Claimed by the Prince of Darkness

So her mother had seen that Lucian was destined to kill her and decided the best solution was to ensure Ruelle ended up marrying him instead, who would come to protect her. She didn't know whether her mother had been clever or had a peculiar sense of humour.

In some way, she was still alive and it was a win. But the weight of another change to restore the balance now hung over her head.

"I haven't had any other premonitions until now," Ruelle said softly. And she doubted what she experienced today could be considered one.

"It isn't always necessary that a witch's daughter acquire the same ability as the mother," Carnifex let her know and it only increased her worry.

"Did my mother ever tell you what abilities she possessed? Apart from the premonitions," Ruelle asked him.

Carnifex nodded, answering her, "She could alter memories. Make people forget certain things or distort what they remembered. But it didn't work on pureblooded vampires."

Ruelle couldn't help but be amazed by just hearing it. Compared to that, all she could so far was grow plants... and her ability felt underwhelming.

"But the stronger the ability, the greater the toll it takes on the body. Constant use can drain a witch's life force," Carnifex explained as if he could read her face.

At those words, she felt Lucian's gaze fall on her. Carnifex revealed,

"When I saw Mira again several years later, at Sylvan's estate, she wasn't the same and had grown weaker. It is difficult enough for a witch to live undetected among vampires. And to do so within the household of a pureblooded vampire is another matter entirely. She must have used her ability frequently to distort the memories of those around her and keep them from discovering what she was. It may have been what caused her health to deteriorate."

As his words settled somewhere deep inside Ruelle, it dawned on her that everything she had heard since a child was false. Neither was Harold Belmont her father nor did she steal her mother's life. She had carried that guilt for almost her entire life, accepting it as something that belonged to her.

Ruelle lowered her eyes, blinking away the moisture that had begun to gather there.

The more she learned about her mother, the lighter she felt. Knowing how much her mother had loved her and how much she had been protected was enough to fill a space inside Ruelle that had remained empty all these years.

Compared to what her mother had endured, growing flowers and grass seemed almost harmless. At least, Ruelle hoped it was.

Then remembering something, she asked, "Do you know about the box my mother left for me?"

Carnifex frowned slightly, before responding, "I don't believe I do." His expression turned thoughtful before continuing, "Though your mother and I shared an affection for one another, Mira was always a mysterious woman. You could say it was one of her more alluring qualities."

It was strange hearing someone speak about her mother as someone who was once loved. It was because her... Harold Belmont, he refused to talk about her deceased mother.

Lucian explained from beside her, "Ruelle's mother left her a piece of a mirror. It appears to belong to something larger. We were hoping you might know where to find it."

"Are you talking about the Mirror Portal?" Carnifex asked, his eyebrows rising.

"I think so..." Ruelle replied.

Carnifex leaned back in his seat, appearing genuinely surprised by this. He said,

"I had no idea your mother was in possession of a fragment. If I'm not mistaken, it has been years since anyone has laid eyes on one."

Ruelle's curiosity grew. "You know what it is?"

"Know of it," Carnifex corrected. "The Mirror Portal is considered little more than a myth now. It is said that the mirror may be shattered into a hundred pieces and scatter them across the world, but every fragment will remain drawn to the others. And all of them together form a passage. In the past, countless mirrors were deliberately broken in hopes of finding it. Of course, most shattered nothing more than ordinary glass. It is more than a means of speaking with the dead. With the right offering and the right words, the mirror becomes a passage. It allows the living to cross through to the other side."

"Then does that mean whoever possesses a piece will eventually be drawn towards the others?" Ruelle asked, her curiosity growing.

"There could be more than two fragments," Lucian pointed out. "If the mirror was shattered into several pieces, they may have fallen into the possession of different people."

Carnifex nodded. "Indeed. Though considering how much time has passed, I imagine most of the fragments have already found their way back to one another."

If only there were an easier way to locate the mirror, thought Ruelle. During her time with her parents in the Belmonts' new residence, she had tried to use the mirror to find the rest of it, but nothing had worked.

"There is one way to sense it," Carnifex said, drawing both their attention. "Carry the broken piece with you wherever you go. If another fragment is nearby, yours is bound to respond. Every piece of that mirror seeks to return to the others and complete itself."

That could be possible, Ruelle thought. Perhaps one day she would come across another piece. If not now, then several years from now. There was no telling when it would happen, but at least now she knew to keep the fragment close.

"It sounds as though your mother left the fragment with you so that, one day, the two of you might see each other again," Carnifex said and his words left a faint ache in Ruelle's chest.

Her mother had done so much for her, yet Ruelle, knowing none of this, had already decided for Lucian to see Lady Irina. She had thought he deserved the chance to see Lady Irina again far more than she needed to meet a woman who had always been a stranger to her.

