The Dragon King's Hated Bride
Chapter 54: Meeting

Chapter 54: Meeting

>>Aelin

"Come on," Ariston said gently, his voice pulling me from my thoughts. "Let’s get you inside."

I turned to look at him. He had an apologetic look in his eyes

I nodded numbly, following him toward the estate. My heart felt heavy, my earlier excitement from the flight now all gone.

Saying he won’t even come to the bedroom in front of other people made me ashamed. Why did it feel like he was pushing me away? Why did it feel like I was nothing more than a duty to him?

I swallowed hard, my hand instinctively reaching for the pendant he’d given me. There were mixed signals from his side and I wasn’t sure how to respond or what to do.

As we entered the estate, I couldn’t help but glance back toward the direction Draegon had gone, hoping—foolishly—that he might turn around and come see me.

But there was no sign of him now.

And as I followed Ariston inside, the doubt and fear in my heart only grew. The silence in the room felt heavy as I sat on the edge of the plush bed, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, trying not to let my thoughts spiral.

Ariston stood near the door, his usual confidence replaced with a rare unease. He cleared his throat, breaking the stillness, but his words didn’t come immediately.

"I—" he started, then stopped, his red eyes flickering toward me before quickly looking away.

I tilted my head, curious but hesitant. "Is something wrong?" I asked softly.

He hesitated, his lips parting as if he was about to say something important, but then he closed them again, pressing them into a thin line.

"I just wanted to say... I’m sorry," he finally said, his voice low.

"For what?" I asked, frowning. Why was he apologizing?

"For-" he paused, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I’m sorry that I can not say it. But I am sorry."

His words caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say, so I nodded, offering him a faint smile. "It’s okay?"

He looked like he wanted to say more—his shoulders were tense, and his hands twitched at his sides. But whatever it was, he didn’t let it out. Instead, he shook his head slightly, muttered something under his breath, and turned away.

The door clicked softly behind him as he left the room, leaving me alone to guard outside.

The hours stretched on, and Draegon didn’t return. I waited, sitting by the window, watching the moon rise higher and higher into the sky. The stars were beautiful, but they couldn’t fill the growing ache in my chest.

Why did he say he wouldn’t come back?

I looked down at my lap, "I should have asked him..." There are many things I should do but when it comes to actually doing it, I can’t pull it off.

My fears clawed their way to the surface, each one louder than the last.

What if he didn’t want to come back? What if he was with someone else? I clenched my hands into fists, trying to push the thoughts away, but they wouldn’t leave me.

By the time dawn began to paint the sky with the faintest hints of light, I hadn’t slept a wink.

***

>>Draegon

The meeting started early in the morning. The round table separated us—demons on one side, humans on the other. Despite the polished civility, the tension was palpable. On their side, Prince Reagan sat at the head of the humans, his sharp features so reminiscent of Aelin’s, yet colder, harsher. On ours, Ariston stood by my side, arms crossed.

"It was the doing of people," Ariston repeated, his tone measured yet unyielding. His gaze swept across the humans before landing on Reagan. "And we need to find those responsible before it’s too late."

Reagan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his piercing blue eyes boring into mine. "People? You’re saying people are responsible for this destruction?"

"Prince Reagan. We’re stating facts. These gates to the Abyss weren’t opened by accident. They were opened deliberately, by individuals who possess knowledge of the rituals. That kind of knowledge doesn’t come from the Abyss monsters—it comes from people." My voice was calm, but I made sure my words carried the weight they needed, "Intelligent beings."

A scoff came from his side of the table. Reagan’s assistant,Glyer, a green-haired man with a monocle, adjusted his glasses with an exaggerated motion. "And how are you so sure?"

Ariston bristled beside me, his eyes narrowing. "I already had my suspicions but we also saw one person open the gate right in front of us. It requires live sacrifices, from what we gathered-" He glanced at me and I spared him a glance, "These live sacrifices are tortured before they are offered to open up the gate." We looked back at the humans

I nodded, "We’re positive that’s what happened in Raki village. No one from that village was found again, meaning all of them were killed to open the gate."

"The gate that opened up was huge." Glyer said

Reagan raised a hand to silence his assistant, but his expression remained skeptical. "If what you’re saying is true, why would anyone want to open the Abyss gates? What’s their goal? Destruction for destruction’s sake?"

"That’s precisely what we’re trying to uncover," I said, keeping my tone firm but neutral. "We don’t know their motive yet, but we do know that the longer we wait to act, the more damage they’ll cause. The Abyss doesn’t discriminate—it’ll devour your lands just as quickly as ours."

