“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 people 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.