Prologue
Tessa looked up and down the building, her hands taking down the hood of her coat. It has been decades since she last saw the familiar shape of an Institute. She was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of nostalgia. Though they were in New-York, and not in London, the place where she first met the Shadowhunters, about two centuries ago, it felt just like returning home.
"Who's running it?" she asked as her friend took a step at her sides.
Around them, York Street was buzzing and humming with the noise of the city. People, chin down, nuzzled in their scarfs, did not seem to pay attention to them. After all, she reminded herself, they were only two teenagers staring at an old crumbled building. Why would they care? She turned to glance at Jem. He wore jeans and a coat that matched his shiny dark hair. It has been nearly a month since they had met again. She should have been used to see him in modern days outfits by now, but she wasn't. It was odd not seeing him wrapped in the parchment robes of the Silent Brothers, as he was during more than 130 years, or in victorian clothes, like he used to before joining the Brotherhood. It was even odder not to recognize his silvery hair and eyes, as they had turned back into the color he had been born with.
"It used to be a Starkweather, until recently." he said then, gazing at the gates of the building.
She caught her breath, feeling uneasy.
"Really?"
He nodded. "Yes, though he was not the most… decent one. Unfortunately, his actions got back at him."
Oh, she thought. The sudden nervousness that caught her at the mention of the name of her family slowly faded, and she exhaled.
"Then who runs the place now?", she continued, frowning.
Jem caught her hand at the same time he pushed the iron gates guarding the Institute. "Let's find out, shall we?"