Drusilla Blackthorn walked up to the steps of the new Shadowhunter Academy. The Academy was built on farmland owned by Luke Graymark. The sign that read Three Arrows Farm could still be seen at the beginning of the road. The land was alot bigger and spacious then Dru had imagined, though she wasn't sure why considering it would have to be big enough to train young Shadowhunters on. Maybe she just never thought of New York having expansive farm lands.

She looked behind her at Catarina who stood by the portal she had opened so Dru could get here.

Behind her she could see a thick forest of trees that obscured the small unpaved road that lead to the farm house and Academy from the main road.

"Are you going back?" Dru asked.

Catarina shook her head in response. "Hmm, I might check up on Ragnor when I'm done here before I head back. Make sure he hasn't killed any of the students yet."

Dru started up the steps leaving Catarina to finish up with what she was doing, too excited and nervous to stand around.

She had been thinking about going to the Academy for awhile now but she always made some excuse as to why she should stay. At first it was just that she would miss her family and after everything that had happened she just really wanted to enjoy being with them. Later she had told herself that Tavvy was too attached and still too fragile from too much that had gone wrong earlier in life to leave him just now.

But Tavvy was ten now and making friends of his own, he didn't need a babysitter now that he started acting his age and he has plenty of people to keep him company.

Besides, Dru had made her own friends over the past few years. Without secrets around every corner of the Institute to be found, they had more visitors then Dru could remember ever having. She had even travelled to different places with her siblings on a few occasions and met people at other institutes.

With Ty finally going to the Scholomance now was her chance to really try to become something too. She wasn't the same scared girl she once was, and even though she was nervous she knew she had it in herself to see this through.

If her brother could do it so could she.

She hesitated at the door for a moment wondering if she should knock or just walk in. After the slight second of deliberation she decided to just open the door find her own way. This was supposed to be a new chapter in her life she didn't want to start it hanging around doorways waiting to be noticed. She spent too much of her childhood like that.

The entryway was actually pretty small and felt more home like then any school she had seen before. It was also narrow and lead into a dining area. Most of Academy must be built into the west and east wing with a more smooshed middle living quarters, well it was built pretty quick Dru reminded herself. The Academy building itself sprung up in just a few short months after the closing off of Idris.

As soon as she opened the door she could hear loud laughter and shouts coming just down the hall, she even saw a few kids about her age dart into what she assumed was a dining hall and disappear behind a wall.

She felt herself freeze on instinct. Should she find a teacher? Maybe she should have just waited by the door after all, wouldn't it be weird for her to just walk into the dining hall with a bunch of strangers. She didn't even know where her friends were and if they were downstair or not.

She forced her feet to keep moving, lugging her suitcase behind her. If it was meal time and it probably was considering it was still early evening, then teachers would most likely be in there with the students.

She paused in the doorway taking in the room. It was indeed a dining hall with several long tables, a fireplace at one of the far ends and plenty of windows looking out at the lake. Though, the decor reminded her of a farm house then an institution with it's soft yellow paint decorated hanging dishes and red flannel window curtains.

There was alot more people then she was expecting too, especially kids. There must have been at least twenty kids in the hall and she could see people out in the yard and hear voices calling out down the hall. She wondered how many were Nephilim and how many were hopefuls training for ascension. She knew they had been desperately trying to recruit up until six months ago but it was still so odd seeing so many kids her own age in one place.

Before she could scan the whole room to look for a teacher she was suddenly accosted on all sides.

"Dru!" Her friends shouted while they took either side of her pulling her into bone crushing group hug.

"Guys!" She gasped, but found herself hugging them back. Her friends pulled away from her. Her face breaking into an excited smile to match theirs.

Mia Hartway and Mason Kinblade. Haleigh's family was actually part of the Los Angeles conclave. They started sparring together before she decided to go to the Academy. She had actually met Mason in New York when she went with Mark for a conference for the Shadowhunter and Downworlder alliance and became fast friends.

It was almost too good to be true that they were all here together.

They had practically dragged her into the hall which was a feat since she was bigger than either of them when someone else appeared in the doorway just behind them.

"Hey! Whoever thought they could just 'borrow' my witchlight without telling me, be for warned that I know where you sleep at night."

Dru stopped as well did her friends, she thought she had stumbled into a memory at the sound of that voice before she turned around to be face to face with a strange reality.

Kit Rook, no, Kit Herondale, was standing there leaning against the wooden support beam, except it wasn't the Kit from her memories that had taught her how to pick locks or had always kept a light hand on her brothers shoulder. This Kit was older, and uncomfortably attractive in Dru's opinion since she had always thought of him as another brother and the attractiveness of her siblings wasn't something Dru often thought of. He was broad shouldered and tall, the vulnerability that used to make him look so young was gone and replaced with a mischievous smile.

