Chapter 71: Betrayal

Chapter 71: Betrayal

Noah released Moxie, rolling to the side and rising to his feet.

“You’re smart, Moxie. But how do you know that the information you have on demons is correct? Has Lee ever given you a reason to doubt her?”

Moxie didn’t stand.

“I don’t know. But what if you’re wrong?”

“Then Lee kills us. I’d rather be wrong and be the idiot that trusted my friends than the monster that turned against them because they were told to. When you die, it won’t matter anymore. You’ll have to live with your decisions, not your fears. And, if you live on fear, that’s all that you’ll have left to keep you company.”

Moxie didn’t respond immediately. She slowly sat up, still looking at where Lee had been.

“We weren’t friends. Co-workers, at best.”

Noah shrugged. “If that’s what lets you sleep at night.”

“We only knew each other for a little while!”

“Time is such a weird thing,” Noah said with a frown. “I don’t see the obsession with it. Short, long, whatever. What matters is how you spend it, not how long you have. And, in the long run, you don’t have all that long anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Moxie asked, finally looking up at Noah. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Forget it,” Noah said with a sigh. “If you try to attack me again, I don’t think I’m going to be able to win.”

Not without using Sunder, and that means one of us isn’t walking out of here alive.

“You’re saying you won’t try to stop me if I go after her?”

“I’m saying you’ll win. I’ve already told you my stance.”

“Why do you care so much?” Moxie asked. “Why go through the risk? It doesn’t make sense. You’re putting yourself on the line for someone you aren’t even responsible for.”

“Is it responsibility, or is it avoiding the responsibility by just assuming the worst to skirt the problem?” Noah asked. “I’m not saying you should blindly trust every demon. That would be stupid. But you haven’t even tried talking to Lee to find out more. You’re just jumping to conclusions.”

Moxie sat upright. She flicked some flecks of ash from her shoulder, then rose to her feet, pulling her gaze away from Noah and toward the direction that Lee had gone. Her hands clenched.

Noah remained silent as Moxie stood there. He’d already said his piece. There wasn’t anything else he could say that would change her mind.

“How do you know you’re right?” Moxie finally asked. “What if you trust the wrong person?”

Noah shrugged. “Then you die. I already told you. But... dying is one moment. Living is every single other one. Focus on all the moments you actually live through, not the single one at the end. If you decide that trusting Lee is the wrong decision, then decide that. But make sure you actually believe it.”

Moxie swallowed. “I need to think.”

“Then think. I’m sure Lee didn’t value your opinion of her at all. She definitely didn’t care that one of the few people she’s met thought she was a bloodthirsty monster that was just trying to manipulate them for their own selfish gains.”

“Damn it, Vermil. What do you want from me? I have a duty.”

“I never said you didn’t,” Noah said. “I’m a terrible professor. We’ve established this already. Why do you care about what some evil monster like me thinks anyway? Seems odd. I’m sure some people would think your trust of me is nearly as bad as trusting Lee.”

Moxie’s fists clenched and she looked away. Vines slithered at her feet, whipping in anger as she withdrew them and pushed the rest of the garden back to its original state. Some of the plants had been burnt and damaged from the fight, but she shifted those parts farther away from the path to hide them.

“I’ll hear her out,” Moxie said. “Take me to her.”

“Nope.”

“What?”

“I don’t know where she is, Moxie. There’s no conspiracy or grand plan here. She just ran off because you hurt her feelings. If you want to do something about that, then go find her yourself. I don’t belong in that conversation. If you think she’s just some monster, then go find those other professors and hunt her down. I’ll be sitting here.”

“Doing what?”

“Waiting,” Noah replied. “To see if you’re an idiot or not.”

Moxie sent one last look at Noah, then turned and strode off. Noah lowered to the ground, crossing his legs as he sat and pressing his palms against his knees. A minute passed. He let out a heavy sigh and massaged his forehead.

“Damn. That could have gone better.”

“She hates me.”

Lee stepped out of the bush behind Noah. He looked over his shoulder at her, but didn’t say anything.

“See? That’s how people are supposed to respond,” Lee said, nodding in Moxie’s direction and flopping down beside him. “She’s probably going to go find professors to hunt me.”

“Maybe,” Noah allowed. “Do you think they could catch you?”

“Depends. Not if they’re Rank 3. But if there are Rank 4 professors... probably.”

“I see. I think Moxie was just scared. She’s trying to protect her student and isn’t thinking rationally. Or maybe she’s trying to think too rationally and isn’t considering her own experiences in comparison to what she’s been told.”

“Does it matter?” Lee asked. “She’s still going to try to kill me. I’m going to leave, and now you might as well.”

Noah shrugged. “What I told her about you goes for me as well. We’ve already established that I’m an idiot.”

Lee snorted, then sniffled again. Noah didn’t look back at her. There wasn’t much privacy outside, but it was better than nothing.

“You can’t just sit here if you want to find out,” Noah said. “She did go looking, you know.”

“So what?”

