Page 80 of When Eden Falls

The ground beneath me seemed to distort and disappear. And in the next instant…

Darkness.

C h a p t e rT w e n t y – T w o

The pounding in my head woke me. On opening my clammy eyes, I strained against the harsh brightness. My stomach roiled. Hell, I needed to be sick.

I launched myself out of bed, scurrying to the weird toilet-cupboard with my hand pressed against my mouth. Pushing my head through the hole in the rock wall, I vomited, violently. The smell of those pink drinks hit me, and my stomach roiled again.

I gripped the jagged rock surrounding the opening. My body scraped against the rough surface, while the cold wall dug into my knees. This was so uncomfortable.What I’d give for a porcelain toilet pan and a heated floor right now.

After a few minutes of expelling the contents of my stomach, I collapsed onto my heels, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. A vague recollection of images of last night started to jumble about in my mind. Visions of sexy dancing in front of Dybgo. Rooke and I dancing. My eyes widened recalling his lips caressing mine. Nux, did I grind myself against his…?

“Shit.”

It had all been real. And Rooke had rejected my advances.

“Shit.”

I held my face in my palms and silently screamed. What the hell was wrong with me last night? I didn’t do those types of things. That wasn’t me.

“Both the cursing and sicking ones guts up is neither acceptable nor femalelike.”

Finding Yuska standing in the doorway, I scowled at her. “What the hell was in those drinks yesterday?”

She tutted and turned on her heel. Struggling to stand against the dizziness, I staggered after her.

“You’ll feel better once you’ve had something to eat. A late breakfast is ready on the table for you.” She stopped halfway across the bedroom and turned to look at me. “You’ll need to tidy yourself up. Your commander has asked you to be ready the first hour after noon.”

“What for?”

Yuska glared, taking in the physical state of me. I was still wearing my clothes from the party. “To retrieve your ship, I believe.”

Nux, how was I going to face Rooke after what happened? “Shit.”

She raised her eyebrows and tutted. “Your language is appalling today. Come. Eat.”

I trudged behind her into the main room of the apartment. My head pounded with every footstep I took. What the hell was I going to say to Rooke? If my memory served me correctly, I had tried to have sex with him, and he’d stopped me. Nux, this was humiliation nightmares were made of. I wanted the ground to swallow me up and never spit me out.

Amusement danced in Zamya’s eyes as I seated myself at the table opposite her. “You look like hell,” she said.

“Thanks.” I slumped a little, eyeing all the food in front of me. My stomach began to gripe again.

“Where did you go last night?”

“I, um…” I squeezed my eyes together. “I don’t know. I was drunk.”

“No, you weren’t drunk. You were drugged.”

I looked over at her as she casually cut up pieces of fruit. “What do you mean, drugged?”

Zamya pointed her coral knife at me, then Cora, who sat to my right, and said, “I told both of you not to drink that stuff, and I was right.”

Cora and I glanced at each other before returning our gaze to our resident biologist andknow it all.

“Don’t leave us in suspense, Zam,” I grumbled.

“Those drinks were infused with hormone enhancers. Which is the reason why they were labelled by colour. Among other things, the pink ones heighten oestrogen to encourage the females to feel confident, sexy, more susceptible to…you know.”