The Dragon King's Hated Bride
Chapter 98: The Dilemma Of A Daughter

Chapter 98: The Dilemma Of A Daughter

>>Aelin

The room buzzed quietly with the sound of rustling silk, whispered instructions, and the faint clink of crystal perfume bottles. I sat before the tall mirror in the dressing chamber, but my eyes didn’t really focus on the reflection.

I was lost in thought—adrift in my own sea of worry.

My father was coming.

And not just as a ghost from my past, but as a ruler, a political figure. He would walk through these gilded demon halls and see the life I now lived. I hadn’t seen him in years, hadn’t heard a word from him since I was handed over like a treaty offering.

What would he see when he looked at me?

A stranger? A daughter? A queen?

I didn’t know.

He always believed I would amount to nothing and being a peace offering was the most I could do.

Would he be proud to see I was a Queen now?

I barely noticed the way the maids fluttered around me, styling my hair, applying makeup with delicate brushes. They had plucked a strange vial from one of the low shelves—a stardust oil, they’d called it. It shimmered on my skin wherever it touched, a subtle glow that made my cheekbones catch the light like polished pearl.

My lips were painted a shade of deep wine, not the timid pinks I’d worn back in the human court. The color was bold. Decisive. My eyes had been darkened at the corners with smudges of violet and black, a smoky finish that made them look larger, more dangerous. More... powerful.

I didn’t even realize they were done until one of the sheep-demon maids stepped back, hands clasped before her, and said, "Your Majesty. We’re done,"

I blinked out of my thoughts.

Then I looked up at the mirror

!????

And stared.

The woman in the mirror was... not me.

Not the me I remembered.

She wore a gown made of flowing black velvet threaded with flecks of silver and deep indigo, like galaxies sewn into fabric. The neckline was off the shoulder, draped elegantly but with a dangerous edge of seduction. The bodice hugged every curve without apology, and the long slit up one leg revealed smooth skin and the gleam of onyx heels strapped to her ankles.

!!!!

I shifted, suddenly shy. The slit exposed so much. And the fabric... it wasn’t layered with fluff or gauze like the gowns of the human kingdom. There was no corset to choke the breath from my lungs, no cage of etiquette holding me up. This dress didn’t ask permission to exist—it demanded attention.

"I—" I swallowed, cheeks heating. "This is what I’m wearing?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," one of them replied, beaming. "It was designed just for you."

"By who?"

"The king," One of the maid replied and I stood stunned

The king?

Draegon?!

I stared at myself again.

It made sense, in a way. I was no longer the forgotten girl in the corner of her father’s court.

I was the Demon Queen now.

Still, I wrapped my arms around myself as I stood, unsure if I had the courage to step outside looking like this.

That was when I heard the doors open.

"Are you ready?" Draegon’s voice came from the threshold, deep and velvet-rich.

I turned, putting my arms away.

And his steps faltered.

For a heartbeat, he simply stared.

He was dressed in his formal court attire along with a long crimson cloak clasped at the collar with a black gemstone. His crown wasn’t on yet, but his hair was swept back, and shadows curled in the hollows of his cheekbones like they were made to frame a king.

But he wasn’t looking at himself.

His eyes drank in every detail of me—slowly, reverently.

"You..." he said, voice slightly rougher now, "look like you were carved out of the night sky." Yet still soft as he talked to me.

!!

I flushed instantly, lowering my gaze. "It’s... different."

"It’s stunning," he said, stepping closer. "You look stunning."

!!?

I wasn’t expecting a compliment and it got me shy

His hand reached out to take mine, his fingers brushing against mine with a warmth that spread up my arm like wildfire. I looked up at him—his purple eyes, molten with something I couldn’t quite name.

Desire, maybe.

Admiration.

Maybe even pride.

And for the first time in years, I felt a small, flickering ember of something I hadn’t felt in so long—

Confidence.

Maybe tonight, I could face the king who had discarded me.

Maybe tonight, I could stand tall as the woman I had become.

And not the girl he left behind.

"Shall we?" Draegon asked, offering me his arm.

I took it.

