The Dragon King's Hated Bride
Chapter 90: The King’s Ascension

Chapter 90: The King’s Ascension

>>Aelin

I stood beside him, high above the ballroom floor, my hand barely brushing the thick, midnight fabric of his cloak. The stairs beneath us gleamed like black glass, polished obsidian veined with molten gold. Every breath I took echoed in my chest like a warning.

Don’t trip. Don’t faint. Don’t run.

And yet all I could do was stand there—next to Draegon.

He looked like he was born to wear a crown. Well, maybe he was. He was a prince after all. But it wasn’t the same for me, I never thought about standing in this place.

The owl demon floated toward us with terrible grace, his enormous wings fanned out in full span. Each of his silver feathers shimmered like coins caught in a river current. His face, long and unblinking, held the stillness and the scrutiny of a judge. In his clawed hands, he carried the crown—curved black horns set in a circlet of shadowglass, heavy with blood-rubies and edged with firelight.

The silence that fell across the ballroom was total. Even the string quartet had quieted, their bows frozen midair.

I could feel them—hundreds of noble demons lining the grand hall, perched on balconies and lounging on the ballroom couches.Their gazes dragged over me like claws through silk. Whispers curled at the edges of the silence, sharp as razors.

"The human?"

"She can’t be queen."

"Look at her..."

"But She’s the Hero’s wife."

"The Hero needs a better wife then!"

"But demons only marry once!"

"We can have an exception with a human."

Draegon knelt, his crimson cloak fanning around him, and bowed his head. His horns glinted like onyx daggers under the golden chandeliers. He looked powerful. Regal. Untouchable. Like nothing could ever bring him to his knees—except this sacred rite.

The owl demon’s claw hovered, then lowered the crown onto Draegon’s head.

A low pulse of magic thundered through the room like a heartbeat. Draegon rose, slowly, deliberately, and the weight of the crown did not bow him. He turned to face the court, jaw set, violet eyes blazing with ancient fire. His expression was calm, but I knew that look—he was daring them to speak.

Daring them to question his actions. But of course, no one could question him. He took his place rightfully and legally.

I glanced down at my hands, they were still shaking from the enormous amount of magic I had used.

I gulped.

I can’t believe I did that...

The owl demon turned to me. The shadows around his face deepened, his beak twitching slightly. "Kneel." He said but his voice was polite

I hesitated.

Not out of defiance—but fear. My body refused to move, even as my mind screamed at me to obey. Every inch of my skin prickled. My knees felt weak. My lungs were too full of air or not full enough—I couldn’t tell. Every noble demon watched. Waiting. Judging. Some disgusted. Others curious.

I wasn’t like them.

I knew it all too well how odd this was.

I was human. Someone who was sent to Dravos as a sacrifice. For me to become a Queen...

I slowly knelt, the silken folds of my white and gold gown pooling around me. I could feel the marble floor like ice beneath my knees, anchoring me when I thought I might vanish. The owl demon reached into his robes and pulled forth a smaller crown—a delicate diadem shaped like twining ivy and thorns, its silver darkened with age, tipped with tiny black diamonds.

The moment it touched my head, magic surged into me like cold lightning. I knew it was just the crown adjusting to me, but I also knew it was testing me.

Among demons, the strong rule. So the magic in the crown was there to see if I was strong enough.

I didn’t flinch.

I can’t run away from this. I have no other choice. I have to do this!!

I kept my chin high, even as the pressure inside my chest threatened to break me apart.

When I rose to my feet, I felt like a ghost.

Draegon reached for my hand. I took it.

His palm was warm, steady, grounding me. I looked up at him—and for a heartbeat, I forgot the stares, the weight of the crown, the burning tension in my bones. His smile was small but real.

Soft. Just for me.

"You did well," he whispered, low enough that only I could hear.

I tried to smile, but it trembled. "I can’t breathe."

"You’re breathing just fine." He said and I felt the magic in the crown settle down.

The moment passed.

I didn’t break. My heart skipped a beat at the realization that the crown had deemed me strong enough.

It made my skin stand up

Applause erupted around us, though not all of it was genuine. Some clapped with stiff hands, their lips curled in contempt. Others bowed deeply, murmuring praises. But I saw the way they looked at me. Like I was a crack in the foundation.

A human flaw in their perfect demon dynasty.

The ballroom came alive again, glowing with otherworldly opulence. The chandeliers above burst with golden light, casting molten patterns across the white marble. Crystal decanters poured wine the color of spilled garnets, and enchanted instruments began playing a haunting waltz. Everything sparkled—glamour-laced gowns, infernal jewels, smoke curling from silver censers. The air was sweet with incense and power and blood.