“So nothing. It’s up to you in the end. You’re the person that Moxie needs to apologize to, and if you don’t want an apology, that’s up to you. But if you want an apology, you’re going to need to let her give it to you.”

“And if she’s just going to find professors to kill me?”

“Maybe she is. I don’t know,” Noah replied, rubbing his chin. “I suppose the logical thing to do would be to get out of here just in case. Avoid the risk. Maybe you could rejoin the kids and I if we end up deciding to leave the school. Or you could be an idiot. I’m always partial to the latter option.”

“I don’t have friends.”

“Why not?” Lee asked. “Friends help each other. It’s nice. Do you want to be a demon? Because that’s what I used to hear other demons say when they turned on each other, breaking their alliances for just a little more power. You sound just like them. What’s wrong with trying to trust people? Isn’t it better to be betrayed than to be alone?”

Moxie’s hands lowered to her sides. Despite herself, a quick burst of bitter laughter slipped out of her lips. “Spoken like someone who’s never been betrayed.”

Lee stared at Moxie silently.

Moxie’s heart twisted.

Damn it.

“You really thought I was your friend?” Moxie asked.

Lee didn’t respond.

Moxie’s eyes prickled. She blinked in surprise, raising a hand to her face. It was wet.

“Then you really can’t trust me,” Moxie said. “Don’t you see what I’m saying? If you feel that I betrayed you, there’s no way you could possibly–”

“I still trust you,” Lee said. “I still want to be friends.”

“How?” Moxie demanded.

A small smile flickered across Lee’s face. “Maybe I’m just a bit of an idiot.”

Moxie stared at her. She felt like her mind was trying to split itself in half. No option felt like it was the right one. No matter what she did, the alternative could come back. She could fail.

She could fail again.

Her chest tightened and her stomach flipped. Moxie’s hands clenched at her sides.

It isn’t just my life I’m betting. But she could have made a move already. I was so panicked about there being a demon. But what if –

I’m just going in circles. This is pointless.

I don’t want to live like this.

Moxie slowly raised her gaze again. “I’m sorry, Lee. I... I may have misjudged you.”

Lee blinked in surprise. “You want to be friends?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

Moxie stared at Lee. “You came here fully expecting that I would betray you? Again?”

“It would technically just be once, since you’d just be sticking to the first betrayal. But, yes. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

I know what I’m supposed to do. Emily’s safety is the only priority. I shouldn’t risk it, even if I believe Lee.

But... the Torrin family doesn’t know. This is a decision I can actually make for myself, one where they don’t have a knife to my back. When was the last time I could actually do that?

“If you aren’t planning to hunt me down, I can offer you a Rune Oath,” Lee offered. “Then again, if you are planning to kill me and you make one of those, it’s not going to go too well for you when the Oath rips your runes up as I die.”

Noah’s words echoed irritatingly at the back of Moxie’s head.

Am I going to be an idiot or not? If I accept the Rune Oath, that would help ensure Emily wasn’t at risk – but it would show that I don’t actually trust Lee in the slightest. I know what the Torrins would do.

But, if I accept the oath and Lee does find a way to wiggle out of it, I won’t be able to safely fight against her because I’ll cripple my own Runes if she dies. I’m not an expert on Rune Oaths either – I couldn’t make one that was really effective on the spot.

Even if I could... maybe, just this one time, I can trust someone because I choose to, not because the family told me I had to, even if it isn’t the right move. It’s not just Lee I’m putting my faith in here. It’s Vermil.

“I don’t need a Rune Oath,” Moxie said, clenching her fists by her sides. “And that clearly goes both ways, just like you said. I want to believe you, Lee. But I need to protect Emily as well. Just promise me that you really don’t have any plans to ever hurt Emily or any of the other students. A normal promise. Not a Rune Oath.”

Lee inclined her head. “I promise.”

They were silent for a few moments. Moxie blinked a few times in rapid succession and glanced over her shoulder, clearing her throat.

“Is that it? I haven’t done this before.”

“I don’t know,” Lee muttered. “Neither have I.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough.” Moxie bit her lower lip. “Vermil was right. I didn’t actually use what I knew of you when I made the judgement. I just listened to some vague warnings in an old book without putting any thought into it. This was wrong, even if my suspicions were right.”

“It’s okay. I forgave you already.”

“That easily?” Moxie demanded. “But how do you know that I’m not–”

Lee took a step toward Moxie. Then she reared back and punched her in the face. Moxie swore, stumbling back and raising a hand to her stinging cheek. The blow hadn’t been anywhere near the strength that Lee could have used – she knew from the training session’s they’d had.

“There,” Lee said. “Is that better?”

Somehow, yes.

Moxie rubbed her cheek, working her jaw. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Usually, demons solve their problems by trying to beat each other to death. I never really liked the idea all that much as I prefer being alive, but I suppose there’s an appeal to a good punch.”

A small smile crossed Moxie’s lips. “I suppose there is.”

“Should we head back before Vermil starts wondering if we’re killing each other?” Lee asked.

Moxie nodded. “That might be a good idea, yes.”