War of Change | Book 3

2: Eastern Fleet

Art: Chalices of the Void by Shadow Art Finds

The salty wind whipped through my loose hair. If I closed my eyes and held onto the past as tightly as I held onto the metal railing, I could pretend I was back on Zuko's ship.

My mind tried to warp my surroundings. It made the air cooler as if we were still skirting along the Earth Kingdom's southern coast. In my peripheral, I could see the Water Tribe men disguised in Fire Nation uniforms, but my thoughts turned them into the crewmen who I once dined with every night. Even my ears betrayed me, the deep laugh of one of the men jolting me upright to search for Iroh on the top deck.

A groan left my mouth when I realized what I'd done. I turned back to the water and dropped my arms onto the railing, hanging my head. My hair fell around me like a screen. I felt instant gratitude for the thick locks and how they concealed my twisted features.

I was furious.

No matter how much ice I tried to fill it with, the burning in my chest would not dissipate. I wanted to scream in the face of the prince for leaving. I wanted to scream at his sister for taking him. I wanted to scream at his father for damaging him so much that he thought this was the right thing to do. More than anything, I wanted all of this to be a lie and for this to really be Zuko's ship.

It would be easier to heal if I didn't play into my fantasies. However, my thoughts were still too busy from my conversation with Yue the night before, and I wanted more than anything to experience a moment of peace, even if it was only a daydream.

Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders. The scent of smoke mixed with tea leaves filled my nose, and I knew exactly who it was. I pinched my eyes, not daring to look. It wasn't real, no matter how much I was trying to will it.

He pressed his head against mine, nuzzling against my temple and clearing my aching head. "I'm not going anywhere without you," his voice was barely his own, only a whisper that could be mistaken for a breeze. "I promise."

My arms trembled against the railing, an invisible weight pushing down against my back and making my muscles weak. The edges of my eyes burned. "Liar."

"Kida?" my sister's voice broke through my thoughts. "What did you say?"

I pushed my hand through my hair and straightened my spine. It took only a moment to collect my thoughts. With one shallow breath of the salty air, I slid the ice casing back over my heart and returned to reality. "Nothing."

When I turned around, I found Katara and Toph standing behind me. Neither looked too suspicious. I leaned back against the railing, rolling back my shoulders and forcing my body to relax. "What are you two getting into?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Why do you automatically assume we're getting into stuff?"

I crossed my arms, raising a brow at the fourteen-year-old I helped raise. "Call it a hunch."