Here is a longer summary...
It's two years since the end of the Dark War and everything has been great for Clary. Her and Jace are more in love than ever, Simon is close to graduating from the Academy, and demon activity is down significantly due to Clary's runes. The only dark spot in her life is the Cold Peace with the Faeries and the rumors that say the Seelie Queen wants Clary's head on a silver platter. She blames Clary for losing the Dark War. If it weren't for Jonathan's obsession with her and her rune abilities, the Queen and her knights would have taken control of everything. Her power would be practically unlimited.
Instead, she is in hiding and her power is waning and she wants her revenge. Clary knows this but refuses to let it dictate what she can or can't do and goes about her life as usual. That is until she is taken by the Queen while her loved ones thinks she has died. When she finally breaks free of the Seelie Queen, the life that was once hers is now completely gone. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is the same. She will have to pull herself together and figure out a way to continue and do what needs to be done to secure her freedom and safety. There will be new foes and some of the same ones that will want her gone along with some new unexpected allies. Going home isn't always easy, but for Clary, it's impossible. She has to start new and rebuild her entire life and find herself once again. It will be a long and hard road but it will all be worth it in the end.
Hey y'all! It's been a while since my last story and fair warning, this story will not be like any of my other ones. It's dark and angsty and really puts our girl Clary to the test. She has to figure out a way to pull herself together after losing everything and become the bad-ass we all know she can be...eventually. I just ask that you trust me and stick with me for the long ride ahead. I promise that it will be worth it. It will get really dark before it gets better. With that being said, I really hope you enjoy!
-ReadingIsForNerds
Clary
Bliss. Yes, bliss. That was the word she was looking for.
Clary pushed herself off of Jace's chest and rolled to the side of him. Her hair was clinging to her forehead with perspiration0 after her and Jace's hour long sex-capades while her chest heaved up and down with her heavy pants. Over the past two years, they had gotten to know each other's bodies so well that every encounter that they had was pure bliss. "Thank the angel for the Stamina rune." she chuckles.
Jace turns his head to her. "I could go for another round if you like." he suggests winking at her.
"You know I am already late." she replies and sits up. "If you could keep your hands to yourself then I wouldn't always be late for everything." She stands up and quickly ties her hair up into a disheveled bun, her naked skin glistening in the last rays of sunlight for the day that is peaking through the window of their room.
"You know you love it." he says as he stands up and grabs his pants from the floor.
"Maybe." she says with a shrug of her shoulders as she peaks back at him with a smirk.
"Did you still want to go see Simon at the Academy after your meeting? I know you wanted to talk to him about him and Izzy finally getting back together."
"I probably will." she says as she finishes dressing. She grabs her weapons belt and buckles it low on her hips. "I don't think I will spend too much time there, though. I don't want him to feel pressured into remembering everything. Although he doesn't say it, I can see it all over his face that that is why he wanted to train there and not here with us." She feels Jace's arms snake around her waist and his chin come to rest on her right shoulder. "He'll be glad to see you, Clary. Just like you can see it with him, I can see it with you that you are worried that he won't want to see you." he says lowly in her ear. "You're his best friend."
"But he doesn't remember that."
"Not right now he doesn't." He kisses her cheek. "But the moment he drinks from the cup, he will. Only three more months till that happens."
She sighs heavily. "I know." The worry and vulnerability that is in her voice makes her sound more unsure than sure of that knowledge. "Just..." she turns around in his arms. "What if the cup doesn't make him a shadowhunter and..."
"No." Jace says firmly, shaking his head. "I know the cup won't hurt him. He was born to be a shadowhunter. He is good and brave and everything that a shadowhunter is meant to be. Stop second guessing it."
She takes a deep breath and lets her head fall forward and onto his chest. "I know." she says sounding more convinced of herself this time. She pushes away from him and straigtens out. "I really do need to go now." she says and leans forward to place a kiss on Jace's lips. "I can't keep the New York downworld Council waiting and you can't keep Izzy waiting. You promised to take her to get a new whip weeks ago since you threw her favorite one into the Hudson River."
