JACE

At the end of the day, with so much excitement, Jace and Liliana were relieved to shut themselves away in their own private world. Returning to their bedroom, they both changed into something loose and comfortable and reclined on their bed. Jace lay on his back, while Liliana perched on her side, supported by her elbow, and looking down at him. She had her other hand placed atop his bare chest, absentmindedly drawing lines and circles on him with her fingertips. Jace loved it when she did that; it gave him the best kind of chills and helped him relax. Meanwhile, she was regaling him on the events of the past three days.

"Valentin was, of course, more than welcoming—honestly, I think the little bloodsucker has a special fondness for me." She made a little chuckle and rolled her eyes. "Not even in his wildest dreams… But Lisette—you should have seen her. The moment she laid eyes on me the color drained from her face. I half expected her to drop dead from the shock."

"I'm sure you would have loved that," said Jace, turning on his side after she had pulled her hand away.

"Ooh, I would have made her my zombie slave for the duration of my stay." She chuckled wickedly.

"I'd never expect from you anything less," he teased. They fell into a restful silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Thinking about the events of the day, Jace suddenly asked, "Can you believe how quickly Chandra and Rowan have become like old pals?"

Liliana smirked. "It's good she's got a friend close to her in age. Don't get me wrong—I love Rowan. But sometimes, it's exhausting being someone's favorite person."

"Tell me about it," Jace agreed. He had his fair share of devotees.

Pausing, he rested his head on his hand, and then said, "I think Nissa was relieved. Did you see her at supper?"

"I try not to pay too much attention to what Nissa's doing," Liliana replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'd say she was pleasantly at peace, to have Chandra so preoccupied with Rowan."

"You don't think she'd get jealous?"

Jace wrinkled his brow. "I doubt it. I definitely don't pick up on any kind of romantic vibes between them. To be honest—and don't take this the wrong way—but I get the impression Nissa is relieved to see Chandra has a friend other than you."

"Wow, okay," said Liliana. "Thanks."

"I told you not to take it wrong. It's not coming from me. It's all Nissa."

"Of course," she said with resentment. "Nissa is never going to forgive me. Not that I care." Jace suspected that wasn't true, but wasn't about to call her on it, as she continued, "At least she's accepted the twins, along with everyone else. I'll admit, I was afraid she'd let her loathing and mistrust for me bleed over to them."

"She's intrigued by them," said Jace. "She sees their innocence—despite their association with you."

She moved to punch him on the arm, but he had anticipated it. He managed to move out of the way just in time, laughing as he did so. He laid on his back again, resting his hands beneath his head, and said, "I'm glad to see the twins are fitting in so well with everyone. Well, at least Rowan is. Will's doing okay, I suppose, but he's definitely not as socially adaptable as Rowan."

"Poor Will," she said with a smirk. "One minute, he's all confidence and charm, and the next he's falling all over himself like an inexperienced schoolboy."

"To be fair, he did only just finish school," he said, turning his head to meet her gaze.

Liliana narrowed her eyes at him and playfully rustled his hair. "Don't take it so personally, Cloak Boy."

"I'm not," he claimed, shoeing her hand away. "Why would I take something personal that's not about me?"

The question was posed as a hypothetical, but a part of him did wonder why he was taking it personally. He was even more annoyed that Liliana was picking up on it.

"Uhm, because you relate to him in more than a few ways?" she suggested. Then she flicked his nose.

With lightning speed, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down on top of him before she could get away. She laughed aloud and he kissed her. Then he gazed up at her, and said, "Gods, I missed you. I shouldn't tell you that, though."

"Why? You know I love to hear it."

"It gives you too much power."

"It's the only power I care to have anymore these days," she said, before leaning in for another kiss.

When she pulled away, Jace snorted. "I'll believe that the day Chandra turns fire into ice."

Her eyebrows narrowed and she pursed her lips.

He laughed aloud. "I'm sorry, but your angry face is cute."

"That's it. I'm gonna get you for that."

"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep."

She grinned and climbed over him, taking his wrists, and holding them down as she came in close to his face. Jace relaxed, looking forward to what was going to happen next.

"First, I'm gonna tie you to the bed…" she whispered.

He sucked air through his teeth. "Go on."

"Then, I'm gonna slowly strip off your clothes..."

"Mmm, I like where this is going."

"And then I'm gonna go downstairs and pour myself a drink. Maybe read a book or two. Oh, I might even go for a walk since you won't be there to stop me."

Jace sighed. "I see you've refined your methods of torture. I'm not sure I like these new techniques."

"Guess I'm not so cute, after all."

"Hmm, I don't know. You're still cute."

"I hate that you can say that and get away with it," she said, sitting cross-legged and folding her arms over her chest.

He turned on his side again and grinned up at her. "Why is that, anyway?"

