Chapter 2
“I’m so sorry,” the words are barely out of Zuko’s mouth as Ambassador Sokka bursts into the room. Zukos’ not sure his calm state of numb shock can survive seeing Sokka’s panic.
There’s nothing in the world that could lighten this mood, take away this burden from him. As much as Zuko wanted to take the pain away from him, there was now way he could.
“Where is she?” Sokka’s on the brink of shouting.
“They had to take her to the healers - but, Sokka,” Zuko reached out to stop the other man before he could barrel past him. “She was badly wounded in the explosion. Just… I need you to be prepared.”
Zuko couldn’t make him say what the Ambassador would need to prepare for. The Firelord himself wasn’t even certain yet. Sokka barely even nodded at him before he ran off.
The icy calm returned as soon as the other man left, leaving Zuko alone with nothing but the soaring ceilings to keep him company. The rest of the palace was still scrambling, but it wouldn’t be too long before someone sought him out. Before they realised he was alone, before he was swamped with personnel and guards and fussing friends.
For the time being, he was content to just be alone. His clothes still smelled singed, which he wasn’t unused to, but he would never usually allow his official Firelord robes get damaged. The smell itself was foreign too. The explosion wasn’t natural, and it wasn’t caused by fire bending either. It was too… neat. It wasn’t human enough to be the product of bending. This was something manufactured, something artificial. And it had been meant to kill him.
Instead, it had taken out a wall he had no particular attachment too and a slew of his most trusted guards - the Kyoshi warriors. It had only taken a couple casualties, and injured many more, but that didn’t make it any less worrying. A weapon like that making it that far into the palace - that wasn’t supposed to happen.
Zuko could barely make himself think through the ringing that seemed to have taken over his skull, but he only had a few more seconds of silence before servants or politicians or whoever came bustling in to shuttle away the silence.
He would have to face this problem head on. He definitely would.
Just maybe… tomorrow.
Right now, the only thing he could think of was Sokka alone in the infirmary and Suki’s ruined body.