A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 140 | When The Spinning Plates Tumble

Matthew and Toni had spent hours battling youmas and monsters from every direction in Isadora, pushing their way to the eastern borders and beyond. With the barrier down, there was still so much left to explore and understand. This relentless need to release Matthew's pent-up frustrations brought them to a small, desolate coastal town's outskirts.

As they touched down amid the wreckage, the ground beneath them trembled. Without warning, a sudden and violent impact hurled both men to the sand, the force of it sending shockwaves through their bodies. Disoriented and shaken by the unexpected assault, they scrambled to regain their footing, the weight of danger settling in almost instantly.

From the debris, a pack of tiger-cross dogs emerged, their hulking forms moving with predatory grace. Their eyes gleamed with malice, muscles rippling beneath striped fur as they circled, closing in on Matthew and Toni with deadly precision. Each snarl, each snap of their jaws echoed through the wreckage, the promise of violence hanging in the air like a storm about to break.

These creatures were a nightmare of nature and magic combined. Their sleek, muscular bodies were covered in a patchwork of dark, bristly fur and jagged scars, giving them an almost skeletal appearance. The tiger-cross dogs had the fierce eyes of predators, glowing with an eerie luminescence that reflected the remnants of the town's fires. Their growls were a guttural symphony of rage, punctuated by the snapping of teeth and the swish of powerful, striped tails.

The animals attacked with a ferocity that spoke of hunger and desperation, their claws tearing at the sand and their fangs glinting dangerously in the dim light. Toni, struggling to maintain his balance on the shifting terrain, found himself grappling with one of the beasts as it lunged at him.

Amidst a rush of air and the cacophony of thumps, cracks, and crashes echoing around them, Toni discarded any pretense of restraint. "Motherfucker!" he swore, wincing as his tongue brushed against a tiny cut on the inside of his lip. In the chaos, there was no time for elaborate strategies; a swift, brutal response was all that mattered.

"It's like she's determined to throw herself into the thick of this mess, and then get herself killed. Does she think that's acceptable?" Matthew barked, his frustration palpable.

"Mate," Toni said, cleaving through one of the tiger-cross dogs, "this is something you two need to sort out. I don't have the answers—"

"And then what? Show the rest of the worlds that we're warriors?" Matthew roared, thrusting his sword into another beast that lunged at them, blood splattering over his uniform.

Toni dispatched a behemoth of an animal, its body collapsing in a heap on the ground before him. He turned to his best friend, who was still glaring at him, clearly searching for some sort of divine insight to calm his fury.

"Okay," Toni exhaled, "I agree, that was a moronic suggestion. Richie's not helping with his constant antagonizing, but he, Mya, and Jesse are on the same page."

"They all want to get themselves killed," Matthew said, shaking his head at Toni. "Then their idiotic leader will probably get them all killed, and us with them! She's never been smart about controlling her fucking impulsive, emotional decisions!"

"So, talk to your future fiancée about her poor life decisions," Toni retorted, "While you're at it, give Jesse the same pep talk, yeah?"

Matthew leveled him with a deadpan stare. "At the rate she's going, she won't even make it to New Year for me to propose. And Jesse? She's your problem, not mine. Do you really think talking to her about her 'poor life decisions' is gonna help?" His tone dripped with mockery, the frustration clear. "Why do you think I'm talking to you?" He waved his sword dismissively. "Clearly, I'm drawn to the idiot, suicidal female population around here!"