Hunted

Chapter 34

Chapter 34-Azula's POV

I must have been hallucinating. It was the only logical explanation. After all, there was no way that Dad could be here. He was gone. I’d made sure of that when I cut the pack tie with him.

                But sure enough, when I turned around, frantically searching for him amongst the chaos, there he was, striding through the black flames as if they didn’t bother him at all. He even went as far as to bat at them in irritation, like they were an annoying bug. But to my astonishment, the flames cowered away from him, parting for him wherever he went.

                He looked like absolute shit though. There were dark circles under his eyes that burned yellow; it was like he hadn’t slept properly in days. As he came closer, I saw that there were little lightning bolts of red eating up his irises.

                “Azula,” he breathed, coming to a stop in front of me. Everything seemed to stop. It didn’t matter that people were still running around, trying desperately to find a place to hide from my unholy fire. He was actually here. It was all my mind could seem to grasp.

                “Oh Azula, what have you done?” he whispered. I heard him, somehow, over all of the shouting.

                My beast frowned at him. “What needed to happen,” it answered.

                Smack!

                The beast’s head whipped to the side. It took me a few, long moments to realise that Dad had actually hit it. Slowly, the beast raised a trembling hand to its cheek. I felt a tingling on my own cheek but it tickled more than anything. The fact that I could actually feel a little of what my physical body did showed me more than anything how hard Dad had slapped it.

                “I wasn’t talking to you,” Dad spat. The red in his eyes seemed to glow brighter. “I was talking to my daughter.”

                Trapped in my prison, I gasped. “He knows?” I turned to Mahina. “How does he know I’m not the one in control?”

                Mahina shook her head sadly, not taking her eyes from the screen. “He’s been keeping secrets from you, child. So many secrets.”

                “H-how do you know? What secrets?” I stuttered. What was she talking about? Dad and I didn’t keep secrets from each other. Not really.

                “I’m not allowed to tell you,” she replied, sounding frustrated. “Not yet, anyway,” she added.

                But I barely heard her, my attention straying back to the screen as something amazing happened.

                “You disgust me,” Dad was saying, his face twisting in revulsion. His words would have hurt, but I knew he was talking to the beast rather than me. “Get out of my sight.”

                The beast whimpered, actually whimpered, and left the seat of power so fast it made me dizzy. I blinked and I was back in control, that dark prison all but a distant memory.

                “Azula, thank God it’s you. Thank God you’re alright!” Dad exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me. His warmth was comforting, familiar and I snuggled in closer, trying to absorb as much of his strength as I could. I felt weaker than I had before, but at least the beast had stopped attacking me. Thanks to Dad.