"You know why," she responded, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I know, but I still like to hear it."

"Well, I'm not giving you the satisfaction," she answered, meeting his gaze with a wicked smile.

He chuckled. "It's okay. I already know, anyway. So…I take it that means what you said earlier still stands?"

She raised a brow, and said, "Which is…?"

"You know, the whole no enjoying our first night together in three days thing…?"

She threw her head back and laughed. He loved it when she did that. Everything about it made him feel a sense of delight. It was not an easy thing for anyone to make Liliana Vess laugh, so the fact that he could do it with relative ease also gave him a sense of pride. Her laugh was beautiful, he thought. It was unfortunate more people didn't get to see her the way he saw her when they were alone together—when she let go and was just her real self, without any walls or pretenses.

When she looked at him again, she said, "I suppose it depends."

He raised a brow. "Oh? So that means there's hope for a lonely husband who's been missing his wife."

"Oh please. I doubt you really missed me. I'm sure you were finally able to get some work done without having to worry about me all the time." She looked at him from the corners of her eyes. He knew this was a test, with a hint of true insecurity.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "I mean, sure I can get a lot done when I'm not distracted by you…but I missed you distracting me. I missed those violet eyes and that naughty smile of yours."

This had the desired effect—her playful pout turned into a smile, and she said, "Go on."

"I missed the sound of your voice, and the way you sweep into a room and bring it to life just by being there."

"Bringing dead things to life is kind of my specialty."

He chuckled and ran his fingers through her hair, as he drew her into a kiss. Then he said, "I missed the way you lie so still in your sleep that I always have to check to make sure you're alive." He paused and pulled her into another kiss, and then lowered his voice, as he pulled her closer. "The warmth of your body beside me… The softness of your skin…"

He felt her shift and heard her sharp intake of breath as he ran his fingers gently over the back of her neck. He smiled with the knowledge that he was winning her over. He knew, of course, that was only because she was letting him win. Nevertheless, it was still a game he liked to play, and he didn't mind her pretending to let him have control every now and then.

LILIANA

Liliana could never put words to it, what it meant to her when they made love. She had been alive for over two centuries and, without shame, could admit that over the course of her long lifetime she had been with a lot of men—and even a few women. But even with all that experience, no one had ever made love to her like Jace.

Of course, sometimes, it was just sex—selfish, carnal, impure. A desire to conquer, to annihilate. But more often when they were together it was so much more than that. It was an exchange of energy. A union of souls. It fed them both equally, filling in them something they needed, something no one else could ever do or give. And it was that need which could only be filled in one by the other—it was always that—which had brought them back to each other every time they drifted or were pulled apart.

All this ran through her thoughts, as she lay there watching him sleep some hours later. Moonlight cascaded in through an opening in the curtains, washing them in the grey light of night. He slept peacefully for a time, until he suddenly began to struggle and whimper from some nightmare plaguing his thoughts. She reached out to comfort him, whispering his name, her hand resting on his bicep. Without waking, he reached back to grab her hand and squeezed it tightly. Then he began to calm down, and she pressed her lips to his cheek. He turned onto his back and seemed almost about to waken but remained asleep.

Wondering what dreams so often afflicted him, she reached out to touch the tattoos on his face, gently tracing them with the tips of her fingers. He shifted and stirred but still didn't awaken to her touch. Instead, he exhaled deeply and seemed to relax further.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes to listen to his heartbeat. It was a steady, soothing rhythm she had grown used to so long ago, back when they first began a torrid affair. She had never expected to fall for him then. It was never supposed to be anything but a job, a game; but there was always something about him she could never quite fully resist, no matter how hard she tried. He could drive her to madness—and, surely, she could do the same to him—and yet, he was the one person in all the Multiverse she had ever allowed herself to love, truly and completely. And now that she was no longer shackled by a demonic contract, she finally could give herself fully to him. She could finally put someone else before herself—not only could but wanted to.

She sighed and looked down at her hand, resting on her abdomen. Suddenly, her eyes stung, and she shut them tightly to flush away the tears. Now was not the time. She knew it was for the best, even though she wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything before. More than she had wanted to stay young and live forever. More than she had wanted to be free. It was strange, when she thought about it – two hundred years had gone by without her having even a shred of maternal instinct, and now she was flooded with it. Jace returning to her had only heightened these desires even more, especially now that she knew he was open to the possibility.

Why now? she wondered. Why, when the Phyrexians were practically at their doorstep, did she find herself wanting more than anything to be a mother?

