The Dragon King's Hated Bride
Chapter 75: Worshippers

Chapter 75: Worshippers

>>Aelin

Ariston stiffened at the question, his expression hardening as he met Draegon’s gaze.

"I have no involvement with Drakkar," he said firmly. His tone was sharp, almost defensive.

I studied his face, searching for any flicker of hesitation. Then I glanced at Draegon, wondering why he even asked a question like that. I wanted to ask about it but before I could say anything, Ariston scoffed. "There is no way a demon would fall for a human."

!!!

The words cut deeper than I expected.

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

I wasn’t sure why it hit me so hard. Maybe because I was human, standing in the heart of a demon palace, married to their prince. Maybe because Ariston said it so dismissively, like the very idea was impossible, laughable.

Draegon’s gaze darkened, his tail flicking behind him once. "I never said anything about falling for a demon," he said smoothly.

Ariston’s entire face turned red.

His mouth opened, then closed, before he quickly averted his eyes. "That’s—That’s not what I meant," he stammered.

Draegon raised a brow, waiting.

"I simply meant that your statement was outright ridiculous. A human and demon are no match-" He froze as he looked at me but my attention was already elsewhere.

Right, it’s all a matter of duties. And I and Draegon have duties to perform too. I should be glad that he’s treating me very kindly

"Wait!" Ariston stepped towards me, "I take back what I said," I looked at him, "Princess, I was referring to myself and Drakkar and ’THAT’ idea is ridiculous."

I chuckled at his words, "It’s okay, Ariston. Your words do make sense," My gaze dropped

"No, they do not," Draegon answered immediately, making both of us look at him.

"What?" I whispered

"How can one say something like this when it has never been done before?" He asked

"That’s right!" Ariston agreed immediately, then looked at me, "Your marriage is different! A demon and a human might just be the perfect match!"

"Ariston," Draegon put a hand between me and him, then backed him off, "Have Drakkar and Draken come to meet me secretly at night." He had made Ariston take several steps away from me and Ariston let him do it.

***

The meeting room was dimly lit by a chandelier that cast a golden glow over the long obsidian table. The walls were adorned with dark velvet drapes, the deep crimson fabric adding to the solemnity of the space. Shelves lined the sides of the room, filled with scrolls and documents, remnants of meetings past. A single window allowed the faintest trace of moonlight to slip through, cutting through the heavy atmosphere that hung in the air.

Draegon stood at the head of the table, his arms crossed as he waited for his brothers to settle into their seats. Drakkar took the seat directly across from him, his gaze sharp as ever, while Drakenleaned back into his chair, fingers tapping against the armrest impatiently.

The silence stretched between them for a moment before Drakkar spoke first, his voice calm but firm.

"I know you’ve been sneaking around all day," he said, resting his arms on the table. His eyes never left Draegon’s. "Ever since you came back, you’ve been acting suspicious."

Draegon didn’t flinch. "You’re right."

Draken, who had been silent up until now, shifted in his seat. "What’s going on?" he asked, his voice edged with concern. "What did you find?"

Draegon exhaled slowly. "The Abyss creature I fought in the forest..." He lifted his gaze to meet theirs. "It was Ruoxy."

The room stilled.

Drakkar and Ariston exchanged a look, and though neither of them seemed completely shocked, there was still a flicker of surprise in their expressions.

"...We suspected as much," Draken admitted after a pause, adjusting his posture. "After we learned that the workers never actually burned her body."

Draegon narrowed his eyes. "So you knew?"

"We had our doubts," Drakkar clarified. "We weren’t sure if it was her, but after hearing what happened, it made sense." He leaned forward slightly, brows furrowing. "But that still doesn’t explain how. You burned her core in the basement. We saw it ourselves."

Ariston nodded. "The heart you crushed, that looked like the core."

Draegon’s jaw tightened. "It wasn’t her core."

Drakkar’s brows shot up slightly, but he said nothing, waiting for Draegon to elaborate.

"Her real core was in her leg." Draegon’s voice was grim. "That’s why she survived."

Silence fell upon the room once again as the weight of his words sank in.

Drakkar exhaled, rubbing his temple. "No wonder she came back."

Right

Ariston had explained to me before about it. To kill the creatures of the Abyss their core had to be burned. That’s how they die, and then they have to incinerate the bodies because that was the only way to take care of the dead bodies.

Otherwise the dead bodies would start to rot everything around it too.

"Draegon," I called his name and he looked at me, "We didn’t burn Ruoxy’s body though..."