"How do you know who took it British boy?" A boy called back.

"First of all," Kit started, "I'm from L.A. and second of all, because I put a tracking rune on it Highsmith, you absolute dunce." Kit threw something that Dru thought was a pencil, the group behind them bursted out into laughter as they dodged out of the way.

"Oy, Herondale is throwing things again!" Someone mocked concern to a green warlock who was sitting a considerable distance away from the other students.

"Herondale does whatever he wants regardless of what anyone says, at this point I don't see the why don't we just let him run the Academy? Afterwards we can throw him a parade and then we can make him consul." The warlock said in agitation, stabbing the food on his plate without even looking up at the commotion.

Kit smiled like he was about to say something when his eyes finally fell on Dru, his expression wiped blank as they made eye contact.

"Dru?" He asked in astonishment, all the carefree joking was gone now, and Dru thought she could see just a flash of that old vulnerability.

She didn't imagine running into Kit at the Academy, and if she had she didn't know what she thought she might have done. Yell at him for lying maybe, hit him for letting Ty do something so stupid as necromancy, or demand to know why he had simply left without any goodbye.

She didn't expect to find herself flinging her arms around him in a hug but that's exactly what she did.

And to her surprise, Kit hugged her back.

She had been bitter about his leaving and how he had lied her to her at first. She remembered asking her brother about it once.

"He must not have cared if he lied, why else?" Ty had told her rather reluctantly one day.

That had jarred her, she wasn't happy with Kit either but thinking that Kit who never left Ty's side till he woke up after Livvy's death. That same Kit who had seemed so concerned and so lost over him, the same boy who tried to include her in on her brother's plan.

The idea that that boy never cared about her brother didn't seem possible.

"I don't know why he did what he did but you can't think he didn't care about you. He always seemed like he was trying to be what you needed. Why would he do that if he didn't care?" She had told him.

They had both almost forgotten.

As Dru pulled away and studied his face, however some of that old resentment started to build up, resentment and hurt for being left behind without a trace.

"You lied to me." She said in a hushed tone.

"I - you know about that." He said dropping his voice.

"Anything to say for yourself Christopher Herondale?" Dru demanded folding her arms across her chest.

Kit still looked taken aback by her presence non the less the revelation that she knew what Kit and Ty had done three years ago. "Not here, not in the middle of the mess hall I don't," he said calling her back to where they were.

Dru flushed slightly, she got carried away and nearly forgot about where they were standing, "I know," she muttered.

"I can't believe your here, and you've actually grown up." He laughed at the anger on her face that he expected her to stay thirteen forever.

"I'm only two years younger then you," she reminded him.

"I meant you look like Livvy." He said gently, with a small smile.

Dru touched her ponytail subconsciously, she had grown it out like her older sister used to wear it. Sometimes she thought she wanted to see her sister in the mirror, after all it was sometimes maddening knowing Ty could see her and couldn't. Sometimes it felt like it was ripping a fresh hole in her grief instead of just letting her heal. She wondered if that was the price Magnus had said Ty would have to pay for trying to bring her back, having his sister and not having her at the same time.

"Well, we've all grown up, you should see Tavvy. Oh! And have you heard Emma and Julian are getting married?" She clapped her hands together in excitement

"I heard, it's not every day two former parabatai get married."

"You should go, everyone would be so happy to see you." You should be there, she thought to herself.

Kit smile faltered slightly, looking away from her, "We can talk about it later Dru."

Kit nodded his head at her friends and without even so much as a goodbye, again, he took off back down the hall.

Dru remembered how Kit tried to involve her back then, she wondered if he had thought she was lonely. But he had always looked lonely to her, maybe that why she was never really jealous when Ty had given him all his attention. She wondered as she watched him retreat up the stairs, if he was still lonely.

One thing struck her though, he never asked about Ty.

Mason and Mia walked back up to her as Kit disappeared.

"You know Kit?" Mason asked sounding impressed.

"Yeah, he stayed with us for a while a few years ago." Dru gave him a funny look at the obvious awe in his voice.

"He's just kind of a big deal is all. You know, famous family, the whole lost Herondale thing. He was at that battle on the plains of despair too right? And you should really see him fight."

Dru gave a snort thinking of Kit fighting. Sure she knew he had probably trained alot over the years, and even though she just saw how fit he was she still couldn't help but imagine the scrawny fifteen year old Kit she had first met.

