A.N: Careful. This one is heavy.


Jace walked into the Inquisitors office unceremoniously.

"Ah! You're back. Although I would've appreciated knocking, I'm glad that you didn't run."

"I swore on the Angel." Jace said, his voice wiped clean of any emotion. No one would ever guess that he had just gone through so much of turmoil.

"So if you hadn't, you would've run?"

Seeing Jace frown, he just laughed.

"Just kidding! The knowledge of your honour is more widespread than your name is. Just trying to lighten the situation."

"We are not kids, Inquisitor. I am here so get on with your work. I hope you remember my deal."

"Oh! yes." The Inquisitor came as if to touch Jace jokingly on the shoulder but his stony glare made him falter. He cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back. "Yes of course. The execution will take place on the grounds of the Wayland ruins."

Jace nodded once. He had asked for this because he had turned poetic for a while. He had no one to care about him when he was born and grew up there and it would just be fair for things to end there. Life would come a full circle. But he couldn't admit this so he had said that it would be easier for Sebastian to reach them outside of Alicante.

"Its 9:00 a.m. so would you like to wait or..."

"I don't care." Although he feigned nonchalance, his heart was beating rapidly and he was very nervous, scared and ached to have Clary, Alec or even Simon by his side. But he couldn't ask them that. He hoped Magnus had found out a way to spare Alec the pain of dying. And Clary, he thought of the serene face of hers and tried to calm himself down.

The Inquisitor signed for him to move forward so that they could portal there. Reaching the portal he saw that there was a little team of shadowhunters standing there, few of them holding swords and whips. His throat dried up at the sight of those but he never showed any weakness. He stood stoically waiting for the portal to be opened.

"Ah! Here you are! Our dearest magician! Come on warlock, don't be tardy."

Jace turned around and was marginally surprised to see Magnus Bane. 'So that's how Magnus knew before everyone else' he thought, that fact had not even struck him then because he was too distracted.

"You don't hold your tongue, Shadowhunter and you wouldn't be able to stop it from wiggling." Magnus said, menacingly clicking his fingers.

The Inquisitor was visibly uncomfortable of the idea of a non-stop dancing tongue and loosened his tie.

"If I open this portal, you know that you have to pay a handsome price, even more handsome than the boy you want to behead." tilting his head towards Jace "And that is saying something because if I preferred blondes I would totally go for him and I don't say that often and I have lived for a long time."

"Well, unfortunately we couldn't get any other warlock so you are our best bet and we are ready to pay whatever price."

"Are you sure?" Getting an affirmation, he continued. "What if I ask for his life?"

The Inquisitor seemed baffled "But, you can't."

"Why yes, I can."

"No you can't." This time it was Jace. "This portal needs to be opened so that we can reach the Wayland manor or whatever that's left of it so that I can be executed. With my life spared you won't need to open the portal so you won't be doing anything that ensues a price."

"Yeah, what he said." The Inquisitor made a face as if all that logic had come out of his own head and not Jace's.

Magnus glared at Jace as if he wanted to turn him into bread that a duck loves to eat but the golden boy didn't move an inch. "Okay, then I would like to bring two of my friends with me to be witness to this historical moment that is going to be created."

Jace was a bit confused but then he saw none other than Isabelle and Clary coming towards them. He sucked in a forced breath because Clary looked absolutely woeful. Her eyes had turned the same shade as her hair and looked swollen, her cheeks were pale but patched with red spots and there was a red mark on her right cheek which looked like someone's palm. He immediately wanted to find out who had dared to slap Clary like that and give them a piece of his mind. Her hair harshly pulled back and her lips pursed and her shoulders staunch, she looked like an angel out for revenge. He felt good that she was there but at the same time didn't want her to see him get killed. He didn't want to plague her nightmares. He didn't want his sister there either. He looked at Magnus and was about to protest but Izzy's glare made him shut it.

"Isabelle Lightwood and Clarissa Morgenstern. Well okay, they can follow us but I'm warning you this is not going to be pretty."

"You're killing my brother, assface! I'll show you pretty." Isabelle made as if to lunge at the Inquisitor but his fellow shadowhunters held her back.

"Normally you would be punished for insulting the Inquisitor but I am a very kind man and I understand the mire you are in so I will let this slide." he looked as if he deserved an applause.

"Now, if you will.." he showed Magnus forward.

Magnus opened the portal and went through with the band of Shadowhunters and the Inquisitor following, Jace going to go next but at the last moment Clary took his hand and squeezed it and they went through together.


