The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 81: You cannot let her die.

Chapter 81: You cannot let her die.

~*~ Hours earlier, Kaisun’s study

Agara materialized in the room, confronted by utter chaos. Kai thrashed about like a feral beast, smashing and hurling aside anything within his reach. Blood seeped from a gash on his arm, dripping steadily from his fingertips to the ruined floor beneath.

"Damn you! What happened? How did he lose control?"

At Agara’s voice, Kai whipped his head around, eyes blazing with an inferno of barely restrained fury, his sweat-drenched face recalling the darkness of the old days, so vividly cruel, it chilled Agara’s blood.

"Give me the poison," Kai growled loudly, "before I feed on you."

"Shadow!" Agara swore, quickly pulling a vial from his cloak and extending it toward Kai. The black liquid inside sloshed ominously as Kai snatched it from his grip, ripping out the cork without hesitation. One sharp swallow and the poison scorched his tongue like molten iron. Immediately, dizziness overwhelmed him, blurring Agara’s figure into a wavering shadow. His grip tightened desperately on the table’s edge, fingers splintering the wood.

Agara moved closer, concern etched deep into his features, but Kai halted him with a guttural snarl. "No! I can bear it."

His cousin cursed softly, frustration and confusion tangled within him, charring his stomach, "Let me heal you."

"I can heal myself," Kai hissed, his voice strained, low, and hazardous.

He felt Shadow receding slowly, not fighting against him, clawing and raging to quench his thirst. It had happened so swiftly, so violently, that Agara could only grasp at a single dark suspicion: Shadow was resisting the impulse to feed. But why? What in the depths of hell had provoked the Lord of Shadow to such madness, to push him this close to utter ruin? To this far extent?

The poison was a remedy crafted by Anarya herself, a bitter toxic tonic designed specifically to weaken Shadow, quelling its voracious hunger for lust and malevolence. The concoction forced the beast into slumber, a temporary redemption from its savage impulses. Shadow despised Kai for resorting to such measures, yet even it recognized the threat it posed to Ren, aware that its longing would inevitably target her love for him. For the first time, Kai and his demon had struck an uneasy truce, for her sake alone.

As Kai’s breathing steadied, the deep wound along his arm knitted shut, flesh rapidly mending itself.

"I’m fine now. You can go," Kai muttered wearily, staggering to the couch before collapsing onto it, limbs heavy and drained.

But Agara stayed rooted in place, leaning defiantly against the table’s splintered edge. "You’re losing control. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me exactly what the hell is going on. Were you about to kill your wife?"

Kai swallowed painfully, his throat tight and raw, eyes darkened with torment.

"I was close," he admitted hoarsely. "I need more poison. Leave a few vials here. I’ll come for them myself."

"I’ll have to brew more," Agara said slowly, skepticism sharpening his gaze. "But there’s something else wrong here. Merely sleeping with women wouldn’t push you this far."

Kai closed his eyes, releasing a deep, anguished sigh. "No. I never suffered like this before because I never loved any woman, until now."

Agara’s eyes narrowed, realization dawning. "Do you actually love someone?" He didn’t need to speak her name aloud.

Reneira.

How had this demon—this merciless lord of shadows—fallen for anyone, let alone a human woman? Could Kai truly harbor such vulnerability?

"Is she your fated mate?" Agara straightened abruptly, unease rippling down his spine while ice rushed through his veins.

"She is," Kai responded bitterly, his voice edged with frost.

"Then let her go," Agara urged. "I can take her to the Fae realm and persuade my father to shelter her. There, no human can exploit her powers."

Kai’s eyes snapped open instantly, blazing with deadly violent wrath. "How dare you suggest that? She belongs to me—only me."

Agara scrutinized him, from his wild gaze to the towel loosely draped around his waist. "Look at yourself!" he hissed, frustration flaring inside him. "You’ve lost control so completely you couldn’t even dress before coming here. You’ve gone mad! Release the poor girl before she falls irrevocably in love with you—before she willingly gives herself up, begging for death."

