"I read about them," she remembers. "That kind of fae, I mean. They're Irish. Phoenixes are...destructive, I guess. They're made of fire, and they burn everything they touch. They can't help it. They don't even think of it, really. It's just who they are."

And at the time Ruby hadn't understood why a creature like that would seek her out, but as she got older, well--

She began to understand. Ruby stretches out onto her back to float, squinting up at the sunlight.