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I know you love me I love you, and I alill, but--

It ends there Water daible For a second, I see red How could it be so conveniently destroyed right at the critical spot? What was she going to say? She said she would always love ht there, before that last word

What happened? Did the paper get ruined by accident? Or could Ky have done it on purpose? Ky played fair in the ga fair now

I fold the paper back up and put it intothe note the light has gone The sun must have dipped below the horizon beyond the walls of the barricade The door to the courtyard opens and Lei cooes inside

"Carrow," she says "I was hoping I would find you"

"Is so?" I ask I haven’t seen Lei in several days Since she wasn’t part of the Rising fro as a physic but instead as a general ned to whatever team and shift needs her ood to ith the patients And you?"

"I’m fine, too," I tell her

Lei looks at me and I see the same question in her eyes that I knoas in mine when I had to decide whether to vouch for her or not She’s wondering if she can trust me, and if she really knows me

"I wanted," she says finally, "to ask you about the red mark that the patients have on their backs What is it?"

"It’s a s the dermatomes in the back or neck when the virus is activated" I pause, but she’s part of the Rising now, so I can tell her everything "The Rising told soue"

"And it only happens to people who have actually becoht," I say "The dead form of the virus they used in the inificant symptoue virus, it involves the nerves, resulting in that s unusual?" she asks "Any variations on the basic virus?" She’s trying to figure out the Plague on her own and not taking what the Rising says for granted Which shouldvouched for her, but it doesn’t

"Not really," I say "Now and then we do have people who come in before they’re coave him the cure"

"What did he say?" Lei asks

"He wanted ht," I say "So I did"

She nods, and it strikes me how exhausted she looks "Do you have a rest shift now?" I ask her

"Not for a few hours," she says "It doesn’t matter much anyway I haven’t slept well since he left I can’t dreaone"

I understand "Because if you can’t dream you can’t pretend that he’s still here," I say That’s what I do when I dreah with Cassia

"No," Lei says "I can’t" She looks at one, and nothing is the same

Then she leans a little closer and to my surprise she puts her hand on my face, very briefly It’s the first time so into Lei’s touch "Your eyes are blue," she says Then she pulls her hand back "So are his" Her voice is lonely and full of longing: for him

CHAPTER 13

CASSIA

At first the area near the Museum seems empty, and I clench my jaw in frustration How a? I need the commissions

Be patient, I re, waiting to decide whether or not they want to speak up I’ Others will come

I see irl with short blond hair and beautiful eyes comes around the corner of the Museu For a moment I think of Indie and her wasp nest, and how carefully she always carried it in the canyons

The girl comes closer to me "Can I talk to you?" she asks

"Of course," I say Lately, we’veabout the History of the Society There’s not as much need for them any inside of thee that for a minute I stare at the bird, which does not ently

They’re a shade of green I recognize

"I irl says, "to thank you for the words you wrote for my brother Here"