“Rowena has agreed to help you learn how to control the Phoenix,” Aleksander says.
Is she another traitor? Another person willing to risk everything to overthrow Jasce?
My stomach clenches, but I refuse to run away. Either I can accept her help, or I can refuse.
When Aleksander stepsout of the room and leaves me alone with Rowena, a part of me considers following him and avoiding the truths about Lyra’s magic. But I cannot walk away, not when I need to understand this part of who I am now.
It’s like a new tree sprouting inside me, and unless I understand all the branches, I’ll never flourish.
The Muchrah guides me to the center of the room. “Command your Phoenix. Call to her.”
“I...” I exhale and start over. “I don’t know how.”
Rowena’s long hem trails the marble as she steps closer. “Close your eyes and picture yourself standing in a field full of stars, where each one is a thread of magic, connecting you to everything around you. One of those threads burns brighter than the rest, like a river of fire cutting through the night sky.”
A river of fire?
Why does that sound beautiful?
I do as she instructs, letting my eyes fall shut. The darkness behind them shifts, transforming as points of light bloom like flowers opening their petals.
“Do you see it?” Rowena asks, her voice distant now. “That blazing thread?”
Among the petals, one streak of flame stretches before me. “Yes.”
“That’s your bond with Emberdione. Reach for it. Not with your hand, with your essence. Let your spirit flow along that connection.”
My consciousness drifts forward, drawn to that ribbon of fire. The moment I touch it, heat floods through me. Not burning, but warm, like sunshine on bare skin after a long winter.
“Now pull,” Rowena says. “Draw her to you through that bond.”
I gather my will and tug on that blazing thread, and a flash of light fills the chamber. When it fades, Emberdione hovers before us, her feathers shimmering with inner fire.
“The Phoenix isn’t just a creature you summon. She’s an extension of your spirit, bound to you by something deeper than magic. That’s why only you can summon her.” Rowena continues speaking as she circles Emberdione. “Most people think Phoenixes exist solely to burn, to reduce everything to ash, but that’s like saying the moon exists only to cast shadows.”
The Phoenix stretches her wings, and the air ripples with golden heat. Each feather catches the light differently—amber near her body, deepening to burnished copper at the tips.
The Muchrah continues speaking. “When you’re wounded, she can mend you. Her flames don’t just burn—they restore.”
My hand drifts to the scar on my face, the reminder of that long ago accident with the pot of boiling water. “She can heal?”
“Yes, but only you, and only if you’re deeply bonded with her. A Phoenix will not heal someone she doesn’t trust. And if shedoestrust you, her flames become an extension of your life force.” Rowena’s eyes soften as she adds, “Show her, Emberdione.”
The Phoenix dips her head, and a small flame leaps from her beak to dance across my forearm. Instead of pain, warmthspreads through my skin, into my muscles, down to my very bones.
“Excellent. That means she trustsyou,” Rowena smiles as she continues speaking. “Her healing can even go deeper than physical wounds. For example, when grief or fear threaten to overwhelm you, her presence alone can steady you. But remember, this gift comes with responsibility. A Phoenix’s healing flame is sacred, and it’s not meant to be wielded carelessly or at another’s command.”
“I understand.”
“Now, you must learn to release her when the need has passed. A Phoenix isn’t meant to linger in our realm indefinitely. The same thread that brought her here can guide her back. Find it again.”
I close my eyes, searching for that connection. It burns brighter now, more tangible than before, like a rope of living flame stretching between us.
“Now imagine that thread growing longer and stretching across the boundary between worlds. Let her follow it home.”
My throat tightens. “What if I need her again?”
“The bond remains. Distance cannot break it. Only death,” Rowena says. “Trust in that connection.”
