Bloodline

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Oh. My. God.

I was never going to drink again.

I swore to the great gods above, I would never touch another drink again in my life.

I laid in bed that morning, feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, then shoved in a paper shredder, then ran over with the truck again for good measure. My entire body ached, my stomach was heavy with nausea, my head felt like Thor was using his hammer as an alarm clock.

"Oh boy," Akin sighed as he stood over me, shaking his head, "See what happens when you drink so much?"

"I'm never doing it again," I moaned, pulling my pillow against my face to staunch the swirling nausea. Not that it did much. Akin simply shook his head again. Beside him, Thirteen beamed as he held his toy, Lexi, in his arm.

"Come on," Thirteen exclaimed, "We're going to the beach today, Seven! Get up!" His voice made my ears ring and I just pulled the pillow over my head now. Thirteen whined and set Lexi on my nightstand so he could start punching at the pillow on me, and damn Akin for just standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Get up! Get up! Get up! I wanna see the fishies! I wanna see sharks! I wanna see jelly fish and eat squid! Get up!" Thirteen shouted. I groaned, swatting him away.

"Okay, okay, just give me a minute!" I exclaimed helplessly. Thirteen ceased his assault, snatched up Lexi, then turned to Akin.

"I'm gonna get my shoes! Let's hurry before the fishies leave!" He yelled, then ran out of the room. I groaned again, pulling the pillow off my head. Akin sighed.

"Go take a shower," he said, "Hannibal's making you a special breakfast. You'll feel better once you get up and start doing things."

"I find that hard to believe," I grumbled. Akin just smiled, then left the room, slamming the door shut extra hard, which only made my head hurt more. I moaned and finally managed to peel myself off the bed. I hobbled into the bathroom to shower, and thankfully, I felt a little better afterwards. Less slimy, less greasy, less hungover, I guess was the word. I pulled on a tank top and shorts before I slowly made my way to the kitchen where Thirteen was gobbling up what looked like little mini pancakes. I grimaced at the sight of them, my stomach so not happy with the concept of food. I put my hand over my stomach and waited for the wave of nausea to pass. Once it did, I took a seat and laid my head down on the table.

"Why do we have to go to the beach today? Can't I stay here?" I asked. Akin shook his head.

"Can't leave you alone."

"But the guards are outside--"

"Doesn't matter. You're coming with us to the beach. We're gonna meet up with Lea and Havalia, who's eager to meet you both," Akin explained. I grimaced, but didn't say anything. I just laid there until a plate landed on the table in front of my face. I blinked and looked up to see the King walking back to the stove to shut it off. I sat up, looking at the plate to see what looked like plain rice with a side of scrambled eggs and a banana.

I sat up and reluctantly dug in to find that the rice wasn't plain. It was some kind of ginger rice, it was mild and bland, but holy shit, did I find myself shoveling that stuff away. I inhaled the plate and waited for more and ate that too. I managed to fill up and felt way better afterwards, though, my head was still pounding.

"Here," Akin said, holding out a couple of white pills in his hand, "These are Hannibal's, but he's letting you take some for your headache. They shouldn't affect you negatively if your genetics are anything like his."