"I don't understand how you can do it. Knowing what they think of you—what they would think of you, if they knew—what they think of me—us—how can you just bend the knee and swear allegiance to them? They don't deserve your loyalty!"

"It's not about loyalty to the Clave. The mission is more important than quibbling over leadership."

"Hunting demons, you mean."

"Yes. Simon, you've barely seen the Shadow World yet. You have no idea how bad it is. The demons—they're not pests we can ignore."

"How bad can they be, if the rest of the world hasn't even noticed?"

"Oh, they've noticed. They just don't have explanations for what they can see is going on… Do you know how many murders there were in the city last year? Almost a thousand. Nearly seven hundred of them were related to demonic activity. And that's only out of the ones the mundane police know about. Or how about the numbers of people locked away in institutions because demons have driven them insane? Or the ones who simply disappeared, never to be seen again? Or—"

"I get it. It's a problem."

"No, it's war. One that we're losing. We need everyone we can get on the front lines. I'm needed, Simon. So yes, even if I don't agree with everything the Clave says, I'm still going to fight. Because it's a war worth fighting."

Jace tossed and turned restlessly in sleep's grip, memories of arguing with Simon about his dedication bleeding into something other, stranger, worse as the sun rose.

They were standing in a dark place, dark and cold, and Simon was holding a knife.

"I have to," he said. He was weeping. "You'll understand someday. It's worth it."

"No!" Jace lunged for him, but he was too slow. The blade flashed down, opening Simon's arm to the bone, and the blood that poured forth was gold, gold, gold. It became a river of golden coins, and as they tumbled into the dark Jace saw that both sides of each coin bore a face, and the face was Simon's, horned and monstrous on one side, beautiful and cold on the other.

The darkness lightened, and the coins were gone, and Jace was running through lashing rain on the roof of the Institute, running as fast as he'd ever run in his life. His bare feet pounded the wet ground and the night sky was black as pitch above him, raw and angry.

Simon was standing on the edge of the roof.

He turned when Jace approached, and maybe it was the shadows and maybe it wasn't, but his eyes were blacker than the sky.

"Simon, get away from there!" Jace called desperately. In the wind and rain, it would be too easy for Simon to fall—but Jace could accidentally push him over himself, if he got too close. All it would take was one misstep on the slick rooftop… "You're going to fall!"

Simon smiled. "It's okay, Jace." He looked back at the sheer edge before him and spread his arms. "You can't fall when you have wings."

"You don't have wings! Simon! Simon!"

But Simon didn't hear him, or ignored him, and stepped out into empty space—

)0(

Jace plummeted into waking, his heart beating staccato against his ribcage and Simon's name on his lips. It took a long, horrible moment to realise that it had not happened, was not real. Simon was warm and asleep beside him, whole and safe, exactly as he should be.

There was no rain, and no roof.

Unable to stop himself, Jace rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around his lover, holding him tightly. He felt Simon wake but didn't let him go, needing to know in his blood and bones that Simon was here, here and all right.

"Jace?" Simon said sleepily. He nuzzled into Jace's neck. "Wazzup? You 'kay?"

"Everything's fine," Jace whispered, more to himself than to Simon. He kissed his aikane's hair. "I just wanted to tell you I love you."

Simon hummed happily. Despite the unease lingering in the back of Jace's throat, he had to smile. "Love you too," Simon mumbled. Jace could feel his smile, pressed against Jace's skin.

"I mean it," Jace said softly. "I love you, Simon. I swear it by the Angel." He paused, realising that Simon probably didn't understand the significance of the oath. He brushed his lips over Simon's hair again. "That makes it an unbreakable promise," he whispered. "Just so you know. I'll never change my mind. I'll never leave." His throat felt tight. "I'll never let you fall."

Simon hummed again. "Good. I like it." He shifted in Jace's arms. "'S time to get up?"

Jace glanced at the light coming from the window. "I think so."

Simon sighed, and pressed a kiss to Jace's shoulder. "'Kay. I'll make coffee."

He stumbled up out of bed, and Jace had to hide his unbearably fond smile in his pillow for a long, light moment before he could follow Simon to the kitchen.

)0(

They said goodbye on the doorstep, feet away from the Dorothea's old apartment. Someone had been by and repaired the wreckage; there was no longer any sign of Abbadon's manifestation or the battle that had ensued. Jace suspected the credit lay with the network of warlocks the witch had mentioned; surely they would not leave something as precious—and dangerous—as a Portal unguarded. But he had not tried too hard to find out. If he started asking questions, drawing attention to this place, someone might realise that Jocelyn's apartment was not as empty as it seemed.

"Wait a sec," Simon said, just as they were about to part. "I almost forgot—" From somewhere, he fumbled out a thin square of plastic slightly larger than his hand. "Here. For your birthday."

Bemused, Jace accepted it. "What is it?"

