"Happy Birthday to you," voices sang throughout the room, all laughing and cheering, smiling excitedly. Tessa Herondale cowered at all the noise, not wanting the attention, but thanked everybody anyway. She happily accepted the hugs people gave her, gratefully took the presents they passed her. Like she did every year.

"Oh, congratulations, Tessa!" Charlotte chimed, walking over and hugging her. "I can't believe it's been so long. I remember that first day when Will brought you to the Institute. How you've grown up," she smiled. But, in fact, Tessa hadn't grown up. Not exactly. She was immortal, everlasting. Her face was as young as the day she arrived in London, just sixteen years old.

"Thank you, Charlotte," Tessa smiled. The woman who she considered a mother was much older now, though she only had a few years on Tessa. Her chocolate brown hair had lightened to a pale, almost gray color. Her face was dotted with wrinkles, soft lines formed from years of laughing. She wore a beautiful dress that made her eyes stand out, black runes peeking out from under her sleeves. "I can't believe that you did this for me. You know you didn't have to!"

"Of course I had to," Charlotte smiled warmly. "You know how much I care about you." And Tessa did. Charlotte had made sure that Tessa was happy ever since she first arrived. She took care of her, comforted her, even helped her take care of the children. Throwing her a birthday celebration was just another point on the endless list.

"As do I!" somebody chirped from behind her. Henry was wheeling over to them, looking excited as ever. His hair was still a bright red color, but strands were graying quickly. Dark bags were under his eyes and Tessa could tell that he had been up all night working on some sort of invention. "Here you go, Tessa. Happy birthday!" he smiled. Tessa leaned down and hugged him before taking the small box in her hands. Henry grinned as she opened, her dainty fingers working to unravel the gift.

"Oh, Henry!" Tessa said, gasping at the picture frame inside. It was a simple, wood frame, but it was coated in intricate gears that matched her clockwork angel's. Golden metal traced the edges, a picture of Will and Tessa on their wedding day inside of it. The gold of Tessa's dress glinted off the page. "It's lovely! Thank you so much, both of you," she smiled.

"Tessa!" somebody called and she whirled around to see her sister-in-law standing there, dressed in Shadowhunter black. Her hair was twisted into an intricate knot and her eyes were a piercing blue. Her husband stood beside her, a sly smile on his face. "Gabriel, Gideon, Sophie and I are still working on your gift," Cecily explained apologetically. "It's taking much more time than we thought . . "

Tessa laughed at this, waving it aside. "It's fine, Cecily. I don't need anything."

"Yes, but that's what everybody says. It's your fiftieth birthday, Tessa! This is a big one," she exclaimed, grinning. "It should be ready in a couple of days, right Gabriel?" Cecily grinned.

"Of course," he smirked, causing Tessa to roll her eyes. "My brother should be over soon. He had to fetch Thomas from university on the way over, and the drive is longer than he expected. He sent a firemessage earlier apologizing."

"That's fine, Gabriel. Thank you," Tessa said. She hadn't seen Sophie in a very long time and ached to reunite with her, but she wasn't mad about it. She would see her soon enough.

A few others came up and talked to Tessa, handing her lovely presents and granting her compliments. She smiled as Anna and Alexander Lightwood argued in the corner, just like their parents. She watched Charles Fairchild tinker with some sort of invention beside Henry. Will was standing off to the side speaking with Charlotte, the joy so evident on his face. She ached to go over and talk to him, to be alone with him, but she didn't wish to be rude. Charlotte had worked hard on this party; she wasn't going to just waste it.

Just then, Lucie Herondale strolled over to Tessa, her lovely brown hair dancing in curls around her. "Mother," she started. She was just as tall as Tessa now, almost a full grown adult. Jesse Blackthorn was trailing her, watching her with curiosity. Lucie had told her mother that he was just a friend, but Tessa could see the way he was looking at her. It was just how she used to catch Will watching her back so many years ago. With so much love in his eyes. "Can Jesse help me with my training? I know it's your party, but he has this new move to show me. It will only be a minute," she begged. Lucie was just as fierce as her father when it came to Shadowhunting. She was anxious to train, to learn, at even the most inappropriate moments.

"Of course," Tessa complied. Jesse was a lovely young man, and an even better fighter. Tessa wasn't worried about him at all. "Just please don't hurt yourself."

"I have my stele, Mother," she rolled her eyes. An iratze was Lucie's favorite tool-and probably most frequently used rune.

