The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 235: Being trained by the demon god.

Chapter 235: Being trained by the demon god.

Reneira stood in the dim corridor of the elder’s building, furiously scrubbing the blood from her hands in the water. Crimson swirled in the basin, vanishing with the water, but never from her memory. Her knuckles were raw, her skin turning pink beneath the relentless washing.

A shadow stretched beside her, and she didn’t need to look to know who it was.

"I’ve been waiting for you, Uncle Agara," she murmured, voice brittle.

He caught her wrist gently. "Stop that. You’re tearing your skin."

She froze, then slumped against the wall, shoulders heavy with grief. "So many died," she said, tears pricking her eyes, heat rising as guilt and sorrow threatened to spill over. "The human armies lost their supplies... if they don’t starve on the road, the cold might take them."

"We don’t know if any will make it home," she added softly.

Agara placed a steadying arm around her shoulders, anchoring her. "Come. We need to talk."

He guided her to a chamber where Kai stood deep in conversation with Siamon. The room was warm, but a weight still clung to the air.

"Wife, you look pale," Kai said, rushing to her side. His fingers found her wrist, checking her pulse as if grounding himself with her presence.

Ren offered him a tired smile, masking the tremble in her limbs. "It took us three days to help them... but some wounds were too deep. We couldn’t save them all."

She didn’t need to say it. They all knew. But the ache in her voice made it new again.

"I can’t forgive this," she whispered. Revenge burned hot in her heart.

Siamon lowered his gaze. "Pirate ships were sighted off the western coast of Ice Land. Rogues and goblins among them. Our generals moved to intercept... but they stopped. Suddenly."

He glanced up, tension in his jaw, ticking.

"It’s because they heard our message," Kai said grimly. "They know I’m still alive. And as long as I live... they can’t touch Reneira."

"Uncle... Did you convince my grandfather? Will he come?" Ren asked, her voice faint, almost childlike in its hope.

Agara exhaled slowly. The Fae King, her grandfather, had long sworn not to meddle in mortal wars. But this time, the war had come for his blood. And Acelieth must be punished in the Fae Realm, his stupid bastard son.

"He will come," Agara replied. "But not with an army. Only himself. Lucieth will aid you in taking down the lords and sorcerers, nothing more."

Kai blinked, surprised. His gaze drifted to his wife, a flicker of realization and concern rising in his expression.

"You asked Lucieth for help?" he asked gently, brushing off a lock of her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Ren nodded. "You were trapped in an unknown realm, and I was pregnant... I had to protect myself. And them. I couldn’t risk waiting."

Her body folded into a chair, too drained to hide the trembling in her limbs. Her legs throbbed, her back burned, and nausea gnawed at her stomach after days soaked in blood and grief.

Back then, she had reached for anyone who might answer her silent plea, and Lucieth had.

Kai knelt before her, taking her cold hands into his. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head slowly. "I’ll be fine. I just want peace."

His fingers tightened around hers. "I’ll give it to you. To you and our children." He hesitated, then asked, "What did Lucieth ask in return?"

Her eyes flickered with pain, but her voice was steady. "That I will never claim the Fae throne, if my grandfather ever chooses to ascend."

Kai let out a relieved breath. Of all the things Lucieth would have demanded, that was one of the kindest.

"This stays between us," Ren wished solidly. "Not a soul can know."

"No worries, my Luna," Siamon assured.

But Ren’s head turned toward Siamon, her expression hardening. "There are worries, Siamon."

Kai’s brows pulled together. "What do you mean, wife?"

She looked up into his eyes, and her hands rose to gently cup his face. "A crow," she whispered. "The day we saved you... I saw a crow watching us. But not an ordinary one. Its eyes were green. Like emeralds. Have you ever seen a crow with green eyes?"

Kai stood abruptly, scooping her into his arms as if trying to protect her from the very memory. "We’ll look into it. But for now, you need sleep."

Reneira didn’t protest when Kai carried her to their room. Her body melted into his arms, but as she rested her ear against his chest for a while, her brow furrowed. This wasn’t a concern that made his heart beat so fast.

"Your heart... it’s racing," she murmured.

Kai gave a casual, crooked smile and gently eased her into the warm water of the wooden bathtub. Steam curled around her like a gentle veil.

"I’m fine," he assured. "Shadow just had to feed on bloodlust. He’s been struggling to suppress it. My heartbeat has increased because of it."

He began undressing her carefully, reverently, as though she was a fragile glass. When he finished and turned to give her privacy, she reached out and caught his hand.

