Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 24: One failed subject

Ruelle pulled out her book, placing it gently on her lap, though her attention was far from the open pages before her. She couldn’t help but glance at Ezekiel, who was currently engaged in a hushed conversation with their instructor, Gemma. Why now? Why here?

Ezekiel had never mentioned working at Sexton. As far as she knew, her family wasn’t aware of it either. He had spoken before about working for vampires in high society, but never did it cross her mind that his work would involve being an assistant teacher in a Seduction Techniques class.

"You girls fawn over every instructor," Kevin muttered under his breath, breaking into her thoughts.

"Oh, hush! There’s no harm in admiring something good-looking," Hailey chimed in, nudging Ruelle with a knowing smile. "Even Ruelle thinks he’s handsome."

But Ruelle’s eyes were on Ezekiel for different reasons. Her mind flashed back to the night he had hugged her behind the bell tower. No, don’t think about it, she told herself. There was no need to dwell on it. No one had seen, and it was a memory best left buried.

"As I mentioned last week," Gemma’s voice rang out, drawing attention back to the front of the room. "Your task for the first week was to observe your partner and document their characteristics—observe, analyse, and present your findings. We’ll now review your answers before moving forward." She clapped her hands, commanding the room’s attention.

As Gemma called on the first students to present, their words floated around Ruelle without truly registering.

"Miss Clifford, share with us what you have gathered," the head instructor said after a few students had taken their turn.

only she knew that

Gemma," June began, before casting a quick glance

smaller, he might be more appealing, but it’s hard

Ruelle, exchanged wide-eyed glances. There was nothing kind in what June had

remained impassive. "Interesting observations, Miss Clifford. There’s only one problem," she said, stepping closer to June with a smile. "Your partner isn’t Marcus. If I recall correctly, your partner

froze, her cheeks flushing with

the air was palpable as Gemma

earlier confidence rapidly crumbling. "I—I can explain.

the notebook to June. "I’m afraid this is unacceptable. Not only did you fail to complete the

and horror evident on her face. None of them had expected such a simple task to carry such consequences. They realised their performance in these assignments

had heard before that students could only afford to fail two subjects before risking their place

all of you," Gemma said, her tone never losing its composure. "This is Sexton. When you are given a task, you

was just about completing the assignment, but now I see her as a friend. She’s thoughtful and never hesitates to share her knowledge to help others. She listens more than she speaks, which

feel exposed to people. On the other hand, Ezekiel stared at Kevin with a false smile as the young