A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 15 | Some Kind Of Tomorrow We Live In

"Creeping?" he chuckled, shaking his head as he moved the conversation along, "I'm told your injuries weren't severe. If anything, you were lucky with the minor lacerations and bruises. Some scarring but nothing to the extent that was first indicated."

"Creeping, definitely. Any whoo... lucky should be my middle name," she half grinned, knowing the trouble she would find herself in and how well the crystal healed her body after it all. Honestly, luck had nothing to do with it.

"Speaking of names for the record. Yours?"

"Mine?" Fuck. Okay, she couldn't use her first name; clearly, her subconscious snapped at her.

And it really wouldn't be wise to use a shortened version of her name, either. That was way too obvious. Sera? Like, come on, girl, think! Could she use one of her middle names? Isobelle? She didn't feel like an Isobelle. Besides, that was her grandmother's name, which might also be suss.

Ekovanelina? Fuck it. He had been staring at her. Just answer!

"Ekovanelina."

"Ekovanelina." He acknowledged, tilting his head at the unique name.

"Eko,"

"Eko?"

"Why are you saying it like that?" she pursed her lips.

Matthew straightened in his chair with a grin, "saying it like what?"

"With that accent. It's just, Eko."

"Eko," he tried again exactly as she said it.

"I know it's spelt E-K-O... but pronounce E and co.."

"Like echo?"

"Did I say echo... do I sound like a description of a sound at all?" shaking her head, her quick tongue forced the man to smirk again at the way she got riled up with the pronunciation of her name.

Steel blue curiously watched as she exhaled now, shoulders dropped slightly and then tried again, having brought those brilliant bright blue eyes straight at him.

"Eko... like ecosystem...Eko... just with a K instead of a C. It's not that hard."

"Eko."

"There you go," she clapped, "now you know my name, Matthew."

He couldn't help the way he almost had laughed, pleasantly surprised by how taken aback by her he had been, "parents didn't like you much for that name, huh?"

"You're a ball of fucken sunshine, aren't ya?" With that, Eko sat forward as she readjusted herself against the pillows. She smoothed out her hair to look as presentable as possible before looking over to the Commander; what was curious was that smile he had plastered across his smug-looking face when she first met him officially a few days ago.

Seriously though, her mind mused, what a different world that was.

"So, what happens now?" Sera tore that lingering look of wanting to jump his bones from her mind. There were far more important matters than the thoughts she was having. She had to understand the severity of her home, find her cousin, and obtain 100% confirmation on whether her mother was dead.

What a terrible fucking day this was turning into, all things considered.

"No communication from the Eastern border has been established at this point. Which means they have not claimed the attack as theirs. We have numerous unaccounted pods and ships, with survivors still pouring in over the academies and bases across nearly every inch of the world."