Reborn As The Daemon’s Wife - Chapter 124

“I knew you hurt my sister.” Dahlia was the first to glare at Dairon.

He looked at her while still cupping Jasmine’s face. “I’m sorry but can I handle this with Jasmine in private?”

“My sister’s matter is my matter in every way.” She fumed with an eye roll but because she didn’t want to make Jasmine uncomfortable, she brushed past them to Harry and Sophie and let them speak on their own.

Jasmine saw her parents’ worried expressions and patted Dairon on the shoulder. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”

“Jasmine,” Harry was beside her before she could realize it. He grabbed her arm intending to pull her away from Dairon.

“It’s okay, papa. He wouldn’t hurt me.” She reassured him.

She regretted her words when she saw Dairon’s expression. He looked like he was relieved by the trust she had in him, which wasn’t nearly what she was thinking. She was certain that he couldn’t hurt her because it was impossible for him to do so at the moment. She frowned at the overthinking demigod and pulled him away.

They went to the small garden in the backyard and sat on rattan chairs, on opposite sides of a bamboo foldable table. Sophie brought them drinks and pastries as an excuse to check on her and ensure she wouldn’t be hurt by him.

“No one trusts me anymore. Not even Dahlia who had become my greatest fan.” He joked.

She sipped her rose tea with a slight shrug. “If you were in our shoes, would you trust you?”

“I wouldn’t.” He held a cookie between his fingers and was glad that she was willing to have tea with him. It meant a lot even if she was yet to forgive him. To be fair, he didn’t think he deserved her forgiveness either.

“Jas,” He took her hand over the table and held it tightly when she tried to retract it. “Flower, if there is anything I can do to prove my love for you, I’ll gladly do it.”

She forcefully pulled her hand away, nearly causing the tea in her other hand to spill. “Do you think love is a game, Dairon?”

“It’s not. That’s why I’ll do anything to earn your trust.” He swallowed.

“So it’s a court case then. You can lie all you want and twist the truth as long as you can convince the court that what you are saying is pure facts, and you will win the case.” She placed the cup on the table and swatted his hand away when it reached for hers.

“It’s not even about the love or lack thereof.” She frowned. “Answer me this, does the fact that I’m your mate automatically make you mine?”

“What?” His blood ran cold.

She misinterpreted his shock and repeated her question. “Is it possible that my mate is someone else?”

He stared at her for what felt like forever before choosing his words carefully. “Do you hope that I’m not your mate?”

She bit her lip and didn’t know what answer to give so she avoided the question. “The scepter of water revealed that my mate is a water god or demigod. Are you either of those?”

He finally understood what she was getting at. “Are you trying to find out my true identity?”

She didn’t deny it. “I somehow had Catalyah’s memories at some point. I don’t know how it happened.” She swore, in case he thought she had done it on purpose or gone into the past deliberately to learn about his deceased mate.

He nodded in understanding. “Narilia tried to hurt you and putting Catalyah’s memories in your head was part of the plan.”

“Why would Narilia want to hurt me?” She asked but didn’t really need the answer. It was already enough that he didn’t doubt her intentions. She let out a sigh of relief.

“She found out something about you and…” She hesitated before asking the next part which she wasn’t sure of since it had not been shown to her. “…did you kill her for it?”

He remained silent and she became uneasy. Had she pushed it too far?

“Don’t get me wrong. I just filled in what seemed to be the case because… Catalyah once wrote that in her future, she would be killed by a traitor and a fake deity. I guess the traitor was Scarlet. She found out your true identity and rushed to tell King Rian about it. Does that mean you were the fake deity?”

She bit her tongue when she realized that the question sounded worse than she thought. It was as though she was interrogating him with the intention of reprimanding him. She waited for him to say something and when he didn’t, she was more convinced that he was mad at her for being nosy. She wanted to say something to alleviate the situation but nothing could form in her mind.

He reclined in the backrest of his seat while looking at her. “I did not kill Catalyah. At least not deliberately.”

She frowned. “That means you accidentally killed her.”

Her tone made him unable to say a word. Just like everyone else, she was accusing him.

_____

Eight hundred years ago.

“If you are going to kill me, do it fast.” Catalyah demanded. Dairon had been staring at her for what felt like forever and neither said a word nor did anything.

His expression changed and he grabbed her hand. “Shh.”

“Don’t shush me!” She growled, only for him to cover her mouth with his hand. He pulled her to his side and leaned against her ear to whisper, “It’s Ulke.”

She frowned and struggled out of his grip. As soon as the demon left, she glared at him. “How come he didn’t see us? Did you compel him?”

He stepped away from her. “Are you angry that I compelled your husband to be?”

“How can you say such a thing?” She snapped.

“Last I checked, you were betrothed to him and didn’t do anything to protest the marriage.” He stepped farther away from her and unsheathed his sword.

“I can take anything but your betrayal…” He shook his head.

“What right do you have to reprimand me about betrayal? You betrayed me first! I can’t believe that you would two-time my sister and I.” Fireballs formed in both of her hands.

“Don’t spout nonsense.” His brows furrowed.

“I know what happened between you and Narilia.” She complained. He was not surprised by her words but nothing was what it seemed like.

He poured water on her fireballs and made them go off before taking her hand. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”

She was yet to protest when he teleported them to his island. She felt trapped and immediately teleported them back to the bridge.

“What is wrong with you?” He restrained her in his arms with a fierce glare.

“I know who you are. Are you trying to trap me to make sure no one else knows?” She pushed him away with all her strength, which amounted to nothing. He didn’t budge.

“Listen to me.” He stopped speaking when he realized that his sword was now in her hands.

“One of us has to die today. It’s not going to be me, Dairon.”

“That’s not necessary.” He knocked the sword out of her hands using a force of air and she quickly retrieved it.

_____

“She tried to stab me.” Dairon explained to Jasmine. She was taken aback. Who would have expected that Dairon only accidentally killed her for self-defense?

“It’s not what you’re thinking either.” He forced a smile as he dismissed her imagination.

“It’s not?” She was surprised.

Catalyah had a fatal weakness—fury. It got out of control and she couldn’t hear anything I said. All she saw was me trying to kill her and she retaliated with all her strength.

I dodged her attacks as I didn’t want to hurt her but at some point, I saw the traitor behind her.

She panicked when I pointed my sword over her shoulder and threw a fireball at my hand. My sword sliced through her wing.”

Jasmine closed her eyes in pain even though she was neither the one who accidentally stabbed her mate nor the one being stabbed.

Her mind filled with the memory of Catalyah’s final moments. She felt the pain as Catalyah’s wings went ablaze one at a time.

Dairon held her in his arms and cried out in agony as his mate’s life drained out of her. For a while he thought she would heal but he quickly realized that she had two weaknesses; him and her wings. Both of them were fatal. There might have been a chance of survival if her wings were stabbed by someone else but since he was the one who did it, she couldn’t heal even if he teleported her to a different realm.

She hugged his arm to her chest weakly. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I misunderstood you.”

“If you are, don’t leave me.” He pleaded.

“Catalyah!” Lolanthe shrieked as she landed on the bridge with Blaze. The traitor had accused Dairon of intentionally harming Catalyah.