Simon stared at him, then slapped himself on the forehand. "Crap, of course you don't know—crap. It's, um, look—" He pried at the plastic, and Jace blinked as it came open, revealing a metallic looking disc of some strange shimmering material. "See? It's a CD. It holds music the way my iPad holds ebooks, sort of—remember that?"

Jace did. When Simon closed the box and offered it to him again, Jace accepted it.

"I didn't think of it before, but Izzy's laptop should be able to play it," Simon was saying. "If it can't, let me know, okay?"

"All right."

Simon smiled. He looked so happy to be giving Jace such an odd thing that Jace didn't ask any more questions. If it made Simon happy, he would keep the strange plastic box, whatever a 'CD' actually was.

When Jace reached the Institute a half-hour or so later, Alec and Izzy were in the kitchen, eating breakfast.

"And the prodigal returns at last," Isabelle said when she caught sight of him. "Have a good night, Jace?"

"I did, actually." When she raised her eyebrows at him, he only smiled and showed her the CD. "Do you know what this is?"

To his surprise, Isabelle's eyes lit up. "Clary showed me how to use those! They're like music boxes for mundanes." She held her hand out for it, but Jace whisked it out of her reach.

"Will you show me how to play it?"

"Maybe if you tell me where you got it." She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

*It was Simon, wasn't it?* Alec asked without looking up.

*Of course it was.*

*You should tell her.* Alec's face remained impassive as he ate his toast. *Agelai don't lie to each other.*

Jace could have responded that they weren't a real agela—but in every way that mattered, they were.

"Simon gave it to me," he said aloud. "Happy now?"

"Is that where you were last night?" Izzy parried. "With Simon?"

*I didn't say a word!* Alec said, answering the bolt of panic before Jace could form it into a question.

"That's rather a loaded question before a man's broken his fast," Jace said finally, keeping his voice level.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "And that's the most pathetic attempt at dodging a question I've seen this week. Try again."

Jace's knuckles went white around the CD box.

*She won't care,* Alec said softly. *You know she won't. You're our brother, Jace. We love you.*

Even though that was true—probably true—it still felt like an age before Jace could force the words from his lips. "And if I was?"

"Then I would say it's taken you long enough to come clean, you idiot." Isabelle's lips quirked up at Jace's disbelief. "What? You thought we'd disown you? Yell? Throw things?"

"You do so like throwing inanimate objects at people's heads," Jace said lightly. "It was a very reasonable expectation."

Alec snorted, and Isabelle grinned outright. "Someone has to make sure you keep up with your agility practise."

"When I meet the demon who uses plates as missiles, then, and only then, will I submit to your training regimens." Jace's chest was tight as a drum. "You really don't care?"

"About you slacking on your agility training?" Izzy asked sweetly.

"About Simon," Jace said, more sharply than he'd intended. "And me."

Her expression softening, Izzy shook her head. Even at this hour, her hair was perfect, not a strand out of place. "As long as he makes you happy, I don't care if he's a werewolf-vampire hybrid." She grinned suddenly. "It's not as if you can have mutated babies with each other."

Alec choked, spraying crumbs across the table. "I'm eating," he said plaintively, when he'd finished coughing. "I realise no one else may care, but can I please finish breakfast in peace before listening to any more of this family's madness?"

Izzy pushed back her chair. "Alec dear, you're dreaming if you think you can have a whole meal in peace." She patted his head and snagged a piece of toast from his plate, ducking neatly away from his retaliatory swipe. "Good talk, Jace. Glad we cleared the air."

"Yes," Jace said, a little dazed. "Me too."

"She's going to be leading the Clave someday," Alec said. It didn't sound entirely complimentary.

"And on that day, I will go into exile and never look back." Jace sat down opposite his parabatai. "Have fun with Magnus last night?"

"No." Alec jabbed a finger at Jace. "No more relationship talk until I'm done eating."

Jace grinned. He should have expected Izzy's easy acceptance, just as he should have known Alec wouldn't turn away from him either. But the relief was still enough to make him feel giddy, almost drunk.

They didn't hate him.

*We could never hate you,* Alec said, his mouth full. *Not even for a second, you idiot.*

"What can I say, I'm blond." Jace blinked as something occurred to him. "On another note, could you look something up for me?"

Alec swallowed his toast. "Depends on what it is." He looked at Jace questioningly.

"Something Abigor said the other night… It called Simon an anunnaku, whatever that is. And me a zurnzeaiz." He frowned, remembering it. "Have you heard of either of those before?"

Alec considered for a moment, but then shook his head. "They're probably from one of the demonic languages, something that wouldn't translate. Maybe even just insults." He shrugged. "I'll try and find out, if you think it matters."

"Please," Jace said. He didn't think Abigor had meant them as insults. The demon had sounded almost…respectful.

"I'll start looking today."

"Thank you," Jace said, and because they were parabatai, brothers, and one, they both knew he meant it for more than a promise to hit the books.

