Sophie could see him now, using his skinny-for-a-goblin arms to shove his way over from the opposite end of the crowd. As soon as he made it, Sandor launched into an epic lecture about keeping track of his charge.
Biana gave Woltzer an apologetic smile before turning back to Sophie and Dex and leaning in to whisper. “Whatever you’re planning, count me in—and don’t even think about visiting any more secret hideouts without me.”
Dex straightened. “What is she talking about?”
“I don’t think—”
“Sophie went with Fitz, Tam, and Linh to the abandoned hideout where Mr. Forkle rescued you guys,” Biana interrupted, not letting Sophie change the subject.
The color drained from Dex’s face
“Please don’t be mad,” Sophie begged. “It was just a weird, long day where one thing kept leading to the next.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Biana told him, “they left me out too. Maybe we should start our own group. Team Bianex!”
Dex sighed. “That’s . . . not the best name.”
“It isn’t,” Biana agreed. “What about Dizznacker? Or Vackiznee?”
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Fitz said as he and Grizel joined their group. “But I vote for Dizznacker.”
“Traitors don’t get a vote,” Biana informed her brother.
“You’re still on that?” Fitz asked. “Seriously—aren’t you forgetting that you and Sophie snuck off with Calla and had a big showdown with the Neverseen’s Psionipath without the rest of us? How was that any different?”
“Because you guys went to the place where I was held prisoner without me.” Dex kept his voice low, but Sophie could see a few people glancing their way.
You’re right, she transmitted, making Dex jump. I made a selfish decision. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to see the hurt in your eyes as you walked those hallways, knowing that every flashback you had was my fault. But it wasn’t fair to leave you out. Please don’t hate me.
Dex bit his lip. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
Sophie nodded and transmitted a quick explanation about the Lodestar symbol, the note from Keefe’s mom, the shadow on the floor of the abandoned hideout, the rune for Alabestrine, and Keefe’s new plan to steal Fintan’s cache.
“I was going to tell you everything,” she promised. “That’s why I kept hailing you.”
“Stupid Imparter,” Dex grumbled. “I bet it has a loose wire.”
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” Sophie asked.
“Only if you promise that from now on, you’ll include me no matter what.”
“Hey, that works both ways,” Fitz whispered, glancing over his shoulder at the crowd, who’d thankfully gone back to ignoring them. “I want to know what you’ve learned from my brother’s records.”
“Me too,” Biana said. “And I want to help.”
“But you realize what I’m trying to do, right?” Dex asked. “The Black Swan are hoping I’ll find a way to track your brother’s movements and find him. And if that happens, best-case scenario is he gets sentenced to Exile. Or there could be way worse punishments.”
Fitz shrugged, his eyes like teal ice. “No one forced him to do what he’s doing.”
“That won’t make it any easier when it all goes down,” Dex said quietly. “I know you’re mad, but . . . he’s still your brother. Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“If I start to feel sorry for Alvar, I’ll just think about how many times I’ve found my parents sobbing these last few weeks,” Biana mumbled. “That’s why they’re not here now. They weren’t up for all the stares and whispers—especially if the announcement has to do with the Neverseen.”
“And I’ll think about what he did to you and Sophie,” Fitz added. “I saw the scorch marks on the floor of your cell, and the burned chair Sophie had been strapped to.”
Dex rubbed his side, where Sophie knew he hid a thumb-size scar from the ordeal.
“I’ve tried to understand my brother,” Biana whispered. “I’ve spent weeks researching my family history, hoping I’d figure out what he meant about the Vacker legacy. But so far I don’t see anything wrong—or any reason why he thought I would understand and not Fitz. And I’ve decided it doesn’t matter. I know our world isn’t as perfect as I used to think it was—so I won’t be surprised if my family turns out to be the same way. But nothing justifies doing the kinds of horrible things Alvar’s doing. Someone has to stop him. I know it’s not going to be easy, but . . . please let us help?”
“I guess you can try,” Dex said. “But all the records are in tech code, so I doubt you’ll be able to read them.”
“Then you read them, and I’ll help find the best dates to look,” Biana suggested. “I can think of lots of times I saw Alvar sneaking away and never thought to ask where he was going.”
“Same here,” Fitz said.
“If that’s what you guys want,” Dex said. “Just warning—it’s beyond boring. I thought nothing could be worse than searching that Lumenaria database, but at least with that I got to build the Twiggler to help sort the records. This is literally just reading scroll after scroll of dates and times and tiny coded numbers. I’m going cross-eyed.”
“It’s on paper?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah—it’s easier to spot glitches that way.”
“Well, that still sounds better than all the awkward family time I’ve been having with my parents,” Biana told him.
“You guys okay?” Sophie asked.
“We’re fine,” Fitz said. “My parents definitely have their bad days. But they kept us home because they seem to want to know everything about us. It’s like they’re doubting themselves after not seeing what Alvar was up to.”
“My dad even had the world’s most awkward conversation with me about boys,” Biana said with a shudder.
“Actually, that was pretty awesome,” Fitz teased.