The place looked exactly the same as it had the last time he had been there. The only change was that there was a lot of more people there. He saw Mayrse standing there, hand on her eyes and forehead. Obviously disturbed for losing another kid. He didn't know most of them but recognised Amatis and Jocelyn and Luke. Jocelyn seemed like she wanted to rush to her daughter. Although she had no regard for his life and probably was somewhat thankful that both of Valentine's spawns would be dead in an hour, she looked shaken up about Clary and also probably about her first born. Clary was silently hanging onto him and he was grateful for that. Although she was angry, she was there to support him and that meant so much to him. But he had to let go.

"Come here, Jace Herondale."

Jace obliged and went to the place where a chain had been wrapped around a broken marble boulder and on either sides of the chain handcuffs were hanging. The same was done a bit below. Perfect for his height. He gulped and went forward and stood with his back aligned with the boulder

Someone came and cuffed his hands and ankles to the boulder. When he had said that he was okay with this he hadn't meant he was okay with being fettered in chains in front of so many people. He hadn't thought that this would be such a spectacle. Now he felt raw and vulnerable as if someone had publicly stripped him naked. He subconsciously pulled on the chains. His eyes searched for Clary. When they found her, he saw no traces of tears on her face. She was standing strong and taller than he felt. She came up to him and softly kissed him on the forehead and said that she was proud of him. She didn't care about the crowd. It was just him and her. She pressed her lips to his and at once he felt shielded from every intruding eye. He wanted to break free of those goddamned chains so that he could hold her tightly to himself. But he knew that it would do no good and that he would change into him in no time and these chains will protect her, from him. He reciprocated as much as he could and then broke free from her comforting embrace.

"Promise me, Clary, that you would not pay heed to any of his pleas and always know that this is what I want and respect that."

Clary nodded, somberly.

"And I don't think that once the connection is repaired, it will be broken again till we're both dead so this is our last meeting and I want you to know how much I love you." he whispered, feeling an ache at the back of his throat.

Clary looked like she wanted to burst into tears and was fighting to keep her composure "I know, Jace. I know." she caressed his face and looked up, into his eyes, trying to commit to memory the feel of his face under her palm. "And I never meant what I said before. You may be Jace Herondale but first you are Jace Lightwood and the Lightwoods know the meaning of sacrifice. You have a brother and a sister who would miss you and you have a mother who loves you. And even if you didn't, you will always have me."

He leaned into the safe haven of her hand on his face and let her words wash over him. Washing out every piece of self-doubt that had ever haunted him. If this beautiful soul loved him then he must've done something right.

"Hate to break this up but we need to proceed."

Clary didn't even care that the Inquisitor was standing right behind her and kissed Jace full on the mouth as if her life depended on it. It was very different from any other kiss. Physically Jace couldn't use his hands to prop her up so he just had to crane his neck down and she was almost on the tips of her toes. Normally that would've been painful but they didn't care. She was kissing him goodbye. She was kissing him to say that she loved him alive or dead. She was kissing him to tell him that she was proud of him, his every perfection and every flaw. She was kissing him to tell him that even if it will hurt, she knew what this meant to him and respected that and loved him enough to let him go. She was kissing him to tell him that he didn't have to worry about anything, that she would hold the fort down. And he got every message in capital letters. And he just had one. His gratitude and love.

It was over too soon, someone pulled her back and she let them. The Inquisitor pulled out his stele and announced that it was time. Jace closed his eyes, preserving the last memory of Clary looking so strong wearing an armour of love and sacrifice. He felt the familiar burn of a stele on his skin and waited, waited for everything to end.


Clary was waiting for Jace to show any sort of movement. From the time his rune had been healed he had just stood with eyes closed. He was not sleeping or unconscious because he was standing upright without any support. Nobody could tell if the connection had been repaired. She was hoping against hope that it won't be and everything will be okay but just then his eyes flew open, squinting, as if he had been in the dark for a long time and the bright sunlight hurt his eyes. His eyes were unfocused for a while and then they fell on her own. And all her hope went away. He hadn't even spoken but from his eyes she could tell that her Jace was gone. A confused haze was on his eyes. He was back under Sebastian's control. They were going to kill him. His first words just confirmed her fear.

"Clary, why are we hear and why am I in chains?" he looked around as if to figure out what was happening. "I don't really remember what happened, why can't I?"

Clary kept mum. She knew that that was what Jace wanted. The Inquisitor obliged. "You are currently under the control of Jonathan Morgenstern, you previously were too but your bond was broken for a moment and because a part of this bond says that if you bleed he bleeds too, you decide to sacrifice yourself for killing Jonathan Morgenstern."

