A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 182 | Selflessness Or Self-Sabotage?

Eko felt the crisp evening air caress her skin, and the earth trembled beneath her as she allowed her powers to gently fade away. Sky-blue eyes took in her surroundings, realizing it had been over a day and a half since everything had unfolded.

Today, the afternoon sky was not her ally as it had been on other days. There were no warm siennas of a sunset gracing her world, nor was her world peacefully darkening as she would have expected. Instead, it remained gloomy and dark, full of utter misery, as storm clouds rolled in, seemingly poised to take over her life if fate had any say.

Eko stood at her place of solace, Cape Hope, where a half-built house beckoned. Though its structures were incomplete, its foundations stood strong. As she gazed at the house, it seemed to offer a glimpse into another world.

Wrapped up in those walls that were half built had been a life that once existed with a future of endless possibilities. It held a happy marriage; she hoped for children one day and, importantly, simply for two people who wanted their time over again.

But now?

She didn't have the answer to that anymore. She didn't know what her world looked like. Her shoulders sagged, and Eko felt as though the air of this unfamiliar world was thickening in her lungs. Her white-blonde hair draped over her shoulders, settling around her rib cage. She hadn't been aware of his presence until he stood there, staring at her—the man who had avoided her at all costs.

Matthew, mystified by this rare creature, felt almost awestruck that he had been granted a moment to be near her. It was the last thing he expected—to see his Highness again so quickly, considering all the things she needed to return to doing now that her life had resumed.

He briefly observed her shaking her head, a gesture that seemed to convey disgust, his mind immediately interpreting it as such. She was gazing at the house, likely feeling sick to her stomach at the life she had led with him, mortified by the commitment to a lie she had never wanted. Now that the truth had sunk in, he was certain she was trying to figure out what to tell the publishing houses about her time at Allegient; they were all asking her, and yet nothing had been written. He had half expected it by now, the cover-up of their sham of a marriage, the reason it took so long to return to the throne. Something should have emerged by now about their life, about... why she had done what she had.

Matthew, not wanting to linger, quietly took a step back. Eko hadn't noticed him in her current state, and he intended to keep it that way. She was safe to spend a few more minutes at Cape Hope. Their enemies were dead, with no signs of survival after the attack. He could slip away and keep an eye on her from afar, just in case, until she returned to the palace.

As he stepped back, he must have kicked up some rubble, because Eko blinked away threatening tears and turned abruptly to the person she suddenly felt in her presence. What Eko never expected, as her eyes widened like a deer in headlights, was to see her husband standing before her.

"Matthew?" Eko's voice wavered as she finally laid eyes on him, and she instantly moved forward to close the distance between them. To her surprise, however, she was met with a man who recoiled and stepped back.

"Matthew?" She stopped abruptly, her hand instinctively reaching for her heart. "Where have you been? Why have you been avoiding me?"

He took another step back, unable to answer.

"Stop; why are you pulling away from me?" Eko's confusion deepened as she watched his hesitancy consume him. His steel-blue eyes bore into her own, and truth be told, she had never seen him afraid. Not like this.

Here was a man whose layers had been stripped away in the repercussions of the thirty-eight hours.

Eko shook her head, trying to hold back the tears. Determinedly, she regained her focus on his eyes as she tried to gather her words. She wanted to explain what had happened, but it only came out as incoherent mumbling, causing Matthew to hold up his hand to silence her.