Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203: A Mother’s Blessing

Once Ruelle arrived at the Slaters’ mansion with others, Edward was led away to his room by Maude, while she and Lucian paid a visit to her stepmother and Caroline. Her stepmother looked no better than she did this morning, while Caroline looked like she could finally walk without throwing up.

Returning to their room, Ruelle removed the black dress she had worn to the funeral. Pulling a fresh dress over her shoulders, she sat down before the mirror.

The room was peaceful as if she hadn’t returned from burying a man.

Sitting in front of the mirror, she lifted the hairbrush almost absentmindedly.

One slow stroke and then another. She paused midway through brushing her hair when she remembered what Carnifex said about Lia. Sylvan could have easily pushed Lia as Ruelle and no one would have known...

The quiet sound of footsteps behind her gently pulled her away from the thought and she looked up to find Lucian standing behind her. Their eyes met in the mirror and he said, "Allow me."

Before she could answer, he took the brush from her hand.

"Did Carnifex say something to upset you?" He asked as she watched his reflection. His hand gathered a section of her hair carefully, almost as though afraid of pulling it, before drawing the brush through it in one smooth stroke.

"No... he didn’t say anything like that," Ruelle replied, slightly embarrassed that he brushed her hair far more gently than she ever did herself. She said, "It felt like he wants to make amends... or maybe I am just reading into it."

"Do you want him to make amends?" Lucian asked. The soft sound of bristles passing through her hair filled the room and she found it soothing.

"Are you going to... knock him out too if he doesn’t want to?" Ruelle teased him and she saw the smile ghost on his lips.

"I can if that is what you want." Upon Lucian’s answer, she shook her head. She saw a small smile appear on his lips. "Let me know when you want to visit him and I will send a word."

"Alright," Ruelle’s words were quiet.

Her eyes wandered back to the mirror almost on their own.

Lucian’s attention remained entirely on what he was doing. His expression hadn’t changed. There was something comforting about watching someone so composed perform something so ordinary with such care.

"You have changed me out of my clothes. Now brushed my hair," Ruelle acknowledged it out loud. "I want to do it too," came her earnest words.

"Ruelle."

Just hearing her name in his voice made something quietly flutter beneath her ribs. She noticed him looking at her through the mirror.

"Hm?"

"I want to take you somewhere."

"...okay," the answer escaped from her lips without much thought.

When he finally placed the brush back upon the vanity, he reached for her coat hanging nearby. She instinctively raised her arms, allowing him to help her into it. His fingers adjusted the collar before wrapping the scarf loosely around her neck, making sure it covered her properly against the cold.

When they stepped outside the mansion, instead of walking towards the waiting carriages, Lucian led her through the gardens where the winter flowers swayed gently from the breeze.

She realised they weren’t leaving the estate.

It was an unusual hour to take a walk.

The afternoon had long slipped into evening, the last traces of sunlight filtering through the bare branches while the air carried the crisp bite of winter. Their footsteps crunched softly against the path.

"I visited my stepmother," she said, her voice sounding softer against the crunch their shoes made against the path. "She asked whether Aunt Imogen had come to see her after the funeral."

The truth was that the woman hadn’t been informed. It had been a private moment with how the body had turned out to be.

Ruelle remembered her stepmother and Caroline’s confusion after seeing the scars back on her. Neither of them had questioned her directly, yet she had noticed the hesitation in their eyes and the confirmation had later come from Lucian.

"Imogen has been placed under arrest. Her house carried ingredients commonly used by witches and with Harold’s death, it was easier," Lucian’s calm voice drew her attention back to the present.

Last night in the bed, Lucian had asked her if her aunt had witnessed her being beaten. And her silence was all he needed as confirmation.

His hand found hers almost naturally. His fingers intertwined with hers so effortlessly that she barely noticed the moment it happened. He continued,

"Arrangements have already been made for Mrs. Belmont and Caroline to relocate farther south once they’re well enough to travel. That is if they both behave."

Finding out she was never part of the Belmonts’ family, neither by blood nor by attachment, made it easier to let things go for good. Lucian had broken her father’s hands and then killed him, while he continued to stay civil with her stepmother. She wondered if it was because the subject in question was a woman.

When they finally came to a stop, Ruelle realised where Lucian had brought her.

Before them stood a black marble headstone, polished so carefully that even beneath the fading light its surface reflected the silhouettes of the surrounding trees.

Irina Slater, the engraving read.

A single red rose rested against the stone, fresh enough that tiny droplets of water still clung to its petals. A sign that someone had been here earlier.

Lucian walked towards the grave without another word. The wind moved quietly through the trees overhead, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and winter leaves, while the red rose resting against the black marble swayed gently before becoming still again.

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