"Eva?"

Eva looked up to see Alec entering the greenhouse, his hands clasped behind his back in discomfort. His deep blue eyes looked like stained glass against the subtle glow of twilight seeping into the greenhouse and his ink black hair shone like a polished onyx stone. He wore one of his tattered sweaters and jeans with boots. Typical Alec Lightwood.

"What's up?" Eva closed the jar of chamomile she was letting rest for a conditioner she was planning to make. "Judging by how uncomfortable you look, you're about to ask me something personal."

Alec's face pinched in a frown, which told her she hit the mark. Nevertheless, the young man cleared his throat. "I've been..." he bit his lip. "You know Magnus Bane?"

"The warlock, yes."

"You know we've been dating?"

"I think everyone knows, maybe except your parents."

He rolled his eyes. "You've been with Raphael for more than a year, right?"

"Unfortunately."

"How do you do it?" Alec asked, and when she gave him a confused look, he said, "They're immortal, and we'll die eventually. How do you just ignore that?"

"We don't..." Eva trailed off, blinking in sudden realization. "Come to think of it, we've never actually talked about that."

Alec looked flabbergasted. "How? It's the biggest elephant in the room—at least for me!"

"I've never given it much thought," Eva said with a shrug of her shoulders. She began walking down the path through the many plants in the greenhouse. Alec followed at her heels like a puppy. "And Raphael hasn't either, apparently."

"Magnus has to be more than two hundred years old—he refuses to tell me, but I know," Alec said. "And when I start growing old, he'll probably get bored or grossed out and leave me."

"He told you that?"

"No, I assume—"

"Don't assume things, Alec," she warned him gently. "If he truly loves you, he'll stay with you for as long as you live."

"My lifetime is a single drop in his ocean."

"Did you come to me for advice, or to vent?" Eva poked his arm playfully. "Look, I think there's one major thing you have to come to terms with."

"Which is?"

"You have to accept that you're gay," Eva told him. The boldness of her statement made him blush and look down at his boots. "The Clave is backwards and stupid but they might come around one day, but you can't wait until they do. You have to make the decision to either keep burying down who you are and lose the person you love, or accept who you are and let yourself love Magnus."

"But what will my parents think?"

"They'll probably be disappointed." She was truthful. She could feel his conflicting emotions, and she knew all of this overthinking—which was to be expected from Alec—was due to his growing love for the warlock. He wanted to please his parents, but he wanted Magnus too, and he couldn't have both. She never thought Alec would fall head over heels like this. "But you're their son. They love you, and they'll learn to accept you the way you are."

Alec brooded with that frown that darkened his blue eyes. Eva smiled, "And the thing about immortality—just talk to him about it. Tell him how you feel. Did you ever consider how he might feel knowing that one day he'll lose you?"

"No," Alec shook his head. "I just figured he'd move on."

"Being immortal is a blessing and curse—you're destined to watch the world evolve and grow, but you're forced to watch the people you love die," Eva said. "Raphael's words, not mine."

"I thought you said you never talked about this."

"It was about his family." Eva recalled how Raphael spoke to her about his mother, Guadalupe, and how she would've loved her. How she would've been flattered Eva liked Mexican food so much. Hacen una bonita pareja, she would've said. "I guess immortality teaches you to accept the mortality of others—he's never brought it up because it goes without saying."

Alec nodded slowly in understanding. Eva smirked. "If it's any consolation, I think Magnus is perfect for you." When Alec frowned at her, she added, "He makes up for your seriousness, and you make up for his lack of it."

"I guess I could say the same for you—Raphael's just a tad less vicous when you're around," Alec joked dryly. "Do you think he'll stay with you until you die?"

"I'd like to think so." Eva said. To her chilling shock, she's never thought of the idea of growing old. Shadowhunters live in the moment, since many of them die young, but everyone always has a fleeting thought of perhaps growing old and maybe meeting their future grandchildren. She's never once had that thought. It frightened her that she's never thought so far ahead. Eva shook off the strange feeling. "Talk to Magnus. You'd be surprised how much time you save when you do."

"Easy for you to say," Alec grumbled.

