Hakota and Suki soon settle into our routine at the Temple. Aang is getting better at Time bending—he was able to freeze everything but Zuko, himself, and me for a solid minute. But he's nowhere near ready to fight with it. I'm picking up the other elements well, but Fire seems easiest to me. Water, on the other hand, remains as distant and as fickle as ever. Zuko has taught me more about hand-to-hand fighting, and Katara and I have gotten to be better cooks over the fire. Of course, it helps that my pack produces fire starters now. With a little bending, we have a roaring bonfire every night.
One night, we all decide to sleep out in the courtyard. Everyone pulls out their sleeping bags—mine from my backpack and two extras for Hakota and Suki—and spreads them in a circle. I have Zuko on my left, then Aang, Katara, Hakota, Sokka, then Suki on my right. We stay up late telling stories and cracking jokes, but everyone soon falls asleep.
We wake with a bang, though.
Bombs and weapons fly at us from the open side of the courtyard, but Aang manages to close it off with the protection left by the Air Nomads. But the ceiling starts to crumble over my head.
"Watch out!" Zuko shouts as he tackles me aside.
We watch the stone crash to the floor where I was standing. Zuko and I share a quick kiss, and get up to fight off whoever is attacking us.
I feel a rumble under my feet followed by the crash of rocks.
"Come on!" Toph calls from a newly formed hole in the wall. "We can get out through here!"
Everyone dashes for the protection and Aang struggles to get Appa to go under the earth.
"Zuko," the kid calls. "What are you doing?"
"You guys go ahead," he responds, "I have a feeling that this is a family visit."
I wrench myself out of Sokka's grasp to stand next to Zuko to cries of, "Starr! Save yourself!"
"Starr, no!"
"Aang, come on!" I hear Sokka call.
"We have to get out of here!" Katara adds, helping the Avatar pull Appa.
Zuko looks surprised to see me next to him. "You should go back," he warns. "This isn't going to be pretty."
"I'm counting on that," I say murderously. "I mean, these people wake me up from my first nightmare-free sleep since I got here? They're going down." Because I quite enjoy my sleep, especially when it's a wonderful dream of Zuko, and me, and the beach and not a cloud in the sky…
Soon enough, the battalion blasts their way through the protective wall to face us head on. Zuko and I run forward and throw simultaneous blasts of Fire at the balloon-boats floating towards us. But, rising from below the cliff, his sister appears, standing in the rigging of another boat.
"What are you doing here?" Zuko shouts at her.
Azula laughs. "You mean it's not obvious yet? I am about to celebrate becoming an only child!"
Anger surges through me and I whip a purple sphere at her body as she points some Lightning at us.
"No!" Zuko shoves me out of the way again. The lightning hits the stone before him and he's thrown into one of the columns.
With a shout, I take a running leap off one of the crumbling towers and jump onto the nearest ship, throwing flame and energy the whole way. Azula meets me on the top of the balloon. But I land off balance, and she barely touches me. I fly off the balloon and drop towards the bottom of the cliff.
Suddenly, I feel strong arms around my waist, and Zuko and I land on another rising balloon-boat. I catch my balance and we face his sister once more.
We run at her ship, leaping through the air again. It seems like a continuation of our battle at the Boiling Rock, us against her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph aboard Appa, flying to freedom.
We hurls fireball after fireball, but Azula only retaliates with more Lightning. In the middle of our showdown, Azula and Zuko's hands meet in the air, Fire versus Lightning, and they fly in opposite directions with a bang.
"Zuko!" I unthinkingly jump off the balloon after him. We catch each other in the air. From out of nowhere, Appa flies under us, catching our fall. Zuko and I get our balance onboard the beast as we fly far away from the temple.
We don't even look back.