Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Forty Three

"I...I thought you were-" The grey-eyed man-no-Deimos began, a hundred different emotions swirling in his gaze. But before he could finish, a familiarly heavy voice interrupted his sentence.

"-In India, yes." Her father finished, walking up to them, "Deimos has been waiting to meet his little sister for a while now."

"Hold up." Rolan began, lines of confusion etched onto his face, "His sister?"

Kaenisa stood there, listening to them talk but her brain was too overwhelmed to contemplate a word they said. Maybe it had to do with the fact that her brother was standing so close to her-wait what?

"My brother!?" She hollered, "Since when do I have a brother!?"

"Half-brother." Zaic corrected, turning to face Cazek, "You didn't tell her?"

Her mind was on fire and, her gaze was frantically swinging back and forth between her father, Zaic and the grey-eyed man.

She refused to acknowledge him as anything but a stranger. She refused to accept that this....utterly mesmerising person could be her brother.

She could see the look of bewilderment on Deimos' face. Something was not right. She could feel it in the air surrounding them.

And her father's unwavering stare, one of warning and caution, only made Kaenisa more certain of it.

But before anyone could say anything else, The General spoke, "No, I did not."

He paused, turning to her, "Kaenisa, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I am afraid more pressing matters await. I shall explain the situation to you later. You have my word."

Deimos seemed to have come to a non-verbal and, by the looks of it, quite reluctant agreement with her-their father.

Because when the General asked him to come along, the grey-eyed man obeyed.

And just like that, they walked off like nothing had changed, leaving her standing in the middle of the street with a trillion questions and an incipient sense of betrayal.

Emotions roiled through her, tangled in such knots that she couldn't possibly hope to discern them. They lodged themself as a throbbing lump in the back of her throat.

"Kaenisa...." Sarina began, brows pulled up into a pitiful gaze directed towards her.

"He should have told her!" Zaic exclaimed, startling everyone before storming off towards her fa-no, The General and her 'brother'.

Had she really expected her father to not have a life without her? When he was not even aware of her existence up until a few months ago?
It was stupid, really. Thinking that he'd have no wife or child, no family other than her mother and herself.

"I....I think I'd like to be alone." Kaenisa blurted before turning away.
Her mind was a mess, a jumble of thoughts, questions and assumptions. Kaenisa's legs moved, but she hadn't the slightest idea where they were taking her.

Zaic had left, presumably to hurl insults at General Cazek and her friends looked at her as if she was a damsel in distress. Like a piece of gossip. They didn't mean to, she was sure. But it is human nature, after all.