The Rifts of Psyche by Kyle West (i love reading .txt) 📕

we might speak of things . . . other than your training. I know you don’t trust me, but the Manifold dictates that we work together. Even you must recognize a certain level of trust is required for that.”

“I could never trust you. There’s something you’re hiding from me.”

“What am I hiding?”

She was going to make him go there. “How you’re still young after so long, for one. How exactly you plan to use the Orbs. To use me. I’m just a tool to you. Something for you to enact your final vision.”

“You’re not merely a tool,” the Queen said. “That is why I hope to learn about the person behind the prophecy.”

“Not until I see you care about something more than vengeance and power.”

Her face was like stone. “I care about the salvation of magekind.”

“But you’re willing to do anything to get there, no matter who gets hurt.”

“There is always a price,” the Sorceress-Queen said, softly. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Perhaps I’m foolish enough to hope that one day, you can.” She watched him, her eyes intense. “Do you honestly believe innocent lives won’t be lost on your account, Lucian? That you won’t have to make hard decisions, and harden yourself against them? How will the League react when they learn of you and your power? Even without me at your side, you are fated to tear humanity apart. A new Mage War is coming, whether you will it or not.”

“That’s not true.”

She shook her head sadly. “Stubborn. I’m only offering to make that transition easier. And yes, it will require some level of compliance and trust on your part. Without me, the goal to which you are committed will become infinitely harder.”

“How many times must we rehash this conversation?” he asked. “If I ever trust you, then I would be betraying my friends.”

“Perhaps so,” the Sorceress-Queen said. “But stay true to them, and you will betray your ultimate mission. Or perhaps they can be brought around to work with me, too. But you would need to be my advocate.”

Was she serious? He was at a loss for words. They would never go for that, and as soon as he mentioned it, they would lose all respect for him. Especially Cleon.

“I will say no more about this,” the Queen said. “I’ll let my actions speak for themselves. I’m taking you to the Burning Sands. I’m training you. I will give you everything you need to accomplish your mission, to rise to the mantle as the Chosen. But I can only do so much. You will not only have to meet me halfway, but rise to the occasion. I trust in something higher than you and me, Lucian. I trust in the Manifold. And the Manifold gets what it wants. Always.”

Those words made his skin go cold. Maybe she was right. Was he just being stubborn? Spending time with her was already lowering his guard, making him see things her way, little by little. And the more time he spent with her, the more his guard would lower.

Her eyes watched him, all innocence, but seeming to want something . . . more from him. The idea of that was ridiculous, so much so that he immediately wanted to discard it.

But the realization hit him like a thunderbolt. She didn’t want to merely be his teacher. Or his mentor.

She wanted a person strong enough to stand beside her. To even rule beside her.

She wanted a king.

Her violet eyes watched him, as if suspecting he knew the truth.

“What you want from me,” he said, finally. “It’ll never, ever happen. That would be the ultimate betrayal to myself.”

From her unsurprised reaction, and her small, victorious smile, he saw that he had guessed correctly. “I think you’ll find you’re capable of things you can scarcely imagine now. After all, look at how far you’ve come since your youth on Earth. I will say this. Is it really such a bad idea? Am I really as awful as you think? Do you think me unattractive or unsuited?”

He imagined that potential future, a future millions of men would have jumped at. He could hold all the Orbs, become the new Immortal of Starsea. And she would be his queen, and together, they could rule all humankind. Armadas, Mage-Lords and Mage-Knights, all under their command. The image was so clear in his mind that it was like a punch in the stomach. Could that vision be true? Was the Manifold pushing him toward that fate, to become molded into someone he couldn’t even recognize? Would it happen even if he fought against that destiny with every breath? It seemed a force greater than himself, a river pushing so hard that it was pointless to swim against the current.

Lucian had to decide which way to go. To let that fate carry him to its inevitable end – or to fight against it. He stood on the brink, and the future of billions depended on him. The desire for power, the fight for survival, the hand of a beautiful and capable woman who he might one day match in abilities.

She was willing to fight for that, to even die for it. Was he?

All he needed right now was to breathe.

“I need to go.”

He turned his back on her, half-expecting some magic to be streamed against him, to force him down the path he envisioned. But in the end, the door shut behind him, and he escaped unscathed – the decision put off for another day.

Hours later, Lucian stood with his friends at the stern, unable to speak as he watched the Riftlands pass below. His mind was a muddled mess, all his motivations and former goals in question. He wasn’t sure how to bring this up to everyone, or even whether to bring it up. Already, he felt separate from them, and if he shared his fears, they would no longer see him as the same person. They might even see him as the enemy.

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