It was a disk scratch moment.

The music kept playing, but everything around Lexie seemed to come to a standstill, as she felt punched and bowled over by the attack she wasn't expecting.

Lexie had forgotten that Veronica had caught her speaking to Albion. So much had happened since then that it had slipped her mind.

She should have expected something like this the second Veronica caught her. As a matter of fact, she should have expected it when she saw Veronica with that stupid haircut, as though she were clumsily trying to copy Rufina's hairstyle. Although Lexie didn't know why Veronica, who had the best hair she'd ever seen, would want to copy Rufina, who had the worst. But that didn't matter right now.

Veronica hadn't told the headmaster what she'd heard, but she'd told someone even worse. Because Rufina had now exposed Lexie's secret in front of about twenty people who had grown silent as they watched Lexie for her response.

"What?" Rufina said again, and this time her voice sounded louder than before. Or maybe it was because one of her minions, the one who could control sound, held their hand out and dimmed the volume of the music. "Are you going to deny it? Come on, let's see you try to lie your way out of this one."

"What a load of bullshit," Xena spoke up. "Lexie talking to demons? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"It's not ridiculous though, is it, Lexie?" Rufina didn't even spare Xena a glance. She kept looking straight at Lexie with that sharp, cutting gaze. "If it was, you wouldn't look so caught off guard right now."

Shit. Lexie struggled to school her expression. "I'm just shocked you would even suggest something like that."

Rufina laughed. "Oh, come off it. We both know what I'm saying is true. You were caught red-handed. They say you ended up in the infirmary over a demon attack, but that's not true, is it? You invited that demon to your dreams. The same way you invited the demon in Jett's body to a conversation. You were talking to him. Is that why Jett hasn't stolen anything since then? Did your dream demon talk to his and make some sort of deal? Or did you just take his demon, too?"

Jett made a choked sound and gave Lexie a panicked look. Even if Lexie wanted to deny it, it was clear from his expression that there was at least some truth to what Rufina was saying.

Lexie shook her head subtly, trying to urge Jett not to say anything. But Jett took that look the wrong way. He squared his jaw, and indignation jumped into his eyes.

"She didn't do anything wrong," he exclaimed. "She was just trying to help me."

"Was she?" Rufina was clearly pleased she'd managed to get a response out of the boy.

"Yes. Ever since she helped me, Albion hasn't bothered anyone. I don't steal things anymore. She made a card for me that made him go to sleep when I did."

Oh, jeez.

"She saved me when no one else could, and you're trying to make that a bad thing."

Stop talking, Jett, you're making it worse.

"We all know that cards can't actually do that, don't we?" Rufina looked around for support. "A card that can suppress a demon? Does that even sound logical to anyone?" She referred to the small crowd that was starting to form around them, including second and third years who were standing afar and watching the scene. "A card can't detect dungeons, nor can it generate enough wind power to blow several people off their feet. A card can't torture people. Demons can." She faced Lexie. "The only way a C-Rank mage could do something like that is if they sold their soul to a demon for power. Is that what you did, Lexie? Or maybe your dad did it for you, so he could get power too. Trust me, that was very common where I'm from. I know a few prisoners in Lasvos that have done the same, especially during the war. My grandfather says it always went the same way. A weak person suddenly gets very powerful, they have trouble controlling their impulses, and then they eventually become evil."

Lexie clenched her hands into fists, feeling a heat rising inside her. She felt threatened and heard the Eldritch voice whispering in her thoughts now.

She calmed it down, sorting the Eldritch soul particles away into a bucket. Now wasn't the time for her to act out. Now was the time for her to find a rational justification and gaslight her way out of this.

"So if you think all these things about me," Lexie's voice came out steadily. "Why haven't you reported your concerns to the headmaster?'

"Because I wanted to do this first," Rufina spoke without skipping a beat. "I wanted to expose you in front of Torin and everyone and watch you try to lie your way out of it. You're not a very good liar, do you know that?"

Yes, but I thought I was getting better.

"Lexie, this is bullshit, right?" Xena's voice wasn't as bold as before. She was staring at her friend with growing apprehension, the certainty in her eyes wavering. Dewie was also staring at her, waiting for her explanation.

