Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 50: A Path Crossed Twice

Ruelle’s bruised bare feet hung midair, her pulse pounding in her ears. Lucian’s words were a contrast to the heat of his grip—firm and steady.

"My shoes tore when I was being chased," she said, her voice hoarse, a faint tremour betraying the fear still clinging to her. Remembering the corrupted vampire, she blurted in a rush, "That corrupted vampire is—"

"Is dead," Lucian interrupted flatly.

Her breath caught. Dead? Surely, the creature hadn’t died on its own. And considering they were now alone, it wasn’t difficult to guess who had ended it.

"Can you...let me down now?" she asked finally, her cheeks flushing as embarrassment crept up her neck. For the first time, she noticed the steady rise and fall of Lucian’s chest against her back, the faint brush of his breath near her ear, and the way he carried her effortlessly, as though she weighed no more than air.

"You are injured," Lucian replied abruptly, as though this were unquestionable fact. Without waiting for her argument, he stepped back a pace, lowering her towards the ground with deliberate care, while instructing her, "Point your feet down."

Ruelle wondered if it was to avoid the dirt and mud from sticking to the cuts she had received on her soles. She complied, expecting the harsh bite of the forest floor. Instead, her feet brushed something solid and warm.

Shoes.

Her bare toes curled awkwardly inside the large leather boots. She blinked, glancing down in surprise. Lucian’s shoes.

He was barefoot. He remained utterly unbothered, shifting only to steady her before his red gaze swept the darkened forest, sharp and predatory. Ruelle quickly realised what he’d done.

"I’ll manage without them," she said quietly, already shifting to pull her feet away, embarrassed at the gesture.

Lucian’s gaze snapped back to her, narrowing with an edge of irritation. "Do you plan to bleed through the forest and draw every creature lurking in the shadows?" His tone was blunt with the faint flicker of exasperation in his eyes. "My patience has worn thin, Belmont. Don’t test it. Put your feet back in. Now."

Ruelle froze under his glare, her fingers tightening reflexively around the folds of her gown. Lucian wasn’t shouting—he didn’t need to. His voice alone was enough to drive the point. Begrudgingly, she settled her feet back into his shoes, their size swallowing her own entirely.

"They’re too big for me," she murmured softly, her voice careful and hesitant. The words weren’t meant as a complaint—more like an unspoken invitation for him to take the shoes back. Wearing something so fine while he was left to walk barefoot felt... wrong.

There was a twitch at the corner of Lucian’s jaw, and he remarked, "Perhaps next time you decide to stroll into a vampire soiree uninvited, you should carry a spare shoe along with your terrible judgment. It might save me the trouble."

Ruelle bit the inside of her cheek, the faint sting grounding her as guilt twisted low in her stomach. Twice now—twice—Lucian had pulled her from disaster this evening. The words of gratitude hovered on the tip of her tongue. She glanced down, avoiding his harsh gaze as her lips parted to speak. But he beat her to it.

"What were you even doing there sneaking into a soiree you had no business attending."

"I told you I was accompanying my friends," Ruelle replied. "We, I didn’t think it would turn into this." Running into corrupted vampires was the last thing any of them had expected tonight.

For a moment, Lucian said nothing. The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, the silence broken only by the faint rustle of leaves and the distant sound of fleeing creatures. Then he exhaled sharply, a sound of irritation or resignation—perhaps both.

"You’re fortunate that your foolishness hasn’t cost you your life yet," Lucian remarked finally. "Just because my brother left you to share my room, I have no intention of rescuing you every time you decide to stumble into danger."

raw nerves. She softly said, "I didn’t ask you to rescue

Lucian said, his

his words settled over her like a heavy cloak, and Ruelle looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. The truth of it was

his shoes. She then said,

long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he turned abruptly, his attention shifting back to the darkness. "We need to move. This area isn’t safe because we don’t know who else has gotten bit and if they have drifted this

"The

as though the answer should have been obvious.

oversized boots. Lucian’s presence loomed behind her, silent but impossible to ignore—like a shadow that breathed. Every crunch of leaves or snap of twigs beneath

dense forest. And though Lucian had made Ruelle take the lead, she felt nothing less to a dangling carrot to the

if there were more corrupted vampires lurking in the

her head to glance back, catching the faintest outline of Lucian—calm, composed, and ever watchful. His red eyes glinted faintly in the moonlight, carrying the intensity of a predator’s

corrupted vampires, when

without missing a beat, his tone cool but there was a hint of flicker

shaking her head. She hesitated before asking, "How did the

obvious. His eyes flicked to her, and he added, "Perhaps if you paid attention in class—page thirty-four,

stiffened at the jab, heat creeping up her neck. "I wasn’t falling behind!" she protested quickly, though her voice faltered under his gaze. "I thought the students here were expert in turning humans to

to be turned," Lucian began to explain in a nonchalant tone. "Humans who lack the will to hold vampire blood in them, often lose their minds and their bodies rot with their hearts. But it is also important that the vampire who

heard was true about the vampire’s blood needing to be thicker... What she had heard was everything from her parents and she

Sexton will be held accountable for their actions. They shouldn’t have bothered to turn the

turning humans into vampires had always unsettled her, but now it

then. That humans shouldn’t try

from it. "Because humans are not worth turning. They are weak, fragile, and utterly incapable of understanding what it means to carry our blood. It’s

was contempt towards her kind. She replied,

They endure—barely. They become something caught between two worlds, neither truly human nor truly vampire. It’s pathetic. Take left," he

following his instruction. She finally asked, her voice quiet, "Then why does anyone even allow it? Turning

to refuse. To them, it’s a game, a way to expand their influence or sate their boredom. But the cost—" Lucian’s tone dipped lower, edged with something colder, darker. "The

him. Only Lucian Slater would insult both humans and vampires at a time. She wanted to ask him why he hated her kind with such passion,

you’ll trip again—and I

scowl, staring at the forest path ahead as heat rose to her cheeks. "I

his tone carrying that familiar undercurrent of sarcasm. "If something comes out of the dark, you’re still in front.

Ruelle

joking?" Lucian murmured with an overly calm expression that had Ruelle’s

its domain. They finally arrived by the manor, which now loomed somewhere ahead, a dark, empty shape carved out of the night. Its

the path ahead. Ruelle could hear the faint

appeared through the dark, flickering faintly as though beckoning them closer. The sprites flitted just beyond the treeline, their soft light guiding the pair out

mask back on," Lucian said