CHAPTER 22
The giant waves hurled themselves against the White Cliff with a vicious ferocity while the howling wind threatened to rip the slight figure standing on top and throw her to the clamoring ocean. On this moonless night, the darkness stretched endlessly seeming to merge into everything. Riley could feel its icy fingers trying to claw its way into her being. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her body. Nature appeared to be conspiring against her. Maybe it was a portent of the outcome of her upcoming meeting with Cole. She had asked him to meet her atop the White Cliff at midnight thinking that the time and location would afford privacy, and perhaps that her father’s spirit might help her find the words that she needed. But alone, except for the hungry waves and the whistling wind, she was beginning to have second thoughts. Maybe the spot where her father was murdered was not a good omen. Should she have asked Max to accompany her? No, his animosity towards Cole would not have helped their cause. She needed to do this alone. Whatever course of action chosen this night would affect both their destinies and the destiny of Avalyss. She shook off the fear that had settled over her like a cloak and prayed for strength. She looked at the ocean with bleak eyes, her white robe flapping like a live thing in the strong wind. Taking deep breaths of the cold, salty air in an attempt to calm down, she jumped when a hand clutched her shoulder. Heart thumping, she whirled and confronted a figure cloaked in black. At his arrival the darkness intensified but as she stared the clouds parted, and a full moon appeared, spotlighting the two figures atop the White Cliff.
Riley battled the familiar currents of awareness that ran through her body at his proximity. Her attraction to him was intense and undeniable. Of their own volition, her lips parted and her body leaned towards his. Hands tightening on her shoulders, he bent his head and she felt the hotness of his breath against her face. But before their lips could touch, he stepped back, letting his hands fall to his sides.
“I beg your pardon, Princess, I am sure that you did not summon me for a midnight assignation,” he drawled, his voice mocking.
Riley flushed and cursed her traitorous body. She had not intended to get sidetracked by any physical entanglements with him tonight. It would only complicate an already complex situation. But it went far beyond physical attraction, she loved him and it scared and excited her at the same time. Her heart ached for this complicated, mysterious and impossible man. Fate had placed her in an untenable situation by asking her to choose between duty to her world and the man she loved. It was a choice she could not make. And hopefully after she outlined her plan to him, that choice would be rendered moot.
Keeping her tone even, she said, “I know that you want to stop the epic battle as much as I do. I have the perfect solution.”
Cole smiled and his amber eyes shone with triumph. “I knew it. You will join the Dark Mages after all. It is the only solution. I knew you would make the right choice.” He moved towards her, arms outstretched.
Riley stepped aside to avoid his embrace, a deep frown marring her forehead. “Wait. Let me finish. I have no intention of becoming a Dark Mage. There is another way. It has to do with Universal magic. The solution is so simple. It was right in front of our eyes the whole time. We just never saw it. If everyone is allowed to practice Universal magic, then there will be no power struggle between the white and dark mages. All will have access to equal power. Everyone will be on the same side and peace can finally reign in Avalyss.”
Cole’s smile drained from his face. The storm still raged, turning the ocean into a seething cauldron, and whipping the winds into a frenzy. A storm raged within him as well, threatening to rip him apart. He heard the hope in her voice. Did she have to be such a goddamned idealist? Advocating for peace and shared power. Over his dead body. It was his destiny to rule Avalyss, to usher in a new age of the Dark Mages. He could not allow anyone to rob him of it. Not even the woman he loved.
After he left the Isle of Paradisi, he had tried to find a magical cure for love but there was none. He had spent many sleepless nights searching, studying and brewing one useless potion after the other. He talked to many beings even demons. But none could help. During his search, his love had grown stronger, and he had missed her more every day. Many times he thought he had seen her out of the corner of his eye, heard her voice or caught a whiff of her scent. She haunted his days and nights, his endless yearning for her drove him to distraction. If this constant craving for another was love, then he wanted no part of it. All his life he had needed no one, but himself and his drive to achieve his destiny. Now he had to choose between the woman he loved and his destiny. He had deluded himself that he could charm her into joining the Dark Mages but she had just clearly stated that she would not. She loved him. Maybe her love was too strong to be denied. It was worth a shot.
He whirled towards her, his face expressionless. “Interesting solution. But it is not the only one. If you join the Dark Mages then the epic battle will be averted as well. If you really love me, you will not ask me to give up my destiny, everything I have worked for since childhood. Join me. Together we will usher in a new age of the Dark Mages.” A sensual smile tugged at the corner of his full mouth.