)0(

After showing him how to play the CD, Isabelle left him alone to listen to it. By her standards, the small smirk on her face as she left was almost circumspect.

And then the music started, and Jace closed his eyes as a fist closed around his heart.

He should have known it would be Simon's voice on the disc. It seemed that Jace was misjudging everyone around him lately, but that small self-recrimination faded away beneath the smooth, soft strains of Simon's voice.

"I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, 'I'll never let you go'…
When all those shadows almost killed your light…
I remember you said, 'Don't leave me here alone',
But all that's dead and gone and passed, tonight…"

The music was sweeter and softer than anything Jace had heard Simon sing before, the melody gentler, slower, the silvery notes of something like a piano weaving through Jace's chest, echoing the words. The words… They called to mind the scene in the shower yesterday, when Jace had almost cried with the sudden fear, the sudden certainty that he could not be allowed to keep something so perfect.

But of course, Jace had not wept. Still. When had Simon written this? Had he known a moment like that would come, or was this only meant to be a story?

"Just close your eyes,
The sun is going down…
You'll be alright—
No one can hurt you now.
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe, and, sound…"

Soft. Gentle. Tender. Loving. No one, not even Alec and Izzy, would ever think to cradle him the way Simon's voice did now, would never think he needed this kind of protecting, cherishing. Jace wasn't sure, himself, that he needed it.

But by the Angel, to hear Simon say it—sing it—

Jace hadn't been sure, this morning, how much of his promise Simon had heard or understood. But if he'd ever thought to wonder if Simon felt the same, those doubts were gone now. Simon's voice on the disk ached, and soothed, and the sheer adoration in it ripped Jace's breath away. This sweetness could not be for him; he couldn't be worthy of it. How could he be? No one could be, no one could deserve the love Jace heard in Simon's voice as he sang this…

"Don't you dare look out your window—
Darling everything's on fire,
The war outside our door keeps raging on…
Hold on to this lullaby,
Even when the music's,
Gone~…
Gone…"

A knock came on the door. "Jace?"

Jolted out of his reverie, Jace quickly turned off the music the way Izzy had shown him. "You can come in."

His pulse was still beating hard in his wrists when Alec opened the door. How could he have been so distracted he hadn't felt his parabatai's approach?

Alec paused in the doorway. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine." He made an effort to tamp down on the roiling whirlpool of conflicting emotion, all the sweetly-bruised feelings Simon's song had elicited. "What do you need?"

His face uncharacteristically solemn, Alec held up the scroll Jace hadn't noticed. The seal of gold wax was already broken. "This just arrived by fire message," Alec said. He sounded weary, and perhaps a little afraid. "It's from the Clave."

Every drop of blood in Jace's body froze over at once. "What do they want?" he asked harshly. He closed the lid of the laptop, as if that could better hide the song that had just been playing.

Is this about Simon's powers—or us—or Alec's angel mark—who do they want, who are they coming for?

"They're sending the Inquisitor," Alec said quietly. "We have two weeks."

Everything, Jace thought numbly, staring at the innocuous scroll in Alec's hand. If they're sending an Inquisitor, they're coming for everything. For all of us.

"What are we going to do, Jace?"

Jace swept the icy fear out of Alec's reach, where his parabatai could not feel it. "We're going to be ready." He stood up and strode towards the door. "Come on. You've got to find Izzy, and I… I should call Simon."

We're going to be ready. They would just have to pray, to Raziel and the entire host of Heaven, that they could prepare enough. And if they couldn't…

If they couldn't, then Jace would do whatever it took to keep his family safe. No matter what.

They're coming for everything.

For all of us.


NOTES

Agelai = members of the same agela.

The song Simon sings on the disc is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift, although I imagine him singing something closer to the Julia Sheer cover than the original.

Aaaaaaaaaand, THAT'S A WRAP, you guys! I can't believe it either, after it took me AN ENTIRE YEAR to even get started. Wooooo! 8D IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DONE!

Oh lord and lady, this means I have to get started on City of Knives soon. OH MY. SHIT'S ABOUT TO GET REAL, YOU GUYS.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, commented, and left kudos on this fic! And thank you to everyone who will do so in the future, even if I don't get around to replying. (Carpal tunnel, you guys. It's a pain in the—well, the hands, actually). I love you all SO MUCH. I'd never have come this far without you. I mean it—Runed would have been abandoned ages ago if not for all the incredible people who've encouraged me to keep going with your love for this story!

I will be editing up and polishing this fic over the next few weeks, fixing typos and things. Once that's done, I'll post ebook links over on my tumblr (siavahdainthemoon, check out the 'Runed stuff' and 'ruining you with Runed' tags!) and upload fully corrected versions on ffnet and ao3.

Keep an eye on my tumblr for the City of Dreams cover, which should be coming soon, and the CoD soundtrack!

I LOVE YOU ALL YOU AMAZING PEOPLES! 3