They made their way through the corridors, Eva asking Alec questions about Magnus she knew would make him uncomfortable. She encouraged him to be himself, to accept his feelings and to grab Magnus' butt to tell him he loves him. Alec's cheeks were red as tomatoes when they walked into the kitchen.

"Jace brought us dinner from Taki's," Isabelle announced when she saw them come in. She was wearing a tank top and jeans with some heeled boots. "I was going to make a casserole, but—"

"You can all thank me later," Jace smirked, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. He cut Isabelle off on purpose, just to annoy her, and the girl glared at him pointedly. Eva nudged Jace playfully as she sat down next to Isabelle to dig into the tacos al pastor in one of the bags. Maryse came in momentarily to refill her coffee mug and took a sandwich from the take-out feast before she left to work on official Clave business. Max put his manga down long enough to eat a burger and some fries and then he fell asleep on Alec's lap.

Moments like these was when Eva missed Hodge. He was the glue that kept everyone together, lecturing them when they bickered or made messes, brewing tisanes and cooking delicious meals with herbs and spices he grew in the Institute gardens. His betrayal still made bitterness rise to her chest, but she'd learned to appreciate the good moments despite it. Isabelle reached over and touched Eva's arm, silently comforting her, feeling her mixed emotions like parabatai do. She appreciated the gesture and smiled softly.

Eva's phone buzzed with a call on the tabletop. The screen lit up with the caller ID and Eva saw no point in reaching for it—Jace snatched it up like Church with a mouse and flipped it open. He did his best impression of Eva doing a baby voice, "How's my adorable little chili pepper?"

Jace's smirk widened as he received a response. He looked at Eva as he handed her the phone, "What's a pinche payaso?"

"Rapha, that's not nice," Eva scolded lightly. In reality, it was an awfully nice insult compared to others in his repertoire of Mexican slang. "Is my little chili pepper in a bad mood?"

"I found the person responsible for the oath."

Eva gasped as her stomach dropped into the basement of the Institute. The atmosphere in the room changed immediately at her sudden reaction; Jace leaned forward and Alec stood to carry Max into another room. Isabelle pressed the side of her head against the phone on Eva's ear just as Raphael spoke, "She lifted the oath and she's in New York already; they're all here to see you."

"They?"

"Everyone involved." Raphael choked on his words, something he never does. "This is...bigger than you thought—bigger than we all thought."

"How much bigger?" Isabelle asked this time. Eva couldn't form words, and she knew that. "You know everything, don't you?"

"Yes," he said softly. "I've ordered my clan to leave the Dumort for the night and not come back until dawn. I can pick you up and bring you here—"

"We're going," Eva stood from her chair. "I'll meet you there. I'm coming with Alec and Jace and Izzy."

At her words, Jace and Izzy sprung out of their chairs just as Alec entered the kitchen again. They silently explained what Raphael's call was about and that they were heading for the Dumort as Eva turned her back to them, her voice wavering with a mixture of fear, nervousness, and anticipation. "Is it bad, Rapha? Is Valentine really out to kill me?"

"He doesn't know you exist," he said. "But if he saw you, he'll realize Starkweather fooled him and he'll be livid."

"So Hodge is involved?"

"He's the mastermind behind this entire conspiracy. It's a very long story, Eva." There was a pause between them as Eva organized her thoughts. She had so many questions and now that all were about to be answered, she didn't know which to ask first. It was making her head spin. Raphael's voice brought her out of her trance. "He didn't betray you—at least, that wasn't his intention."

Eva wanted to feel relieved, but she didn't really understand how giving Valentine the Mortal Cup, letting him take Jace, and attacking Clary didn't fall under betrayal. Nevertheless, Eva took a deep breath and spoke, "I'll be there soon."


Eva arrived at the Dumort with Isabelle, Jace, and Alec. They were dressed in light Shadowhunter armor and only carried steles and some daggers. They weren't riding into battle, but Nephilim never went out with at least one precautionary weapon. Raphael was waiting for them at the back entrance looking grim in a leather jacket, jeans, and polished boots. Eva noted he looked at her differently, as if a bit spooked, and when she pressed a kiss to his cold cheek, he jumped.

What's wrong?

