At some point, Roman eventually had a shirt on, and Charlotte was speaking animatedly, her face set in grim seriousness as I zoned back in and caught the last trail of her words.
"...kill the stupid bitch and be done with it!" She was yelling.
"But we don't even know anything for sure yet! Just because compulsion does not work on her does not automatically certify that she's the one the prophecy speaks of!" Aiko argued, a deep frown creasing her forehead.
Jesse shuffled uncomfortably on his feet but kept quiet.
"But, do we care if the girl lives or dies? Let's just kill her and kill whatever possibilities she might carry in regards to the prophecy." Rishi added, shrugging nonchalantly, and my blood ran colder than it already was.
I thought of hanging Rishi by the balls just for saying that.
"Thank you, Rishi! That's what I'm saying!" Charlotte threw her hands up in frustration.
Suiko remained as silent as ever, but her pale face held such an expression of extreme fear, I almost went over to hug her. But Aiko was doing that already. She had an arm draped over her sister's back as she patted her softly.
"We can't just kill an innocent girl based on assumptions!" Aiko continued, her eyes flashing with venom while she simultaneously patted Suiko's back comfortingly.
"Oh! So now you've suddenly developed a conscience and you think that someone should not be killed because they are supposedly innocent?!" Charlotte yelled back in response, and the argument went on for a while longer.
I wanted to speak. I knew I ought to speak. Say something in agreement with Aiko. Anything that would get the proposition of killing Jade off the table, but I remained tongue tied.
I could not speak in her favour. Not if I wanted the strange pit of warmth growing inside my chest, screaming her name morning and night since the day she'd ran into me in the woods, to remain hidden.
I could not care about her. I could not let Roman know I cared even a tiny bit. He would hunt her down and never stop until he had me on my knees, doing every word of his bidding at the mercy of her life.
I could not afford to care.
It was why I'd cold-shouldered her earlier today, even though the shocked and disappointed look in her eyes had made my insides twist so painfully, I'd feared I would vomit my intestines out.
I had to be indifferent around her whenever Roman was in sight. Regardless of how painful and near impossible it was.
"Silence." Roman drawled calmly through all the yelling and arguments, and the noise ceased at once.
Charlotte leaned back in her chair, still glaring daggers at Aiko who was doing the same, but they both stopped yelling at each other.
"As Aiko said, I find it presumptuous that you claim a random girl is the one the prophecy speaks of, simply because compulsion does not work on her," Roman began, and Charlotte looked so affronted, I thought she would slap him.
Roman continued.
"However, I agree that there is an unsettling shroud of mystery surrounding the girl that intrigues me," at this, Charlotte's eyes narrowed. "It's partly why I invited her to the party being held here tonight."
"You're hosting a party?!" Charlotte sputtered, and everyone else looked just as surprised.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I ground down hard on my teeth. I'd been there in the class when he'd invited her to the nonexistent party.
I'd watched him lean forward to brush away a stray curly strand of hair from Jade's face, and then tuck it behind her ear, his fingers lingering too long on her cheek, and I'd been filled with so much rage, it was all I could to not leap out of my seat and tear his heart from his chest.
It worried me. The immense feeling of anger that had overwhelmed me at the sight of Roman touching her face and looking at her with such suggestive eyes.
It had made my mind begin to wander along roads that led to outlandish thoughts.
I thought about Roman touching her even more intimately, kissing her, his hands all over her body...
I was instantly filled with such rage and bloodlust, that I had to leave the classroom immediately or I would have murdered someone on the spot.
That really, really worried me.
I didn't even know the girl. I had only walked her home one time, and I was already thinking of killing anyone who touched her inappropriately.
"But there's no party happening here!" Aiko looked around in confusion.
"No. I had only wanted to see what her response would be. I know she would not come." Roman answered coolly.
"And what if she does?" Charlotte raised a brow.
"Then we throw a party," Roman grinned.
"And then we kill her." Charlotte added with a grin of her own, and I almost reached over to strangle her, but Roman shook his head and continued.
"We are not killing her."
I paused, shock and relief and worry simultaneously flooding my body all at once.
What?
"What?" Charlotte voiced my thought.
"I have a different approach in mind," Roman began, crossing his leg and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thigh.
He interlaced his fingers and propped his chin on it. "I think we should get to know her,"
An involuntary snort ripped itself from my lungs at that, successfully ending my silence.
"Get to know her? Are you insane?" Charlotte raised a brow as she eyed Roman from head to toe, wondering if he truly had lost his mind.
Aiko had an unsure frown on her forehead, and Jesse shared an uneasy look with his sister, Sophia, who had remained quiet the entire time, and was playing with her nails as though she had better things to do than be a part of this conversation.
"Yes," Roman bristled, shooting Charlotte a warning glance. "I am intrigued by the girl. And I think that if we got to know her, we could find out whether or not she's the one the prophecy speaks of."
Charlotte rolled her eyes, a heavy frown on her face as she flicked her strawberry blonde hair behind her shoulder the way she usually did whenever she was irritated beyond reasoning.
"Well, I don't like that idea very much. In fact, I detest it completely." She said.
Roman shrugged dismissively. "It is of no consequence to me whether you like the plan or not, Charlotte. It is what I have decided will be done."
It was silent for a while after that, everyone gathering their thoughts and ruminating on Roman's decision.
It was Sophia who broke the silence in her eternally bored, drawling voice.
"You realize it'll never work, right?" She started, still playing with her fingers. "The girl is smart. A lot more intelligent than any of you has stopped to realize. And she's closed off. You have no chance of truly getting as close to her as you want. Plus, she already hates the lot of us. Charlotte made sure of that."
Her eyes rose to meet Charlotte's burning grey gaze, and she shrugged indifferently, then returned to playing with her manicured fingernails.
"You leave that to me." Roman leaned back into the sofa as he uncrossed his legs. "No mortal alive, male, female or otherwise, has ever once been able to resist my charm."
A knowing smirk graced his lips, and I felt my stomach plummet, headed straight for the depths of hell.
I had been relieved that the plan to kill Jade was off the table, but somehow, I was even more terrified of whatever Roman was planning in that twisted mind of his.