The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 97: Lavish Nightmare III

Chapter 97: Lavish Nightmare III

The maiden snorted and made her way toward her small red Griffin. "You kept calling yourself Reneira D’Orient. Wrote all sorts of things down, then suddenly locked them in your chest. Don’t you remember that?"

A chill skittered down the princess’s spine. Reneira D’Orient. How could she have claimed such a name?

The D’Orient family was a royal line from the human realm, one that hadn’t birthed a daughter since the death of Princess Seraphina. The princess had read the records herself. That bloodline was sealed in tragedy. The fact was undeniable in their case.

She cast a glance back toward the hill where the black Dracon still stood, silent and unmoving. He hadn’t left. He wasn’t lying. That much, at least, was clear.

"I’m sorry, my dear," she murmured. She pressed hard, trying to drag memories from the fog, but her mind remained blank. And she couldn’t trust that big giant too.

They flew back to the mansion under a dusky sky, and she released Finna to enjoy her evening hunt. But the Dracon... remained on the hill, watching.

After dinner, she slipped quietly into her chambers. The room felt colder than usual, although the fire still burned. She moved to her desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out the silver chest where she kept her most important things. Her fingers trembled as she unlocked it.

Inside, there was a notebook, nestled beneath folded letters and worn parchment.

She opened it and stilled like a frozen blade. The first sentence was scrawled in her own hand, stark and urgent:

"When you read this, all the memories are gone. You are trapped in the dreamland. Find the truth and get out. Don’t trust Azrael."

She was so consumed by her most wanting desire to tame a griffin and healing power that she stopped writing her diary.

This overwhelming fact jolted her backward, and the notebook slipped from her grasp, thudding softly against the floor. For a moment, she just stared at it like a motionless doll. Then, as if waking from a dream, she knelt to retrieve it, her fingers trembling as she flipped through the pages. Day 1. Day 2. On and on... until Day 40—where the writing stopped. She had been chasing the truth, and somewhere along the way, lost it for her most lovely desires.

Clutching the notebook tightly, she hurried to the window, unlatching it with haste. The cool air rushed in as she slipped out, running toward the hill. Her breath came in sharp bursts by the time she reached the summit, where the Dracon still stood, unwavering. He was patient indeed.

"I wrote this," she gasped, holding up the pages. "This is my handwriting. But why can’t I remember any of it?"

In response, the Dracon dissolved into a swirling cloud of shadow, reshaping, first a silhouette, then a man.

A devastatingly handsome man.

Her heart skipped, then stumbled, then raced, thundering wildly inside her chest. If ever there was someone she could fall for... it was him.

Kai’s lips curved in amusement at her stunned expression.

"Azrael brought you here," he said gently, "because he uncovered a truth about you, one you don’t yet see. And he won’t let you leave until you find it. That is my fault."

He stepped closer, his voice humble as his hand rose to gently brush her cheek but changed his mind and dropped his hand.

"What if I never find it?" she whispered.

"You’ll remain trapped in this place," he said, this hint lingering with sorrow. "And I won’t be able to take you back. You’ll become an offering to my father."

His words struck like cold iron. Then Kai began to speak, truly speak, and with every truth he laid bare, her world trembled. The things he revealed were too vivid, too raw to be fabrications. Each word rang with a strange familiarity, shattering her roots of stance, unmistakable. Deep within her, something stirred. This was real. She knew it.

"What is the truth I have to find?" she asked, her voice barely a breath.

Kai’s eyes closed as his jaw tightened. He didn’t want to say it. But he had no choice, he had to break the illusion, tear the veil from this foolish dream.

She was reliving her mother’s youth. These golden halls, the summer mansion, the Griffins, none of it belonged to her present. They were fragments of another person’s life, another time. Her mother had once walked these paths, trained within these walls. She had been barely a hundred years old when they sent her here and was deemed strong enough to tame a griffin.

"Anarya Al-Gathiran is your true mother," he expressed softly, not to provoke her. If darkness smeared her soul, his father would take her immediately. "She fled the Fae realm after falling in love with King Benkin D’Orient. They married in secret, and with Sunkiath’s help, they escaped. You are their daughter, Reneira."

He paused, his voice breaking just slightly. "I’m sorry it has to come out this way, my love. I’ve just discovered it, lately."

He kept it brief. The truth, sharp and simple, was all it would take to unravel the dream, especially when Azrael came to confront her. His gaze lifted to the sky, heavy with resignation. His time here was ending. He couldn’t stay, couldn’t pull her out. She would have to face this trial on her own.

"What...?" The word barely left her lips before the world tilted. A high-pitched whistle rang in her ears as memories came crashing down, fierce, resentful, a tidal wave surging into her mind.

Storm clouds churned violently across the sky as the man before her sight dissolved into smoke, diving back into shadow.

"You’ve finally remembered who you are," a voice drawled behind her.

Azrael.

"Took longer than I predicted!" He held the notebook in one hand, twirling it carelessly as a sly smirk tugged at his lips. Ren turned, her eyes brimming with tears, her chest caving with grief. "I loved you," she whispered, voice cracking. "Like a brother. How could you pretend so easily?"

Azrael’s smile faltered. He hated how his heart reacted to her pain. Now he understood why his cold-hearted brother had fallen for this hybrid. She wasn’t just powerful, she was dangerous. She could shatter a demon from the inside out.

"I had a mission," he said curtly. "I gave you a challenge. And now you’ve cheated. Should I punish you?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