Heaven Hath No Rage - Book Two

Sister's Request

Her shoulder was checked as she walked down Stumbler's Row, finally having left Fingen's. Had it been any other night, Theo might have taken a bit more of an issue with being bumped into. Perhaps she would have thrown out an expletive or even stopped the person to instill the fear of a god into them. But that wasn't first on her mind that night. She walked forward, head in the cloud and eyes not fixed on the path.

Two nights ago her world had been flipped on its head. Baethos as they knew it was confirmed to be a lie. The revolution was offering her and her friends a seat at the table, a voice in what was happening. She had already agreed to help them on at least one mission. Ava was back. She was about to unlock access to some information about where she came from. Cooker had a hiccup. And in all of that, she had not found time to process it all.

She had been given enough time to be unburdened by the brunt of responsibility, it was only fair that after all that time it would be back to haunt her.

Theo took a deep breath and closed her eyes, pausing in the middle of the road as people flowed around her.

Even with all of the other noise, what was infiltrating her mind and taking over her every thought and action was Ava. She wanted to keep her in Niveal and then take her to their island. She wanted to convince her to run away from noble life and forget everyone else. She wanted to spend so much more time with her. But none of that was feasible.

She would be forced to love Ava from a distance. But she would do so happily. And while it hadn't been officially spoken about, Theo had to assume that they were a couple, regardless of the distance. She realized how it looked, she wasn't dense or unaware of people's perceptions. They hadn't had the healthiest of departures as Theo fundamentally altered Ava's life forever. But Ava loved her, dammit. That wasn't something Theo could walk away from. If they were happy, what was the fucking harm?

And Ava had been the one leading it all. Ava had been the one to push them to where they had gotten. Ava had pressed reconciliation and forgiveness on both sides. It was Theo's turn. She was going to make sure that Ava knew where she stood and she would do it as soon as she could. She would speak the unspoken and avoid all forms of miscommunication. She had learned her lesson.

It felt like she was weaving through crowds endlessly and she would never make to Marian's. But she was going to get there. Once she did, she could change, go through the tunnels, wait outside Ava's and wait until an appropriate time had passed to ask if she was allowed in. Or, wait for Ava to step out and give a sign. If there was no signal then she would have embarrassed herself but she would deal with that if it got to that point. She had an inkling that it wouldn't come to that.

What would she wear? The thought of Ava gave brought the butterflies in her stomach to life; she wasn't sure that picking an outfit had ever made her that nervous. She had already gone through the whole process the night before but this time, she felt less confident in her abilities to choose. Maybe because she wanted to impress Ava. Make her feel special, like Theo was getting dressed up just for her. Because that would be the case.

Theo was smiling to herself at the thought of putting something together that received a compliment which inspired some extra speed in her stride. Marian's was within eye distance and soon enough she was bursting through the doors of her bustling establishment. A show was ongoing and the floor was packed. Theo didn't immediately see anyone she knew besides the staff and she was relieved to be clear of all greeting responsibilities.

That is, until she made it to the second floor. Kaia was standing over an ongoing game of Titan, a large stack of coins on the table. She motioned Theo over. Theo obliged and took a peek at the board before looking up at Kaia. She laughed to herself at the amateur moves they both had clearly made and Kaia smiled too, knowing exactly what she was thinking.