Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 103: Before the Apple Ripens

Before dawn had the chance to break, the Belmonts and the Henleys were already inside a carriage bound for Sexton, determined to fix the trouble Caroline had brought upon herself.

But when they arrived, they were made to wait until eleven in the morning. Edmond Mortis, the man in charge of the office, had arrived late.

"Mr. Mortis will see you now," the attendant finally said and Caroline shot to her feet at once.

Inside the office, Mr. Mortis’ gaze settled on Ezekiel standing among the humans and he raised one of his eyebrows. He remarked,

"It is Sunday, Mr. Henley. I would assume you had better use for a holiday like outing outside Sexton."

Ezekiel bowed, the smile on his face tight. He apologised, "Forgive me for troubling you, Mr. Mortis. There has been a little problem—"

"Little problem?" Caroline burst out, her eyes swollen from crying the entire previous day. "These hexed earrings won’t come off. They need to be removed, mister. I wore them for fun. If I knew they would lock like this, I would never have touched them! Please...we need them taken off."

The vampire behind the desk barely reacted. His gaze shifted away from her and returned to Ezekiel instead, while silence filled the room. Before Caroline could continue rambling, Ezekiel caught her wrist gently but firmly, urging her to be quiet. She looked up at him with tearful desperation.

"Mr. Henley," Mr. Mortis called, placing his glasses carefully on the bridge of his nose, "can you explain how you failed to complete the task required of every first year Groundlings?"

"The assignments were given..." Ezekiel replied, exhaustion evident in his tone despite his effort to remain polite. "It appears Ruelle failed to wear them and I didn’t check the result. She often keeps her hair down, which covers her ears and we missed it. It was—"

"I hope you were not attempting to keep Ms. Belmont out of the contract. No one has ever failed the contract from being completed in Sexton’s history," Mr. Mortis interrupted curtly, leaning back in his chair with a faint, disapproving look. "Especially considering she is related to your wife."

Mr. Mortis’ words struck a nerve in Mrs. Belmont. Her eyes widened, suspicion flashing across her face as if this had been Ezekiel’s plan all along after all, as he had once spoken of marrying Ruelle. She glared at Ezekiel and demanded,

"Why didn’t you make her wear it?!"

Mr. Mortis didn’t find it surprising that the student’s very own mother wanted the contract to be fulfilled. When money was involved along with survival, relationship meant very little in this world.

"Were you trying to protect her?" Caroline asked, frowning deeply, confusion and hurt mixing on her face. "But it backfired... I— I’m the one trapped now."

"Like I said," Ezekiel snapped, his composure turning thin, "I never noticed her ears under all that thick blonde hair."

Mortis’ gaze drifted to Mr. Belmont, who stood stiffly with his hands drawn close to his chest and the man looked nothing less than a chicken with its wings resting on the sides. His eyes returned to others and he said at last,

"The earrings can be removed."

Relief flooded Caroline’s face. She stepped forward at once, tilting her head to expose her ear before saying,

"Oh, thank goodness! Then please remove them. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can go back to our lives."

"Mrs. Henley," Mr. Mortis said calmly.

Caroline straightened at once. "Yes?" she asked, a hopeful smile already forming.

"Sexton has its rules. We do not null the contracts simply because someone regrets their decision. You should have thought more carefully before trying them on." His voice remained even, almost polite. "With those earrings on you now, you now belong to Sexton. They can be removed under one condition."

Mr. Belmont’s brows drew together. He asked, "What condition?"

"Ordinarily, young unmarried women are valued far higher," Mortis continued, lifting a hand as if discussing market goods. "However, Mrs. Henley is already married. Her value is reduced, though not void."

Caroline’s smile faltered at the word value. She asked, "S–So... how much? Two hundred gold coins?"

At the back, Mr. Belmont flinched at the number.

Mortis shook his head once and finally said, "Five thousand gold coins."

on them, but that such a number might as

of it settled in. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the desk to steady

tumbling over one another. "We don’t need to

at the end, fragile hope

the woman he had been tricked

them around her throat. Not from rage alone, but from the ruin she dragged behind her. He hadn’t attempted it because Mrs. Belmont would be the

he could raise that sum. But he had no intention of sinking to the Belmonts’ level of being homeless.

regretful. He replied to Caroline, "I don’t believe

widening her eyes. She asked,

Mortis said smoothly as though discussing paperwork rather than a life. "Mrs. Henley will attend Sexton as any other Groundling. You may

in," Mrs. Belmont argued while devastated. But

that you attend your classes and do not fall behind. Failure will place you at the very bottom of the barrel. And I assure

"I trust Mr. Henley will explain the remaining details to

Ezekiel harder than the

were ever tied to June Clifford’s death. The possibility of execution was rare when there was profit to

hoped Mortis would dismiss it with a glare or a warning, a small fine maybe or anything else. But this? Not

out of the picture by placing her necklace near the body. Not knowing she wasn’t just in the picture, but she was

I am, Eze," Caroline said, clutching his arm with trembling fingers. She tried to smile, as though they were facing a minor inconvenience. "Maybe we’ll figure something out. And in the meantime...

a curse laid gently on Ezekiel’s shoulder that

in the Slaters’ mansion, Ruelle who had slipped back into sleep, opened her eyes again when Maude arrived at

faint aches lingered beneath the surface. The housekeeper brushed and tied

her dress sweeping softly across the carpeted floor. Her

"Where is everyone...?"

As if they had been instructed

centre of the instrument room, she couldn’t resist taking a seat

walls, light enough that she almost forgot she was the one making it. She

eyes, her fingers faltered

and he wore a grim

"I—" her words tripped in her mind. "I didn’t mean to disturb. I will stop," she added,

tune?" Lord Azriel asked, his voice deep and his gaze

was little," she replied before silence

used to play it often when she was still alive. It was something she created when

From the portrait she had seen, the lady’s smile and presence was warm. It

circles, for melodies like this to be passed and learned. To fill the space,

last seven seconds are off from its original piece," Lord

must have distorted it with time," Ruelle offered a

She wondered if he was going to ask her to

impossible to ignore. "This place is not gentle to those who linger. And once attention is given here, it is rarely withdrawn. If you hope to leave from here unchanged, you must be careful who

the place, his footsteps echoing

be advice or a warning. Truthfully, his words felt puzzling. Did he think she was trying

visited the library that didn’t hold only books of laws, world or

the leather-bound edges as

her gaze drew to a particular

book. She rested the book against the ladder rung

Minutes passed without her noticing, as she had moved

her skin felt, as if the pages carried a heat. She had spent

at a particular scene as the words she read felt intimate. She was

to read something like that," Lucian’s voice came from behind her, "you should sit.

book in her hands with a sharp thud. Shame rose

things to be caught doing in Lucian’s

climb down, her foot searched blindly for the next rung but this only