Ocean Eyes

c h a p t e r t w e n t y o n e

There was a moment of silence after I asked that question.

I looked back at Morfia, to see her reaction and was met with a blank stare.

"I don't know," she answered, and the silence came back again.

We were all lost in our thoughts, lost in the possibilities of what could happen and what will happen. I look up from the wooden table and look at Dad.

There's a conflict brewing in his eyes as he stares at me. One side of it is churning in the hues of his eyes that are so similar to mine. Love. Relief. Happiness. But most of all, hope.

Hope was swimming in his eyes. Hope for a future that included mom. Hope for the return of love, much powerful this time even though it never left.

And then the darker side came out. It was still in the brown specks that were so dark they seemed to be black. Anger. Fear. Desire for revenge.

But all of these emotions surrounded one person. The love of his life. He was broken when she sacrificed herself for his life, like a piece of his soul that seemed to die with Mom.

But it came back. And I was looking straight into it.

I spoke out.

"What about Storm?"

I turned my head towards Morfia's widened eyes.

"What happened to him?" I whispered.

No matter how many times I tried convincing myself I was okay, no matter how many times I almost did think that I was fine without Storm, the thoughts of him still remained in my head.

She sighed.

"A war has started, Aria. And he's fighting in it."

My heart dropped and my lungs seized to work.

"A what?" I asked, stupefied by her confession.

Morfia's eyebrows furrowed and her green eyes widened, showing the regret of telling me that.

She opened her mouth, but it seemed like it wasn't to tell me what happened. If anything, it seemed like she wanted to switch the topic.

As if she knew that I was in an already fragile mental state, and her telling me the following would break me.

But I'm not weak. And I'm sure as hell not going to wait around like a damsel in distress for Storm to come back and sweep me off my feet.

I'm strong.

It must have been written on my expression because she let out a breath.

"A war has started in between Storm's kingdom and my father's. No one saw it coming because the two kingdoms were allies forever," Morfia explained quietly.

"What was the cause of it?" I asked.

She turned her head towards me, eyes wide as if she was relieving something traumatic.

She shook her head slowly.

"It was so... weird. Storm is always collected, but the second he saw Dad for the first time, he went feral with anger." She stopped. "And then it started."

My eyes narrowed as I stared at the table. Something didn't add up.

"But aren't you and Storm close? How was that his first time seeing your dad?"

She looked back at me, her emerald eyes churning with worry.

"Mama and my father got married not too long ago. Storm was busy with all of his king duties and I guess he never saw him."