"Hug me," she whispered. "I need you close."

He didn’t hesitate. With a nod, he undressed and stepped into the water beside her. The warmth enveloped them both, easing some of the stiffness from their exhausted bodies.

Kai knelt beside her, washing her gently. He leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder, then let his hand rest on her belly, a quiet gratitude in the gesture.

"Will you establish the Tamers Academy?" he asked softly.

Ren closed her eyes and leaned back against him, the scent of his skin calming the storm inside her. "You saw it... my greatest dream for the future," she whispered. "Yes. I’ve been thinking about it. But I’ll need a female dragon and a female griffin to begin."

Kai chuckled, low and warm. "Gods, wife. Why only those beasts?"

Bringing her right hand above the water, Ren summoned a soft glow of magic, shaping it into a shimmering orb.

"Because," she whispered, watching the colorful light swirl in her palm, "there are so many creatures in the mortal world that could be tamed as guardians. If one day... our souls were to be corrupted, they would be the ones to stop us. To protect this world from us."

Kai stared at her in silence. Her vision wasn’t just about building an academy. She wanted to teach beasts to defend the realms, even from their own creators, if it came to that.

"You’re thinking of taming sea monsters too?" he asked, half in awe, half incredulous.

Ren closed her fingers, and the magic orb vanished with a hiss of light.

"Yes," she said quietly. "But I’m uneducated. And... there’s something I haven’t told you."

Kai stilled. "That doesn’t sound like something I’ll enjoy hearing."

She turned in the water, just enough to meet his gaze. "The only one who can teach me to fully control my power... is someone strong enough to wield it themselves."

His brow lifted, cautious. "And who would that be?"

Ren hesitated, then swallowed hard. "Your father. He’s the only one who holds all seven shades of magic."

Kai froze.

He searched her face, as if trying to find something else, some alternative to what she’d just confessed. But it wasn’t a whim. It was determination. His wife was preparing to walk a path lined with shadows, seeking power not for glory, but for protection. She wanted to be ready for anything.

"No. Not him!" Kai snapped. "Reneira, you’ve seen what he did, to your father, your forefathers... to me."

Ren nodded solemnly. "I have. And that was their mistake, they made oaths with the devil. I won’t. I don’t want him as a chancellor, or an adviser. I want a tutor. Nothing more."

Her voice remained steady, but there was iron beneath it.

"Besides," she added solidly, "I have you. I would never let him poison my soul for his games, or twist me into someone who’d rule this world the way he wants to."

Kai turned away, jaw clenched, and exhaled hard through his nose, frustrated, angry, and afraid. Then his eyes closed, as if he could shut out the very idea.

"Why not ask your grandfather instead?" he asked, not harshly this time, but desperately. "Wouldn’t he be safer?"

Ren shook her head. "His power is... different. He can birth realms, and breathe life into forests and rivers. But he doesn’t tame beasts. He can only spell them, bind them by force or enchantment. And I don’t want that."

Her words were gentle but strong, spoken with conviction. "I want beasts to choose to be part of something. Not being chained to it. I want them to choose."

She didn’t add the rest, but it lingered between them like a held breath. And I don’t want to be near Lucieth more than I must or mess with him. Not at all.

"You cannot go to the underworld and my father wouldn’t come here to train you."

"I know," Ren replied calmly. "That’s why he gave me a mirror. He’ll teach me through the Hall of Mirrors, in a space that he would make in the dreamland for me."

Kai pressed his forehead to her shoulder, voice low with quiet urgency. "Wife... you don’t have to do this. Maybe we don’t even need that academy."

Ren bit her lower lip, the ache in her chest rising again. "We do. If we truly want peace, we must educate the next generation. We have to make them strong, not just with power, but with purpose. Because peace is the greatest legacy we can give."

Later, Kai lay beside her on the bed, holding her through the silence. He drifted to sleep for a few hours. When he woke, she was caught in a dream, her brow damp with sweat, her breaths uneven. He could feel the magic humming in the air around her.

He knew he could step into that dream, and glimpse the training his father was giving her. But he didn’t. He couldn’t face him. Not after what he’d done to Azrael. Not after chaining his own son to the Underworld... just to save him.

I may not see Azrael again for centuries, Kai thought, his chest tightening as the weight of guilt settled in.

Before, at least he had known where Az was. Now, his brother was wandering, lonely, wounded, bearing the curse of love, and the burden of a sacrifice Kai never asked for. He would be punished by the gods for manipulating the future too.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.