Biana rolled her eyes. “No, what was awesome was when they asked you about girls. You should’ve seen him squirm,” she told Sophie. “They went through this long interrogation about which girls he might be interested in—way worse than the one they put me through. And then they took him to see the matchmakers.”
EIGHTEEN
WAIT—WHAT?” SOPHIE asked, wishing she hadn’t sounded quite so horrified.
But seriously . . . what?
“You went to see the matchmakers?” she asked
Fitz glared at his sister. “It’s not like I got my first list or anything. All I did was pick up my packet—which every Level Five does after midterms, so we’ll have time to fill it out by the end of the school year.”
“It’s a huge packet,” Biana said, miming several inches of thickness. “Honestly, I had no idea it was that in-depth. And the questions are crazy.”
“How would you know?” Fitz asked.
“Um, I can turn invisible. Did you really think I wouldn’t sneak into your room and read it? Your answers so far have been adorable.”
“I hate you so much right now,” Fitz said.
It took all of Sophie’s willpower not to press for details. “I still can’t believe you have your packet already. It seems so . . . early.”
“It’s really not,” Biana said. “By Level Five, everyone knows if they’re going to get a special ability or not, which is the most important detail for the match. And once they turn the packets in, the matchmakers take a whole year to work through all the information. Your first list isn’t ready until you finish Level Six.”
“That still feels very soon,” Sophie mumbled—though she probably should’ve realized that was how the process worked. Edaline had told her that Jolie received her matches before she signed up for the elite levels.
Sophie had just never really thought about how young Jolie would’ve been.
The elite levels started at seventeen.
“It’s not like anyone gets married right then,” Biana told her. “Well, I guess a few peop
le might. But most only get their lists so they can start considering their options. It takes a while to get to know everybody, you know? There are a hundred names—and that’s only one list. It’s kind of daunting when you think about it.”
“Not everyone picks up their list right away, either,” Fitz added. “I know I’m planning on waiting for a bit.”
“You are?” Sophie and Dex asked at the same time.
“Yeah. I figure I’ll wait at least a year or two.”
“Why?” Biana asked. “Aren’t you dying to see who’s on it?”
“A little. But the thing is . . . you can only get five lists.”
“Don’t most people find someone on their first list?” Sophie asked.
“Not always. Sometimes it takes a while for the matchmakers to figure out who you’re really compatible with. Plus, the longer you wait, the more people have registered, so . . . I want to make sure I have the best selection.”
Dex and Biana looked stunned. Sophie, meanwhile, was trying to work out the math.
If she was a Level Three, and couldn’t register until she was a Level Five . . .
“Oh, don’t act so surprised,” Fitz told his sister. “Look at what happened with Dad. You heard that story, right?” he asked Sophie.
“I don’t think so.” Sophie knew that Councillor Alina tried to break up Alden and Della’s wedding, but that was about it.
“My dad is about a hundred years older than my mom, so she definitely wasn’t on his first list. In fact, I don’t think he actually dated any of his first matches. And after he finished the elite levels, he got super busy with his career. So he didn’t ask for his second list for years.”
Sophie remembered Edaline explaining that Jolie had been forced to wait at least a month between requesting each of her additional lists. But she’d never considered that people might choose to wait longer.
“And that was the list that had Councillor Alina on it,” Biana jumped in. “Which was how they ended up dating. But she was too smothering, so they broke up, and after a little while, my dad asked for a new list—and that time, my mom was his number one match.”
“So if my dad hadn’t waited,” Fitz finished, “Biana and I wouldn’t exist.”
“Wow.” Sophie couldn’t imagine Alden and Della not being together. They were one of the sweetest couples she’d ever known.
But it was hard to wrap her mind around the timeline Fitz and Biana were describing. It was so different from the things she’d seen growing up. Most humans married people who were within a few years of their own age, since a thirty-year-old and a ninety-year-old were practically a different species. But it didn’t seem to be that way for elves.
In fact, Edaline had once explained that that was why the elves did matchmaking. Their indefinite lifespan—and ageless appearance—made courting extra tricky. If they weren’t careful, someone could end up marrying a distant relative without realizing and . . . ewwwwwwwww.
Still, the matchmaking thing felt like a mountain of awkward looming on the horizon. The whole process sounded arbitrary and unromantic—especially since the matchmakers focused on things like ideal genetic diversity. And it was a big deal. If you married someone who wasn’t on your list, the relationship was branded a bad match and the scorn would follow you—and your children—for the rest of your lives.
Sophie had seen the kind of hurt and problems the system caused, and it gave her a sour stomach.
“Well,” Biana told her brother, “you’re welcome to be boring if you want. But I know I’m getting my list the first second I can—right, Sophie?”
The best answer Sophie could give was a shrug.
She was torn between hoping the elves would see the flaws in their system and decide they were done with the whole matchmaking thing before she ever had to face it, and really wanting to know who would be on her lists.
“What about you?” Biana asked Dex.
He took a deep breath. “I’m still deciding if I’m going to register.”
Biana’s eyebrows shot up so fast they practically launched off of her face. “But . . . that would guarantee you’d be a bad match.”