This part was going to hurt the most.

She wished she could have talked to her friends about this first. If she could do this again, she would have, but right now, she was going to have to do it in front of everyone.

Rufina was right. Lexie was bad at lying, and even if she tried to use her spell excuse, it still wouldn't explain everything. She was going to have to tell a partial truth and hope for the best.

Lexie looked around. Kai and Flora were observing, glancing between Lexie and Rufina, as though waiting for the bomb to drop. No one was speaking up, not daring to interrupt.

Luckily, no one looked outright antagonistic yet, even though a few people looked suspicious.

Lexie sighed, crossed her hands over her chest, and gave Rufina an arch look. "You're right. I was speaking to the Eldritch creature that took over Jett's body."

The statement triggered a dramatic chorus of gasps and a low rumble in the crowd. From the corner of her eyes, Lexie saw Xnea's jaw drop.

"Ha. I knew it," Rufina grinned triumphantly.

"So what?" Lexie said.

"So what?" That knocked some of the smugness from Rufina's expression.

"Yes," Lexie said firmly. "So what? Last summer, while creating cards, I studied languages from other species, including Fae, Elven, and yes, some Eldritch. I can read and speak all three semi-fluently. So what? It's not a crime."

Rufina frowned. "Why on Earth would you learn demon tongue?"

"Because I was interested in understanding Eldritch behaviour and powers."

"And why would you be interested in understanding demons?"

"First of all, they're not demons." Lexie snapped. "That's a rude word, and you know it. They're aliens, like the Fae and the Elves, and the Trolls and every other non-earthen species. We study them all the time. We study the Fae, and some even study trolls, gnomes, and all sorts of other creatures. Suddenly, it's a crime when I do it for the Eldritch? Why is that so bad?"

"Because they're evil," Xena said, and Lexie turned to her.

"Are they? If they're so bad, then how come the Fae don't just kill them? Why just banish them to a realm of their own, and why do the Fae still allow them to roam on their planet and cause havoc?"

"Because the Fae are too noble to get rid of them completely," someone who Lexie didn't know answered. "That's what my dad says. The Fae don't want to wipe out the entire race because it's against their law. They don't want genocide of any species."

"And you really believe that's all there is to it?" Lexie challenged. "You believe that the Fae are so magnanimous that they would refuse to destroy creatures that are actively terrorizing them and humans, because their law says so?"

"Obviously, they're magnanimous." The boy looked annoyed. "They gave us magic and saved us from the Guardians. They didn't have to do that. They could have just let humanity die out, but they didn't, even though the conspiracy theory quacks are ungrateful."

A murmur of agreement arose, and Lexie could tell she was losing them. "I'm not saying the Fae are bad," she said. "I'm saying that sometimes there's more to a story than we understand." She glanced at Rufina. "Even if the Eldritch are dangerous, we're forced to exist alongside them. Doesn't it help us to understand them? Because you're right, that is partially how I got Albion to leave Jett alone. By talking to him. By finding out what he wanted and appeasing him with a card that would work. It's not that the card I gave Jett is powerful or anything. It's because I understood what the creature wanted and gave it to him. The necromancers, saintesses, and healers that Jett visited weren't able to do that because they couldn't be bothered to understand Albion, because they're discouraged from doing so. Have we never wondered why?" She glanced around. "The Fae coexist with the Eldritch, and they work together sometimes. If the Fae can work with the Eldritch, why can't we?"

There was another stretch of silence, which Rufina interrupted with a mocking clicking of her tongue. "Oh wow. You're that far gone, have you? You're even referring to the demon by name. Are you two besties now? Is this even you talking, or has your mind been so corrupted you're not yourself anymore?"

Annoyance sparked, and before Lexie could stop herself, she said, "If my mind was taken over by a demon, you would be dead, Rufina."

Rufina's eyebrows flew up. Her companions tensed. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a fact. Since you say Eldritch are so evil, if I were possessed by one, I would have killed you that first night when you tried to drown me. I would have killed all three of you, in fact. But I didn't, because I'm not possessed by the Eldritch. I've been seen by a saintess and everything and gotten a clean bill of health."