***

The ballroom glittered like the inside of a jeweled goblet—gold chandeliers dripping with crystal, black marble floors catching every flicker of candlelight, and the velvet walls echoing with music that swelled and dipped like something alive. Demons in their finest silks and armors moved across the space, elegant and fearsome, as incense laced with nightrose and myrrh drifted in the air.

But all of it faded to a dull hum the moment I saw him.

King Orin.

My father.

He walked through the arching obsidian doors at the far end of the ballroom, flanked by human guards in navy and silver. His silver circlet rested against his ash-blond hair, his white cloak trailing like a slash of winter behind him. He hadn’t changed.

Not in the slightest.

He still stood like a man who bore the weight of a realm on his shoulders. Still looked at the world like it owed him reverence.

I thought I was ready to face him. But my hands went cold the moment I saw him.

Beside me, Draegon stood tall in his crimson and black, every inch the King of Demons. His arm brushed against mine, and though he said nothing, I felt his awareness sharpen when he followed my gaze.

King Orin was heading toward us.

Each step brought back a memory I had tried to bury: the nights I waited outside the throne room hoping to be called in, the times he passed me in the halls and didn’t even stop to ask if I was well. The last look he gave me before I was sent to the demons as a bride—impassive, relieved.

A strategic decision. That’s all I’d ever been.

And now he stood before us.

"Your Majesty," he said, bowing his head to Draegon. "King of the demons. Congratulations on your ascension." His voice was as firm and emotionless as I remembered. But what struck me—what punched straight into my chest—was that he hadn’t even looked at me.

Not truly.

His eyes slid past me with only the briefest flicker of recognition. "Queen Aelin," he said, flatly. As if he were greeting a stranger. As if I were a name on a ledger.

I barely had time to bow my head in return before he turned his full attention back to Draegon.

"We must speak. Privately," King Orin said, voice low but urgent. "It concerns the Abyss cult—and a discovery made in the southern province. One I believe you must know."

Draegon nodded once. "We’ll speak soon."

"I think this is ’soon’" His voice sounded urgent, "There is no time to waste, I wish to talk right now," He looked Draegon in the eye, "If I could, I wouldn’t have wasted time on ’this’ formality" He was referring to the party.

Draegon met his gaze, trying to gauge how serious he was, "Alright," He then answered, "I’ll be right with you."

And just like that, the conversation ended. My father moved on, already gesturing for his men to follow.

I stood there, silent, the sounds of the ball rising again around me like a tide. Laughter, music, clinking goblets. None of it reached me.

Draegon leaned down slightly and whispered, "Are you alright?"

I gave him a small smile. "Of course."

But inside, I was hollow.

Not surprised.

Not broken.

Just... achingly familiar with this feeling.

I should have known he wouldn’t change. That even now, standing in front of his daughter who had become a queen of demons, he would still see nothing worth holding on to. Nothing worth celebrating.

It hurt. Of course it did.

But I had lived through this before. I had learned to live without his pride.

What was strange was that even though I had achieved something this great- I had become the Queen of an empire, yet he didn’t look at me.

He still didn’t care.

Why...?

"I need to listen to what your father is saying," Draegon kept his eyes on me and I slowly looked at him and nodded. He didn’t leave immediately. His gaze stayed on me, "Are you sure you are alright?"

I nodded again and forced a smile at him, "You should hear him out," I said, "If he wants to talk urgently, it must be important." I looked away from him, looking at King Orin who stood by the big window, talking to his advisor, Lior, "I heard the human party lost a lot of people on their here."

"Yes," Draegon replied, his expressions a little suspicious as he took a step back, "It could be related to that." He took another step back, then paused. He looked at my father, then back at me, "Tonight-" He said and I looked at him, "I would like to talk to you,"

"About?" I asked him.

"Just something I’m curious about," He said and began to walk away.

I watched him go, then my gaze went back to my father. I watched draegon reach him and they shifted even closer to the window as they whispered something.

It was then I noticed how dark the sky was outside.

There was no star in sight.

Maybe it was because of the bright lights inside, but something about it was bothering me.

I was still thinking about it when suddenly the magic inside the castle got disrupted and the lights dimmed because of it.

Right then through the window, I saw it.

!!!

My heart leapt into my throat.

A big eye appeared in the sky. The eyelid opened and the dark black liquid oozed downward from it.