A Dance Of Crowns & Thrones | Book I

Chapter 137 | Crawled Inside My Bones

This becoming will demand your breath, your patience, and your fight. It will require your unwavering perseverance and your deepest resolve. Transformation is not a gentle process; it is forged in the fires of both surrender and strength.

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Amidst the chaos and desperation, Eko stood at the outskirts of the Eastern Border, the glow of the barrier before her almost blinding. It had stood there for as long as she could remember, a wall that divided their world from the enemy, the line that had kept them locked in this endless war.

She was shaking, her body barely holding together, but it wasn't just grief or exhaustion driving her—it was rage. Raw, consuming rage. The kind that makes you do things you can't take back. She had more power than she knew what to do with, but today, she didn't care. She was past the point of caring.

The others appeared just in time to see her place her hand against the glowing dome. Her breath hitched, and with a scream that came from the depths of her soul, her power surged. Her bones ached with the force of it, her whole body trembling as if it might break apart. But she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.

The dome before her began to crack.

The sky lit up around them, colors flashing in a chaotic dance of light and energy. Eko's scream tore through the air, a sound filled with anger, heartbreak, and the unbearable weight of everything she had lost. The dome trembled, shuddering under the assault, until finally, with one last push, it cracked wide open.

Matthew stepped forward, his chest tight as he watched her. He'd seen Eko in battle before, but this was different. This was her grief, her love, her pain—all unleashed. She had just shattered the barrier that had kept them out of enemy territory for fifteen years, and as he looked at her, he knew this wasn't just about the war anymore. It was personal.

And it terrified him. Because in that moment, he didn't know if he could pull her back from the edge.

The warriors stood in stunned silence, watching as the cracks spider-webbed across the dome's surface. Each fracture felt like a pulse of Eko's fury, spreading upward until the entire barrier began to collapse. The impenetrable dome, which had held them back for so many years, shattered like fragile glass, its pieces falling from the sky like stars. The ground trembled beneath them, and the air hummed with the remnants of its energy.

Richie tightened his grip on Jasmine's hand, trying to steady her trembling, but it was Mya's face that caught his attention. Her usually composed demeanor was gone, replaced with wide-eyed fear. Her high ponytail hung in disarray, soaked from the storm, and Richie could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Without a word, he reached out, offering his hand.

Mya hesitated for just a second, then took it, squeezing it tightly as the dome pulsed one last time before shattering completely. Magical energy cascaded around them like a surreal downpour, glittering in the air and crackling with the aftershocks of the collapse.

At the front, Eko pressed on, unflinching, her jaw set in determination. The pain and grief that had threatened to consume her moments earlier had transformed into something else—a fierce, unrelenting drive to take their enemies down. Matthew and Toni exchanged a look, grim but resolute, and moved forward in step with her. Behind them, Richie, Mya, and Jasmine formed a solid line, their fear outweighed by the resolve to follow Eko wherever this battle would take them.

Without pausing to consider the consequences, Eko charged forward, cutting through the remnants of the dome as they faded into nothingness. Her power blazing like a beacon, this wasn't just a fight anymore—it was personal. Eko's grief had turned into a relentless need for justice, and there was no stopping her now.