"You tried to drown her?" Kai spoke up, but Rufina ignored him.

"How do you make those cards you used in your AFC fight?" Rufina's minion pressed. "How are they so powerful?"

"And how did you know there was a dungeon in Hartville?" Rufina added, voice harsh and commanding. "Did your demon friend plant it there? How did you fight the troll with Torin? You're not supposed to be strong enough to do that, unless you planned it all. You did, didn't you?"

"Rufina–" Lexie sighed."

"Tell the truth. You knew about that whole dungeon attack beforehand. You did it for the demon, and then you felt bad after. How can you live with yourself knowing how many people died?"

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The end of Rufina's sentence was high-pitched, almost screeching, and a suspicious sheen shone in her eyes that made her look crazy and angry, but also leaked desperation. That brought Lexie down to earth.

"I'm sorry about your friend Rufina," Lexie said slowly. "But her death wasn't my fault."

Hatred sparked from Rufina's eyes. "We'll see what the headmaster and my grandfather have to say about that."

Lexie remained silent, even as dread tanked her will. She tried to convince herself it wouldn't be that bad. Worst-case scenario, she got kicked out of the program. She would figure something out after that.

But that wasn't the worst-case scenario at all. Jett was holding a card that would expose her association with Naem since it had his signature. If Jett was forced to give it up, they would figure out that Lexie and Naem know each other. Not only might her existence then be leaked to the Fae and the other Eldritch, but they might investigate further and figure out exactly how she became the way she was

But as long as they didn't find out her father's involvement in this, she would be fine.

Maybe she would admit that she'd been possessed by a demon, just to stop the investigation from going further. Then she would get a collar like Jett's. That would be torturous, but she would take it to protect her dad.

She hoped that it wouldn't get that far, and her heart was beating fast at the thought, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Rufina had been too good at trapping her. Things had already been set in motion, and she couldn't stop them now. She couldn't even erase memories, because too many people had heard it. And at least one of the PHORBS caught that conversation, damn it.

She simply had to wait.

The audience around them seemed torn. Some were confused, some were eyeing Lexie with suspicion, and some were rolling their eyes at the whole dramatic scene.

"I heard that you made cards for Anais," another girl standing beside Kai said. "She's my mentee. Your demon friend didn't make that for you, did he?"

Lexie narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "I don't have a 'demon' friend, but she doesn't have to use it if she doesn't want to. She can just give it back."

"I'll have it investigated."

"That's fine. I have nothing to hide." Thankfully, since the card had been fully incorporated in the Fae System, it had severed its link to the land card, and nothing was tying it to the Eldritch realm.

"Okay, okay, this party is getting a little too focused on Lexie," Kai Skysoarer suddenly announced. "I know she's cool and everything, but I'm the main character. It's my party." He sent Lexie a wink, and she gave him a grateful smile.

"Now turn up the music, and everyone try our juice! It's a surprise mystery flavor."

As the music went back up, Rufina smiled and finally turned away to start a conversation with someone else. She was satisfied with the commotion she'd caused, and even though Lexie hadn't been shunned completely, a lot more people would be suspicious of her now.

Damn it.

Lexie turned to Xena, who was pale and shaken. She was staring at Lexie like she'd never seen her before, and that look… it pierced her in the chest.

Xena shook her head and started walking away.

"Xena, wait."

Xena didn't stop, her long legs eating up the distance. Lexie ran after her as Xena cut through the crowd out of the sliding doors of the common area and out onto the courtyard. People watched their procession, but no one was paying close attention.

"Xena."

"I told you to stop, Lexie," she said, voice shaking. "I told you what happens when you start associating with the Eldritch. You didn't even tell me that you spoke to Jett's 'friend'."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"You shouldn't even have been speaking to him in the first place!"

"You've only seen one side of the story, Xena."

Xena finally stopped stalking away and spun round. "And what? You've seen the other side?"

"Yes."

That gave her pause. "How?"

Lexie glanced around them. "I'll tell you after the party. I promise. I can't do it here."

"Then let's just go. I don't even wanna go back to the stupid party."