His tone grew painfully earnest, imploring Kai to see reason. "Ren isn’t like us. She’s different. She risks her life to save others, even when it’s not her duty. She actually cares but we watch others death."

Kai shot upward, rage exploding through his veins. In an instant, he seized Agara by the collar, slamming him violently against the wall. His jaw clenched tight, and through gritted teeth, he snarled, warning, "Keep your damn opinions to yourself. Shadow is fighting with everything it has to protect her. Sending her anywhere else would be delivering her straight to Lutherieth. She’s my wife. You know me better than anyone; without her, I’d reduce this world to ashes. If not now, soon enough. My father wants me back in his realm, and I will return, but only to defeat and defy him. He will never claim my loyalty, and he’ll never take what’s mine. Not. My. Fucking. love."

Agara’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Your love?" His gaze shifted to Kai’s chest, recognizing the fierce rhythm pounding within this demon’s heart. "You...you’re truly in love!"

"Yes," Kai admitted sternly, releasing Agara’s collar and stepping back, weariness settling upon his shoulders. "That was the deal. And you were right, Agara. I spoke with Benkin."

Agara’s expression sharpened, anticipation mingling with dread. "What did he say? Why is Lutherieth hunting your wife?"

"Like his ancestors before him, Benkin bargained with my father. I misjudged him. Beneath his arrogance, his heart was as frail as any mortal’s, filthy and fragile. He sold himself to my father in exchange for power, my father was the one who gave Sunkiath to him..."

Kai recounted the chilling truths, the secret pact between King Benkin and the demon god. With every revelation, Agara’s composure fractured further, rare anger blazing in his normally calm eyes. He never lost his temper easily but this was dissimilar to any other circumstances. By the time Kai finished, Agara’s strength gave way, and he sank to his knees, overwhelmed, and shocked. For nineteen long years, he’d blamed his father for dismissing Anarya’s love for a mortal man, not even allowing her to say the man’s name. Only now did he grasp the full, bitter weight of his father’s decision.

"She is my niece..." Agara’s voice trembled with anguish. From the first moment he saw Reneira, he’d sensed something achingly familiar, like a distant echo of Anarya. And that necklace, the ancient Gar heirloom which was passed down through generations, rested now upon Reneira’s neck. Those engraved runes concealed a secret truth, one she’d yet to uncover. That must be her own mother’s hidden message.

Kai remained silent, allowing Agara to have the space to grapple with the staggering truth. He understood perfectly the turmoil that surged within his cousin’s heart.

"I knew she couldn’t be simply human, not wielding my sister’s power," Agara whispered, grief and awe mingling in his voice. "She can tame griffins, just like Anarya..."

Anarya had been a treasure to the Fae; a beacon of rare purity and kindness. No other like her had been born since today, someone who was gifted with such extraordinary magic. She had shielded humanity from destruction countless times. How could someone so pure, so powerful, have been reduced to mere ashes? What sinister force had dared extinguish her flame?

Kai’s voice hardened with quiet menace. "I wanted to kill Benkin myself, but we still need him to banish Lutherieth back to the depths of the underworld. Afterward, I’ll deliver him to your father. He’ll answer for every betrayal. Now, I understand why he never wanted to see my uncle. That coward was afraid of him."

Agara barely heard him, his voice weakening to a desperate plea. "You cannot let Reneira die."

Resolutely, Kai extended his hand toward his fallen cousin. "She won’t because I won’t let that happen. I’ll kill anyone who dares lay eyes on her."

Agara met his gaze, witnessing the fierce determination blazing there. Without reticence, he grasped Kai’s arm tightly, sealing an unbreakable bond. "Then I stand with you until my very last breath, brother."

He lost the chance to protect his sister, he let her go and didn’t follow her only because his father would have gotten angry. The Fae King said Anarya would come back but her ash returned. Agara wouldn’t let her daughter fall into the hands of that asshole Luther.

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