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my guess is true, then it’s not safe for either of them. Especially her. Amelia knew the plans they had for Neely from the beginning, and if they discovered this truth now, they would take her. I will proceed in keeping all Amelia’s secrets for Neely.
    Liv Taylor knew that we were connected. “What secrets did my mother have?”
    Xenith sighs heavily. “I don’t know. I swear. We never talked about Amelia.”
    My eyes drift back to the page .
    If Neely and Thorne are emotionally drawn to each other because of the branding, there is no indication yet of how deep that emotional connection goes or how it should impact their lives together and separately. I believe it to be part of the reason they are always together, as whatever they feel draws them to each other. Should my predictions be correct, then they may never be their own people. The branding caused that, and I caused the branding by lying about her birth and testing. I hope I do not regret my decisions.
    I inhale. My head is spinning. Liv Taylor, even when we were kids, thought Thorne and I were so close because of the branding. She died when we were eight, but even back then she suspected we were something. If what she’s saying is real, then it means that Thorne may not actually love me, that our feelings may not be genuine and may instead be some sort of experiment. I close my eyes. That can’t be true. He’s the one sure thing I have. If he’s not real, then what is?
    “You okay?” Xenith asks .
    My eyes narrow in on him. “This is what you meant the other day when you said there was a difference between me loving him and the branding.”
    “Yes,” he says. “I’m sorry, Neely, but you had to know. You said that you thought the branding changed you, and it did. You said you thought the Elders had a plan for you, for everyone, and they do.”
    Somehow I’m the center of all of this. “What does it mean?”
    “It means you have to leave. If you want help, then you have to find it. Save yourself; save everyone. There’s a group who can help you-the Mavericks. I’ll plan it all out for you.”
    A group in the Old World. He’s mentioned them before, but how does he know? How am I supposed to trust what he’s saying? If there was someone with the power to stop the Elders, then why haven’t they?
    “I’m just supposed to believe all of this and go? I don’t know anything about these people.”
    “The Mavericks have been fighting the Elders since the Preservation, since the walls of the first Compound were built. They’re the only ones.”
    “Why should I trust them?”
    “You trust me, don’t you?” he asks. I nod, afraid to say aloud that I do. “Then you trust them. I’m one of them. My whole family has been. They originated with my family nearly three hundred years ago.”
    I cross my arms around my chest. “Then why can’t you go?”
    “Come on, Neely,” Xenith says. He reaches out to me but changes his mind and steps closer instead. “You came to me. You said you thought they were hurting everyone, and they are. You wanted out of this place. You wanted to stop your father, to keep Thorne and everyone else safe. That’s all you. It’s not me. They aren’t the people I care about. Besides, you know their plan, and if you’re here, you can’t run from it.” He pauses, tosses his hands up in the air. “I’m giving you what you wanted. If you want to be freed of them, to save everyone, and learn the truth, then you have to go.”
    From here, I can see the indentation of his jawline and his strong chin. His eyes are wide, dark blue like the ocean after a storm. I take a breath .
    “It’s only you who can go, Neely. For more reasons than you know.” The way he says it seems almost as if he’s pleading with me. He wants me to go .
    “You said there’s a plan,” I say .
    “There’s a spot where the barrier is open.” His eyes dance excitedly. “I have maps, records that my family has tracked for years. All we have to