"Right," He nodded, "I’ll go back myself and burn it." He said, then looked back at me, "Why don’t you explain about how we won against Ruoxy."

!!!

"Me?" I pointed at myself

"Yes," He made me take the spotlight, making me stand in his place, "Aelin’s power is far greater than any other magic I’ve seen."

I gulped, I wasn’t sure what to say but the good thing was there were only four people looking at me and not a full crowd.

"Just explain what happened," Ariston said, "That will be enough."

I gulped, then nodded at him

***

Whew!

I managed to tell them everything and now all the men were pondering on my words.

"That really is incredible power," Draken said, "To be able to locate the core with your magic, that would mean an immediate win."

"Moreover your flames are like their mortal enemy." Ariston added.

"But you said you used a different spell for Ruoxy?" Drakkar asked

I nodded, "Yes," I paused and clasped my hands next to my chest, "There was this thing that kept bothering me."

"What thing?" Draegon leaned towards me a little.

"You all always say that the monsters you fought in the war weren’t intelligent. Yet Ruoxy was different."

!!!

My words made everyone get more alert.

"And?" Draegon asked.

"And," I hesitated

"Go on," He said softly

"When I read the book, it talked about two types of darknesses." I gulped, feeling the gazes on me, "There are those born from the darkness and those who crave it." My words made them all frown, "It said that those who crave it bring it forth."

"Ah!" Ariston stood up from his seat and everyone looked at him, "I get it! I knew it!"

Everyone looked at Ariston, "You get what?" Drakkar asked

Ariston looked at the second prince, "None of the monsters were intelligent but somehow Ruoxy was. It simply means Ruoxy is not an abyss monster, but rather a worshipper of the Abyss."

!!!??

His bold words shocked everyone but it also made sense to everyone. Yet it didn’t stop the question from coming

"Worshipper?" Draken raised his brow, "Why use that word?"

"Because only people fanatic enough to worship the abyss would want to open it." He answered, "It explains why the gate came into being in the first place."

"It still doesn’t explain why they’re opening the gate," Drakkar asked and Ariston averted his gaze to think

"There is most likely something they are getting out of it." Ariston whispered.

"What?" Draken asked and Ariston took his time to answer, in the time not looking at anyone.

"If we consider that Ruoxy was a normal demon but has powers similar to Abyss monsters, it’s pretty obvious she somehow harnessed the power of Abyss."

Silence took over the place. Draken was the first to speak, "That actually answers a lot of questions," He looked at Ariston, "It’s a very plausible theory."

"But how could one harness the Abyss’s power?" Drakkar eyed Ariston but Ariston looked away.

"How would I know?" Ariston answered

Draegon’s purple eyes gleamed under the dim chandelier light as he leaned forward, pressing his palms against the obsidian table.

"Before I say anything else," Draegon said, his voice low but commanding, "I need you all to make sure this doesn’t get out. I didn’t speak about this in front of everyone for a reason."

Drakkar’s expression hardened. "Because you don’t want the other party to get alerted."

Draegon nodded. "Exactly."

Ariston’s fingers drummed against the polished table, his sharp red eyes narrowing. "And what is it that you found that requires this level of secrecy?"

Draegon let the silence stretch for a moment before he finally spoke. "Ruoxy," he paused, gauging their reactions before continuing, "She was after Aelin."

Both Drakkar and Ariston stiffened.

Drakkar’s face darkened, his claws digging into the wood of the chair as he leaned forward. "What?"

Draken exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Draegon, do you understand what you’re saying?"

Draegon nodded grimly. "I do."

Ariston frowned, as if trying to process the weight of Draegon’s words. "That doesn’t make sense. Why her?"

"Because," Draegon said, his voice like steel, "Aelin has a power no one has ever seen before." The words hung heavily in the air, "A power to finish them off fast."

"By saying ’after her’, do you mean she wanted to kill her?" Ariston asked

"No," Draegon replied, "As far as I noticed Ruoxy wanted to kidnap Aelin."

"Why?" Drakkar added, "Kidnap the person who can kill her?"

Ariston inhaled deeply, rubbing his forehead. "What if they want to offer her?"

Draegon’s face turned even paler, his hands clenching into fists. "You mean—"

Ariston looked at them both. "What if they’re planning to sacrifice Aelin for something even greater?"

Silence slammed into the room.

The air turned heavy, suffocating, as the implications of Ariston’s words settled in. Draegon’s claws dug into the table, his fury barely restrained, "Elaborate," He demanded.

"Maybe," Ariston said, his voice barely above a whisper, "offering her would mean opening an even bigger gate."