But right now, her mother didn't feel quite so much like a stranger anymore.

"I understand that this is difficult to believe, and no excuse can make up for everything that happened," Carnifex said, his voice trailing off slightly with his eyebrows tightly knitted. Ruelle felt something tighten in her chest at the regret she heard there. "I only wish I could have broken the news to you in a better way."

His eyes shifted towards Lucian, narrowing ever so slightly at the man who had unceremoniously made him reveal the truth in the first place.

Lucian appeared entirely unbothered by the silent accusation.

"It's alright." Ruelle shook her head gently. "You didn't even know I was your..." She hesitated. The word still felt foreign on her tongue, as it had only been two days since she had discovered the truth, and she had spent eighteen years believing another man to be her father.

"...daughter."

It wasn't Ruelle or Carnifex who said it, but the person at the door, Lady Amelia.

Ruelle hadn't expected the woman to appear now. She heard the woman say, "I don't believe there is an easy way to break such news," the vampiress remarked. "Especially when one is eighteen years late." Her gaze then shifted to Ruelle before she asked, "Would you like me to show you around the mansion?"

A few minutes later, Ruelle found herself walking beside Lady Amelia through one of the mansion's long corridors. Their footsteps echoed softly against the stone, and after the silence stretched for a little too long, Ruelle filled the silence by saying,

"It is a beautiful mansion, Lady Amelia. It looks much older than the Slater mansion."

Lady Amelia smiled. "It was built four centuries ago. None of the generations that followed have changed much of it, so most of what you see has been preserved." Her eyes moved briefly across the corridor. "Though I wouldn't say it is quite as impressive as the glass house at the Slater mansion."

Ruelle smiled at the comparison. They walked a little farther before Lady Amelia spoke again,

"You don't need to feel awkward around me, Ruelle. I hope you don't mind me addressing you by your name."

"It is fine," Ruelle replied with a small smile.

Lady Amelia's smile softened and she said, "I don't know how much you've been told, but your father and I, we didn't marry for love. Our marriage was arranged by our parents, and neither of us had much choice in the matter. So, whatever thoughts that have been troubling you since you arrived, you may put them to rest. I can tell you are still trying to understand it as are we."

Ruelle was grateful for the woman's transparent words. Even among high-standing families, where marriages were often arranged for wealth or position, Ruelle knew it didn't mean husbands and wives were entirely indifferent when their partner's affections belonged to someone else.

"I was surprised when I first learned about you two nights ago. Carnifex, your father doesn't speak things openly but I realised something was wrong when he finished eating the entire jar of biscuits. It's what he does when something is bothering him," Lady Amelia chuckled softly at the thought. "And as surprising as the news was, it is still wonderful. I hold no ill will towards you. Nor towards your father for still carrying affection for your mother after all these years."

Ruelle's eyes shifted towards her.

Lady Amelia's expression remained peaceful as she continued walking. The vampiress continued speaking,

"We have both loved other people. We both know what it is to have one's heart belong somewhere it cannot remain." A faint, almost wistful smile touched the woman's lips. "Perhaps that understanding is the reason our marriage has lasted as long as it has."

"Excuse me for asking, but... didn't you ever want children?" Ruelle asked hesitantly.

Lady Amelia appeared to give the question some thought, her gaze growing distant as they continued down the corridor. "I would have, had the opportunity presented itself," there was a faint sadness underneath her words. "The man I loved was human. When my parents discovered our relationship, they had him killed, and I was married to your father soon after."

Ruelle's footsteps faltered at this and she apologised,

"I'm sorry..." She hadn't expected the woman to reveal something so painful, much less speak of it with such calmness.

"It was a very long time ago," Lady Amelia offered her a smile. Ruelle heard the vampiress say,

"Perhaps what you and Lucian have begun will mean fewer people have their love taken from them simply because one of them is different than the other." The vampiress studied Ruelle's face with her keen red eyes, saying, "You look like your mother. The same hair. The same eyes. She was a beautiful woman."

Before Ruelle could respond to it, a maid approached them carrying a small box. She handed it to Lady Amelia with a bow before quietly taking her leave.

"Is your wedding gown ready?" Lady Amelia asked where they had paused near a window.

"It should be in its final stages and be sent to the mansion soon," Ruelle replied, though her eyes had already drifted curiously towards the box.

Lady Amelia extended it towards her and said, "Then you should give this to the seamstress working on it."

Ruelle looked at the vampiress questioningly before accepting the box with both hands. She wondered what could possibly be inside it. When she opened the lid of the box, she found a neatly folded handkerchief resting inside it.

"It belonged to your mother," Lady Amelia informed her. Ruelle's fingers paused against the edge of the box and she looked up to meet the woman's gaze, who said, "I thought you might want to carry something of hers with you on your wedding day."