Chapter 34 Thirty Four
Elara’s POV
“Duel? Are you still ramping about a duel with me, Cyric?” Throne queried with a slight chuckle.
“Why? Are you scared I might beat you to a pulp? Hold up! Are you scared? Don't you trust your combat and sword skills, Throne?
Throne scoffed, shaking his head with a grin. A grin that portrayed his confidence.
“Scared? Oo you? Please
Why would I be scared of you, Cyric. Don’t flatter yourself. I am so good at combat that I have never lost a duel. Don't get ahead of yourself.
Cyric smirked, rolling up his sleeves. “Then prove it. Right here, right now. Let’s see if you, the most praised swordsman and combat fighter, can beat me. Outsmart me.”
Aria groaned. “You both are like children fighting over candy. Cut the chase with all this. boss hasn't given her approval for this. I suggest you both take your mind out of it.”
Darius chuckled, watching them with mild amusement. “Why do you have to prove that you can beat Cyric, Throne? We know you are a good fighter and besides you both would wreck our training hall.”
Throne stood, stretching his arms.
“Our training hall? Don't make it sound like you also join in the training. For all I know, you can't even lift a sword. Being a tech pro fits a talkative like you.” Throne joked, nudging Darius' shoulders.
Darius wrenched Throne’s elbow away. Slightly annoyed.
“You don't have to remind me of that.” He snarled, rolling his eyes.
“But that's the truth, Darius. Accept it.” Aria teased, winking at Darius.
“For fuck sake. Y'all should leave me the hell alone.” Darius uttered, his voice coming out louder than he had planned it to.
Throne raised his hands in surrender, still grinning like a child who was just caught after stealing cookies.
“Alright, alright. No need for you to roar, Darius. We’ll back off. You don't need to spit on our faces.”Cyric chuckled beside him.
“You all better stop annoying Darius before he starts throwing tech gadgets at us.” Aria commented maliciously while bursting into laughter. She slapped her palm on the table.
“I can see Darius already launching a keyboard towards us like it's a missile.” Throne smiled, uncrossing his arms.
Darius groaned, facepalming himself. He exhaled a sharp breath. His death stared dancing across us all.
“You all make me sick. It's like I can't breathe the same air you all breathe.”
I stood by the door to the communication room, smiling as I watched them.
My heart fluttered. It felt good. This drama. The chaos. This madness. The warmth. In this cruel, forsaken world. They meant everything to me. They were my sanity. My chaos. My strength. My home. My all.
Darius slumped into the chair, muttering under his breath. “One day, I am going to shock all of you. You all should sit back and watch. It would be a sudden surprise.”
“Should we be expecting a comeback? You better start training now then if you want to have a comeback. A show off of your unmatchable strength,” Cyric teased, tossing a small pillow at him.
It hit Darius square on the chest, everyone bursted into laughter. I stood by the door and an involuntary smile found its way to my lips.
For a second, the weight of everything disappeared. Like a force had lifted it off my shoulders. My shoulders felt lighter. It was like there wasn't any problem. Like the chaos outside these walls had vanished. Like there was world peace. The room felt like peace. Even though it was a messy, loud and chaotic kind of peace, it was still peace.
I finally stepped into the room after overdropping for too long, arms folded. “Darius might not know how to swing a sword or raise it , but he’s the reason our syndicate hasn't crashed. He is the reason we have come this far. He might not be made for the battlefield, but he’s saved our asses from being whooped more than once just by being behind the screen.”
Silence swept across the room. Darius looked up at me, a perplexed look on his face. The others didn't react. The smiled awkwardly, their smiles fading slowly
“I know we joke a lot,” I continued, walking deeper into the room. I took a seat beside Aria, crossing my legs over immediately. "But let’s not forget that every single one of you right here in this room, matters. Starting from Throne to Aria to Cyric. You all matter . You all have contributed something to the growth of this syndicate. You all have trained hard. Bled on the battlefield. Fought diligently and still stayed back despite the troubles we face. We didn’t get here because we’re strong. Because of our strength. We are where we are today because we stayed united and undivided.”
Darius blinked fast, like he didn’t know what to say. Like he was short of words. He finally muttered, slowly. “Thank you Boss. Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me.”
Throne looked down slightly while rubbing the back of his neck. “We didn’t mean to upset you, Darius. You are the best. Our tech genius is always behind the computer, doing a great job. Without you, Darius, we will be just muscle without a brain.”
“Exactly,” Aria nodded. “You are a part of us. A greater part. It doesn't matter if you can’t lift a sword. Your intelligence is enough.”
“Honestly, your contribution to our syndicate is the greatest.” Cyric chipped truthfully.
I smiled softly., my gaze sweeping across them. “Together, we all have built something powerful. Something unique. And no matter how loud or messy or chaotic things are you all…. My team is my pride. I am complete with all of you by my side.
They all nodded, in agreement.
“You are right, Boss.”
“Absolutely.”
Throne stood up and gave a slight bow. “We’ll keep fighting. For you. For the syndicate. For each other.”
Aria smiled, her eyes soft. “Always, Boss.”
Darius wiped his glasses. “I won’t let you down.”
I looked at them again, my heart fluttering. “Then let’s keep going. Together.”