Hodge called for the Silent Brothers while Jace, Simon, and Eva made themselves comfortable in the infirmary. As they waited for the Brothers to arrive, Raphael was bombarded with questions. It annoyed him to be questioned so furiously, mostly out of genuine curiosity for his strange abilities, but it didn't annoy him more than having no answers. It all occurred after drinking from Eva that night she was mortally wounded, but he didn't know much more beyond that. Eva made everyone swear not to tell anyone and they all swore on the Angel to keep Raphael's secret. Even Jace swore.

Brother Zachariah soon arrived at his leisure and in typical Silent Brother fashion, he had everyone leave the room. Neither Jace nor Eva were in grave danger, so even their parabatai were forced out of the infirmary. Seeing there was not much to be done other than wait, Alec and Isabelle disappeared into the corridors as did Hodge, and Clary retreated to her bedroom to shower and change. Having nowhere to go, Raphael sat himself against the wall across from the infirmary doors and waited patiently.

The soft sound of footsteps followed by a heavy herbal scent made Raphael look up and see none other than Hodge approaching, wearing the same sharp tweed suit he's always seen him in and holding a mug of steaming liquid in his hand. Raphael's mood immediately soured and he refused to speak unless he was spoken to.

"I made this for you." Hodge stopped in front of him and bent down slightly to hold out the mug. When Raphael frowned at him, he added, "It's a tisane I specially formulated for a vampire. It's easy on your stomach and will keep you full."

Raphael took it, feeling the heat of the mug only minimally on his cold fingers. "Is it poisoned?"

"No," Hodge answered despite knowing it was a rhetorical question. Raphael sipped the steaming drink carefully, his taste buds exploding with the strong lemon flavor. It was surprisingly delicious and didn't make him nauseous.

"Thank you for taking care of Eva," Hodge began, stuffing his hands in his pockets awkwardly. "I appreciate your concern for her."

"Of course; I always take care of my free meals."

"I was wrong to think you were using her to feed from her," Hodge said, looking off to the side as if it embarrassed him to admit he was wrong. "Eva means the world to me. The thought of someone hurting her makes me so angry—"

"I know," Raphael said and drank a gulp of tea before speaking again, "I would be too."

"You really do love her."

Raphael looked up to meet his eyes. To his surprise, the mentor had no trace of disgust or rejection or anger. It was a genuine glow of relief and appreciation. Raphael's stomach fluttered with butterflies at the thought of his feelings for Eva. He can't imagine going a single day without hearing her laugh or seeing her smile or having her tease him.

Still, Raphael was too stubborn to ever admit it out loud to a stranger, much less to the man that stood second in line to kill him if he ever hurt Eva. Raphael simply nodded.

"I'm glad," Hodge smiled. Tiny wrinkles appeared around the corners of his eyes, making him look a lot older than he was. "I suppose this goes without saying, but you have my blessing."

"If I knew punching Wayland would get me your acceptance, I would've done it ages ago. In fact, I'll be more than happy to punch him more often free of charge."


Brother Zachariah administered powerful healing runes on Jace and gave Simon a soreness-relieving concoction he brewed up in seconds. Having taken care of the boys, the Silent Brother could now give his undivided attention to Eva. Some of the glass shards in her arm were very small while others were embedded deeply in her skin; he needed every ounce of concentration as he picked out each individual razor-sharp piece out with tweezers.

The sound of glass hitting the metal container near Brother Zachariah filled the silence of the room, other than the soft snores of the boys beyond the curtains blocking Eva's view of them. The tweezers were incredibly sharp and dug into her skin as they prodded for the tiny shards and pulled them out, their razor edges cutting up her skin like fire; she felt there were millions burrowed inside her. She'd wince, sometimes even yelp in pain, and hiss when she'd feel the warmth of her blood ooze out of the open wounds.

Would you like another pain-killing rune? Brother Zachariah's voice resonated in her mind.

"No." She let out a shaky sigh. "I'm fine; just get it over with."

Eva clenched her jaw, trying to relax her mind and think about anything but the constant prodding and cuts and searing pain she was feeling. She found unlikely solace when she looked down at the Brother working on her, taking in his very human features—his eyes and mouth were not sewn shut, nor was he shaved bald and he still had full eyebrows. Only two runes scarred his cheekbones; Eva knew Silent Brothers mutilated themselves more than that. He also had much more of an emotional presence than the others. Eva can always grasp a general feeling of people's emotional states from afar, but she's come to realize that she gets a very accurate reading when there's physical contact. She's done it countlessly with Raphael; it was strikingly similar to the way Silent Brothers spoke with the mind.

What if she could do the same empathically?

Brother Zachariah was holding onto her wrist gently with one hand while the other held tweezers plucking away at the glass shards. Eva focused on the feel of his long fingers on her skin, on the emotions swirling in his touch and in his soul. Trying to forget the tiny jolts of pain every extraction of glass would bring her.

She heard a violin. A mournful, yet familiar tune. Like déjà vu.

"Who does this remind you of?" Eva blurted out. Brother Zachariah immediately froze, looking almost like a photograph. It made Eva shiver with uneasiness.

Why do you ask such a thing?

"It's hard to explain, but I feel it," she said. "I'm feeling your sense of déjà vu, and it makes you sad."

