A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 141 | Dancing With Madness

In the time it took for Toni and Richie to exit, Eko observed as Matthew counted to ten in his head. It was probably the best habit he had picked up from Jesse, in her opinion.

"Finished counting?"

"I've moved from ten to fifteen with you," he muttered.

"Babe, we need a plan. We need to implement this instead of hiding who we are," she reiterated, her conviction carrying a subtle urgency, a belief that their true strength could be an asset if strategically unveiled.

"Do you understand that it isn't just us that we need to think about here? If we show the worlds what we are, do you understand what could happen, on top of everything else we're dealing with?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "it's better than this. Hiding and all."

"Oh, you're fucking rich saying that! Jesus, fucking Christ, okay, Eko," he threw up his hands in disbelief as if she had just woken up on the suicidal edge of the bed that morning. "Let's entertain this for your own egotistical nature. They, the people, the civilians, the worlds. They will fear us," his arms folded in annoyance as he pushed back into his chair, "let me educate you now, fear causes tremendous amounts of resentment and pushback, Eko. That's not what any of this going forward is about. We do not need that right now. I don't need the added pressure with the academies, I'm trying to control their need to go into a senseless fucking WAR!"

"Controlled fear, it's not real fear," Eko scoffed. "We are on their side. They'll see that. If anything, they'll be grateful that we're protecting them like this."

Matthew, however, deadpanned at the woman.

"Am I actually talking to a fuckin' wall?" Matthew readjusted himself in his seat, observing the brunette as she cocked her head at him unimpressed, regarding him as if he were the idiot in the room.

As Matthew refocused on the emails on his screen, he brushed aside Eko's arguments with a sarcastic clap of his hands. "What about the individuals who will pursue us for that power tied to our crystals? We'll have to watch our backs even more than we already do! Did your thick skull ever think about that?"

Eko retorted, "Relax there, and it's a bit hard considering how powerful we are."

She glanced down at her nails, in need of a new manicure after this frustrating discussion. Exasperated by his short-sightedness, she wondered if he had always been this way. Usually, he'd be on the front line with her, even when they were bitter enemies.

Matthew muttered in annoyance, wanting to ignore Eko and her misguided adventure to show the worlds that they were warriors. Now, in this dangerous time more than ever, he found her proposition impractical and risky.

"Fuck me dead Eko, you are-"

"-beautiful, a genius, immensely talented-"

"-fucken dangerous," he interrupted, looking up at her with deadly intent in his words.

"Come on, you know I'm right." She cocked her head again, and he hated how she stared at him. It caused Matthew to raise his chin, and his eyes narrowed, his annoyance growing.

"I know for a fact that you are wrong, and I genuinely do not believe any good can come from this."

"Maybe from your perspective," Eko rolled her eyes.

He exhaled, growing more exasperated with each passing moment of this conversation. She heard him counting again, now reaching fifteen because of her.

"We will give people hope, babe. That's what they need right now. Faith and hope to believe in something more, that we can protect them. I think-"