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Yun tensed up. “I found them in the pile earlier.”
“They don’t fit you. Give them over.”
“I’d rather not.” He scooched backward but was hedged in by more boxes.
She crawled over to peer at the boots from a closer angle. “What did you—did you stuff the extra space with bandages? They’re ridiculously too big for you! Take them off!” She got to her knees and grabbed his foot with both hands.
“Kyoshi, please!”
She paused and looked up at his face. It was filled with pure dread. And he rarely ever raised his voice at her.
It was the second time today a person important to her had acted strangely. She forced herself to acknowledge the two incidents weren’t related. So he’d suddenly developed an intense taste for footwear. She’d make a note of it.
Yun sat up and put his hands on Kyoshi’s shoulders, fixing her with his jade-green eyes. She’d long since become inured to his flirty smiles whenever he wanted a rise out of her, his puppy-dog pout when he wanted a favor, but his expression of earnest desire was a weapon he didn’t pull out often. The way his troubled thoughts softened the sharp edges of his face was heart piercing.
“Spill it,” she said. “What’s bothering you?”
“I want you to come on a journey with me,” he said quietly. “I need you by my side.”
Kyoshi nearly choked on her surprise. He was offering a taste of the world that only an exalted few got to sample. To be a companion of the Avatar, even for a moment, was an honor beyond reckoning.
Flying into the sunset, huddled close to Yun, the wind in their hair—if Aoma and the other villagers were jealous of her before, they’d go foaming-mad with envy now. “What kind of trip is this?” she said, unconsciously lowering herself to his volume. “Where is this taking place?”
“The Eastern Sea, near the South Pole,” he said. “I’m signing a new treaty with Tagaka.”
Well, so much for fantasy. Kyoshi knocked Yun’s hands off her shoulders and sat back on her knees properly. The motion felt like it helped drain the heat out of her face.
“The Fifth Nation?” she said. “You’re going to sit at a table with the Fifth Nation? And you want me to come with you?” What was she going to do surrounded by a band of bloodthirsty pirates that was bigger than most Earth Kingdom provincial militias? Sweep up their . . . cutlasses?
“I know how much you hate outlaws,” Yun said. “I thought you might appreciate seeing a victory over them up close. It’s only political, but still.”
Kyoshi puffed her cheeks in frustration. “Yun, I am basically your nanny,” she said. “You need Rangi for this mission. Better yet, you need the Fire Lord’s entire personal legion.”
“Rangi’s coming. But I want you as well. You won’t be there to fight if things go wrong.” He stared at his own feet. “You’ll just stand around and watch me as things go right.”
“For the love of—why?”
“Perspective,” he said. “I need your perspective.”
He pulled out a Pai Sho tile he’d nicked from the set she’d put away and squinted at it like a jeweler in the light.
“Is it sad that I want a regular person there?” he said. “Someone who’ll be scared and impressed and overwhelmed just like me, and not another professional Avatar monitor? That afterward I want you to tell me I’m as good as Yangchen or Salai, regardless of whether or not that’s true?”
He laughed bitterly. “I know it sounds stupid. But I think I need the presence of someone who cares about me first and history second. I want you to be proud of me, Yun, not satisfied with the performance of the Avatar.”
Kyoshi didn’t know what to do. This idea sounded mind-numbingly dangerous. She wasn’t equipped to follow the Avatar into politics or battle, not like the great companions of past generations.
Her stomach wound into a knot as she thought of the secret between her and Kelsang. They wouldn’t get the time they needed to figure that matter out. The world demanded an Avatar or else.
“It’ll be safer than it sounds,” Yun said. “Oddly enough, most daofei gangs hold quite a bit of respect for the Avatar. Either they’re superstitious about the Avatar’s spiritual powers or intimidated by someone who can drop all four elements on their heads at once.”
He tried to sound lighthearted, but he looked more and more pained the longer she kept him waiting in silence.
Then again, was it so dire of a choice? Jianzhu would never risk Yun’s life. And she had a hard time believing Yun would risk hers. Really, the situation wasn’t as grand or complicated as she made it out to be. Avatar business and the fate of the Earth Kingdom was for other people and other times. Right now, Kyoshi’s friend was depending on her. She’d be there for him.
“I’ll come,” she said. “Someone has to clean up whatever mess you make.”
Yun shuddered with relief. He caught her fingers and brought them gently to his cheek, nuzzling into them as if they were ice for a fever. “Thank you,” he said.