"Sacrifice, control? " he asked dumbfounded "What is he saying Clary? You know that Jonathan is planning something good for us, the Clave is bad and infiltrated by demons. You know that. Why would I want to kill him? And I know that we are bound by blood because we are brothers almost but he doesn't have a control over my mind!"

Clary felt like she wanted to tell him everything but she also felt like playing along with him and tell him to fight and break free so that she could save him. But she knew that he would have wanted her to honour his wish so she still didn't speak.

"You cannot talk to her. Just me."

"I am talking to my girlfriend. What the fuck do you mean I can't talk to her?"

"You yourself have previously said that you be prohibited to talk and plead to her perchance she gets swayed by your words and does the wrong thing."

"I never said anything like that. I do not recollect."

"You won't. But just knew that this was what you wanted, your death in return of everyone's safety."

"Why will I ever.." he huffed "Jonathan would never let you harm me."

Clary closed her eyes, defeated. Her Jace would never rely on anyone to save him.

"That is exactly what we are counting on, Jace Herondale."

The Inquisitor signed for his men to start the torture session. One of them with a whip went forward and slashed right across Jace's chest, tearing through the flimsy material of the shirt he was wearing and through a layer of his skin.

Clary peripherally noticed Isabelle hiding her face in Magnus's chest, eyes purposely sealed shut. She noticed that the whip they were using were coated with glass shards and was doing the most damage it could. This continued for what seemed like hours. People alternatively slashing at the body she loved so much with swords and whips. Jace's groans and cries along with his blood spraying. Her whole being wanted to rush to his side or turn around and not watch but she could do neither. She could just stare. She knew that this image was never going to leave her mind. It was going to haunt her in nightmares all her life. Suddenly everything stopped and the crowd started murmuring, some of them had their hands on their weapon belt. She turned around and saw her menace of a brother walk towards them, clapping his hands as if admiring a fine view.

"What a spectacle! You people really have taste. Such a fine place." Jonathan Morgenstern said waving his hand out to encompass the whole place "Life comes a full circle, end it where it started. Must have been Jace's idea, wasn't it?" when the Inquisitor kept mum, he laughed and pointed at the bleeding, gasping boy on his knees, hands held up by cuffs.

"See I know my brother. He has such fine taste in poetry and music, amazing really. Virtuoso. Savant. Well and all other synonyms of that." he said dramatically. "But also foolish and self-destructive and too empathetic." he walked around to Clary's side and leaned in towards her but said in quite a loud voice "You see I knew that once he gets out he will try to join back and get me killed, of course getting killed in the process too. So I contacted my mother." When all eyes went to Jocelyn "No no, not her. My real mother. She was sort of a surrogate. Just gave birth to me, did nothing a mother does."

"You mean Lilith."

"Why yes, warlock. My mother. She heard my problem and just reversed the bodily bond with Jace but I asked her to keep the mind control thing because I just wanted to have fun. But I do have a heart" he placed his hand in his chest "And I didn't want my innocent little brother to die and a lapdog with good taste would come handy, so I took the pain of coming here and stopping you from killing him for nothing."

"Why are you doing this, just let him go." Clary asked, finding her voice.

"Well, I actually wanted you, sister dearest, but you wouldn't come on your own so I used him as bait and found him to be good company. So if you want we can get out of here and get our little family back."

Clary just turned her face the other way.

The Inquisitor shouted in frustration and slashes a whip across Jace's chest making the almost unconscious boy gasp in pain. But Clary heard another gasp right behind her. She saw Jonathan clutching at his chest, blood seeping through his white shirt.

"He was bluffing." Someone in the crowd shouted and the torture on Jace started again.

Clary's head was almost going to burst from the anguished screams and entreating cries of her name and she suddenly heard a whimper from the blonde boy without shackles groaning beside her on the ground. "Mother!"

She understood that Jonathan had not been bluffing. He had truly believed that Lilith had somehow saved him, that she actually cared.

"Stop!"

Everyone saw a petite woman come forward from nowhere. She was dressed in a black saree and her makeup was bold. Black lipstick. Her hair was jet black and her skin was greenish. Though she looked very different, Clary recognised her from the church of Talto. Lilith. The mother of all demons.

"Stop hurting my son."

"Who are you?"

"Lilith." It was Magnus who answered.

"I would say pleasure to meet you, Magnus Bane, but this a very messy predicament. You see I did break the physical bond between my son and the Herondale boy but it seems that it hasn't worked. You wouldn't have had anything to do with it I suppose."