"I did not throw it into the river." Jace says indignantly. "I threw it at the Shak demon. It's not my fault he ducked out of the way at the last second." Clary smiled at her boyfriend of over two years and followed him out of their room. They gave each other a long kiss that sent shivers down her spine before pulling away and smiling at one another. "I love you so damn much." she says with conviction to him.
"Not as much as I love you." he replies with a genuine smile before walking away in different directions. She couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she left the Institute and made her way to Magnus's apartment. Since the end of the Dark War, her life had been nearly perfect. Jace and her were stupidly happy, Simon was so close to having his memories back and becoming a permanent member of her life as a shadowhunter, her mother and Luke were still acting like newlyweds, and the demon activity had significantly decreased since she introduced over two dozen new runes to the Clave. The only shadow over everything was the Cold Peace with the Faeries. It made her uneasy and she felt like she was just waiting for a war to break out with them when they tired of being so harshly punished for following their Queen's orders.
Clary didn't bother knocking on Magnus' door and instead, pushed it open, letting herself in once she arrived at his apartment. She smiled when she saw a hot cup of coffee was waiting for her along with Maia, Magnus, Alec, and she was sure that Lily would be there soon. The sun had just set. As if on cue, Lily came in and slid into her usual seat with an exasperated look on her face. "Alright. Let's get this meeting started." she says to them. "I have a newborn that just showed up on my doorstep last night and I need to get back to him to make sure no one kills him."
With that, their meeting started and concluded as usual, Maia and Lily leaving quickly after while Clary lingered for a while. By the time they were done, it was past eleven and Clary knew that it was too late to visit Simon. He was sure to be sleeping now. She would just have to wait till tomorrow to see him. "Are you coming back to the Institute tonight?" she asks Alec as she slips on her coat.
"I am." he says with a look at Magnus. "I need to get the last of my things from there. We figured that since I am here six out of seven nights, I should just move in."
A wide smile breaks across her face. "That's great, you guys." she says brightly. Alec blushes for a brief moment as Magnus pecks him on the cheek and smacks his butt while carrying three coffee mugs into the kitchen. "I'll be down in a sec."
"Okay." she replies and shrugs on her gear jacket. She descends down the stairs and walks out onto the sidewalk, pulling her jacket tighter around her when a cool gust of wind blows down the street. Suddenly, the breeze cuts off abruptly. One second the tendrils of her hair that had escaped her messy bun were flying in the wind and the next second, they fell to face without warning. An unnerving feeling quickly found it's way into her stomach. Just as she was reaching down to her weapons belt to retrieve her stele and a seraph blade, two large hands clasped down on both of her wrists from behind.
Her training immediately kicked in. Her head went flying backwards and connected with a crunch with someone's nose. There is a grunt of pain and before she can do anything else, two Faeirie knights appear in front of her, blades drawn and going to her throat. Hands still grasped her wrists, pinning them down at her waist before pulling them tightly behind her back. She could feel something rough snake around them and then she couldn't move them from behind her. "Let me go and I'll think about not killing you." Clary grunts out through her angry lips. Her eyes were trained on the taller Faerie in front of her, sensing that he was the one in charge. She held his gaze steadily, refusing to let him see that she was actually very nervous and scared about her current predicament.
"I do not think so Nephilim scum." he says back to her with a twisted smile. Through his helmet, she could see that his eyes were entirely purple while his skin was a sallow yellow color. "The Queen will be so pleased that we have caught her the daughter of Valentine and the sister of Jonathan Morgenstern. If it weren't for you and your runes, she wouldn't be in hiding right now, afraid for her life, like a sickly human. You want her dead but now, it is you that will be begging her for your life."