“So? It worked out fine for my parents.”
Kesler and Juline did seem very happy—but they’d had to deal with a lot of drama over the years. Edaline had told Sophie that they’d even been nervous to have children, since they knew their kids would face a ton of judgment. And Sophie had heard some of the teasing Dex had endured—and it had to be a million times worse for the triplets.
“It’s just . . . look at the mess matchmaking has made,” Dex mumbled. “Brant wouldn’t have joined the Neverseen if he and Jolie hadn’t been ruled a bad match. If they want to give recommendations, that’s one thing. But it shouldn’t be mandatory.”
“I guess I get where you’re coming from,” Biana said. “But you can always choose to ignore your lists if you don’t like the names on them, right? So why not at least give it a chance? You might find the perfect person is part of your match and save all the hassle.”
Dex stared at his hands. “Maybe. It just feels like . . . if I register, I’m saying it’s okay. That everything that’s happened to my family was fair—and it wasn’t. I guess the good news is, I don’t have to decide for a few more years.”
“Right,” Sophie said, deciding to change the subject to something that didn’t make every part of her feel twitchy. “So what time should we come over to go through Alvar’s records?”
“Oh, you want to come to my house?” Dex asked.
“Isn’t that where all the stuff is? Why? Is that bad?” Now that Sophie was thinking about it, he’d never invited her over. Not even when they were practicing alchemy all the time—though that could’ve been because he was afraid she’d burn down his room.
“Would you rather come to my house?” she offered.
“No, my house is fine. But the triplets will be there.” He pointed through the crowd, to where his mom was fighting to keep two boys who looked like mini-Dexes and a red-haired girl from tackling each other. “That’s them on good behavior.”
Biana giggled. “What are their names again?”
“Rex, Bex, and Lex. My dad’s not nearly as funny as he thinks he is.”
“Aw, I think it’s cute that you guys rhyme,” Biana said.
“That’s because you don’t have to be named Bitz,” Dex told her.
“Ohhh, I should start calling you that!” Fitz said, grinning at his sister.
“If you do, I’ll start calling you Fiana.”
Sophie laughed. “Be glad Keefe’s not here or those would be your names from now on.”
The teasing screeched to a halt.
For one awkward second, they all just stared at each other. Then Biana whispered, “I miss him.”
“Me too,” Dex agreed.
“Maybe that’s his real plan,” Fitz told them. “Make us forget how annoying he can be so we let him be twice as obnoxious when he comes home. Though Sophie’s still stuck with him. How are the check-ins going, by the way?” he asked her. “Learn anything useful?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell you his plan once we’re at Dex’s house. Should we head over after we’re done here?”
“Actually, I can’t today,” Dex said. “I promised my dad I’d help at the store as soon as I could. But we could meet up tomorrow morning. Not sure how you guys will get there, though. Rimeshire isn’t on a lot of Leapmasters. And the Vackers and the Dizznees don’t exactly run in the same circles.”
“Well . . . they should.” Biana pointed to the ring he gave her. “Go Team Vackiznee!”
“I should’ve known I’d find you arranging some sort of scheme,” a whispery voice said behind them.
They all did a double take when they turned to find Sir Astin with his long blond hair and nearly translucent skin.
“How come you’re here as him?” Sophie whispered. “Won’t the Council be expecting to see Magnate Leto today?”
“Actually, Magn
ate Leto is off doing a favor for them. But I wasn’t about to miss the big announcement.”
“Does that mean you know what’s coming?” Fitz asked.
“Most of it. Lately the Council has been full of surprises.”
“Is the rest of the Collective here too?” Biana asked, turning to study the crowd.
“You’re wasting your time trying to find them,” Sir Astin warned. “If you haven’t guessed their identities already, I daresay you never will.”
“So that means we know them,” Sophie said.
“Some of them, yes. Now please act normal—we do not need to create a spectacle. And dare I ask what you all were planning as I approached?”
He seemed relieved to hear they were only making plans to study Alvar’s records together—though that didn’t stop him from giving a lecture on how anything they uncovered was not to be investigated without checking in first.
“Any update on Gethen?” Sophie whispered.
“Not the news I was hoping for,” he admitted. “They’re saying Lumenaria is closed for visits of any kind, which is . . . surprising. I’m in the process of seeing if they’ll reconsider.”
“Is the Council late?” Fitz asked, pointing to the still-empty stage. “It feels like we’ve been standing here for a really long time.”
Sir Astin glanced at the sky. “I was expecting them a few minutes ago. But I’m sure they’ll be here any second.”
“Did you guys notice that the scrolls the Council sent out said sending one representative from each family today was mandatory?” Biana asked. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“Neither have I,” Fitz said. “I asked my dad about it, and he said the last time was when the Council canceled the human assistance program.”
“Seriously?” Sophie asked, turning to survey the crowd. It did seem larger than normal—easily several thousand people. But could it really represent every elvin family?
Sir Astin must’ve known what she was thinking. “The first wave of the announcement applies to those with family members attending Foxfire,” he explained. “From there, it will ripple through the rest of our society as the new program progresses.”