Italy's brick streets would've been easier to walk on with boots. Instead, Adele was half-leaning on Ty and trying not to break the pair of expensive-looking heels that Sebastian insisted she wear. She wasn't sure how easy it would have been to go against Sebastian, since he held her life in his hands.
"Just a few more minutes, now" Sebastian announced, turning them down another street. Adele noticed that many people on the streets were wearing clothes that were similar to what the three were wearing. She stumbled again, and Ty caught her before she fell.
"Keep up now, Adele Seraphina" Sebastian said, walking in front of the other two. People watched them with a sort of admiration, like they all knew Sebastian and he was amazing. They noted Adele and Ty trailing behind him, but didn't acknowledge that Adele was walking like a drunk and Ty was supporting almost all her weight. They looked at them like they were lucky to be with Sebastian. As if.
"Well, here we are" Sebastian stopped and gestured to a light brick restaurant. He held the door for Adele, who found it much easier to walk on the slab of granite floors. Sebastian led Adele and Ty over to a table with a man who looked about sixty.
"Clarissa?" the man asked. Sebastian shook his head and put a hand on Adele's shoulder.
"Adele Herondale," Sebastian said, then put a hand on Ty's shoulder. "Tiberius Blackthorn" he said. Ty swallowed rather loudly, and Adele just tried to compose herself. This man- her grandfather- brought back like Sebastian. The same sagging, stitched skin. She sat down in a chair, trying to avoid looking her grandfather in the eyes. Ty sat next to her, his hand looping through hers.
"Sebastian, the Shadowhunters have the mortal cup" Valentine began, setting his hands onto the scratched, wooden table.
"They've had it for years, father" Sebastian replied, sitting himself into a chair across from Valentine.
"But they've begun to use it again. For the same reason I wanted to use it" Valentine growled. Adele could tell he was trying hard to keep himself composed.
"Yes. For decades, father. They've used it like this for decades. Why are you deciding to rebel now?" Sebastian asked. Valentine shook his head, his face turning an inhumane shade of red.
"Why can't you see that now is different!" Valentine cried. The people in the restaurant turned their heads to face them, and Valentine gave them a wave of dismissal.
"Shed some light on the topic then, father. I see not reason why the use of the mortal cup now is any different than it was last week" Sebastian said, a hard tone taking over his voice. Adele and Ty sat awkwardly, neither of the other men acknowledging them.
"The use of the mortal cup is exactly how I needed the Clave to use it decades ago. But now, they're going to tell themselves that they need it because you and I caused destruction. But this is exactly what I wanted, son. And now, all we have to do is intercept them while they're weak, and we can rule the Shadowhunters" Valentine finished. Sebastian, slowly, began to nod his head. He understood. But so did Adele, even if it wasn't what she wanted.
"Now, son, why did you bring along Adele and the Blackthorn?" Valentine asked, his voice smooth and void of emotion. He looked at Adele closely, his eyes mapping her features like he knew them. He knew her mom, and her grandma.
"I'd like you to know that I've been doing just as you said," Sebastian announced, gesturing to Adele. She gulped. The angel blood- it was Valentine's. "She's been taking the angel blood regularly, drinking it each day."
Valentine's face lit up. "Just what I needed to hear, son. Is she purged of the demon blood yet?" Valentine asked. Adele put her hands on the table.
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," she said, concentrating on keeping her voice monotone. "I'll answer questions about my own health, thank you very much."
Valentine looked amused. "Well then, Adele. Are you completely purged of the demon blood?" he asked.
"No, I'm not. I estimate it will be a few more days, though. The ichor is barely there" she said, hearing her voice crack in the last sentence.
"That's good. And how do you feel, Adele?" Valentine asked. Adele fought the urge to laugh in his face, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good.
"Morning sickness coupled with vomiting and headaches every time I drink water? I feel awful" Adele said, shaking her head. Sebastian's face turned red with anger.
"It was the same with Jocelyn, only I wish she'd have told me she was pregnant. I would have never given her any angel blood" Valentine explained, glancing briefly at Sebastian and giving him a warning look.
"So why is he giving it to me?" Adele asked, leaning towards Valentine. He looked surprised at how angry Clary was.
"Because, Adele. All we have to do is rid you of demon blood and fill you with that of the angel, and you're more of a weapon than any seraph blade or long sword that the Iron Sisters can manufacture" Valentine whispered. Adele shook her head.
"I'm not your toy soldier, Valentine," she sneered. "And I will not let you use my child to force guilt onto the Clave!" she cried, standing up so fast that her head spun. She waled out of the restaurant, ignoring the stares of the people in the restaurant and the pleads from Sebastian and Valentine.
…
Adele didn't remember how she'd gotten to the restaurant, so she couldn't get back to Sebastian's apartment, so she found herself in an empty store with a warlock she didn't know.
"Shadowhunter," the warlock said from where she stood behind the counter. "You look upset."
Adele turned around and looked at the warlock. She had hair that was long and fell in crystal-colored curls around her back. Her skin was a light purple, and she wore a loose blouse and black dress pants.
