“Bryn Aven.” Tilda Moller smirked down at me, but there was a playful gleam in her smoky eyes. “Nice of you to join us.”

Unlike the other trackers who were dressed in workout clothes, Tilda had on a tailored black linen jacket with epaulets on the shoulders and matching trousers—our army uniform. The jacket hung open, revealing a white shirt and the subtle curve of her belly. Her hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail, and with a clipboard and papers in hand Tilda looked every bit the part of an officer.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” I smiled up at her. “I was afraid you were on leave.”

“Modified duty,” she corrected me. “I won’t be fighting, but I can help organize and make assignments.”

“Where do you want me then?” It didn’t really matter where Tilda put me, as long I was doing something. I had plenty of frustration I needed to get out.

As Tilda ran her finger down the clipboard, I caught sight of a shiny new silver band wrapped around the ring finger on her left hand.

“Whoa, what’s that?” Ember asked, noticing the same thing I had.

“Oh, this old thing?” Tilda laughed, and her cheeks reddened as she held up her hand for us to get a better look. “Kasper actually proposed to me at the beginning of the month, but I’ve been waiting to tell anyone until after I’d told you about the baby. Since you guys know, I thought I ought to start wearing the ring.”

“Oh my gosh, Tilda! Congratulations!” Ember squealed and threw her arms around Tilda, giving her an awkward bear hug.

I smiled. “Yeah, congrats. That’s great news.”

“I’m glad you’re both so excited,” Tilda said, carefully prying herself out of Ember’s hug. “Because I was going to see if you two wanted to be my bridesmaids?”

“Are you kidding me?” Ember asked, and she was so excited I feared she might actually explode.

“Yeah, of course,” I said. “It would be an honor.”

“When is it? What do you want me to wear?” Ember asked in one quick breath.

“Well, that’s another thing,” Tilda said, appearing sheepish. “We were originally thinking we’d get married in a couple months, before the baby was born. But with everything that’s going on right now, we decided we want to do it sooner rather than later. So we’re thinking the third of May.”

“That’s only a little over a week away,” I said in surprise.

“I know, I know, but we’re all here, and you and Ember could get sent off on a mission at any moment,” Tilda explained. “We just wanted something small and intimate anyway, and we love each other, so why not do it now?”

She looked at me hopefully, almost asking for my approval. After the way I’d botched the news about her pregnancy, I knew I had to handle things much more maturely this time.

I smiled. “You’re right, and that sounds really great, Tilda. I’ll be happy to help you celebrate your day whenever you want me to.”

“Thanks.” She looked relieved then waved her hand. “Anyway. We can talk about all the wedding stuff later. Right now, we should all get to work.”

“Right. So what should I be doing now?” I asked again and cast a glance around the room to see what my options were.

“If you’re up to it, you could work on combat training with Ember,” Tilda suggested, apparently deciding to go with her gut instead of the clipboard.

“Good. The guy I’ve been going against could use a break anyway,” Ember added with a laugh.

That did sound like the best possibility, but my attention was elsewhere so I didn’t immediately reply. While I was scanning the room, I’d spotted Ridley in the far corner, nearly hidden behind the boxing ring. A group of maybe twenty trackers sat on the floor around him, staring up with rapt interest as he paced in front of them.

I was too far away to hear him over the noise of the gym, but his arms were clasped behind his back and he spoke with a kind of intensity. He wore the same uniform as Tilda, though his jacket was buttoned up and he had a large silver rabbit pinned to his jacket—the sign that he was the Överste.

In times of war, the Rektor took on the role of the head officer overseeing the army. The head of the Högdragen, the Chancellor, and the King all ranked above him. The Överste made no decisions in terms of battle, but the position still had great responsibility in commanding the trackers/soldiers and preparing them for their orders.

“Bryn?” Ember was saying my name, but I didn’t look back at her.

“What’s going on over there?” I asked and motioned toward Ridley.

“Ridley’s training the scouts,” Tilda answered.

I turned back to her. “Scouts?”

“They’re going to go out and find Viktor Dålig and Konstantin Black,” Tilda explained. “They’re supposed to find the base camp, get a rough idea of how large Viktor’s operation is, and then report back to us. Based on the scouts’ information, we’ll send out troops to find Viktor and everyone that works for him, and destroy them.

“The Högdragen will stay behind, so Doldastam’s not left unprotected while all the trackers—sorry, troops—are off to war,” Tilda finished, and I remembered the guards I’d seen stationed at doorsteps.

Until—and if—scouts found Viktor Dålig, we had no idea when or where he would strike again. That meant everyone here would be on high alert as a precaution, especially since we still didn’t understand what he or Konstantin wanted.