley shook his head and came over to sit down next to me.

My legs dangled over the edge of the bed as I stared emptily at the wall in front of me, but Ridley sat so he was facing me. He rested one hand on the bed, supporting himself, and his fingers brushed against the bare skin of my thigh.

“Why did you send her and not me?” I turned to look at him, and he was so close, I could see my own reflection in his eyes.

“I knew she could handle it, and she did,” Ridley said.

“But you didn’t think I could.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then why didn’t you send me?” I asked thickly.

He swallowed, but his dark eyes never wavered from mine. “You know why.”

“I could’ve gone with. I could’ve helped her. If I had been there, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Konstantin wouldn’t have gotten away.”

“Or maybe things could’ve gone much worse,” Ridley countered. “You don’t know what would’ve happened, and everything turned out okay.”

“No, it didn’t. He got away. Again.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“It is my fault! Because I should’ve been there, and not here doing nothing.” I looked away from him, staring down at my lap. “I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.”

“Bryn.” He reached out, putting his hand gently on my face and making me look at him. “It’s not your fault. You did everything you were supposed to do. Konstantin Black isn’t your fault.”

“Then why does it feel like he is?” I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know.” He brushed his thumb along my cheek, and I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch.

His other hand moved, so that his fingers were no longer brushing against my thigh, and he pressed it against the small of my back. I felt the bed shifting, and even though my eyes were closed, I knew he was leaning in toward me.

“You should go,” I whispered, too afraid to open my eyes and see his face hovering next to mine.

“You sure?” Ridley asked, but he lowered his hand, and I felt the weight on the bed change as he moved away from me. I finally dared to open my eyes, and he was still sitting next to me, looking at me with an expression filled with concern.

“If Ember’s coming back in the morning, I should get some sleep.”

“But are you even gonna get any sleep tonight?” Ridley asked me honestly.