A silence fell over the table and it was Reagan who finally broke it, his voice low and measured. "And what do you propose we do about it? You’ve brought the problem to our doorstep—what’s your solution?"

I straightened. "We form specialized teams to track down these people and eliminate them. We need to combine our resources, our intelligence, and our strength if we want to have any chance of stopping this." I paused, "We lack too much information,"

"Lack information?" Reagan folded his arms, "How do I trust you’re not keeping anything from us?"

"Trust works both ways, Prince Reagan," Ariston interjected, "We didn’t open those gates. We’ve been fighting to close them, to protect our lands. If we wanted chaos and death, we wouldn’t be here having this conversation—we’d be letting the Abyss do the work for us."

"It’s pretty clear the demons opened the gate-" Reagan started but I cut him off

"You didn’t fight the war," I glanced at Ariston, "You send people in your stead and all you’re doing now is doubting." I leaned back on the chair I was sitting on, "The least you could do is trust your own war hero."

Ariston’s body tensed as Reagan looked at him.

"Your Highness, we have no proof of who opened the gate." He looked at the prince firmly, "Just because the gate opened in Dravos, doesn’t mean there is any guarantee it won’t open in Heavenmoore next."

Reagan leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. His assistant whispered something in his ear, but he waved him off. After a long, tense pause, he finally nodded. "Fine. Let’s start the operation but any information has to be delivered immediately." He stood up from his chair and so did I

The meeting concluded soon after, with both sides agreeing on the formation of the teams and a rough plan for the search. As the humans began to leave, Reagan turned to me, his expression still guarded but softer now.

"Before we adjourn completely, I’d like to meet with my sister. Alone."

I stiffened, momentarily caught off guard. The request was reasonable, wasn’t it? A brother wanting to see his sister after so long? I nodded, keeping my tone neutral. "Ariston, go get Aelin."

Ariston gave a short bow and left the room, but I couldn’t shake the flicker of unease that had crept into my chest.

"Did you come to visit her in the past two years?" I looked back at the human prince.

"I didn’t," He answered, "There were many things that kept me busy."

I watched him from across the room, his face hard and unreadable, doubt began to creep in. Right. If he had, he would have known how pathetically his sister was being kept. That would have started a dispute.

...

But Aelin wasn’t banned from going back to her home as far as I know. So why didn’t she?

I realized then how little I truly knew about Aelin’s relationship with her family. She’d never spoken about them. Not that we talk often.

I let out a soft defeated sigh.

I left Ariston with her during the night since he’s her bodyguard. I know she’s not comfortable with me being in the same room as her so I had no choice but to leave her with another man even though I don’t like it.

I glanced at the door

It makes me angry that she seems to like Ariston more than me, but I can’t do anything since I am to blame for her fears.

For what I did when I was under the spell and for what my family did while I was gone.

***

>>Aelin

"Princess," Uriel looked a little concerned when she saw my face, "Did you not sleep well last night."

"Yes..." I didn’t sleep at all and was feeling depressed.

"Did the prince come last night?" She smiled, "Is that why?" She tried to lighten the mood

I looked at her and tried to smile. I’m sure she knew that Draegon wasn’t going to come. He said he wasn’t coming in front of so many other demons, "If we spent the night together, I would be in pain." I said softly, "Just like the first time we did it."

"You were in pain?" She was surprised to hear that, "But you looked absolutely fine the next morning."

I paused

I had never thought about it before. I frowned. She’s right. I was in alot of pain when we did it, but when I woke up, I was fine

How?

I blinked at Uriel in confusion, "It was-" I paused. Should I be telling her this? Well, I already told her about the pain, "It was really painful," I decided to say it, "The first time, my whole body hurt."

"Oh," She thought about it, "Prince Draegon must have used a magic stone on you then."

!!!

A magic stone? Magic stones are very rare and expensive though. He used one on me? I looked away as I thought about it.

He must have. How else was I fine the next day?

I clasped my hands together. My Lord! How did I never think about this before? I-

There was a knock on the door that made us both look in that direction

"Come in," I said, knowing it could only be Ariston

The door opened and the moment he stepped through the door, his expression serious, my heart sank like a stone.

"Good afternoon, Princess." He gave me a bow with his hands tied behind his back, "Prince Reagan is asking for you," he said as he straightened up.

But the words struck me like a blow. My throat closed, and the blood drained from my face so quickly that I felt dizzy.

Reagan? My chest constricted.

Reagan is here? And he wants to see me?

WHY!?!?

I don’t want to meet him. My pupils began to shake and I turned my head away.

But how do I get out of this?