Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 214

Chapter 214: The Wound on Her Back

When the curtains finally closed upon the half-undressed performers, Ruelle’s cheeks still burned. The performers had left little to the imagination, something she hadn’t been educated about in the past.

"Shall we leave? Or do you want to sit for the next one?" Lucian asked in a calm voice, while Ruelle didn’t trust her voice to utter a word.

"Leave," she swallowed, her eyes meeting his only for a second before she looked away.

When they stepped out into the corridor, Ruelle noticed that only a handful of patrons were leaving. Most gallery doors remained firmly shut, as though the performance had merely encouraged its audience to continue what had begun upon the stage.

The path was lit with fewer flames than when they had entered, as if to preserve the mood. When they finally reached the path to the stairs down, Ruelle’s eyes fell on Dane and for a moment it looked like he was carrying a pile of coats over his shoulder. But the closer he moved, her eyebrows furrowed before her eyes widened.

"What happened to Brother Lachlan?" Ruelle asked, the warmth lingering in her cheeks slowly beginning to fade.

Her eyes settled on her cousin, who was completely limp over Dane’s shoulder now with her cousin’s arms hanging behind. The entire scene made him resemble nothing more than a sack of potatoes being carried home. She moved closer to make sure he was still breathing and heard Dane chuckle.

"He is fine," Dane replied, catching the look on her face before it could deepen. A pleasant smile rested upon his lips. "He found the wine to be rather persuasive and a better company than what was shown on the stage."

"Oh..." Ruelle remembered Lucian’s warning. Even now, there remained a faint, pleasant haze in the back of her mind, though it had never grown strong enough to knock her out.

She had been worried about facing him. After all, she was the one who suggested he attend it with everyone. If the performance had truly overwhelmed him to this extent, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to face him once he woke.

Perhaps... it would be better if she quietly slipped away and returned to the Slaters’ Mansion without meeting anyone right now. The mere thought of facing them made her embarrassed.

Before they could leave, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed softly through the corridor.

A woman appeared from the opposite end. She was a vampiress dressed in a deep green gown that hugged her figure elegantly, while emerald earrings caught what little candlelight remained in the dim corridor. The moment her eyes landed on the Slater brothers, and then Ruelle standing beside him, a knowing smile slowly curved upon her lips.

"Good evening, and congratulations on your engagement," she said, offering a graceful bow. Her gaze lingered on Ruelle for a heartbeat longer than was comfortable before returning to Lucian. "To think Lucian Slater has finally chosen a lady and such a beautiful one at that. I shall be sure to send a gift worthy of the occasion."

"That is thoughtful of you, Lady Monroe," Lucian’s voice stayed same. His arm settled more firmly around Ruelle’s waist before he bowed his head ever so slightly. "My fiancee is tired. Excuse us."

Without waiting for another response, he guided Ruelle past the vampiress, his pace never slowing. Only after Ruelle and Lucian had turned the corner and the theatre grew brighter once more did Ruelle ask,

"Who was she?"

"She is the daughter of Council Minister Andrew Monroe." As they continued walking towards the entrance, he added, "The Monroe family is older than ours. They have remained one of the kingdom’s pillars for generations."

"A good family?" Ruelle asked, her thoughts still carrying the pleasant haze left behind by the wine.

Lucian was silent for a brief moment and he then answered, "Almost grey. It would be best if you kept your distance from Lady Monroe in the future. She hosts private soirees."

Ruelle looked curious about it, and he continued, "The kind attended by people whose interests extend well beyond what you witnessed on the stage tonight. And it doesn’t matter if a person is married or not."

Ruelle’s cheeks immediately warmed again. "Oh..."

Back in the corridor, Lady Monroe watched the couple disappear from sight before turning her attention to the only Slater who remained.

"It has been quite some time since you last accepted one of my invitations. People have been asking after you," she remarked, her smile never wavering.

"Wedding preparations have a way of stealing one’s time. Busy, busy," Dane replied lazily, shifting Lachlan’s weight on his shoulder with surprising ease.

Lady Monroe’s laughter came softly. She remarked, "You make it sound as though you are the groom."

"Someone has to make sure my little brother reaches the altar."

The vampiress smiled knowingly, tiling her head, she said, "You’ve always been terribly devoted to him. You never did allow us to extend an invitation to him, when women were eager to meet him."

"You wound me, Lady Monroe. Was my company truly that disappointing?" Dane rested a hand against his chest, though his smile only widened.

"Hardly," the woman responded, and her eyes lingered on him. "But I have learnt that one Slater is considerably more difficult to persuade than the other."

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. Lady Monroe’s gaze slowly drifted towards the unconscious human resting over Dane’s shoulder. Curiosity fell over her expression on noticing the flushed face over the pale skin and brown, straight hair dangling. She questioned,

"And who might this be?"

"A guest," Dane responded, noticing the vampiress turning more intrigued.

"How interesting," her smile deepened as her eyes didn’t hide the curiosity she carried about the human. She said, "You should bring him with you after the wedding. He is quite the looker even if smaller built."

Lady Monroe stepped closer, her hand slowly reaching towards Lachlan’s face. But before her fingertips could brush his skin, Dane caught her wrist. The smile on his lips never disappeared.

"I wouldn’t."

Lady Monroe lowered her eyes to where his hand held her wrist. One corner of her lips pulled and she replied,

"How unusual. You have no issue with others touching your playthings, but it seems your guest is far more precious."

