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"We both know Xander," she says, "but you’re in love with someone else"

"Yes," I say

"Xander told ether He always talked about his Match, and I talked about mine"

"Is your Match--" I don’t dare finish

"My Match is gone," she says Tears slip down her cheeks and she brushes them aith the heels of her hands "I’m sorry," she says "I’ve suspected it forwhenever I talk about him Especially here He loved the water"

"Is there someone I can help you find?" I ask "Any family--"

"No," she says "I don’t have any faone I’m an Anomaly"

"You are?" I ask, stunned "How did you hide froht in front of their eyes," she says "Data can be forged, if you know the right person, and my parents did My family used to believe in the Pilot, but after they sa many Anomalies he let die, they decided I would be safest in the Society after all They gave everything they had to buy me a perfect set of falsified data I came into the Society and became an Official shortly after" She sht be surprised to know that they made an Anomaly an Official so quickly" She stands up "If you see Xander, will you tell hiood-bye for me?"

"You should tell hi

"Wait," I say She stops There’s so I don’t understand "If you weren’t a citizen until recently, you wouldn’t have had a Match Banquet So how did you--"

"I never needed the Society," she says, "to Match me"

She looks down at the water And in that moment, I think I know exactly who she is

"Your nae it when you cae it entirely," she says "I only reversed it"

I run back to thein the lab, and I pound on theto get his attention

Xander’s father, who also works in the lab, sees me first He smiles at me but on his face I also see wariness He doesn’t want me to hurt his son

And he knows that Xander is hurt

I didn’t do it all, I want to tell Mr Carrow But Xander has changed He’s been through so , those dark days working in the medical center, the time out in the mountains

"Your friend," I tell Xander as soon as he opens the door "Lei She’s going soood-bye"

And you have to find her Because she’s already lost too ether when she stood there by the river, when she spoke about not needing the Society to Match her She told e her name, just reverse it Nea Lei Lei Nea When you say it out, it sounds like Laney Ky had never seen it spelled when he carved the nairl Vick loved Neither, perhaps, had Vick

Xander takes a step forward "Did she say where she was going?" The expression on his face tellsto say doesn’t ht it would Because her story, with Vick, is not mine to tell It’s hers--Lei’s And it may or may not become part of her story with Xander, but that is not for me to decide

"No," I say "But, Xander, you can catch up with her You can find out"

For a second, I think he will Then he sits down at his workstation He leans forward, his back perfectly straight, his expression a mask of confidence and deter others but he’s not paying attention to hiain

"There’scloser so that the others won’t hear "The Pilot has decided that it’s tiers to the Otherlands"

"Why now?" he asks

"It’s co time for the people to vote," I say "He won’t be able to spare the ships then He’ll need them to keep order There are ru to try to take control"

"He can’t spare the ships now," Xander says "We need the to send hters They’re going to Endstone and they’ll take the villagers as far as they can Ky and I are going to the village, to talk to Anna and bring her back here to Camas with us, if she’ll come I wanted to tell you"

"Why?"

"I didn’t want you to worry," I say I didn’t want you to feel like we’d left you behind again

"Will the Pilot let other people go on to the Otherlands in addition to the villagers?" he asks

"If there’s rooht let rins and I see a little bit of the old Xander, and I ht trust ht about the cure"

"No," I say, stunned "Xander, you can’t go to the Otherlands We need you"

"I’m sorry," Xander says, "but I can’t let that keep me here anymore"

CHAPTER 60

KY

Cassia and I wait for the Pilot’s command

It is just the two of us on the ship We’re flying alone this tiers out Cassia’s decided that we need Anna to stand up for the vote "She can lead people," Cassia told me "She’s proved it for years"

"How o?" Cassia asks now

"Ten," I say "We’re one of the last"