Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 18.1: It Was Not a Good Idea to Go to the Boiling Rock

- Elara -

Flowers. That was the first thing I could remember—a big field of those red flowers from the shop many months ago—and they stretched as far as the eye could see, plaguing the Air temple as they worked their way into every hole and crevice in the foundation. For a moment all was peaceful, and I relished in the warm, summer air as I soaked in the sun.

Unfortunately, I knew that all good things must come to an end, and there was no exception here. With a violent crack, the vines fractured the stone, the echo ricocheting off the canyon walls in harmony with the howling wind and the rumbling of thunder from the quickly approaching storm.

The land was darkened by the billowing clouds and was only interrupted by the frequent appearance of lightning. I could taste the electricity in the air—it tasted like blood—and as each flash worked its way towards me, the lightning licked the ground and set it ablaze.

I ran as the fire gnawed at my hands, my legs straining as if I were running through jelly through the streets that were all too familiar. The screams of the fallen once again filled my ears as I tried to save them, but it was too late. I couldn't get to them. I couldn't warn them. I couldn't show them the way out. And as my people perished, I was swallowed by the river and forced into its bitter depths.

Through the mist of the current, I could see a figure materializing in the distance. He was terrified, scanning the cold expanse for something he had lost. But his search was in vain. I tried to work my way towards him to help him find what was missing—I knew he was looking for me—but I was stopped short as the fiery grip of hundreds of hands twisted around my body. I called out his name as they began to drag me down, but he didn't hear me. Zuko didn't hear me, and I was lost to the darkness.

I struggled to breathe as an impossible weight was planted on my chest, the paralyzing fear only growing as I studied Yue collapsed on the ground before me. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes as I struggled to pull her to her feet, and as her face paled, she could only utter a few words, her voice just above a whisper.

"Please find me, Elara. I need you to find me."

Yue's pleas echoed throughout the cell as I tried to tell her that I didn't understand, and as she cried, her tears turned to blood and stained her cheeks. I tried to look away from the pain I had caused her, but my eyes instead found a mangled pile of crimson bodies beneath my feet. Among the dead I found my friends and family—all of them having been slain by my own hand. I wanted to cry—I wanted to scream—but I couldn't make a sound as I choked on the sweet stench of their blood.

I strained against the immense guilt and grief that had collapsed on me, and as I tried to pull myself upright, I could hear her laughing—that same, shrill cackle that seemed to follow me wherever I went to remind me of how I had failed everyone. And as I turned to look into a face that was far too familiar, I stumbled off the edge of my self-made cliff, allowing her to swallow me whole...

I shot up with a terrified gasp as my body forced myself back to the land of the living, my heart ripping its way through my chest as her chortle rang in my ears. And just as he had done for my dozens of previous nightmares, Sokka was quick to join me at my side to offer me some comfort.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sokka whispered as he pulled me into a hug, holding on tight as I instinctively tried to push him away. "You're okay, Elara. You're safe."

I struggled for a moment against his embrace as the adrenaline wreaked havoc on my body, but it didn't take long for me to calm down once I remembered where I was and who I was with. I could still feel the shivers of fear crawling through my veins, but I still tried my best to slow my breathing and my heart rate even when the walls of my room seemed to be collapsing in on themselves.