Dane merely smiled. He clarified, "That was with their consent. It would be rude to do anything without his permission. I should go now. Lovely talking to you, Lady Monroe," he offered a slight bow and walked away from there.

Outside the theatre, Claude brought the Slaters’ carriage around and stood patiently beside it with the door held open. Ruelle got in first and by then Dane had arrived, who helped settle her unconscious cousin inside. Lucian followed soon after, while Dane chose to accompany them, leaving the carriage he had arrived in for Angelina, who had yet to leave the theatre.

Before long, the carriage rolled away from the theatre.

The rhythmic clatter of the wheels against the road and the steady beat of the horses’ hooves filled the nightly silence. Outside, the forest slipped past the windows in darkness, interrupted only by the occasional light from the lanterns hanging on the carriage.

After some time, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.

Ruelle looked up from where she sat beside Lucian, her brows knitting together. They had not travelled nearly far enough to have reached the Slaters’ Mansion.

"What happened, Claude?" Dane asked, already turning towards the window.

Claude leaned slightly from his seat before answering, "It appears the carriage carrying Master Sawyer and His Highness has broken down." He then raised his voice towards the coachman standing beside the stranded carriage. "What happened?"

By then, Lucian had already stepped down, followed by Dane and Ruelle. The cool night air greeted them as they made their way towards the stranded carriage. The front wheel had split apart, while the horses were missing.

Lucian’s gaze instinctively shifted to his older brother and Dane chuckled.

"Brother, to think I have earned such confidence," Dane hummed, clicking his tongue, and Lucian only stared at him. They both had the habit of meddling with carriages and it was a subtle way to handle things.

Ruelle’s eyes moved between the two brothers before settling on Dane. She asked, "How many times have you done something like this to be suspected?"

Dane appeared to consider the question, before he answered, "Just a few times. When it is necessary. For instance, when your stepmother and sister doubted you were a witch."

"That was rather helpful," Ruelle admitted, though she couldn’t help adding, "Even if it was somewhat dangerous."

"Right," the smile on Dane’s lips deepened ever so slightly.

The coachman lowered his head apologetically.

"The wheel struck a stone hidden beneath the road, sire. It was covered with snow and I failed to notice it in time. After His Highness departed, I managed to find the missing carriage bolt and repaired the wheel, but it appears the wheel had weakened."

The corners of Dane’s lips curved ever so slightly. He said, "To think an honest man would be doubted. Life has a peculiar sense of humour, doesn’t it?"

The coachman looked at him with sympathy and quickly nodded as if those words were for him. He agreed, "It does, Master Dane."

"But where is everyone?" Ruelle asked.

"His Highness, Master Sawyer and the young ladies rode into the town, milady," the coachman replied with another respectful bow.

He hesitated for the briefest moment.

As a halfling, his hearing had been keen enough to catch the frightened screams that had echoed through the forest earlier. He still had little idea what had taken place, only that His Highness had, at one point, drawn a silver pistol before ordering him not to speak of it. Remembering the prince’s instructions, the coachman quietly swallowed the rest of the story.

Dane glanced towards the road leading into the town and he murmured, "Perhaps they discovered what the theatre truly had to offer."

Ruelle turned to look in the other direction. Lucian, however, paid the remark no attention. His gaze swept across the dark forest before returning to the coachman. He then instructed,

"Ride with us. We’ll send someone back for the carriage later."

"Yes, sire."

Far from the forest, the horses thundered into the neighbouring town before finally coming to a halt outside the physician’s residence. Everyone dismounted in haste, while Caroline could barely steady herself as Hailey helped her down from the horse.

"How are you feeling, Caroline?" Sawyer asked the human, whose breath grew shallower with every passing moment, the thought of turning into an infected vampire began to haunt her.

"Am I going to die?" Caroline asked him.

Sawyer gave a nod, "Yes. People don’t take kindly to corrupted vampires. Lucian just turned out lucky, but the rest? Immediate death. Can you imagine the entire society wanting you dead?"

Hailey didn’t interrupt them, as she couldn’t help being worried about how the evening had turned out to be.

Edward went ahead and knocked on the door. He demanded, "Open it."

"If you are a patient," came an irritated voice from the other side of the closed door, "the physician will see you tomorrow. As you can plainly read on the notice outside, the working hours are—"

BANG! The physician let out a startled cry as the bullet tore through the wooden sign hanging beside the door, sending splinters scattering across the porch. The door flew open almost immediately and the physician demanded,

"What do you think you are doing?!"

Edward stood on the doorstep, lowering the silver pistol with an impatient expression. "Now there is no sign," he said flatly.

When the physician realised it was the prince, he quickly lowered his head and greeted, "Y-Your Highness..."

"Forgive the introduction," Sawyer said pleasantly, stepping forward before Edward could speak again. "We find ourselves in rather unfortunate circumstances," saying it, he turned towards Caroline. "She was bit by a corrupted vampire and—"

Just those words were enough for the physician to stiffen and look at Caroline with wariness and disdain. As if she were an untouchable. And Caroline couldn’t help but feel as if a rock had been tied around her stomach that suddenly weighed it down.

"—if you would be so kind as to examine our patient," Sawyer finished speaking.

"What are you hesitating for?" Edward questioned raising his gun, which was enough for the physician to respond,

"Please bring her inside."

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