The Invasion

34 | The Search

A/N: ⚠️ Proceed with caution. Your mental health is of utmost importance.

—

We fix ourselves a quick lunch, which basically just comprises canned food. Zarius doesn't eat, but he explores my house, picking up my remaining family photos just to look at them. I follow him, chewing as I go, just so that I can explain to them what they are.

It's drizzling outside. We end up sitting on the porch with a couple of my family albums. "Fascinating," he marvels, flipping through them. "This is also another one of those creations that can capture a memory and keep it in a physical form?"

"Yes. We used a camera and printed this out on paper. We call this a photograph."

"And who is this? Is this you when you were a newborn?"

I almost choke on my food when I realize that he's staring at a baby picture of me posing in just a pink top and diaper with a pacifier shoved in my mouth. I was a chubby little thing, and this is getting too much for me to bear, especially when my drool was dripping. "Give that back."

He ducks out of my reach, still smiling at the picture. "Adorable. Now I see the resemblance."

"To who?" I ask until something clicks in my head. "You know my father?!"

Zarius nods once. "Delia, you do not know his name, do you?"

I shake my head, which only deepens his frown. "This merfolk that's together with your mother... I suspect he is the same person whom I'm looking for on the surface. The description matches."

I take a sharp inhale. It's funny how Zarius and I have a mutual connection without our knowledge. Is this fate that we actually get to meet? "Please. Tell me more about him. Do I really look like my father?"

He places a finger under my chin and tips my head up to get a better look at my face. The intense scrutiny has my cheeks growing hot, but I remain still like a statue. "I didn't tell you this, but I had a hunch from the very beginning when I first met you," he admits before letting me go. "I thought I could be wrong, which now I know I wasn't."

"What's his name?" I ask, growing eager. "Tell me what he's like."

Zarius's eyes seem to soften at how I'm growing excited over the mention of my father.

"Laiken," he shares. "He has been the adviser to the King for nearly two centuries, and is also my teacher. Who would have known I would have run into his first child bearing his blood? Fate is certainly a mysterious thing."

My jaw drops. I can't seem to grasp the fact that my father holds such a prominent position in their kingdom. What had compelled him to ignore the merfolk laws and risk his life to have a relationship with my mother? Was their love for each other simply that irresistible?

When I see my parents, I'm going to grill them for answers.

I recall Mia's words about how my father has gotten hurt and kidnapped. "Do you think the military knows what Dad truly is? Is that why my parents are taken?"

Zarius's expression hardens, his fingers digging into his palm. "Perhaps."

A thoughtful silence lapses between us. We've been sitting on the porch for some time now. The sound of light rain is soothing to the ears. Without turning my head, I can feel a pair of eyes watching me.

"Zarius," I start slowly, "what's becoming of us?"

He already has a predestined mate but he clearly has developed feelings for me. Just like I do. And right now, I'm confused about where I stand. I don't wish to be just a fling to him.