Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Ruelle felt pain seep into her skin and her bones, like frost spreading across a windowpane. It made everything heavy and her limbs refused to move.

She felt like she was stuck in a nightmare while the world had turned muffled, as though she were submerged in deep water. People were still screaming in panic even though the ground had stopped shaking.

Her hands were still pressed uselessly to Lachlan's head, where warm blood continued to coat her fingers. She could feel the heat leaving him, and yet she didn't dare move her fingers to his throat. As if her very sanity would crumble if she found him dead too.

Meanwhile, Peyton finally managed to emerge from beneath the pile of people who had fallen over her. Her head whipped left and right as she searched frantically for Ruelle and the others.

And maybe the vampiress would have found them, if Ruelle and Lachlan hadn't collapsed on the ground and people hadn't covered them. Believing they weren't near the harbour, she made her way away from where Ruelle was.

Back where Ruelle was, she saw Ezekiel, who looked exactly like her right now, extend his hand towards her, palm open, and say,

"Come, Ruelle." Ezekiel wore a smile and stated, "I have been waiting for you to come. But it's alright, now that I have co—"

"You killed them. Dane—and Lachlan… they didn't deserve this," Ruelle whispered, tears falling as she let go of Lachlan's head. The grief that had frozen her began to melt beneath the rage taking over her.

Ezekiel let out a tired sigh. He stated, "We have the rest of our lives to argue, Ruelle. Though I'd rather we didn't spend all of them doing it. Let's go."

"I am not yours. I was never yours and I will never be," she said clearly as she placed her bloody hands on the ground. "You killed people I love and care for. You should bury yourself before you even think about me."

At her words, Ezekiel's smile faltered. He stared at her as though she had spoken in a language he didn't understand.

"I know you don't mean that." His jaw tightened.

"I do."

Ezekiel's smile finally died.

Something shifted behind his eyes and his face twisted into something colder. It was an expression the real Ruelle could never bring.

"You should have taken my hand while I was still offering it kindly," he said, his voice dropping to a low growl. And the next moment he lunged at her.

But Ruelle had anticipated this.

Suddenly, a dark, thorned vine ripped through the already broken ground and curled around his wrist. When Ezekiel raised his other hand, another vine wrapped around it, binding both his hands together. He tried to pull back, to tear himself free, but the vine only tightened, black thorns digging into his flesh until drops of blood streaked down the sleeve of his dress.

Some more came like serpents, curling around his ankles and moving in circles, so he tripped and fell on the ground. A pained grunt tore from his throat but he didn't stop moving.

"You need to pay for your sins, Ezekiel." Ruelle scrambled away from him before she stood up.

Ezekiel laughed even though he was bleeding. He stared at her and said, "This is all your fault, Ruelle. But you don't see me blaming you, do you?"

Could he hear what he was saying right now? Ruelle stared at him in disbelief. "Every choice you made, you did it on your own. Not me."

But he only shook his head. Instead of continuing it, he said, "Take these off of me, Ruelle. We can speak without it."

How had they not seen this before?

Ezekiel Henley had been polite and kind when they first met. The kind of man who blended so seamlessly into the background that one would not think he had a bad bone in him. Her first memory with him had been a kind one... But this was who he was.

Ruelle took a step back and then another.

Though her vines held him, she noticed them starting to snap as if they were breaking under pressure. He said, "Do you think I am some man who doesn't know his way, Ruelle? We are perfect for each other, you will see."

Knowing it wasn't safe to be here, Ruelle turned and ran as fast as she could. She would return to Dane and Lachlan, but right now before things could get worse, she had to get out of there! Instead of taking the alleys, she ran through the crowd that was yet to calm down.

On the way, Dane and Lachlan's memories flooded her and she wiped her cheeks.

How far was the courthouse from here? She wondered without looking back. She doubted she could reach there or Lucian could get here when he was unaware of what had occurred. Her throat burned while her boots moved against the broken cobblestones, each step sending a jarring shock through her legs.

Claude. Where was he?

But she couldn't find him or any other carriage. They must have been moved somewhere safer when the ground began to shake.

Back near the harbour, Peyton finally found Ruelle or who she believed was Ruelle with blood staining the sleeves of her dress. She was about to ask what happened when she caught sight of Lachlan on the ground and then a hand buried under the rubble.

"It's all Ezekiel's fault—" the girl choked, a sob escaping her lips, "I tried, but he used my face and ran in that direction."

The vampiress's face turned rigid. She said, "Stay here, I will—"

"I will come with you! Ezekiel shouldn't be that far away," the young woman pressed.

Peyton nodded before they moved from there, while the vampiress in the shock of seeing two of the men dead, had failed to realise the Ruelle who was accompanying her was not the real one.

When they came around the corner, Peyton caught the back that belonged to the other Ruelle, who was looking around the place. Without wasting a moment, she picked up a log of wood and swung it right at the young woman's head.

But the actual Ruelle caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned to see Peyton. For a second, relief flickered in her eyes—until she saw Ezekiel standing behind the vampiress.

"...!"

The next second, the blow landed just behind Ruelle's temple, and the young woman fell unconscious.

Peyton grabbed a nearby rope before lifting the unconscious Ruelle and carrying her towards the nearest carriage. She said to the coachman,

"We will be using this carriage on the court's official orders."

Putting the unconscious Ruelle on the seat, the vampiress got to tying the human's legs together and then hands. As if to make sure, she pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around her mouth.

"Stay here but don't go near him. He can't harm you with his limbs restrained," Peyton instructed with a frown. "I will get Claude…I ran into him a moment before finding you. I'll be back in a minute."

The younger woman nodded while covering her lips with a handkerchief.

When Peyton left in haste, the false Ruelle lowered her hand and a smile spread across her lips.

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