THE OTHER AIRBENDER (Book 3)

(III) Water

"You... You're..."

"Yes, Alya. I'm your father. My name is Lu Ten, son of Prince Iroh and true heir to the Fire throne."

"But... That... That would mean..."

"It means that as my daughter, you are the real heir to the Fire Nation's throne."

"But Fire Lord Ozai—he's the Fire Lord, not Iroh."

"After Ozai learned the truth about where your mother was from—a descendant of the Air Nomads, he used this information to persuade your great-grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, to revoke my father's birthright to the crown. Your mother knew it would be only a matter of time before they hunted you, thinking you may be the next Avatar, and she hid you from this world since."

"So she had to leave after you left for Ba Sing Se?"

"She knew that when I died, Ozai would stop at nothing to get to you. Thanks to my aunt, Lady Ursa, we knew about this all just in time to set up a plan to help you two escape. The plan was for the three of us to leave before Ba Sing Se was conquered, but..."

"But you never came back from the war," I finish, tears rolling down my eyes against my will. When I said I wanted to finally meet my dad and find out who he was, this is not what I had in mind. "I... I always tried to imagine what you'd be like. If you were like me. I never thought that you'd be a..."

"A firebender? I can't say I blame you. I know it's hard now, but you need to understand where you come from—on both sides of your family—to fully understand who you're meant to be. I know you have combustive abilities with the air. That's the Fire heritage in you."

"But the Fire Nation... They're all killers. Invaders. The bad guys."

"Are they? Alya... The Avatar before Avatar Aang was Fire Lord Sozin's best friend. Prince Zuko's mother was Roku's granddaughter. Even now, you and Avatar Aang are good friends, aren't you? The Avatar being best friends with a Fire Nation Princess, who also happens to be one of the very last airbenders. Good and bad aren't two separate things; often you'll find that they are two strong forces constantly at war with each other inside all of us. What determines who you are is which one of those forces you let win."

"I have so many questions... I—I need more time—"

"We have to go now, Alya. I sense something is happening in the physical world," Yue tells me, while I shake my head with desperation.

"No! Wait! I need to know more—"

"It's alright, Alya. I know we will meet again. Besides, your friend is right. You are much needed on the other side."

"Please... Lu Ten... Dad! I need... I need..."

"It has been the greatest gift to be able to meet you, Alya. I love you, and I know you'll do the right thing."

"Come with me," Yue says, as she takes my hand and pulls me back into the sky.

I want to say something else, but I can't. My eyes are stinging, and all I want is to go back to my father and ask away. But I know that if Yue is telling me that something is wrong, then something must certainly be wrong.

"Yue... What is happening?"

"Something is about to happen. You need to be back in your body before it does."

"But what about you? Will... Will I see you again?"

She turns to me briefly and gives me a gentle smile. "You can look for me every night when you look at the moon, Alya. I promise to be watching you back."