"I am," Adele admitted, slumping into a dusty waiting chair and looking back at the warlock. "I wish I could be normal."
The warlock laughed and came out from behind the counter. "No one in the Shadow world is normal, darling. We've all got our differences. Shadowhunters, they have angel blood. Vampires can't barely lead a life. Warlocks, we spend our entire life covering ourselves in glamours so we don't scare the public. The fae can't lie, and the werewolves are always getting shunned. But I've never seen a Shadowhunter do upset about not being normal before. Tell me, what's wrong?" the warlock asked, sitting down next to Adele.
"My uncle, Sebastian Morgenstern, and my grandfather, Valentine, are trying to use me as a weapon. Against the Clave. They know that I have a small concentration of demon blood in me, and they're expelling it with angel blood. They want to turn my baby into something great that they can use against the Clave" Adele choked, watching the warlock's expressions change. She shook her head.
"I remember when Sebastian almost defeated the Shadowhunters, but then your mother killed him. How is it that he's doing all of this?" the warlock lady asked. Adele racked her brain, and she remembered the snippet of a conversation she'd heard between Magnus and Alec when she was mourning Stephen's death.
"I'm upset because this is my father's fault, Alexander. You know who he is, and even if he hates Sebastian, he hates what I let Simon do even more. Demons are more for revenge than they are love; you know that. My father brought back Sebastian as revenge for what Simon did to save me."
"Magnus's father. The demon, a greater one. He brought back Sebastian and Valentine" Adele told the lady. The warlock nodded.
"Well, you certainly look like your mother. Say, what's your name?" the warlock woman asked, looking at Adele.
"I'm Adele. Adele Herondale," she said. The warlock smiled, like she knew who Adele was anyways. "What's yours?"
"I'm Meg Loss," the warlock-Meg- said, smiling. "Is there something I can do for you? Contact the Shadowhunters, maybe?"
"Actually, yes. Do you think you could get something through to Magnus Bane?" Adele asked. Meg nodded.
"Yes. My mother knows him very well."
…
"Adele! Where have you been?" Ty yelled. Adele turned around and saw Ty standing at the end of the alley she was in, Sebastian and Valentine standing behind him. She wanted to run, but she was out of space. The alley ended a few feet in front of her.
Ty was closer to her, though Sebastian and Valentine hung back warily. "Sebastian was really angry when you left" he whispered, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm not going to let him use our kid as leverage for a war, Ty. I'd rather die" she muttered. He stepped back in shock.
"You don't really mean that, do you?" he asked, his voice shaking. Adele looked closer at him. He looked the same, but he just wasn't Ty.
"Oh, but I do" she said, and in one swift motion, produced a throwing knife from her dress and launched it into what looked like Ty's heart. The thing-a demon- spasmed uncontrollably. Adele turned back to Sebastian and Valentine.
"We have a lot of things to talk about, us three. But first, why don't you tell me where you put Ty?" she asked, grabbing her knife and wiping the ichor off on the lace of her dress.
"He's back in the apartment, Adele Seraphina. I wouldn't dare hurt your little toy" Sebastian said, his voice coming out smooth. Adele stuck the knife into the sheath on the inside of her dress and turned to face Sebastian.
"Oh, I know you wouldn't. But we still need to talk. So, why don't you tell me why you want to go by Sebastian now when you so clearly sent a warrior to announce your return and he called you Jonathan Fairchild?" Adele asked, turning back around. She heard Sebastian gulp.
"Ugh," Sebastian groaned. "Technicalities. My birth name is Jonathan, but for a while, I was a Sebastian. The name suits someone of my personality more. Jonathan is not me. I am Sebastian" he said. Adele bit back a laugh.
"Very philosophical. Now, I recall hearing that Asmodeus brought you two back because of a vendetta. What did that have to do with my Uncle Simon?" she asked.
"I'm not aware of the vendettas which Magnus Bane's father may house against your uncle," Sebastian answered. He sounded sincere enough. If that wasn't the truth, she'd find out what was real later. "If you remember, I was dead until Asmodeus brought me back to life."
"I don't remember, but thank you for the clarification" Adele scoffed, and she fell into line with Sebastian and Valentine.
…
Ty was sitting on Adele's bed, his face pale, when she came back. He snapped his head up. His eyes fell to the ichor on her dress where she'd wiped her knife.
"I killed a demon" she explained, unzipping the dress and slipping it off. The dress was comfortable, but the band around the waist had stretched out. Adele looked into the mirror at her side. Her stomach was swollen; just barely. She shook her head and hung the dress back up.
"What's wrong?" Ty asked when she pulled away from the mirror. Adele sighed and dug through her closet to find pajamas.
"I stretched the dress out. Around the middle" she said, shrugging. Ty smirked as Adele produced a light green silk nightgown.
"It's good enough" Adele muttered, shrugging. Ty laughed as Adele tossed the nightgown onto the desk. She grabbed the cup from the bedside table and filled it with her water, sipping from the cup. The nausea kicked in right away, and she hunched over the trash can.