Raphael shook his head in response but didn't let go of her hand as he led them through the carpeted hallways of the old hotel. He led them to the penthouse, furnished and decorated to be an office for the clan leader; it was mostly used to host meetings between Downworlders unfortunate enough to get mixed up with the complex politics of the Night Children. Raphael once told her he used the office exclusively to scare new fledglings being integrated into the clan. He was upset he couldn't do so with Simon.

On the plush couches in the middle of the room was a group of people. Brother Zachariah and Brother Enoch were the first to stand out with their runed parchment robes and scarred skin. On one of the couches sat two women, who stood when Raphael entered the room with the Shadowhunters. One woman was dressed in medical scrubs. The hot pink of the fabric stood out vividly against her deep blue skin and snow-white hair pulled back into a ponytail. The second woman was tall and dressed in jeans, a cream knitted sweater, and black boots. Her wavy brown hair rested over her shoulders and a deep green pendant sparkled against the light as it rested over her chest.

"Familiar faces," the brown-haired woman began with a smile. Her accent was American, but slightly laced with British. "My name is Tessa Gray. I'm the one who placed the oath of silence."

"You're a warlock?" Eva asked, subconsciously looking for her warlock mark.

"A special kind of warlock—my mother was a Shadowhunter and my father an Eidolon," she explained but quickly changed the topic. She gestured at the blue-skinned woman. "This is Catarina Loss; I believe you two have met before."

"I don't think she remembers," Catarina said in amusement. "I threw up a glamour so strong, I could've taken down the entire building."

Eva frowned in confusion. Catarina refreshed her memory, "You were in Beth Israel Hospital and I called you Marigold."

"I remember," Eva nodded slowly, remembering the dark-skinned nurse and the shimmer of glamour at the hospital. "I knew I'd heard that name before."

"We've all kept our eye on you over the years," Tessa began. "When the Shadow World learned of Valentine's return, we all thought of telling you the truth but we were hopeful the Clave would handle it. It clearly hasn't happened, but I've been putting it off out of fear of what Valentine might do if he found out about you, of how you may react, and I'm sorry. Zachariah, Enoch, and Catarina have repeatedly asked me to tell you, but I was stubborn."

"It took Ragnor giving you an earful, too," Raphael said lightly.

Tessa extended her hand towards the couches, beckoning the Nephilim to take a seat. When they all settled, Eva had her hands folded tightly on her lap. Izzy sat by her side, Raphael stood nearby, and Jace and Alec sat on an adjacent couch.

"I suppose we should start with how Daylighters are made," Catarina began. "I conducted a study way back before any of you even thought of being born, and to keep it brief, Nephilim blood is not potent enough to create a Daylighter."

"Pure angel blood creates Daylighters," Raphael said. "It has to be straight from the source. No exceptions."

"We were Valentine's experiments," Jace nodded slowly. "Me and Clary and Eva."

"But how did he feed you angel blood?" Alec asked. "Where did he even get it?"

"From the angel Ithuriel. Valentine summoned him, bounded him to earth with runes similar to ones you would use to trap a Greater Demon, and tortured and exsanguinated him constantly—but angels cannot die, so he had a bountiful supply of blood to use." Tessa said in disgust and then eyed Jace. "I'm not sure how he administered the blood into you, or your sister." Jace visibly shifted at Tessa's words. "But you both have considerably less in your system—from what Raphael has told us, Simon can walk in the sun but can't walk on hallowed ground and can't touch holy artifacts while he can."

"The quality of the blood determines the powers you gain," Catarina said. "If a vampire was to drink the purest of angel blood—which is golden, in case you didn't know—said vampire would gain an absurd amount of abilities that would include being able to eat mundane food without making them nauseous and being able to have children."

"I can't do either, don't worry," Raphael admitted, raising his arms in innocence. "Both have been tested and proven."

"So the angel blood in me is purer than Jace and Clary's," Eva nodded in understanding. "And you know why, don't you?"

"Ithuriel is your father," Tessa said. Eva felt as if the air was knocked out of her lungs all at once. Izzy squeezed Eva's arm while Jace and Alec eyed each other in disbelief. Raphael and Catarina dipped their heads down as Tessa continued, "And your mother is Marigold Starkweather."


Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I would love to hear your theories!