"I was at that battle too you know," Dru rolled her eyes, "I could tell you a few stories about Kit that would kill any of that mysticism you think he had."

Her friends seemed doubtful but interested. "Once, he forgot his weapons and tried to threaten a warlock with a fork," Her friends laughed, their arms around her again and Dru was already thinking she made the right choice coming here.

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Dru finally had time to pick out a room and start unpacking. She had arrived later in the evening so she got away with classes for the day as her friends decided to skip out on the remainder of their lessons to show her around the Academy. Dru unzipped her suitcase and pulled out one of her shirts, dislodging the rest of her belongings that started to leak out of the case. Dru gave up immediately from exhaustion and just collapsed on her bed pulling her shirt she still was holding onto as the contents of her back spilled onto the floor.

She just rolled onto her back trying to gather up the energy to at least get into pajamas when something appeared just to the left of her head.

A fire message.

She snatched the letter out of the air allowing it to reform to completion and started to read.

She sat up, feeling her heart sink.

Ty had been rejected from the Scholomance.

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Kit didn't want to talk about the Blackthorns and he definitely wasn't going to that wedding. It's not like he wasn't happy for Julian and Emma, he was. He was even glad to see Dru again. But hearing about how they were doing just reminded him of how they their lives just continued without him. Because of course they did, Kit was just a brief visitor in the Blackthorns life, but still it was the first time he had wanted to belong somewhere..

He remembered when Jace had come to visit in Devon for the first time not long after he had moved. They were sitting by the pond outside of the house, it was peaceful and picturesque with a small dock and large koi fish swimming up to the surface looking for food. But Kit wasn't sure how he felt about peaceful anymore.

Jace had been filling him in on the council meeting that had lead to the closing off of Idris. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around an entire city emptying on the demands of a few crazy supremacist.

"I guess that nice manor house is off the table now huh?" Kit joked thinking about the conversation he once had with Jace when he was trying to convince him to become a Shadowhunter.

Jace however didn't say anything in response. Kit wondered if he hit a sore spot, Shadowhunters were a little weird about their homeland. Kit had been in awe of the place too and if he was honest he was more than a little pissed that the cohort had stolen it from him just as he was becoming a Shadowhunter.

"Sorry." He said.

Jace just got up and picked up a stone tossing it in his hand a few times before skipping it across the surface of the pond. Leave it to Jace to know how to skip a stone, he probably learned ever minuscule skill he could just to annoy everyone around him. Though, Kit couldn't really bring himself to be annoyed at his cousin right now.

"I was actually raised in Idris before I lived with the Lightwoods. I know my childhood wasn't exactly a nuclear family but that place will always be home to me." Jace watched the ripples across the surface, "I agreed to leave because I believe what I said that the world is bigger then Idris and our mission is out here not behind the walls of Alicante, but still.."

Idris wasn't Kit's home, he would never have fond memories of that place but he had once thought the Blackthorns would be always be his home, and like how Idris was lost to Jace the Blackthorns were lost to him too.

Kit slipped into Allen Highsmith's room, closing the door quietly behind him. His eyes immediately found his witchlight on the dresser and walked over. Allen was always losing his so it didn't take a genius to figure out who took it. Kit eyed the wallet just lying there on the dresser. Kit picked it up thumbing over the contents, not a bad stash. Kit thought about it for a moment before he reminded himself that he was a respectable Shadowhunter now and set the wallet back down.

Kit returned his attention back to his witchlight grabbing it off the dresser, feeling the grooves of the tracking rune he had placed on it. He wouldn't be losing this anytime soon, it was his first and only witchlight and he intended to keep it that way. His fingers closed around the stone, white light erupting from his fingers lighting up the voyance rune on his hand.

Both witchlight and rune proved to be his only reminders that his time with the Blackthorns even happened. He was marked literally and figuratively by that time forever. He had left them without any such reminders, disappearing without a trace that he was ever there.

He glanced up at a picture at that was illuminated by the light on the bedside table and smiled.

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The next morning Kit was caught trying to slip back into the Academy unnoticed.

Catarina Loss nearly ran headlong into him as he opened the door to the entryway.

"Kit!" She exclaimed, taking a few steps back, "What are you doing up this early?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Out for a stroll in the great outdoors." Kit started knowing she wasn't going to believe whatever he said.

"No you were not-"

"Meditating with on old sage."

"Kit.."

"Solving world hunger."

"Stop! Never mind I didn't really expect for you to answer me anyways." She pinched the space between her brows in exasperation.

"Why are you up so early? Trying to portal out of here before you can get roped into teaching a class?"