"It's almost gone" Ty whispered, rubbing her bare back. She straightened up, wiping her mouth. The ichor remains seared her skin, and Ty put another healing rune on her arm.
"I'm going to shower" Adele said quietly, grabbing the nightgown and heading to the bathroom. Truthfully, she was ashamed of what she was allowing Sebastian to do to her child. In front of Ty, she was just doing it to survive, whether she really liked it or not.
The water in the shower was warm, and it felt like a good contrast to the cold tightness in her stomach. The knot loosened, and Adele felt almost like herself again. Herself, the girl who could toss her boyfriend over her shoulder with ease. The girl who was in a committed relationship and lived at the Institute, not the girl who was obsessing over the outcome of her child. Not the girl who vomited ichor with each glass of water she drank.
Her read hair fell in damp ringlets around her neck when she stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the towel tighter around her chest and grabbed a comb, yanking it through her hair. She pulled it up into a ponytail and slipped the green nightgown on. She looked at herself from the side, pulling the nightgown tighter around her midsection. She looked bloated, not pregnant.
"Something's bothering you" Ty said when Adele walked out of the bathroom. She grabbed the glass cup and froze, looking at him.
"What do you mean? Nothing's bothering me" she said, softly pouring water into the glass and holding it up to the moonlight that streamed through the window, watching as the light reflected off of the angel blood.
"Adele, I'm not stupid" Ty muttered, shaking his head. Adele took a sip of her water and looked at him.
"Look. Whatever is bothering me, I don't want to talk about it right now" Adele said, gulping down the rest of the water and sitting, the trashcan between her legs.
"We're going to talk about this" Ty whispered as Adele hunched forwards and released more ichor-stained blood into the trashcan.
"I don't feel up to this right now, Ty" Adele moaned, standing up with the trashcan in her hand and walking to the bathroom. She wiped the vomit off from her mouth with a wad of toilet paper, and she cleaned out the trashcan.
When she came back out to the bedroom, Ty was curled up against the wall, his chest rising and falling melodically. She crawled in next to him, wrapping the blanket around her body.
"I'm ashamed that I'm letting myself go through with this," she whispered, throwing her head onto the pillow. "That I'm letting Sebastian and Valentine use my-our baby as a weapon against the Clave. And I want to stop drinking this damn angel blood, Ty. And I need to be able to live without Sebastian watching my every move, or else none of this will be worth while" she finished, closing her eyes and letting the darkness of sleep devour her.
…
Ty woke Adele up. He was sitting comfortably on the chair by the desk, his black tee shirt that he'd arrived in half pulled over his torso. He elbowed the lamp to the floor, and the lightbulb shattered into a million little pieces.
Adele sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing?" she asked, watching thoughtfully as Ty struggled to rid the floor of glass.
"I knocked the lamp over" he said, shrugging. Without the table lamp, the room was fifteen shades darker, and shadows danced on the wall. The curtains were closed, and no light escaped through. Adele reached up and drew them open, the sunlight filling the room.
"Why were you sitting and trying to get dressed?" Adele asked, grabbing a glass and quickly pouring water into it. She knew that if her morning sickness and the first glass of angel blood were alined, it'd be a lot easier for her to handle.
"I don't know" Ty said as Adele hurried towards the bathroom. She threw the lid open and threw herself forwards, clenching the rug on the ground.
When she was cleaned up and entered the bedroom again, Sebastian was standing and talking to Ty.
"Oh, Adele, Sebastian just wanted to say that he was going out today, but there's instructions for food or something in the kitchen" Ty said. Sebastian nodded, gave a curt wave, and left.
"You know what this means, right, Ty?" Adele whispered, leaning into his ear. Ty shivered, but shook his head.
"He'll be gone. And we'll be alone in the house, so we can find a way to contact the Shadowhunters" she whispered, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. Ty nodded.
"Or, I know just the place to go" Adele finished, throwing open the wardrobe. She grabbed a blue cotton dress with a black collar and held it out, admiring it. It looked like something she would have worn when she was three, only more mature. She slipped off her nightgown and hung it up not to carefully, and then slipped on the dress. She chose her own pair of worn-down gear boots and smiled at Ty, who was watching her from the corner of his eye.
"So, who are we going to see today?" he asked as soon as Sebastian called out that he was going. Adele smiled.
"A warlock. Her name is Meg Loss, and she can contact Magnus for us. I know he can portal the Shadowhunters here right away, and we can get back?" she said leniently. Ty nodded and smiled.
"But Sebastian's not that stupid, not stupid enough to think that we'd stay here, anyways" Ty noted, but Adele shook her head.
"He doesn't know that I know the warlock. He thinks I just disappeared into an alley last night, but I ran into Meg, and she's already sent a message to Magnus. I just need her to do it again quickly" Adele said, excitedly. But her stomach dropped when she realized how many ways this could go wrong.
But she ignored it. There were also so many ways it could go right, and the good almost outweighed the bad.