'Keep them talking' she thinks to herself. Alec will be down the stairs any second now. She couldn't exactly look around to make sure but she was almost positive that there were only three of them. "Don't bet on that." she spits back at him. The blade at her throat digs in with a sharp pinch as she says that. "I'll never beg for my life. I am Nephilim. If anyone will be begging for their life tonight, it will surely be you."
The laugh he lets out of his twisted mouth then sounds like a shrieking bird being tortured. "Oh, to be so young and stupid like you are again. I would rather die." His laughing cuts off then and she is being spun around to face Magnus' building. She watches as the door swings open and Alec starts to descend the stairs with a lovesick smile on his face. It's clear by his red and plump lips that him and Magnus had been kissing. Another second passes before he looks up to find Clary.
It only takes him one second to spot her, his eyes widening with horror for a moment before they narrow into slits at the Faeries holding her. He pulls out a seraph blade and whispers a name and it blazes to life, lighting up the area around him. "Let her go." he says sternly to them, readying himself for a fight.
"The Queen requires her death and we are but humble servants of our Lady." one of them coos to him. She's not sure which one exactly. They have moved behind her now and are slowly walking her across the street. "She is the reason for our Lady and the older Morgenstern's failure in the Dark War. The Queen does not let grievances against her like that go unpunished."
"Let her go." Alec says with more venom this time. "This won't end well for you if you don't."
All three of them begin to laugh. "You Nephilim children keep saying that as if it were a real threat."
Clary takes their distraction of laughing and shouts out Magnus' name as loud as she can. "He's not there." one knights says to her. "He left by portal only moments ago, didn't he?"
Alec's silence and tense jaw is answer enough for Clary. Seeing Alec's eyes now, she notices how worried he is. He's trying to hide it but she can see it. She starts to struggle against their hold but the blade at her throat pushes even further into her skin. She feels her skin rip apart and winces at the pain and stills herself. Just as she is about to try to kick out behind her, she feels a heavy wave of dizziness fall over her. Her head spins in circles and her legs go limp. Her eyelids fall closed against her will and then she is falling backwards while firm hands are gripping her. She faintly hears Alec scream her name in horror but it's too late. Unconsciousness wraps it's arms around her and darkness takes her mind, silencing all of her thoughts.
Alec
"Let her go." he says, his voice filled with as much venom as he has to offer. "This won't end well for you if you don't." Even though his voice is sure and steady, he's scared witless on the inside. They are too far away from him at this point for him to be able to stop them if they wanted to kill her quickly.
The three Seelie knights laugh at him. "You Nephilim children keep saying that as if it were a real threat." the smallest one says.
Clary's eyes dart up to Magnus' apartment then as she shouts out for him. Alec's heart falls into his stomach as he watches the fear in her eyes break to the surface as the blade at her neck pushes further into her throat. "He's not there. He left by portal only moments ago, didn't he?" the yellow one says.
Alec grinds his teeth together in anger at himself. He asked Magnus to grab him a stupid little gift for him for his mother's birthday. It was at a shop in Alicante. Why did he have to ask him to get it now, when he needs him more than ever? Clary's panicked face pierces through him then as she starts to struggle. A sickening grin pulls up the mouth of the one holding the blade to her throat. When Alec realizes what is happening, it's already too late.
He pulls the blade across her throat in one slow movement. Alec's stomach drops while he screams her name in despair. Blood spurts in thick streams from her neck while her eyes roll to the back of her head. He stops breathing for a second when he realizes that he's failed; that she's dying and he won't be able to do anything to stop it. The small tree behind them in the sidewalk is opening up to reveal an open door. He watches in absolute terror as her body convulses twice before going limp. The life drains out of her eyes, turning them a dull green just before they fall backwards into the opening in the tree. He leaps forward but it's too late. The tree closes up with the sound of cracking wood and he is left standing there with a glowing seraph blade in his hand and a pain in his body that has him frozen to the spot.