Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Twenty Five

Silence.

It rushed in like the thrashing waves of the sea following her mother's revelation.

They both stared at Kaenisa, probably expecting her to scream, or shout or....something. But all she felt was.....silence.

A void that yawned wide, devouring her emotions. Instead of feeling shocked, hurt or betrayed, she simply felt numb.

"Kaenisa...." Her mother began.

To her surprise, she couldn't blame the woman for not telling her, because what would her mother have said?

That her father was the second most powerful person in the mythical city of Atlantis?

Kaenisa would have called her crazy.

She did not remember turning to leave or starting to walk down the pathway or breaking out into a run, for that matter.

But she knew exactly where she was headed to as Kaenisa dashed past the gardens.

All that she could do was to run away.

So she did, blocking out everything, Kaenisa ran until she had left her house far behind.

Until she was surrounded by a new kind of familiarity.

Until, she could finally hear the twigs and leaves crunch beneath her feet, watery moonlight floating in through the lattices of leaves before finally coming to a halt, panting as she gripped her knees.

"Kaenisa!" A voice called out, making her turn, straightening as she anticipated his face to pop up out of the wilderness.

And, a few heartbeats later, it did.

"Kaenisa! Thank God!" Zaic panted, brows furrowed as he walked up to her.

She looked up into his lilac eyes, a flashing violet under the moonlight, glistening with concern.

The pearly radiance of the stars seemed to weave itself within them, a steady silver rippling within the grounding indigo of his gaze.

They were exactly what she needed right now.

"Are you alright? Hurt? What happened back there? Why'd you just run?" Zaic asked, stepping closer, as he examined her from head to toe.

"I...I...just need some time." She said, looking away. Kaenisa wondered why she felt so numb.

Was something wrong with her?

Then, she felt his touch on her skin, fingers caressing her cheek and realised that she could still feel.

In fact, she all she could do was feel his touch send tiny shivers down her spine as he turned her face to his.

There was no escaping his stare anymore. She didn't even want to.

"Alright my Levaena. But don't keep it bottled in for too long." He said.

"What does Levaena mean?" Kaenisa asked, not looking away.

"The one I want to love."

Something about the way he said that made her want to grab his alarmingly handsome face and kiss those lusciously delectable lips.

"If you would allow me, I would like a chance to fall in love with you, Kaenisa Mehta. I want to be the one standing by your side through everything that might come our way." Zaic spoke, voice steady, an anchor that kept Kaenisa from losing it.

Warmth spread across her chest, and without wasting another second, she grabbed his face between her palms, relishing the feel of his skin before pulling him into her, like two stars colliding together.