CHAPTER 45: 45-AND WE CELEBRATE

Clementine:

She said it so bluntly that even my heart skipped a beat. Haiden stared at her in disbelief.

"The train is right here. We can still go back north to look for her. And since she has been gone for maybe a few hours, we should be able to find her," I said, trying to make Miss Rue understand that it was really important and that we couldn’t just keep leaving our people behind like they meant nothing. We are better than monsters.

"I understand what you are trying to say, Clementine, but if we did it for her today, tomorrow we would have to do it for others too. And you guys said she went missing out of the blue. She must have left on her own." The way she said it made me feel pity for her brain, for how it worked.

"A pregnant girl living on her own in a world where she wouldn’t even be able to defend herself—how does that make sense to anyone?" I argued, and I noticed how upset she looked that I was the one raising questions.

"Clementine, her own family didn’t care for her. They sent her to the academy," She argued back as if that would justify sending her out to the north.

"Yeah, just because her family didn’t care doesn’t mean we shouldn’t either."

At this point, I was the only one talking. I guess the others were pretty shocked that I was taking a stand for Haiden’s girlfriend.

"I know I’m being insensitive," she continued, "but before someone else tells you in a worse way, I want to let you know she was probably due in a month or two. There’s no way she could survive on her own out there." With those words, it became clear we had made the wrong decision by bringing Haiden back. If he had wanted to stay with her, he should have. It was his choice. And I would have stayed too. I wouldn’t have come back if I knew someone was being left behind to die.

"We can’t do anything?" I asked her.

That was when Haiden snapped.

"You stay the fuck out of it. Don’t act like you care when you’re the reason this whole mess happened," he yelled at me.

I stepped back, humiliated. Miss Rue was watching, and I didn’t know where to look.

"What is going on? How is she at fault?" she asked Haiden. I shook my head. I was completely innocent. He was just blaming me.

"She fucking made everyone come to fetch me, even when I didn’t want to come back. I wanted to stay with Sadie," Haiden hissed.

"Oh my goddess, I can’t believe he is saying that," Yorick groaned under his breath.

At that point, I understood he was not taking Haiden’s side. I guess he also believed Haiden was being ridiculous for accusing me, instead of understanding that I only did it out of concern, while Ian was the one who lied.

"Actually, that’s not true. Clementine was just worried that one of us was left behind," Troy said, stepping in. It was confusing. I never expected him to defend me. I always thought he was more of a foe than a friend.

"He’s right. She literally did nothing wrong," Yorick added. Of course, he left out Ian’s name. That was weird. The alphas usually had each other’s backs. I knew they were defending me only because I really was innocent. Ian wasn’t. I truly didn’t do anything wrong this time, and thankfully they were there, otherwise, they would have just believed whatever Haiden was saying. It showed me how much they hated me, that even in a situation so serious, Haiden was looking for ways to twist the narrative so he could blame me.

"Anyway, let’s not talk about this right now. Others are waiting for us outside, and the headmaster is there too. Since there is nothing we can do, it isn’t sensible for any of you to keep repeating the same thing. Especially when the headmaster could notice, and it won’t end well for any of you. So just be your best selves and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the victory. It’s a huge thing, you have no idea. Ask the ones who had to leave their crusaders behind, or who watched their crusaders die." Miss Rue said, watching all of us.

Ian finally stood up when he heard that the headmaster was outside. Of course, he’d put on a perfect show for the headmaster. That’s who Ian was. He hadn’t even helped us fight the faun. While Yorick, Troy, and I had tried our best, and Haiden was doing everything to protect his girlfriend, Ian had been sleeping in the trees like a damn monkey.

"Let’s go," Miss Rue said. And that was her way of telling us there was nothing we could do for Sadie anymore.

As we stepped out, people threw confetti at us. They gave us bouquets, fed us sweets, and placed flower crowns and necklaces on us. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

But it wasn’t. It was just a reminder that one of us could go missing on the next mission. There was nothing to celebrate. And nobody would care. Nobody would even mention that someone was left behind. At this point, I began to wonder if connecting with any of our other crusaders was even a smart move. Because imagine having to leave someone behind, and then carrying on with so much guilt on our chest.

Still, for the sake of our ringleader, for our mental peace, and to keep our bond with them strong, we smiled.

The headmaster stood alone, dressed in all black, a long, buttoned-up longcoat. His mouth was covered by a black mask. We could barely see his eyes. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he stood at least six feet eight, the tallest person there. He didn’t speak a word. He just gave us a single nod. I guessed that was his way of saying we had done a good job.

After that, we walked around, eating food while people congratulated us, until it was time to return to our dorms.