The cell was damp and smelt faintly of clay. It was a small windowless room with a stone bed and a barricade. I could see the guards a few feet away standing with professional rigidity.
Moira had allowed me change into a trouser and a more presentable shirt before letting the guards drag me here. My mind was a blur. I was going to die.
The cuff sat warm around my wrists. It had halted my powers, halted even my sense of perseverance. I thought of my life in the Black Colony, thought of my friend Barbie Mullen and my sister Norma. I thought of my mom and her exalted position of Light Worker. She wouldn't had thought I would meet my end here.
I was sent here to study. On a one year scholarship, the first of its kind. No one had sent me to fall in love with a werewolf.
The tears sprang to my eyes. I was going to die.
"Well, well well" I looked up to find Peach perched on the doorway, her pink hair bubbly bright in the half darkness. Cassidy stood beside her, they both had smirks on their face.
"You are trending for all the wrong reasons" Peach snorted.
I rolled my eyes "Thanks for coming, Peach".
Cassidy had brought out her phone "Nightie, everyone is talking about you. " She scrolled and then looked up at me "Some are saying Jordan seduced you. Peach is trying to stir quite a following so they pin this squarely on that pompous popstar. Everyone knows the level of his grating arrogance. " She put her fingers through the bars to touch my face "My poor girl, I know he seduced you. "
I smiled thickly "He did not."
Peach smirked "Oh please don't say that at the hearing. It's coming up in just an hour."
"Wait, they are giving us a hearing?" I was surprised. Maren and Darien had been burnt without a whim.
"Duh. Jordan Files is an internationally renowned popstar. You don't think they will roast him without a hearing. And you are not just any ordinary human, you are a foreigner from the Black Colony here on scholarship " Cassidy said.
"What were you thinking?" Peach whispered, stepping close so she too could touch my face through the bars. I could see that she was fighting back tears. "Night, we could have had a pleasant stay here. There are so many attractive humans and vampires to choose from. Why him ? Why a fucking werewolf "
Cassidy said hurriedly "Peach, now's not the time to judge. I still maintain that he forced himself on her. "
Peach snorted "Will she stick with that line, you know Night and her outrageous righteousness. She will tell them the truth."
"You sound like you know the truth, Peach" I said flatly.
"Yes " She rolled her eyes "Of course you fell in love with his cute ass".
Cassidy lowered her voice to a whisper "Derrick is saying to all who cares to listen that he caught Jordan going down on you, is this true, Night."
"Yes" I admitted feebly.
Peach giggled "Atleast you got your final orgasm. I have always wanted to have that ecstatic experience but Harmon is thrash at it."
Cassidy raised an eyebrow "Aren't you scared of those fangs, Peach?"
Peach looked at her "Duh, Harmon is a Tishian Vamp, Cass. Those fangs are probably more like a decoration."
I said tiredly "Have you girls come here to rant over Harmon's cunninglinus deficiency. ? No one is telling me how to escape ".
Cassidy laughed "Probably cos there's no way to escape. We are fucked, Night. We just have to stick to our story of him forcing you into it.".
"No." The word came out before I had time to think.
Both girls looked at me.
"I won't lie."
Peach groaned "I knew it."
"Night," Cassidy pleaded, "this isn't one of your moral philosophy debates. This is your life."
"I know."
"We only have six weeks before the scholarship program ends. We could file this as a minor inconvenience, get you off the hook, and then we could finish our program and go back home, Night. Just six weeks, Night."
I swallowed "I know ".
"Then why are you making it harder?"
"Because if I save myself by destroying Jordan..." I said "Then I never loved him."
Silence settled between us.
Peach rubbed her forehead. "Has it occurred to you that Jordan may as well deny you, and then what does your stupid chivalry go to prove".
I smiled "Trust me, he won't"
"You are both unbelievably stubborn."
"I've been told."
"You'll both end up dead."
"I've been told that too."
Cassidy gripped the bars. "This is absolutely romantic but this is not the time for romance, girl. This is your life".
One of the guards shouted "Your two minutes are over, ladies. Time to leave."
Peach screamed at him "We will stay here for two more minutes if we want. So deal with it".
The guard said loudly "Now that's the height of it".
Footsteps matched towards us.
"They are coming to take you away" I told them
Cassidy touched my face again "We are raising a riot online, Night. Don't worry. We will get you out of here."
"That's a promise" Peach added before the guard half dragged her and Cassidy followed reluctantly.
I sat forlorn in my cell. Six weeks. Cassidy had reminded me. I could have avoided Jordan for the next six weeks, finished my program and gone back home to the Black Colony to pretend like nothing happened.
Would I have liked that ending. I shook my head.