Riley’s eyes were wide, huge pools of color in her suddenly pale face. She gulped in some air, trembling with fury, her hands curled into fists. It was all she could do to stop herself from striking him. “How dare you ask me to prove my love for you by choosing a path that will serve only to further your ambition? You selfish, power hungry jerk! It is all about you. Your destiny. Your thirst for power. Your desire to rule. You are so wrapped up in yourself that you cannot take a step back and choose the path that serves Avalyss which is what a good ruler would do.”
Cole narrowed his eyes and deliberately softened his tone. “You called this meeting to pitch a course of action. I have heard you and have suggested an alternative path. Choose between joining the Dark Mages or an epic battle. Which will it be?”
“Do you realize what you are saying? If I choose to battle, then you would have to kill me in order for the Dark Mages to gain supremacy and for your destiny to be fulfilled. Are you prepared to do that? Can you kill me?” Riley almost choked on the words, eyes wide with shock, her expression incredulous.
“Yes. I will kill you if I have to. But there is a third option, Princess. You could always concede defeat. That way you avoid the epic battle and you won’t have to compromise your idealistic principles by joining the Dark Mages, and I still get to rule Avalyss.” Cole’s expression was inscrutable, his tone firm and assured
“You are bluffing. You cannot kill me.” Riley spat the words at him, unable to believe her own ears.
“I will rule Avalyss. It is my destiny and it will be fulfilled. So, make no mistake, Princess, I will kill you, if that is the only option left. But I will not have to. You will concede.” He was bluffing, he could not kill her but he had to make her believe him. It was the only way to achieve his destiny without actually killing her.
“Don’t be so sure, you arrogant bastard. Besides if I choose to battle, I could very well kill you.” She could not reason with the man standing before her. He was a stranger, a monster who would do anything to achieve his precious destiny, despite the costs.
“You cannot kill me. You love me, remember?”
Riley’s hand itched to strike him, to wipe that smug smile from his face. She was furious with him and with herself. Damn the man. He was right. She could not kill him. But she believed that he could not kill her as well. She suspected that he cared more for her that he was willing to admit. Many lives would be lost if the battle was fought. She could not risk those lives on a belief that she was right. What if she was wrong? What if her suspicion was just wishful thinking? She was a Princess of Avalyss, and all who lived here were her people. It was her duty to protect them.
Cole watched the emotions play acro
ss her face. He had won but the knowledge made him sick inside.
Riley stood her ground, looked him straight in the eye. “One last question, do you love me?”
“No. And I do not believe that you love me. You are confusing lust with love. I have enjoyed our encounters, but physical satiation was the only goal. If you are honest, you will admit that to yourself as well. Let us waste no more time on this useless talk of love. Will it be war or will you concede?”
Riley felt her heart crumble into dust leaving behind an aching emptiness. She had hoped that he loved her even a little. But all she had ever been to him was a warm and willing body.
His words left her shattered and shaking and her whole world in chaos. Unwilling to let him witness the devastating effect his words had on her, she fought to conceal her inner turmoil by standing perfectly still and donning an expressionless mask.
“I need some time. I would like to discuss my next move with Sarri and Max.” She was surprised at how normal she sounded, her voice revealing none of the pain that was flooding her entire body.
He nodded. “You have twenty-four hours. But why postpone the inevitable? We both know that you will concede.”
Without bothering to reply, she inclined her head in his direction and vanished.
Cole stared at the spot where she had been, his expression bleak. Filled with self-loathing, he stepped to the edge of the White Cliff. He had just broken the heart of the only woman he had ever loved because of his thirst for power and control. It was the bait that had dangled tantalizingly in front of him since childhood. So when it was within his grasp he had pounced with a cruel disregard for those who might get hurt in the process. It had been necessary to convince her that he was an unfeeling monster who had used her only to satisfy his physical cravings. He was certain that she did not suspect his true feelings. Within twenty-four hours he would rule Avalyss, he should be filled with elation but instead he felt dead inside. Instead of a heart, he had possessed a hole in his chest which lusted for power and control until Riley had entered his life and awakened him. His heart had stirred to life, blossomed with love. But love and power could not co-exist, he was compelled to choose. For a while he had deluded himself into thinking that he could have both, his destiny and her. But she was too idealistic. While part of him cursed that part of her, it was one of the reasons he loved her. She was like a spring rain to his arid landscape. He had his precious destiny but he did not have her. His future stretched before him, a bleak, endless void filled with the knowledge that the woman he loved hated him and that it was all his doing. He tried to convince himself that he had made the best choice for him. Love did not belong in his world, a world where power and magic were everything. Why then did it feel so wrong? As if by some unseen signal, the moon slipped behind the clouds, plunging the night into darkness again. He could feel the darkness entering his soul as he entered the darkness.