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.