“Have you seen Anton?” Jude asked Hassan the next morning as they made their way to the great hall.

“He’s not here?” Hassan peered at the group filing out the door and saw that, in fact, Anton was not among them. “Maybe he’s already in the great hall.”

They followed the others to breakfast and found Lady Iskara waiting for them. But no Anton.

“Captain Weatherbourne,” Lady Iskara said, catching sight of him and waving him over to where she was huddled with a group of rangers, deep in conversation.

Hassan and Hector followed at his heels.

“What’s going on?” Hassan asked warily.

“My rangers have sighted a small band of people in the foothills,” Lady Iskara replied. “We tried to capture them, but they evaded us. They appeared to be led by a man with Godfire burns.”

Hassan’s blood went cold. The Witnesses had found them again.

Lady Iskara flicked her gaze to him. “You know these people.”

Hassan nodded. “They’re after us. A group of Pallas’s Witnesses have been tracking us through the valley.”

Lady Iskara nodded. “Radka, call all your rangers back to Anvari and take up position at the bridge. If these Witnesses come to our doorstep, I want us to be ready.”

“The Witnesses won’t risk entering the city,” Hector said. “They must know it’s protected. They’re most likely waiting for us to depart so they can ambush us.”

Jude had been strangely silent throughout this exchange, and when Hassan turned to look at him, he saw that he looked pale and shaken.

“Jude?” Hector asked.

“Anton,” Jude replied, swinging his gaze to Hector. “We need to find him. If the Witnesses are here—if he left the city—”

“I’ll go with you,” Ephyra called from the table, unfolding herself from her seat.

Jude looked a little bewildered at her volunteering.

“What?” Ephyra asked. “Is it that weird that I’m worried about the kid, too?”

“I’ll go, too,” Hector said.

Illya cleared his throat. “I can help.”

Hassan nodded. “Me too. Khepri and Beru can stay here and work with the rangers on finding a safe way out of the city once we’re back.”

They split up, Jude and Ephyra heading toward the falls, leaving Hector to search the citadel, and Illya to venture toward the river. Hassan went east, into the city’s old quarter, its stone buildings crumbling and its labyrinthine streets pocked with holes.

He wandered farther into the city, stopping passersby, asking if they’d seen Anton. The fifth person he stopped, a harried-looking young woman who appeared to be delivering sacks of grain, pointed off toward a narrow alley, where Hassan could see a group of children huddled in a tight circle.

It took Hassan a moment to realize that Anton was among them, his fair hair starkly visible. A discarded basket sat behind him.