The Academy didn't have very many permanent teachers and instead relied heavily on guest lectures.

"Perceptive as always," She gave him a wry smile, "you really should join the Scholomance you would find the work much more rewarding then just patrol duty."

They had this discussion before, with Catarina and with Jem and Tessa. Even Ragnor once but he quickly dismissed the suggestion telling him he really didn't care what he decided to do.

"I told you I haven't made up my mind." It's what he said every time and it was a lie every time. He spent alot of time thinking about what he wanted for his life the past three years and he found he wanted to be apart of what was going on, the big mysteries and big adventures, not stationed at some institute waiting for something to happen.

But there was one problem with going to the Scholomance and that was Tiberius Blackthorn. He would be there, Kit had no doubt and the idea of seeing him again after everything was unthinkable. Maybe there was a time when he could have done it but three years had passed without a word between them, and that distance made it all the harder.

The Scholomance was the first thing he had wanted for his future that wasn't based of what someone else had wanted for him and here he was at the Academy because out of all the things he had learned to overcome he still couldn't face Ty.

"After whats happened with the mortal instruments they could really use some new talent. It's not like how it was before."

"I'm sure the Scholomance has plenty of talent." He said bitterly without elaborating.

She was right though, ever since he had heard that the mortal instruments were mysteriously taken from the Silent City his desire to go to the Scholomance had grown tenfold. He wanted to do something not wait around till someone else found all the solutions.

Maybe it was time to finally get over the past and move forward.

"I'm thinking about it, I promise," he added, "Now if you excuse me I have something I need to do." He said flashing her a mischievous smile.

"And I'm getting out of here before I have to deal with it," She said before quickly moving past Kit to get to the door.

Kit moved out of the way and pulled out the bundle of photocopies he had hidden under his jacket as soon as the door shut behind her.

He would worry about the Scholomance later, right now vengeance awaited him.

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Kit and the rest of his class followed Luke Graymark out into the entry hall, Kit following closely behind Luke asking him questions. Every now and then he would hear another exclamation of anger as Allen found another one of the many embarrassing baby photos of him Kit had posted all over the Academy. The picture just said "Who am I?" above a hysterically bad picture of Allen that looked like he was caught mid sneeze while still trying to smile.

"I thought we told you to take all of those down?" Luke said sternly. Luke was maybe the most fatherly looking person Kit had ever met, with crinkles around his eyes when he smiled. A voice that shifted between gentleness to firm when needed, and his glasses that made him look like he was just reading the newspaper. Though Jem these days was a pretty close second in his opinion.

"Must have missed a few." Kit shrugged. He had already gotten in trouble for it but it was worth it.

Luke was taking them out to the lake for a history lesson on the Dark war when Simon Lightwood then known as Simon Lewis had summoned the angel and was given Glorious. Considering that Kit knew most of the people involved in the story including Simon he thought it was pretty cool.

"I'm surprised Simon did all of that for Jace, I mean, I wouldn't have." Kit said.

Luke shook his head and smiled, "I think Simon was surprised too."

Kit laughed as they came to a stop at the door.

Luke was just about to open it when the doorbell rang. He stopped confused for a moment before opening the door to greet whoever the guest was.

As the door opened the visitor crossed the threshold but this was no stranger, not to Kit.

He was tall, slender with a clear definition of muscles underneath his dress shirt. Dark curls framed a delicate face. His grey eyes shined like glinting silver, a contrast against dark lashes. He was a stunning picture of perfection beyond any reality he could have possibly conjured on his own even if he tried.

Kit's entire world stopped.

Ty.

He was older now than he remembered and far more beautiful than Kit had ever dared to imagine. But he still looked so Ty like, with the elegance he held himself, his wide curious eyes open and honest as ever, the head phones around his neck, and even the polite murmur of thank you he uttered to Luke as he opened the door for him.

Kit was hit by a profound ache far more intense then any he had experienced over the past three years.

As if in slow motion Ty lifted his gaze to meet his and Kit felt his breath catch. Recognition chased surprise across his face as they stared.

This was a nightmare, it must have been because Kit had similar ones of this exact situation more times then he would care to admit.

Ty opened his mouth to say something, Kit almost imagined it was his name but the words died before they left his mouth cut of by the sound of something snapping.

Kit didn't even have time to register the noise nonetheless the chandelier supporting several large lamps that was plummeting down as if determined to crush him and Ty both.

Kit was flung back, falling to the floor by the force with which he was yanked back with. just in time as the chandelier crashed to the floor narrowly avoiding what would have surely been instant death.