Lexie sighed. "Okay, but we can't leave without at least saying goodbye to Dewie."

Xena frowned in the direction of the common area and nodded. "Fine." They walked back, but Dewie was already at the entrance, about to leave.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry, I saw you guys take off and I thought…"

"Yeah, we were going to leave," Lexie said. "Sorry about….well, everything." She'd kept the secret from Dewie, too.

Dewie didn't seem offended, though, more so confused.

"It's okay." He gave each of them a look. "Can I leave with you? Or is this going to be an all-girls fight?"

Lexie and Xena shared a look, and Xena raised her eyebrow in question.

"You can come with us," Lexie told Dewie. If she were telling Xena, she might as well tell Dewie too, or he would feel left out, and she would hate that.

She peeked into the party and caught sight of Jett. He was having a heated discussion with Rufina, and Lexie guessed he was probably defending her, which was very cool of him, but also unnecessary. Rufina was determined to hate Lexie no matter what, and she could not be reasoned with.

Five minutes later, they were on Lexie's bed, and Lexie activated her sound muffling card.

"What I tell you two cannot leave this room," she told them. "Like at all. You cannot tell a single soul about this, not even Lionel and Jace. Most importantly, you cannot freak out."

Xena and Dewie appeared apprehensive.

"Okay, now you're scaring me," Xena said.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be a little scary. It's why I've kept it a secret for so long. Because it scares me. And it might scare you too, but regardless, you have to swear to me that you will never tell anyone else."

"Okay," Xena said.

"I'm serious. Swear it on our friendship." Lexie met both their eyes in turn. "On the ADM."

"I swear on the ADM," Dewie said first.

"I swear on the ADM," Xena repeated.

Lexie released a breath. "Okay. So here's the truth. Remember my fight with Diana, when my cards started going haywire?"

Xena nodded. Dewie nodded too.

"That wasn't just because of the deck I used. It's also because, after my soul injury, it was discovered that I had a little Eldritch essence inside me."

Lexie figured there was no need to mention her father in this. She wasn't lying exactly, but she didn't want to risk telling the whole truth yet, at least not until she saw how Xena and Dewie reacted to this bit.

It took a second for it to sink in, and Xena's eyes bugged out of her skull. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I have an Eldritch essence within me," Lexie said. "I don't know why, but it's attached to me."

"So Rufina was right?"

"No," Lexie said. "She was wrong. I'm not possessed by an Eldritch creature; it's more so that a tiny part of me is Eldritch. It sometimes affects my powers, sometimes for the worse, but also sometimes for the better."

"Oh my God." Xena clapped her hand over her mouth. Her horrified expression was making Lexie regret this whole thing. Maybe she had made a mistake after all. Maybe it was too much to hope for them to understand.

Dewie, on the other hand, looked startled but appeared calmer. "What does that mean exactly?"

"I'm not sure," Lexie answered. "I'm still figuring it out. But the thing is, my soul is somehow mixed in with Eldritch, and I cannot survive without that Eldritch piece. It's the thing that brought me back to life after my soul injury, and without it, I would die. So it's not like I can just take it out. I have to learn to live with it." Lexie looked at Xena. "That's why I've been trying so hard to understand what it means to be Eldritch. And that's also how I know that there's more to it than just labeling Eldritch as monsters and demons. There's a nuance that doesn't translate well to other humans because they can't understand what it's like to be an Eldritch."

Xena's breath was coming out fast, but she managed to swallow her panic, and finally her eyes met Lexie's again. She shook her head. "I don't…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything right now. I know it's a lot. It was a lot for me too when I found out. Just believe me when I say that I have it handled. I have it under control and I'm trying to limit its impact on my life as much as possible."

"What happens if you can't?" Xena asked.

Lexie sighed. "I won't let it get to that."

"How do you know? Who's helping you? Your dad?"

Lexie nodded. "Yeah. He's trying to find a cure, and he says he's close to one."

"How? He can't use magic."

"He knows people who can help."

"But why don't you want me to tell Lionel?" Xena said. "I'm sure he can help too, more than your dad. I mean, the Lightlarks have access to a lot of facilities and medicines you wouldn't believe."