Magnus, who still had a hand on an irate Isabelle's waist, laughed. "The mother of all demons is saying that my magic nulled hers? My my, I'm very flattered but unfortunately, no."

Clary turned back to see the Inquisitor holding a huge sword to Jace's neck, while his eyes where closed and head lolled to a side. She barely stopped herself from screaming when he coughed, splattering blood. Just then Magnus spoke, "Maybe the bond wasn't broken."

Just to prove she was right, Lilith cut a gash across Jonathan's arms with her nails. Jonathan gasped but Jace did not. His arm didn't have the same mark.

But the Inquisitor pressed the sword a little into Jace's neck and Jonathan bled with him.

"Maybe I can shed some light on this." Magnus piped up. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "When Sebastian was brought back by Lilith, Jace was used as a counterweight. That is nature's law. Balance has to be there. But when Jace was resuscitated, it was Angel Raziel himself and the Angel may do as he pleases. So Sebastian's life it naturally tied to Jace but Jace is as normal as any other living person, that is if you don't count his unnatural compulsion to sacrifice himself at every moment. No sense of self-preservation in that kid I tell you." He shook his head in hopelessness then continued, "Lilith here had started doing a great job of using Jace's restored life from the very start and after Sebastian was revived, he left with Jace and Lilith had her own mind control magic going on so nobody ever could single out this bond of nature's. Commendable, on Lilith's part." he tilted his head towards her as if two pals congratulating each other for something good. "And when you tried undoing it, only the bond that made every cut on one appear on the other was broken but the basic life for life thing remained so all the earlier torture on Jace didn't phase Jonathan but as one gets closer to death, it starts affecting the other. That is why the almost fatal neck injury was mirrored."

Clary turned around at Isabelle's scream. The Inquisitor had raised the sword and was poised to end this for one and all. Magnus snapped his finger and everyone except Clary, Isabelle, Lilith, and the boys in question went inanimate. "So much noise is not good for good conversation."

Clary rushed to Jace's side and went to put a healing rune on him but he flinched back as much as his injuries and manacles would let him.

"Hey, it's okay. It's just me." she again tried to touch him but he moved away.

"I would die before taking a healing rune from you. Clary Fairchild." he spat. She faltered from seeing the contempt in his eyes. "He warned me, Sebastian warned me that you are just like your mother. Pretending to love and then backstabbing. I was a fool to have not listened to him." he hung his head like all that talking had tired him out. Although it hurt her to hear hate lacing her name from his mouth, she thought about when she had equally hurt him and she wasn't even under any influence. So she just bit her lip and kept quiet. She just crouched by him just in case.

Lilith turned to the prostate and bloody Jonathan and picked him up as if he didn't weigh a lot more than her not to mention was taller. " As a reward of sparing my son's life I would be willing to take him back to my dimension, successfully tearing the mental connection with Jace." Clary was surprised by the waver in her voice. Was it possible that Lilith, the Mother of all demons, actually cared about Jonathan as her son? Or else why would she risk so much and come here to just save him? The revelation was very shocking for Clary. Shocking but somehow believable.

"You know that travel between nature does not nullify nature."

"Yes and that is why I am willing to have everything in my arsenal to protect your Jace from any life threatening danger."

"Deal." Clary said. Magnus glared at her.

"Okay then." Lilith went the same way as she came. Just disappeared into thin air but this time with Sebastian.

Magnus snapped everyone back to life grumbling something about foolish young love.

"What is happening here?"

"My dear high and mighty Inquisitor, everything here is neatly cut and dried, though I wouldn't say actually dried."

"What do you mean, warlock?"

"It's Magnus Bane, High warlock of Brooklyn. Get your facts straight Inquisitor. And Lilith is gone with dear ole' Sebby and left our Jace squeaky clean."

"What? Why did you let her leave?"

"Everything is fine, what is your problem? Sebastian is gone and we have Jace." Clary interjected. "Open his manacles!"

"Yes it is true that Sebastian is gone and you can safely open Jace's hand and legs." Magnus pressed her cause. "But I wouldn't say that all problems have ended."

Few of the shadowhunters went and freed Jace and at once he fell down like the chains had been the only thing holding him up. Clary went forward and sat down on the ground and pulled his head on her lap and saw that his eyes were closed but thankfully he was still breathing. She cradled his head and continued caressing his face trying to ease a bit of his pain.

"I would say all is well but I'm afraid it isn't."

"Can you stop speaking in riddles Magnus!" It was Isabelle's impatient voice, clearly worried about her brother who was lying limp in Clary's arms.

