Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216: A Different Kind of Remedy

When Ruelle’s eyelids fluttered open, she was greeted by the light that filtered through the curtains. But as the fog of sleep cleared from her mind, she felt the soreness of her body.

Memory soon rushed back like a flood and her face reddened.

One more. That was what Lucian had whispered in the dark hours and Ruelle had gone along. But one had soon blurred into two until her senses had turned into a puddled mush. She had clung tightly to his shoulders, her body trembling beneath him unable to distinguish where her own skin ended and Lucian’s heat began. Eventually, exhausted to her very core and thoroughly loved, she had fallen asleep in his arms.

When she was about to shift, Ruelle felt the familiar warmth of Lucian’s arm wrapped around her waist now. She realised that her skin was clean and dry. Did he clean her while she was asleep?

Before the embarrassment could fully take root, she felt him press his lips on her shoulder.

"Sleep some more," Lucian said, his voice lower and softer than the one he used with everyone else.

Ruelle turned in his arms to find him watching her. He leaned in, his nose brushing against hers, which brought a sweet smile on her lips.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice raspy and hoarse from the night before, which only made her face burn hotter.

"It is close to noon," Lucian answered, pulling her close to him and when her eyebrows furrowed slightly, he asked, "Does it hurt? I am sorry, I lost control."

"That’s alright. You don’t need to apologise for it," Ruelle answered before her hand reached out to gently trace Lucian’s cheekbone. Last night, she had been an equal participant and there was nothing she didn’t like from what he offered her. She moved closer to him and said, "I do feel sore... but I am happy."

Hearing those words, Lucian’s eyes softened and he leaned down, resting his forehead gently against hers as his arm tightened around her waist.

Ruelle had always thought something like this was reserved strictly for after marriage. Somewhere she had also believed that Lucian intended to withhold himself until their wedding night. But last night, all sense of restraint had blurred into urgent desire. They had sought each other out and despite the whirlwind of it all, she found she did not regret a single moment. After all, they had already decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

As the lingering tingle finally began to settle beneath her skin, a sudden, mortifying thought struck her, and her eyes widened.

"What happened?" Lucian asked.

"Last night..." Ruelle started, her voice faltering. "Is there any chance... people heard it?"

She hadn’t considered the possibility, and the longer she dwelled on it, the more the embarrassment climbed.

"My father’s room is on the other side of the mansion," Lucian replied smoothly, his fingertips trailing a slow, deliberate path up the delicate curve of her spine. "And though Dane’s room is on this floor, I believe he was elsewhere last night, far too occupied to pay any attention to us and the others don’t have that good of a hearing."

Ruelle buried her face in his chest, hoping that was true.

The room was quiet and peaceful. She wished mornings could always begin this way.

They lingered in bed a while longer, wrapped in the last quiet moments of the morning, before finally getting ready and making their way downstairs to join the others for lunch. The corridor was bathed in the soft light of midday as they walked.

"I was thinking," Ruelle began, glancing up at Lucian as they walked side by side, "that we should visit people’s houses. This way, we could also discreetly search to see if the remaining mirror is hidden somewhere among their belongings. What do you think?"

Lucian considered her words for a moment and he finally answered,

"It could be done. We could arrange a soiree here at the mansion," Lucian said. But after a moment, his expression grew more serious, and he added, "You do know that finding the other piece of the mirror means you will lose the one you currently have?"

Lucian was right, Ruelle thought grimly to herself. The small shard passed down by her mother was the easiest way to sense the larger mirror’s presence. The moment the fragment sensed its other half nearby, the pull between them would become too strong to resist and the larger piece would draw the smaller one to it, and the shard she carried would simply vanish from her hand forever.

"Hopefully, it is with an agreeable owner," Ruelle said with a small smile, and her eyebrows furrowed in quiet thought. "One who would be willing to part with it easily enough," she muttered.

"Hopefully one who doesn’t know the use of it," Lucian replied, his tone edged with a quiet gravity. Because the mirror, whole and unified once more, was far too dangerous a thing to leave in careless or ambitious hands.

And though she had come up with the plan, she didn’t know how long it would take them to visit the Elite families. But what if they wouldn’t find it there? What if it were moved away from where they lived? No, thought Ruelle. The pieces must be close, considering how many years had passed.

"When the time is right, you will find it," Lucian stated, meeting her gaze, and Ruelle nodded. "We will meet your mother."

Her lips pursed, and she said, "I know I’ve already told you this but I feel terrible for breaking your vial."

Lucian watched her carefully as she spoke, his wine-red eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her feel as though he were drinking in every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. He responded to this,

"Sometimes things do not happen for a reason. But sometimes perhaps the time simply wasn’t right."

How could he say that so calmly? She would use the one she had to reach out to her mother, while he wouldn’t and the thought sat heavily in her chest.

Then she heard him speak again, "It simply happens that the woman I chose can bring the dead back to life."

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