Bloodline

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"And the ocean! We're gonna go see the ocean soon and I can't wait! I wanna see all the fishies and merpeople too!"

Lea's smile couldn't get any bigger as she listened to Thirteen going on and on about his planned adventures with his leopard, Lexi. She never interrupted him, never said his hopes and dreams were silly, just admired him and gushed about how amazing he was. He was drinking it up.

I, on the other hand, didn't talk much. Didn't share much, didn't need to. With the King clear about his feelings regarding me, I didn't think we were going to get to know Lea as well as she had hoped and I didn't want her getting her hopes up either, so my answers to her questions were pretty vague and flat.

It was honestly a little disappointing, though. She seemed like a great female.

She seemed like... a real mother, actually. She loved talking about Hannibal, and her daughter, Havalia, Hannibal's sister and the Atlantean goddess of treasure and wealth, and Hannibal's stepfather, Zetnos, the Atlantean god of the underworld. She gushed and preened about them all like they were the only jewels in the world and I loved that about her. I loved that she loved her kids, her husband. And she didn't just say she loved them; it showed in the way her eyes lit up, the way she looked at the King as if he were the moon and stars, her cheeks flushed, her smiles sparkling.

She truly loved her family.

And I just found that... incredible.

"Ugh, I could just stay here all day," Lea sighed as she rose to her feet, "Unfortunately, I've got some work to attend to. It's busy being a goddess sometimes." Akin smiled understandingly.

"Of course. You know you're always welcome to visit, Lea," he said, making the goddess beam from ear to ear. She threw her arms around Akin for a hug, then released him so she could turn to Thirteen, who threw his hands up and made grabbing motions for a hug too, much to my surprise. Lea looked thrilled and hugged him back.

"I'm really looking forward to getting to know you both," she paused when she got to me, and I just offered her an uncomfortable smile and she seemed to know I wasn't into the hugging thing, so she simply nodded, "And if you need anything, either of you, anything at all, let me know and I'll be right here for you." We nodded as Lea turned to Hannibal.

"And you. Call your sister. She's getting a little out of hand with the bloodletting over in Vitinis."

"The way I hear it, the Vitali deserved it," the King said flatly, "But I'll see what I can do." Lea smiled at that, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek before she stepped back and vanished on the spot. Something I once again had to adjust to because it just happened so fast. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"Alright," Akin declared, "I'm starving. How about some lunch?"

"Actually," Keros said, glancing at me, "I was hoping you'd let me steal Seven. I made some reservations at Titi's Oyster House." Akin's eyes widened, his smile growing.

"Really? That's wonderful, I love that place," he tacked on, giving me a wink, making me look at him curiously. Meanwhile, the King was frowning quite deeply, like he did not approve of this plan at all, which made no sense to me. You'd think he'd love any excuse to get me out of his house. I was starting to think the guy just didn't like anything ever all the time.

What a miserable existence.

"Well, we won't keep you guys," Akin started.

"Don't spend too much time out," the King said, making Akin blink and look at him in distress, "There's still a cult out there looking for you. It's dangerous to spend so much time out and about."