"I know, but I don't want to do that," Lexie said. "If they do have a cure, my father would have found it already. What I don't want is to be locked in a lab and poked and prodded all day. I don't want to have my body and my soul dissected to figure out what's wrong with me."

"That won't happen."

"Are you sure?" Lexie asked. "Imagine I wasn't your friend, Zee, and I just told you that I'm partially Eldritch, even if it's a tiny part of me. Wouldn't you advocate for me to be locked up until they could figure out a way to fix me?"

Xena opened her mouth to deny it, but the struggle was apparent in her face.

"Exactly," Lexie said before she could say anything. "That's why I'm asking you not to tell anyone. I'm handling it. Can you just trust me with that? Please?"

Xena bit her lip and nodded firmly. "Yes. I won't tell anyone."

Lexie exhaled, her shoulders sagging. "Okay. Thanks."

"I won't tell anyone either," Dewie said, and Lexie felt a wash of relief.

"So," Xena said. "How are you feeling? Does it…hurt?"

"Not usually. I barely feel it. It's like with Jett. It only really acts out when I feel threatened or mad."

"So with Diana…"

"She said something stupid about my mom and dad, and I reacted. But I have that part under control, too. It's why I didn't react the same way with Rufina." As much as she'd wanted to bite the other girl's head off, she'd kept her cool.

"Wow." Xena shook her head, still clearly struggling to digest the information. "Thanks for telling me. I know that must have been really hard."

Lexie sighed. "It was. But I didn't want to keep the secret from you two any longer. What's friendship without trust, right?"

"Right," Dewie said.

"Exactly," Xena added. They all smiled at each other, but the air was a little strained.

That was, until Dewie asked, "Can we go back and get some snacks from the party? I'm hungry and I wanna know what 'surprise mystery juice' tastes like."

***

After Xena and Dewie went back to the party for the snack run, Lexie texted her father about what happened.

He wasn't entirely happy that she'd told Xena and Dewie about her Eldritch soul, but he said he understood the circumstances.

He didn't think the news would spread as far as Lexie feared.

Aiden: Even if there's a video of the confrontation taken at the party, I doubt they'll let it hit the regular NET. Victoire is very strict about what ends up shared from their school, and they usually try to protect their students' reputations. The video will be buried. You'll probably get summoned by Journeyman tomorrow to answer questions, though. Just keep denying it. They won't be able to find the Eldritch essence in your soul, no matter how hard they look. If they ask about the card you gave Jett, tell them you got it from me. I'll handle the rest.

Lexie: I don't want you to get in trouble.

Aiden: I won't. Trust me. I'm a good liar. Besides, Vacek needs me too much now to let me get in any real trouble.

Lexie: ...okay. If you say so.

She thought about it and added something else.

Lexie: Also, I want to affix my mental class to be a card magic scholar. That way, I can get intellect points and start leveling it up.

Aiden: That's good. So you're certain you want card magic to be your focus?

Lexie: Yeah. I'm sure. But also, what if in the future I want to learn about other magic types? Or even non-magical disciplines?

Aiden: You can still learn those things, you just won't advance as fast. Any points you gain and put towards substats like memorization and such will be focused on card magic knowledge.

Lexie could live with that.

After she hung up with her dad, she opened up her stat screen.

Mental

Class: Undeclared (Choose from options now)

Secondary Class: Undeclared (Cannot be declared until Optimum Level in Primary Class is Achieved).

Affinity: Bound Magic-Cards

Level: 7

Breakdown

IQ: 120

Wisdom: 85%

Memorization: 90%

Creativity: 89%

EQ: 80%

Talent: 83%

Thinking Speed: 90%

Perception: 69%

Belief: 68%

Mental Strength: 97%

She clicked on Class and chose Scholar – Bound Magic – Cards)

She affixed it, and something very unexpected happened. She immediately got an additional alert.

CONGRATULATIONS! ACCORDING TO OUR CALCULATIONS AND COLLECTION OF AVERAGES, YOU ARE NOW LEVELED UP

You are a Level 8 Card Scholar. You have received 10 mental points to assign to any of the substats. Assign now? [YES] [NO]

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