Jude sat hunched against a stone wall, eyes closed. He was as real and vivid as he looked when Anton walked into his dreams. Maybe more so. And his face was unmarred—no bruises, no cuts. Anton longed to reach for him, to smooth a thumb across the line that creased his brows even in sleep.

But just as he moved toward him, the image flickered and vanished.

Anton opened his eyes.

“What did you see?” the Wanderer asked, her tone urgent, her face pinched in concern.

“He’s…” Anton swallowed. “He’s imprisoned in Pallas Athos. In the citadel. I don’t—What is he doing there?”

The Wanderer’s expression darkened. “Pallas has him.”

There was such certainty in her voice, like she understood something that Anton did not.

But Jude was supposed to be safe. He wasn’t supposed to be in Pallas Athos.

There was only one reason, really, he would have gone there.

“He … he must have been trying to rescue Beru,” Anton said slowly. “To get the god out of Pallas’s control.”

He glanced back at the Wanderer, and she seemed to avoid his gaze. Her words came back to him.

I have my best people on it.

Not the Lost Rose. Jude.

“You did this,” Anton said incredulously. “You sent him to Pallas Athos.”

“No,” she said. “I didn’t send him anywhere. He was already planning to go there. I just offered him help.”

Anton backed away from her, horror and betrayal thundering through him. “How could you? How could you do this and keep it from me?”

“Because I knew you’d react like this.” Her voice was tight with agitation. “You have your own mission to fulfill. Your own plan. A plan you came up with, need I remind you?”

“He could be killed because of you!” Anton said furiously. “And if I hadn’t seen it in my dreams, then I would have never known. If you were wondering, this is why I don’t trust you. This is why it took me so long to let you teach me how to use my Grace. Because you are always, always, playing your own game. I’m sick of it.”

Her dark eyes narrowed, flashing like steel. “I was trying to make this easier for you. For both of you. There was no way to stop Jude from going to Pallas Athos, so I helped him. And yes, I kept it from you. But what would you have done about it, had you known?”

“I would’ve stopped him,” Anton growled. “I will stop him.”

“You’ll go to him?” the Wanderer asked. “And then what? He won’t let you go after that. And you won’t be able to walk away, either.”