"I know, but I don't want to have to call Magnus again," Tessa sighed. A few weeks ago, Lucie had trained so hard that she broke a bone. An iratze should have been able to fix it, but for some reason the injury was worse. Tessa had called Magnus to help, but she hated taking advantage of his powers. He said he didn't mind, but that didn't mean Tessa was okay with it. "I worry about you, Lucie," she said, leaning over and kissing her daughter on the head.

"I know," she said before racing off with the Blackthorn towards the training room. Tessa shook her head and walked over to where her son was sitting-alone in the dark corner of the Institute. He was turning a seraph blade over and over in his hands, his expression grim, his golden eyes sharp with sorrow. "James?" she asked, sitting down beside him. He didn't look up. "Are you alright?" James had been acting so depressed lately, so distraught. Tessa was worried sick every moment over it, but never knew how to help. He was always sulking, angry about everything, but she never knew why.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, inspecting the tip of the blade.

"You don't look fine," Tessa replied, placing her hand on his leg. "Why don't you come talk with Alexander? Or Thomas? He'll be here soon." James was good friends with the Lightwood kids, but he didn't seem excited in the least by the idea. "Please, dear. I . . . I don't want to see you like this."

His eyes snapped upwards, meeting Tessa with a fierce, stinging glare. "Well, I don't want to see you like this. So I guess we're even." Tessa gasped at the comment, worry melting onto her face.

"James? What do you mean? Please, tell me what's wrong." She swallowed hard and looked at him expectantly.

"I don't like to see you like this, mother! On your birthday!" he exclaimed, his face scrunching up in anger. "Every single birthday you celebrate is so depressing. Father . . . he keeps getting older. He's a Shadowhunter, mortal. But you're . . you're the same! Every single year. It's so frustrating." Tessa pursed her lips and fought back tears. James had never talked to her about her immortality, except when she had first explained it to James a long time ago. Back then he was excited by the idea; that his mother could live for ever, changing into whichever person she pleased. But now, he seemed so distressed.

"You know that I don't like it either, James," Tessa murmured. "But why does it bother you?"

He looked away, obviously not comfortable saying this to his own mother. She was always so kind to him, so understanding. How could he say this to her? "Because I feel so horrible for you. I . . . it pains me to see you have to live through this. I see how you look at father, how you don't even care that he's growing older. That he has wrinkles or that his hair isn't the same anymore. You don't care how he looks or how old he is. It doesn't matter to you!" he's almost yelling now. Tessa could hear the room start to silence, everybody's attention falling on the mother and son in the corner. James didn't seem to notice. "Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Henry, Aunt Cecily and Sophie, they're all going to die one day! I'm going to die, Lucie's going to die! And father's going to die, too. And you're going to have to stand here and just watch. Every single year, you're only getting closer to the inevitable and it makes me so angry that you're going to have to go through that! You shouldn't have to, mother! It's not fair," he cried. He was standing up, his black hair a mess, his golden eyes practically glowing. The seraph blade he had been playing with was still in his hands, his knuckles red, and Tessa almost felt threatened by it.

"James, I-" she started but he was already gone, fleeing towards his room. Tessa closed her mouth and felt Will's familiar arms wrap around her. Despite his hold on her, she sank to the ground, breaking into a fit of ugly sobs. Tears rolled down her cheeks like a rainstorm, her breathing becoming heavy and pained. William shifted her body so that she was crying into his chest. He stroked her hair, murmuring soft words in Welsh to try to calm her.

"Let's go out to the stables and check on the horses," she could hear Charlotte announce. It was so quiet, the only sound Tessa's aching cries. Everyone staggered out of the main room of the Institute, whispering adults and confused kids. Lucie lingered by the doorway-she had come back from the training room-and looked at her father desperately. He just shook his head at her, a silent no, and she walked away, a worried expression plastered on her face.

Will gathered Tessa closer in his arms, putting all of her body weight on him. He looked down at her with all the love and concern in the world, cupping her face in his hands. "Tess," he whispered, kissing her forehead gently. "Don't listen to him, Tess," he said. His voice was still the same, but Tessa could hear the years in it. He's so much closer to death than before.

"He's right," she choked out.

Will didn't disagree. He knew that James was right, no matter how much he hated to admit it. But he had always known and so had Tessa. Why was this so hard now? "Come on, Tess," he settled on, lifting her off the floor. She fit in his arms easily, and Will's Shadowhunter strength helped as well. He carefully walked her over to their room in the Institute and lay her down on the bed. She curled into herself and started to cry again. Will shut the door tight and lay down beside Tessa, pulling her to himself. "Tell me what you're thinking."