Drowning with Fire #3 ✔

Chapter 19 - Theo

It was the constellation of Aquila.

I'd recognise it in any sky, but why Ember had chosen to have it engraved on one side of the urn, I didn't understand.

On an impulse, I pressed the cold, indifferent metal to my lips. I didn't know what I was expecting to happen, but nothing happened anyway. The physical touch didn't make me feel any closer to Ember.

Almost nothing can cross the void of death.

"D'you know why it has to be iron?" Thea's voice sounded from the doorway, the suddenness of her appearance making me jump slightly – I must have been really out of it not to hear her coming.

I let my eyes fade back to normal; "What?"

She walked in and sat in the chair next to me, facing me straight on. "Why the jar-thingy has to be made out of iron to contain her ashes." She nodded down at the urn necklace as I slowly placed it on the table.

My eyes settled on her and were promptly drawn to the Phoenix lore book she had clutched to her chest protectively.

"Sorry for startling you." She grimaced as she realised that I'd been somewhat shaken by her entrance. "I should've – uh, knocked, I guess."

"Or you could've used telepathy," I suggested, my forehead furrowing as I said the words; why hadn't she sent me a message telepathically?

"I couldn't, actually." Thea's eyebrows knitted together stubbornly, the way I remember Mom's did. "You were blocking it, somehow."

"How does that even work?" I mirrored her frown, equally as confused.

Dismissing it due to either ignorance or confusion, she jerked a shoulder up in a shrug, "Do you know why her ashes have to be kept in an iron vessel... Even though iron is actually her version of silver for us."

With a sigh, I admitted, "I don't know," with guilt nagging at me.

"Don't stress; I don't think Ember even knew why." She rested her hand on my forearm in reassurance, yet I slid my arm away from her not long after. "It's so that the Phoenix doesn't wander to a new body while Ember is... well, dead."

"That's okay, Thea. You don't have to sugar-coat it." I smirked, a hint of humour tinging my tone for the first time in days – denying my despair with laughter.

Without Ember, it felt like all the possible joy in my life had been dampened. Maybe because she wasn't there to share it with me.

But I had Thea, my twin sister, right there with me. Ryder kept sticking with me no matter what. Even Wednesday and Al, Ember's friends, seemed to appreciate me being there and listened to me, too. It seems petty, but I found myself seeking constant gratification and justification for my presence.

Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I asked Thea, "Why is that? Why isn't the Phoenix loyal to Ember?"

"Power is never loyal, especially not to those who claim to control it," she told me, eyes lowering to the Phoenix lore book. "It's all in here... But it's not exactly light reading." She placed it on the table, releasing a rush of dust in the process.

I was in danger of ending up stuck in my thoughts again; power is never loyal, Thea's words kept turning over in my mind.

"Shifting power is actually pretty common in nature, actually." Thea mused, once again rescuing me from my own mind. "Whether that be normal nature or the supernatural side of life."

"Like in wolf packs." My eyes were restless and refused to settle on any one thing for long – Thea, the book, the urn necklace, the wall, the clock, Thea...