It was dark. Cold. The pain was numbing and the thought occurred that this could be the end. Is this what death is like? To feel life drain from your body, watch your arms become lifeless, hear a loud silence, and to flow into the earth. Into the warmth. Into the dark.

Waking up was hell. Kiran had never wished to undo something as bad as waking up. Except something he felt guilty about. But what? Kiran's mind went blank. And where was he? The dark was gone and replaced with a gloomy light. Kiran was in the earth, surrounded by dirt, but no...there was light. Why was there light in the earth? Why was it so hard to move? Why was it so hard to remember…

...anything? He knew who he was but why was he here? Where is here?

"Kiran?" a voice, a scared voice. A voice Kiran knew. One he loved. But who? M. M. M. Over and over, Kiran thought. Something M. Mary? Martian? Mark? Mark. MARK!

"Mark!" Kiran screamed. Where was Mark? Where was he? Did it matter? Who was Mark? What does he look like? Does it matter? Moving was hard. Thinking was hard. Does it matter? The earth was hungry and was swallowing him whole. Moving was impossible. Breathing was impossible. Does it matter?

"Mark," a whisper now. A release of breath.

Sharp pain across his face. Kiran shot up. Faces all around him.

" He's awake." Monotone, a voice of no emotion.

"Who-" Kiran began but was immediately interrupted by the voice giving orders.

"Rise, Kiran of the Wild Hunt, Prince of the Unseelie Court, and face your fate."

…..

Sitting at Kit's door was frustrating at first. Why wouldn't he come out? Why wouldn't he want to meet the Blackthornes? Didn't he know that they too had lost their father, that Ty could help him if he would only come outside of his damn room? But after a while, it became soothing to remain in his post outside Kit's door. Soon, it was part of the routine. Wake up, knock on Kit's door, get breakfast, bring some to the door and leave it outside the door. Ty had learned that if you stay at the door, Kit won't get his food. This would be fine except Ty felt guilty for what had happened to Kit's father and didn't want anything bad to happen to Kit. So Ty would leave, go to class and then come back to find the dishes from breakfast stacked neatly outside of Kit's door. Liv took care of Kit's lunch and they took turns delivering his dinner. Ever since Kit had arrived, this had been the routine, three times a day seven days a week. Therefore, it is no surprise that when Kit finally emerged from his room, Ty was dumbstruck. Kit was just sitting there, outside of his room, one leg folded over the other and reading a copy of the Shadowhunter Codex.

"Hello?" Ty asked after a considerable amount of gaping.

Looking up, Kit attempted a smile that turned out more like a grimace. "Hello," he said, overly casual as though this happened all the time. Ty only then realized that his hands were fluttering like they do whenever he is nervous or upset. Sticking his hands in his pockets to hide their movement, Ty remembered that he had planned on going to the library and he hated to abandon his plans. So he did the only thing he could.

"I'm going to the library now. You can come if you want." Kit raised an eyebrow, but he nodded and got up and followed Ty down the hallway.

"Where did you get the codex?" Ty asked while they walked to the Institute's library.

"It was in the top drawer of my dresser. I finally got curious to start reading it last week. I'm going through if for the fourth time now. Ty wanted to know why Kit had left his room but he didn't want to bring it up and risk Kit going back in. Besides, if Kit wanted to talk about it he would bring it up. They continued walking in comfortable silence and upon arriving at the library, they split up. Ty went to reading on the illicit computer and Kit began wandering the shelves, flipping through books seemingly at random. They settled into a rhythm. Ty liked the way they didn't need to talk, they could just get familiar with each other first. About an hour before dinner, Kit went back to his room and didn't come out until Ty stopped by the next day. Every day, they would go somewhere new in the Institute, always where nobody else would be. Ty didn't tell anyone about his time with Kit for fear of Kit going back into hiding. Finally, after a few days, Kit decided that he was ready to meet the Blackthornes. So, after Ty's classes, they walked onto the beach together. And everything was good, the two of them spent the whole day on the beach, they ate the sandwiches that Julian had packed and watched the sun go down. It was a really great day until they discovered Emma and Christina, bruised and bloodied, waiting for them at home.