Brother Zachariah resumed his work. Eva almost thought he wasn't going to give her an answer until she heard his voice touch her mind very gently, his words bringing along a feeling of deep sorrow and simultaneous love.

I was reminded of my parabatai. He was once in a very similar situation to yours at the moment.

"He's dead." It was a statement, one that made Eva's gut wrench. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how that must feel; I couldn't even begin to think what it'd be like to lose Izzy."

Brother Zachariah didn't respond and only kept working. Her mind was buzzing with questions, and it was serving as a very nice distraction from the pain in her arm. "Is that why you became a Silent Brother? Hodge always says those that turn to the Brotherhood do so because there's nothing left for them."

That is true, but not always true. I joined the Brotherhood because it was my only chance for survival. My parabatai died much later.

"What about the others? Why did they turn to the Brotherhood?"

Most are as Hodge says: they simply lost everything and saw no other meaning to life. Except Brother Enoch—he became a Silent Brother simply to be privy of the Clave's most scandalous secrets.

Eva let out a laugh and felt a sudden spark of amusement in Brother Zachariah's touch. He was glad he made her laugh.

Brother Zachariah finished removing all of the glass shards, cleaned off the dried blood, and carved a powerful iratze on her skin. Relief washed over her immediately and she watched as the tiny wounds closed up one by one. He then discharged her from the infirmary with a clean bill of health. Upon walking out into the corridor, she was surprised to see Hodge and Raphael there. They seemed to be having a civilized conversation rather than a bitter confrontation.

"Was a peace treaty signed or are we still discussing the terms?" Eva teased. They both looked over, the same wave of relief overtaking them in a second.

"I would call it a cease-fire," Raphael said dryly. Eva noted the mug in his hands, now empty, and could only assume Hodge brewed him a tisane as a gesture of goodwill. "You're okay?"

"Brother Zachariah did a good job," Eva showed them her arm. Surprisingly, there was no scarring left behind from the glass shards. "But I'm exhausted. I want to take a shower and go to sleep."

"You're welcome to sleep through the day here until sundown," Hodge said to Raphael. "You took an enormous risk walking around in broad daylight where anyone could've seen you."

"I will forever appreciate your chivalry, Rapha," Eva hugged his arm playfully. "My room is upstairs—"

"Absolutely not." Hodge's tone was clipped and Eva fought hard not to laugh. She knew Hodge would respond that way, and she knew Raphael was aware she was teasing him; she didn't need to be a natural empath to sense her boyfriend's exasperation.


Hodge led Raphael to a spare room in the Institute, purposefully giving him one on a different floor and taking the longest route to get there. The boy simply thanked him and disappeared into the room, closing the door behind him. Hodge knew Eva was more than capable of bribing Church with a chunk of fish in exchange for directions to Raphael's room, but he tried not to think about that. Hodge was aware that Eva was an adult now, and he can't set curfews or put down as many rules as he once did, but he'll do whatever he can to do what he thought was best for her. He does; however, find solace in the genuine feelings Raphael has for her and his willingness to risk his secret and assault a Shadowhunter for Eva's sake. The poor boy was most likely at war with the New York werewolf pack all because of Jace and Jocelyn Morgenstern's daughter Clary.

Valentine. The mere thought of the man made his stomach drop to the pits of Hell and ice run in his veins. Hodge has always been looking over his shoulder, horrified of the day that evil man might return, of the day he'll wage war against the Clave and exterminate Downworlders.

Of the day he'll find out about Hodge's betrayal.

Hodge Starkweather.

Hodge had been so lost in thought, he didn't even notice Brother Zachariah's presence looming before him like a hooded ghost. Brother Enoch and I told Raphael Santiago as much as the oath would allow us to say. He deserved some sort of warning regarding the powers he unknowingly acquired that day.

"He came to his own conclusions," Hodge said thoughtfully. "He believes Nephilim blood gives Daylighters their power."

The blood of angels is strong, Brother Zachariah said. The first vampire to drink pure angel blood had the ability to bear children—

The look Hodge shot his way cut off his words abruptly. If Hodge knew any better, he'd say Zachariah was startled by the fury burning in his eyes. I assure you her blood is not that pure. At least not yet.


"I thought about breaking it to summon you," Eva giggled, playing with the hourglass on her throat. "A vampiric booty call."

Raphael rolled his eyes in amusement but said nothing. The warmth of her naked body against his was lulling him to sleep—after all, it's way past his bedtime. His head was on her chest, her heart thumping against his ear like a distant murmur. With every gentle breath, his head would rise, and then it would float back down with every exhale. If he needed to breathe, he would be sighing deeply from how good her fingers in his hair felt. Just the smell of her fresh out of the shower was soothing—of hot water, of pomegranates and peppermint with a hint of coconuts.

"Never in my life did I think I'd be led around by a cat," Raphael said through a yawn. "Is he some type of magical cat?"

"I don't know, but he's immortal," she said. "And he really likes Brother Zachariah for some reason."

Raphael hummed, his body loosening as sleep began to seduce him. Eva brushed locks of his hair from his forehead to press a kiss there. "Go to sleep; I'll handle Hodge if he breaks in here."

Raphael let out a groan. "Dios me libre y me ampare."