Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65: 65-From My Experience

Helanie:

The chaos finally ended, and we sat down for the exam. I hadn’t realized it would be a verbal examination.

Each of us was given five questions, and whoever scored the highest would come in first. The first round focused on herbs and plants, and to my surprise, the others weren’t doing so well. Most of them barely managed to answer three out of five questions correctly, except for Salem, who scored four. Now it was my turn.

Kaye returned to my seat, his eyes lingering on my notebook for a moment before he shook his head and resumed the examination. He began asking me questions, and I nailed four of them. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the fifth one right. Now, it was a tie between Salem and me.

I had already passed the exam, but I wanted to score the highest, so I was thrilled about the tie-breaker round.

"Both of you, come here and stand in front of everyone," Emmet instructed, gesturing at a spot before the group.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might faint. Salem looked confident, while Kaye had been watching me intently. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of question he’d ask. Knowing the brothers well, I suspected that Norman had probably whispered something ridiculous to Kaye, just to throw me off and make me lose.

They had a quick exchange when they saw Salem and me tied.

"The question is..." Kaye announced, his eyes shifting briefly from me to Salem before returning to me, "Which rose induces a profound coma and dream-like hallucinations?"

The second he said it, I sprang to my feet, ready to answer.

"Pink!" Salem shouted first, but she was wrong.

"Kaye turned to me, almost demanding that I answer. "Helanie?"

"It’s the purple rose—the one that traps its victim in a prison of dreams," I replied confidently. As I spoke, I noticed a faint smile on Kaye’s lips, as though he had chosen that question on purpose.

The defeated look on Salem’s face was satisfying to see. I turned to the crowd, catching Lucy and Gavin giving me a thumbs-up, though Sydney had her arms folded tightly over her chest. Naturally, she wasn’t pleased. Lamar, on the other hand, kept his expression neutral.

"Congratulations—" Emmet began, flashing his usual charming smile, but before he could finish, Norman and Maximus exchanged a look and shook their heads.

"These two have done a great job. How about we give Salem one more question? If she can’t answer and Helanie does, only then will we make a final decision. This time, I’ll ask the question." I knew Norman wasn’t thrilled about me taking the lead.

"Ask them the toughest question you can come up with. Whoever answers first and correctly will be the winner," Norman stated. Kaye closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. I could feel my nerves mounting.

We returned to our seats, and this time it was Emmet who had prepared a set of questions related to weapons. He began firing them off in a fast-paced, quiz-style format, forcing us to answer quickly. I did my best, racing to keep up with each question until we reached the final one. Whoever answered this last question correctly would be declared the winner.

I wanted this victory so badly.

Glancing over Emmet’s shoulder, I noticed the brothers arguing in the background. It was clear that Norman was frustrated. But Kaye caught my eye and gave me an encouraging nod, urging me to stay focused. Then, looking back at Emmet, I realized he was pausing slightly, making sure I was ready. I returned his gaze with a small nod of my own.

At that, Emmet proceeded to give us the final question.

"What mark does a weapon touched by a devil have?" he asked, his voice steady. Immediately, I recalled a conversation with Maximus about weapon markings. This was how I’d managed to score so well, but now I needed to get this last answer right.

Without hesitation, I shot to my feet and answered, loud and clear, "A bone-like pattern!"

The defeated look on Norman’s face confirmed my victory. With a proud and cheerful smile, Emmet declared, "Helanie got it right."