The battered man pulled the sword out of the cracked ceiling and stumbled up to Leera.

“I was dead. The gates were opening, and I saw Heaven. I marveled in its radiance.” The knight placed the sword tip down with his hand on the hilt and took a knee. “But then you touched my heart, and I was blinded a tenfold by your grace. My sword is yours, for you shine brighter than Heaven itself.”

“I have no use for a sword,” Leera said. “But if you’ll help me stop the war, I accept your pledge.”

Leera knelt next to Maya. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” the knight said and gathered up Maya in his arms. “You’ll have time to grieve, but we need to go back now.”

The portal shimmered and flickered weakly, the arcana almost completely drained. Together they stepped through, returning to the Temple of Minah.

Leera opened the wall. The sun broke through the clouds and warmed her face. She sighed and sat down in the grass. She hadn’t realized until now the extent of her exhaustion. She struggled to keep her eyes open.

Bryne was the first one to notice. His face lit up, but his eyes fell on Maya. In an instant, the color drained from his face. With his red hair burning behind him, he ran up to the knight and took Maya from him.

“W-what happened?” he said.

“Ryze,” Leera said tiredly. “I’m so sorry.”

Bryne’s focus returned to Maya. The veins in his forehead bulged. Leera saw a single tear roll down his face.

“Hey, wake up…” he whispered. “Please, Maya…”

It was heart-wrenching to see his usually confident and blasé demeanor melt away, like an icicle under the spring sun. He really did love her. Leera could see that in the way he desperately caressed her unmoving body, in the way his fingers dug into her caramel skin, and in the way he kissed her forehead. Leera couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever experience a love like that.

“I… I-I love you… There, I said it. Please don’t… You can’t be dead…”

Maya blinked and opened her eyes. Her viridescent irises glittered in the sunlight.

“It only took… me almost dying… for you… to admit that.” Her voice was dry and throaty.

Bryne laughed in astonishment, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply.

Wide-eyed Leera looked at Quick. How was this possible? She had seen Ryze slit her throat. She had felt the blood seeping through her fingers. She hadn’t been able to stop the bleeding.

“You were always able to heal the bruises on your own body by simply touching them,” Quick said and pointed at the stones on the string around Maya's neck. “The countless tears you shed on the rocks of your necklace infused them with the power to heal the wounds of any earth-bender.”

Leera remembered her cuts and bruises in the orphanage, how she’d used to press her palms against them. Was that what the voice in the temple had meant when she healed the knight? She’d always thought it was her imagination when the swelling went down a little and the pain subsided.

Leera tilted her head back. Thin clouds, like white scars, covered the sky. She held out her hand. One by one she brushed the clouds away until only the pristine blue remained. She had always been a healer. Maybe she could save everyone. Perhaps that was her job… to heal the world.