Heaven Hath No Rage - Book Two

Rejected

Her eyes were trained on the wall, the chatter coming from next to her just a buzz at the back of her head. Ava had been a wreck since that morning. They had left Niveal the night before, under the cover of darkness, several suns since she had last seen Theo. It was grueling to know she was so close, but no matter how tempted she had been she couldn't break the promise of not seeing her again. It was not a risk they could afford to keep taking.

But Ava had dreamt of Theo every night. The first night was awful, she woke up beside herself with worry. She had seen Theo die in her arms and it was her doing. The next night was better, but not pleasant. The dreams had mellowed out over the next suns but it was almost worse the sweeter they became. The night before, once the ship had rocked her to sleep, she was able to relish in Theo's embrace. Once she awoke, next to a snoring Cameron, she was despondent.

A light fog had settled over her and she carried it in her soul, clouding over her mood. She had gotten up to attend breakfast with the Cookers but it was a surprise how she had even dressed herself. She could barely remember it. She had floated through the rest of the sun much the same. She had been so wrapped up in herself and in her regrets all sun, thinking what it would have been like to just stay, and had not realized how quickly time had passed her by.

Ava had been in Mallory's cabin for hours and she could not pinpoint a single thing she had heard her and Oceane talk about. They had left her alone for the most part but she felt bad for not engaging. Knowing that Mallory was bound to leave soon, she knew she had to make some amends, but they had yet to speak about anything. She looked over at them as they began to cackle.

Ava frowned, Oceane had left her brother behind while the rest of her family was scattered and yet managed to be in a good mood. Ava was frustrated with herself, she was the one moping while everyone around her suffered worse than her. The life of a noble is what she was lamenting.

The two girls on the bed with her did not stop laughing, she could almost guarantee that whatever had been said had not been that amusing. They were just dragging each other further down a spiral of breathless laughter. Mallory finally caught her breath and slapped Oceane's arm as she also began to recover.

Ava felt herself smile, the laughter a bit contagious. As she did, Mallory looked over and caught her eye.

"Do you want to know what's so funny?" Mallory offered with a smile, no pettiness in her voice– a departure from her attitude on the journey up to that point, "Tell her."

Mallory's arm nudged Oceane.

She laughed, "I can't repeat myself. It was bad enough the first time."

"To summarize, she spent a lot of her time in the evenings with Blue. Didn't you?" Mallory laughed and looked over at Oceane.

"He was looking for me," she shrugged, rolling her eyes, "it was kind of sweet."

"He is in love with you. Theo told me as much," Ava hummed, finally chiming in.

"Aye, he is in love with me. He told me many times," Oceane smirked a bit, "but I didn't commit to anything. Our nights were just some good times."

"And that is all you did? You spent your suns being entertained by Blue?" Ava teased.

"Well, you would have known had you been listening that I spent my suns quite wholesomely. Just my nights were spent in pleasure," Oceane shot right back, a gentle smile on her face to show she was teasing, "Many, many people love me. It's hard to juggle them all."

"How did he take it that you didn't want to be with him?" Mallory asked, diverting their attention back to the topic.

"He never asked me to be with him or define boundaries when it came to us. He knows not to. He simply told me he loved me and was obsessed with me endlessly," Oceane shrugged a bit with a laugh.