As I trailed behind Linus and two of his friends, deliberately staying far enough behind so he wouldn’t see me, I wondered if the mystery men in the sedan had noticed me yet. If they were staking out Linus, then they had to have seen me, since I’d been interacting with him. But that didn’t mean they knew who I was. At least not yet.

Tracking was usually simple when done correctly. The first step was surveillance. I found the target—in this case Linus Berling—and for the first day or two I did nothing but watch him. The goal was to figure out who he was and what he liked, so it would be easier to earn his trust.

The second step was infiltrating his life, which was why I was wearing a ridiculous prep school uniform with a blue plaid skirt and a cardigan that felt too warm.

With a combination of bribery, charm, and a bit of Kanin skill, I’d gotten as many classes with Linus as I could, and started bumping into him “accidentally.” We’d talk a little, I’d bring up his interests, laugh at his jokes, and ingratiate myself to him.

This would lead to step three. Once I had the target’s trust, I’d drop the bombshell on them about who they really were, and hope like hell that they’d believe me. Usually they already had inclinations that they were different, and if I’d done my job right, everything would fall into place.

Then it was just a matter of getting them back home, preferably with trust fund in hand.

Now there was this issue with the black sedan, bogging things down right at the beginning of the second step, and I had to figure out what to do.

Linus and his friends from school had gone into a restaurant, but I didn’t follow them. I stayed outside, watching through the front window as they sat down at a table. In his dark blue blazer, Linus’s shoulders appeared broad, but he was actually tall and lean. After watching him fall half a dozen times during gym class, I knew he’d be no good in a fight.

The restaurant was crowded, and his friends were talking and laughing with him. Whoever was following him in the dark sedan, they were trying to be inconspicuous, which meant that they wouldn’t want to create a scene in a place like this. For now, Linus was safe.

I walked away, going around the restaurant and cutting through the alley. When I came back to the street, the sedan was parked a few feet from me, but I stayed in the alley, peering around the corner. I did my best to blend in, and once again, I found myself wishing that I had more Kanin blood in me.

Even this close, the tint on the windows of the car was still too dark for me to see through. I needed more information, so I decided to call Ridley Dresden.

He was the Rektor, so he might have a better idea of what was going on. The Rektor was in charge of trackers, organizing placements, assigning changelings, and basically just keeping us all in order. Because of his position, Ridley was privy to more information than I was, and he might be able to shed some light on the sedan.

Before I called, I decided to use the video option on my phone. It seemed like a smarter choice, because then I could actually show Ridley the car instead of just describing it to him.

But when Ridley finally answered—shirtless, with his brown curls even more untamed than normal—I realized that maybe I should’ve sent him a text first, letting him know that I’d be video-chatting with him.

“Bryn?” he asked, and behind him I saw movement as someone got up, wrapping themselves in a dark comforter. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. And no,” I said, keeping my voice low so people walking by on the street wouldn’t hear. “Sorry if I’m disturbing you.”

“No, it’s okay.” He sat up straighter, and the rabbit amulet he wore on a leather strap around his neck slid across his bare chest. I heard a girl’s voice in the background, but I couldn’t understand her. “One second.” He held his hand over the phone, covering both the camera and the mic, but I could still hear him promising to call her later. “Sorry. I’m back.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?” I asked, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

“I’m on a lunch break. It’s called a nooner,” Ridley said, meeting my gaze with a devilish gleam in his eye.

The year I graduated from the tracker program was the year Ridley became the Rektor. I hadn’t really known him before that, but his reputation had preceded him. Everyone regarded him as one of the finest trackers, but though he was only twenty-four, he’d been forced to retire three years ago. He was still youthful looking, especially for a guy in his mid-twenties, but thanks in part to his persistent stubble, he couldn’t pass for a teenager any longer.

But that was the only bit of his reputation that I’d heard about. He had a long history of being a serial dater, and this wasn’t the first time I’d accidentally caught him in a compromising situation.

But over the years he’d proved himself to be an excellent Rektor and a loyal friend. So I tried not to fault him too much for his escapades.

“But anyway, what’s going on with you?” Ridley asked. The glint in his dark eyes was quickly replaced by concern.

“Do you know anything about someone else following Linus Berling?” I asked.

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Is there any reason for someone else to be tracking him?” I clarified. “Anyone else from Doldastam, or another Kanin tracker? Maybe even from another tribe?”

“Why would anyone else be following him?” Ridley shook his head. “You’re his tracker. You’re the only one that should be on him. Did you see someone?”