Elementals || Grishaverse

Chapter 47: Choices

The Shadow Fold.

A permanent scar on the map that was created out of the selfish demands of one man. One man who wanted to prove himself to the world and more importantly, himself. It was a region of drifting clouds of smoke that removed all your inhibitions when you entered it.

Standing at the edge of the Fold with her arms folded across her chest, Adaline knew exactly what she had to do. Seeing the darkness move and destroying the only connection between two towns boiled an anger inside her that made her take the decisions that she had been taking for the past centuries.

"Adaline."

She turned around to face the helpless man. A demeaning smile spread across her face. "So we meet again. Aleksander." She kicked the stone that was right next to her feet. "I guess it is safe to say that you haven't changed one bit. Except for the beard and the short hair, of course."

It hurt him to hear her say his name with such poison in her voice. He deserved it. He deserved more than that really. "Adaline, we don't have to do this."

"Yes. We do. I have not spent the last two centuries trying to correct the mistake that I made - the mistake of loving you."

That pricked the Darkling's feelings. She was speaking his worst nightmares. "Do you regret it?" He had to know. "Do you regret any of it?"

Adaline didn't know what to say. "That's besides the point, Aleks." He wasn't sure whether to be contended or scared that someone knew the name that he once loved truly. "You know? I've been asking myself what exactly happened the day I was at the camp." She started to walk the perimeter as she spoke. "The volcra left the Fold to find me because whoever it was knew who I was. They knew that I was your only equal and that I was the only one who could defeat you. It combusted while I was trying to protect someone I loved. Because that's the power of love, which you will never understand."

"Adaline...."

"The volcra was trying to send me a message and my powers chose to act for themselves when I needed them. Long ago, though it feels like yesterday, we were in love." The hurt in her eyes about their situation was clear to him. "Every time that we meet, we end up falling for each other."

She used the present tense in her sentence, which only meant that she felt the same way for him as he did for her. "That's saying something, isn't it?"

She wasn't going to let him change her mind this time. "You made your choice a long time ago, Aleksander. I think it is about time that you accept that for yourself."

"I love you! Nobody can change that. I loved you more than myself, more than anybody."

Adaline gulped with difficulty. She was seeing the young boy in the killer that stood in front of us. "And look where that love has brought us. Look where your choice has brought us. You loved me, but it wasn't enough. You weren't ready to let go of your pain."

The Darkling didn't have an answer to that. She was right. He wasn't ready to leave the lives of Grisha in the hands of human beings that would never understand what it was to be powerful.

"Fate has been cruel to me in many different ways, but this is its final blow, and I'm not going to allow it to take me for a ride anymore."

"Then get over with it." He spread his arm open. "Do it. I may have made my choice but that was only because you couldn't see the truth."

She laughed sarcastically. "What truth? You created that abomination." She pointed to the Fold. "Nothing can change that. You created a rift that has affected this country for ages. How can you talk about your love for Ravka when you were the one who did this?"

"Don't you see that fate has been cruel to me as well?" He wanted to make her see his story. He wanted her to understand why he did what he did, because he wasn't strong enough to lose her all over again. "I have had to serve countless rulers while I waited for you subconsciously. You brought us here."

"Oh really?" Whatever was between them was long gone. But its faint traces were still present. "Who was the one that spoke about wanting to get married?" The Darkling pulled back. "Who said that they wanted to build a house there?" She pointed to the Fold once again. "You chose to bring this darkness into our meadow. You destroyed everything, Aleksander!"

The Darkling was still in awe of her. She was a miracle of life and he was seeing his life right before his eyes. "Nothing has to change." He was going to try to talk to her even if it took weeks. This wouldn't be their end. He wouldn't let it be. "Don't you see how beautiful you are?"

Adaline was confused about his strategy but she didn't want him to talk like that. She did not want him to be Aleksander Morozova. The second he wielded the blade in his hand to kill her, he became the Black Heretic.

"Stop it."

"We could rule the world together, Adaline! We can show them that Grisha aren't evil....that we aren't the cursed ones. Nothing has to change!"

"Everything has to!" That was the bitter truth. "Everything has already changed. It's either you or me. It's only a matter of time before one of us makes the decision." Adaline wasn't in her own skin. Her mouth was moving and words were coming out, but she wasn't Adaline.

His voice calmed down. "Betray this. Turn your back on this. Be with me for once."

Adaline couldn't believe how much of a hypocrite he really was. "I did turn my back on this. I was ready to leave my powers at the Hand. I did choose to be with you, Aleks. I chose you!" She shook her head. "But you chose your own pride and dreams over me. We could have had everything! If only you hadn't been too selfish to see that."

The realisation of nothing changing dawned upon the Darkling. "We have been through this same argument countless number of times."

"I know." She nodded. "And I'm tired. I cannot keep doing this. Every time I come back, I am stronger." She said. "But guess what? I am not strong enough to do this." The Darkling's heart beat faster. He could hear the exact tone of sadness in her voice. Both of them were tired of the running. "Make a decision. Now. I am going to give you one more chance." He clenched his jaw. "Destroy the Fold with me, or we can fight one more time."

"Adaline...."

"Choose!" Her voice echoed through the air surrounding them. She was prepared for a battle. She was ready for any possibility that was going to come her way.

And the Darkling loved her for it.

The Darkling was faced with his worst fear. He didn't want to be making that decision but destiny had brought him to Sophie and Adaline, and destiny would make its final blow soon.

His silence said it all. "Wow." She nodded, her heart breaking all over again. "After all this time, after everything that we have been through, you still choose this." Her plan was failing in a way. She would have to make the choice that she feared.

Adaline brought her hands together and conjured up a ball of energy. "Let's fight." She said as she threw the sphere in the Darkling's direction.