Heaven Hath No Rage - Book Two

Negotiations

Theo was the one tasked with rowing back. It had been rhythmic and calming and the opposite of what she felt inside. In her boat had been Fjord and his father, she had ensured their safety and it felt like the only thing that had gone right. She had ridden back with them and had poorly contained her anxiety over Cooker– who had already been rowed away from the beach when she got there. Fjord tried to check in with her, but he was ignored.

Even with no interaction, from what she had observed of the two people in her boat it was hard to say that Fjord's father was okay. Neither of them was physically harmed but there was something not right with the older man. There was a haze over his expression, Theo couldn't tell if it was shock, disorientation, or lack of care. His face was sunken in, and his wrists and ankles were bony and frail where they peaked out of his clothes.

Fjord didn't mind Theo much aside from the occasional attempt to talk to her. Instead, he spent most of the time rowing back worrying over his father. He tried to coax him to speak, update him on what had happened, or interact with him but his father was not present. She remembered Oceane had told her about her worries with his health and his mind previously and she could see that the situation had only worsened from a length in prison.

It was making her more unwell. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation and the understanding that whatever was happening wasn't good further upset her. By the time they arrived at the ship, she was bursting at the seams. As she hopped onto the deck, Theo was positive she was harnessing every negative emotion a human could possess. Her poorly contained frenzy had quickly earned her a home outside of the infirmary, unable to stay with Cooker during whatever procedure was happening. She was strung out and feared she would kill anyone that came close to her.

It was no surprise that she had gotten herself banned from the room. The healer wasn't Tuni and wouldn't put up with her hovering or critiques. Morgana and Agnes were allowed to stay inside and while she was bitter that she couldn't be in there with them, she was thankful her antics were not enough to get everyone kicked out of the room.

If she couldn't direct her energy toward helping with Cooker, Theo knew exactly where to expend it, but she had to wait a bit longer. Kao had yet to row back, he was doing damage control on the island. But Theo's eyes were trained on the edge of the ship, waiting for him to arrive. She had forced herself to look away from where Cooker was being held because she was afraid her heart would beat so fast from the anxiety that it would burn out.

There was a large field around her that no one dared to enter. Perhaps they thought that crossing an invisible boundary and getting too close would cause her to bite their head off. And honestly, she had to appreciate it. She wasn't sure she wouldn't take it out on some of the other useless crew members that Kao brought. She knew she needed to calm the anger inside her, but she wasn't interested in doing that.

If it was her crew or a relationship she cared about she might have been more inclined to approach the upcoming conversations with calm and composure, but this wasn't her crew or a relationship she cared about. She would never work with Kao again– if he was even allowed to continue working with the revolution after the fiasco that had just occurred. But Xyra would want her to be civil. So would Cooker. And this was just the lack of control that had gotten her in a world of hurt a length before.

It wasn't productive.

Theo was trying to count her breaths. Hoping some repetition would help calm her down but nothing helped. She was itching for Kao to show his face so she could have someone to rip into. They had settled on no explosion. They went back on their arrangement, which was only made after Theo found out about the secret addendum to the plan. It wasn't looking good for their involvement in whatever Brandon Cooker was leading.