Kit scrambled to sit up looking over across the broken light fixture to see Ty perfectly intact thanks to Luke who had a firm grip on the back of his shirt collar.

Luke was staring up at the ceiling with a look of bewilderment.

Before anyone had a chance to really react a shadow fell over Kit and Ty.

Kit looked up to see Ragnor Fell looking down at the two as if nothing of particular concern had just transpired.

"Herondale and Blackthorn. Why is it that whenever you two are together catastrophe strikes?"

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Kit and Ty sat opposite of Ragnor on the other side of his desk in his office. He had demanded to speak with him upon discovering them in the entryway and didn't even mention anything about the now destroyed chandelier that laid in shambles. The entire way to the office Kit and Ty walked side by side without uttering a single word to each other.

He wondered if Ty was feeling as awkward as he was.

Ty wasn't showing any obvious signs of distress. His sleeves were rolled up now and his arms were crossed, his fingers tracing lazy circles on his forearm. But Kit knew that didn't necessarily mean there was anything wrong.

But then again what did he know? What did he ever really know about Tiberius Blackthorn in the end?

Yet Kit was having a hard time not staring at him, he knew he shouldn't but it was like looking into a bright light. Painful and impossible to look away.

Kit turned his attention back on Ragnor. His office was pretty well decorated with more vintage decor, which was surprising that he even bothered since he spent his time split between teaching at the Academy and the Scholomance.

"Why did you drag us in here? Please tell me you don't think we had anything to do with the chandelier suddenly trying to kill us."

Ragnor sighed, lifting his gaze to the ceiling as if silently asking the gods for more patience to deal with Shadowhunters. "No, not about that. I just thought it was best seeing as how Tiberius will be joining the Academy that we get a few things out of the way."

"Your joining the Academy?" Kit whipped around to look at Ty, forgetting himself.

Ty just nodded not even glancing his way.

Kit winced at the silence, his question dying on his lips.

"First of all no necromancy in the Academy, I really wish I didn't have to say that."

Kit felt like he was just doused with cold water at the mention of what they did and that night three years ago. The last time he had seen Ty before now.

It was a connection between the two of them that would always bind them together in someway even if they wanted to forget it.

There was no reaction from either Ty or Kit both boys seemingly stilled at the mention of their past.

"Not just necromancy," Ragnor continued, "any sort of black magic or illegal activities. No more acting as though you are above the law with your righteous convictions.

Kit wanted to make an angry retort on how they weren't fifteen anymore and besides its not like just because Ty was there they were both going to suddenly become America's most wanted, but Ty spoke first.

"Lex mulla, lex nulla," he said.

A bad law is no law, he was quoting the Blackthorn family motto.

Ragnor scowled, "that is not the case with the laws of nature. They are unforgiving and unyielding, I hope you realize that by now."

"We get it," Kit said in defense of either himself or Ty, he didn't know.

Ragnor settled his gaze on Ty again.

Kit noticed Ty seemed to have gotten better at making eye contact, maybe making a conscious effort or trying to get Ragnor to take him seriously.

"Is your sister's spirit still bound to you?"

So, Livvy was still around? He didn't realize she would stay after the two incidents she showed up. He wondered if Ty was satisfied with that, but then again a piece of her was probably better than nothing to him.

"Yes," Ty answered.

Kit casted a glance around the room, he hadn't seen Livvy yet, he wondered how often she appeared.

"And there still have been no consequences?" Ragnors voice was grave with an edge as if he was trying to pry open any secrets Ty may be keeping.

Right, the consequences that were supposed to find Ty and make him pay for ripping a whole through the fabric of life and death. Those consequences.

Kit found himself gripping the arm of the chair in a death grip.

"No, nothing,"

Kit released the chair.

He felt some of the tension in the room alleviate as he and Ragnor relaxed at his answer.

Suddenly, Ty was on his feet and moving towards the door, apparently deciding to dismiss himself, surprising both Kit and Ragnor.

Would the Ty he knew do that? Or would he have waited politely for someone to tell him when the appropriate time to leave was?

Ty opened the door and paused there, an even bolder confidence around him that knew he had nothing to prove to anyone as he said, "I'm not here to do any illicit activities, I'm here for my own reasons. Though, I can't promise I won't do anything dangerous, it is part of our job,"

with that he left leaving Ragnor and Kit to stare after him.

"He's become quite the brilliant light, bright enough cast out his own shadows now," Ragnor said and Kit knew what he meant.

He felt the words sink his heart into the floor weighted down by the knowledge of what he already knew. Kit was only ever a shadow, one that Ty had long out grown.