And still they watched me.

As Draegon led me down the stairs, every step rang like a bell tolling my fate.

Queen.

I was their queen now, but no matter how beautiful the crown I was wearing was, it felt very heavy.

The music swelled, velvet and slow, as if trying to distract the court from what was truly unfolding. But I couldn’t be distracted—not from them.

I saw them near the bottom of the stairs.

Standing like twin statues of ancient wrath.

Draken and Drakkar.

Tall. Impossibly still. Shrouded in dark finery that matched the shadows curling at their boots. They were posted by one of the great onyx pillars flanking the ballroom, the polished stone reflecting their crimson and golden eyes.

Their eyes on their little brother.

One who had killed their mother just days ago.

I hadn’t seen them since the night it happened—when fire lit the skies and the scent of blood painted etched in the nostrils of every demon present there.

The brothers’ expressions were carved from stone, but I felt their fury. It seeped from their posture, their clenched jaws, the way their gazes locked not on me—but on Draegon. Eyes like twin blades. There was no rage in them. No dramatics. Just pure, icy contempt. The kind of hatred that didn’t scream.

It waited.

My chest tightened, the air suddenly thinner despite the sweet incense in the air. I could feel the pressure swell beneath my ribs, wrapping around my lungs like a vice.

What had we done?

I looked away. Not because I was afraid, but because I could not bear the weight of what lived in their eyes.

I glanced at Draegon. He killed the Queen because of me. Because her words mocked me.

And now his relationship with his brother’s was destroyed.

We reached the center of the ballroom. The crowd parted, making room. It felt like being on stage, under a hundred spotlights, while the wolves circled the edge of the light. Waiting.

Draegon turned to me, his expression unreadable to most—but I saw it. The flicker in his eyes. He had seen them too. He had felt it. The ripples of blood still staining the floor, invisible to everyone but us.

The music shifted.

Low strings, slow and guttural, thrummed through the marble like a living thing. A beat followed—not from drums, but from something deeper. A pulse. A rhythm that came not from instruments, but from the magic sealed into the bones of the ballroom itself.

Draegon stepped in front of me and extended his hand.

I took it—and the moment our fingers touched, the lights dimmed.

A collective inhale swept through the crowd. Then silence.

This was no ordinary dance.

In demon custom, the first dance between king and queen wasn’t a mere celebration.

It was a binding.

A silent vow made before all who ruled or schemed or watched from the shadows.

Draegon pulled me into him, one hand resting lightly at the base of my spine, the other laced with mine. His eyes met mine—not fierce, but burning. Like he was asking, Are you ready?

I wasn’t sure I was.

But I nodded anyway.

We began to move—not in the sweeping motions I’d practiced with my tutors, but in slow, deliberate steps that felt ancient. Each movement followed the thrum of that otherworldly pulse. We turned, circled, stepped together like mirrors—until I felt it.

The heat.

The magic.

It rose from the floor in threads of red and silver, curling up around our ankles like smoke. Binding us. Marking us.

Each step etched invisible runes into the stone beneath our feet. Our shadows twisted, elongated, fusing for a breath—then separating again.

We were dancing inside a spell.

The demons watched in utter silence.

Not one moved. Not one whispered.

Because in this moment, the king and queen were not to be interrupted.

And when Draegon dipped his head, lowering his brow to touch mine, the magic flared—once.

Then faded.

The dance was over.

We stood still, our foreheads pressed together, the air between us still humming with power. I could hear my heartbeat echo in my ears.

He whispered, "It’s done."

And though the magic had stilled, and the court would soon move again. Soon the other demons began to move in to dance but I couldn’t help but turn to look at my guard.

Ariston, who stood alone in a dark corner, his eyes lingering on Drakkar, with a look of slight hurt in them.

"..."

As I turned to leave, I felt the gazes of the demons around me again.

I did my best not to purse my lips and stay dignified, but I could feel I was the Dragon King’s hated bride.

~~Author’s Bullshit

Hello guys. I have an important annoucement to make so make sure to read this all. Many of you commented that you wanted this book to continue and I’m only back because some of you really liked it. So I will continue the book but I have some conditions. You all need to comment on Chapters! You can write anything, from what you think, what you feel like might happen, what you expect to happen. Something you’re anticipating. Anything! But please, comment. I’ll update the Chapters on the basis of how much interaction there is with the newest Chapter! So be sure to write your thoughts and motivate me to keep writing!!