"You see they are still bound and will forever be but it is one sided now. Anything that happens to Jace will happen to Sebastian in whatever realm. Sebastian is part greater demon but he is also part shadowhunter. So he can easily come here, lock Jace up and wreak havoc on the world. If his shadowhunter part dies, he will be like any other demon who we can ward off by the demon towers and whose corporeal form is stuck in Lilith's realm. If we got him today, he would be gone. Well as gone as a demon can be."

"So you are saying that we can still carry out our previous plan?" The Inquisitor sounded unnaturally gleeful.

"No!" Clary said with a finality. "Sebastian will still continue to be a danger."

"The danger will be exponentially less, Biscuit."

"And Jace will be gone." she said, wrapping one hand around his chest to protect the defenceless Jace. "He is Alec's parabatai half of Alec's soul will be gone, do you want that!"

"This is not personal, Clary. I was just saying what I know."

"No." Clary shook her head vigorously.

Under her palm, Jace's eyes fluttered open. He looked up at her face but for a moment didn't seem to recognise her. And then groaned from pain radiating all over his body.

"Hey, you're okay, it'll be okay." Clary stroked his face and ran her hands through his hair. "Izzy give me your stele!"

"No." Jace tried to sit up but failed to move an inch. He feebly again said "No." His voice was scratchy and he was breathing with a lot of difficulty.

"Just lie still Jace. It'll go away." Clary tried to make him comfortable but he seemed restless. After a while he said "I heard."

She knew at once what he had heard.

"Absolutely not."

"But Clary you heard what Magnus said, he can be defeated."

"But I can't lose you.."

"We were ready Clary."

"No." she shook her head desperately trying to convey her fears to him without saying anything "I thought I was ready this morning but now I know I'm not. I just got you back, we haven't had any time."

Jace lifted a shaking hand and cupped her face, the blood on his palm getting smeared on her face. He smiled weakly at her.

"I know. And I would do anything to have more time with you."

Clary placed her hand on top of his on her face and tangled their fingers on his chest and squeezed his hand. "Please don't leave me." Her words came out choked with tears and they dripped onto his forehead and slipped into the side of his eyes and down his face, making it seem as if he was crying too. Maybe he was, she couldn't tell. He closed his eyes and sighed and looked at Isabelle and Magnus and then at last at the Inquisitor. He took Clary's hand and brought both of them down to his chest and squeezed them. Once.

"Do it, now!" his sudden strong ordering voice made her jump but then she noticed the Inquisitor raise the sword and bring it down, hard, on his stomach right above his navel. She wanted to move, to cover him but his head was on her lap and he was holding on to her hand with astonishing strength preventing her from doing anything. She struggled against his hold but couldn't do anything as he was again stabbed, this time on the lower ribs. He jerked up coughing blood. She heard someone scream and suddenly realised that the voice was hers. She looked down and saw Jace's eyes fluttering and face scrunched in pain. His lips were red from his own blood and he was still holding onto her, this time from pain. She felt hours pass before he slowly opened his eyes, bloodshot, and took rattling breaths before speaking but only a garbled sound came out. She lowered her head to hear him clearly.

"I am sorry that I made your first experience of love so traumatic." he wheezed.

"No, you didn't. I love you Jace."

"Promise me, Clary, that you won't be too sad and will not close yourself off to love in fear of getting hurt."

She shook her head and squeezed his hands "I won't I promise."

"I know it is hard to find someone to compare to me." he tried to shrug and winced "But you will keep looking." Even in so much pain, he was trying to make her happy.

She tried to smile through tears but it mostly looked like a grimace. "I will have Alec run a background check on every guy I meet, would that please you?" she joked back.

He slowly nodded "Yes. That would be nice. If any guy treats you badly I will haunt him and make life miserable." Although his tone was light she saw the pain in his eyes. And she knew that this was not from the various wounds on his body and the fact that he was currently bleeding to death, it was the thought of her falling for another.

"Let me heal you, please." she tried to coax him. But he was not having it. He closed his eyes and Clary's panic increased. She felt him squeeze her hands with a weak grip. She sniffled. "I would love it if you haunt me for the rest of my life."

At this he opened his eyes, this time filled with tears. He just nodded. "Kiss me."

And she did, not caring about the blood and grime on his lips, she kissed him till she felt him give her his breath but not take hers back. She squeezed his hand but never got a response and she knew that from that moment, she never will. She sat up straight and looked into the serene face of Jace and for the first time wished for him to frown or cry or scream at her or do absolutely anything. But she never cried.


A.N: So? Did you cry? I didn't mean to be so mean and make you cry, I promise. (Swears innocently while laughing the evil laugh.)