Not that it mattered. It had only been a week since she had first started to suspect… It never lasted more than a week or two after her initial discovery. It was only a matter of time. A part of her wished it would happen sooner so she could just get it over with and move on, like she always did. He had once asked her, had she ever been pregnant from him? So many times, she had wanted to tell him. It was easier to just clump them all together with all the other times, so she wouldn't have to think specifically about when it happened with him. Even now, she couldn't tell him, though. She couldn't bear to get his hopes up. Or cause him further stress, as it was more likely to do, given the circumstances. It was her burden to bear, until it was over, like it had always been. It was for the best, she continued to remind herself. He didn't need to know. He didn't need to suffer, whether from the worry or from the loss that was soon to come.

NISSA

It was strange, not being able to sleep. Nissa rarely had trouble doing something so natural. But there was something about being in the city—any city—that always seemed to throw off her natural balance and it was worse now than it had ever been before. She couldn't breathe. She had to get away from all the noise, all the bustle. Even a sleepy city was still a busy one. The one thing for which she could be grateful was her ability to 'walk away, if only for a few hours.

When she had finally decided to go for a 'walk, she bent over Chandra's sleeping form to plant a gentle kiss upon her cheek. She smiled, watching as Chandra squirmed and shifted, restless even in her sleep. Then she pulled away and climbed up the winding staircase toward the rooftop. She paused outside Jace's door. Jace and Liliana's door, she reminded herself with a scowl. Then she continued down the corridor and up to the roof.

When she opened the door to the roof, she was startled when a shadowed figure stepped toward her, made even darker by the moonlight coming from behind them. The figure gasped and stopped abruptly. It wasn't tall or broad enough to be Jace, but the figure was wearing one of his cloaks. Nissa's face twisted in anger when she realized it was Liliana. She didn't even bother to pretend civility. The necromancer did not deserve such niceties, as far as Nissa was concerned.

"Oh," Liliana murmured. "Sorry. I didn't expect to see anyone out here."

"Why were you out here?" Nissa demanded. She was sure Liliana had been up to something. Why else would she come out to the rooftop late at night, when the rest of the household was fast asleep?

Liliana shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. I needed fresh air."

"There is no fresh air here."

"No, I suppose not. Not like what you're used to."

Her voice sounded strange, distant… Had she known the word, she might have said wistful. Despite herself, Nissa heaved a sigh, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Me? Oh, yes. I'm…fine, I suppose." She wasn't very convincing, but Nissa wasn't going to press. Then Liliana said, "You're good at making things grow, keeping things alive."

"Yes… Why?"

Liliana smiled but there was something sad about the way she smiled. "No reason. It's just something I was thinking, but then…it's impossible."

"What is impossible?"

"Never mind. Forget I said anything." Then she was suddenly back to her nonchalant self, when she said, "I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

Nissa remained suspicious. "I am watching you, Liliana Vess. If you are planning to betray us again…"

"You'll kill me yourself, right?" the necromancer finished, lowering her hood. Now, Nissa could see her smile more fully in the moonlight. It was chilling.

Nissa raised her chin defiantly. "Do you doubt that I could?"

"Kill me? No, not at all. I believe you would do it in an instant. I hope you'd understand, if it ever came to that, I would defend myself."

"I would expect no less," Nissa sneered.

When Liliana giggled, it was not the reaction Nissa had anticipated. Confused and alarmed, she stepped back, as Liliana said, "I hope you would at least try to do it quickly. I dread the thought of a long, painful death. How would you do it, I wonder? Pull out that blade you keep hidden in that staff of yours? Run me through?"

"I've thought about it," Nissa confessed, without remorse.

"Hmm, you could also strangle me with those vines you're always growing out of nowhere. Although that could be worse than the blade, depending on your method."

"Why are you doing this?" Nissa asked. She was genuinely confused by the necromancer entertaining various ways she might be killed by the elf. "If you think you can predict what I would do, to protect yourself…"

"Actually, it was my attempt to engage you in conversation. I thought it might be a suitable topic, considering you hate me, and I love death. Well, not my own, I'll admit. But I do like to imagine death, and you like to imagine me dead, so at least we have something in common."

She smiled wickedly.

"What are you trying to do?" Nissa demanded, narrowing her eyes at the necromancer.

"A thought experiment," she answered with a shrug.

"What is a thought experiment?" She sounded out the words carefully.

Liliana raised her eyes to the heavens. Nissa couldn't tell if it was one of her characteristic eyerolls or if she was just thinking. "It's…when you think of something that could happen, you know, use your imagination to think of potential scenarios and play them out in your head."

Nissa thought about it. Finally, she said, "Isn't that something Jace would do?"

"Absolutely," Liliana replied with a faint smile. "Thought experiments and hypotheticals are one of his specialties. But I enjoy the same. We make games out of it, he and I—not that you would know that, or even care."

"You are right about one thing, Liliana," said Nissa. "I don't care what you do, as long as you do not hurt anyone I care about."

"I'm not going to," the necromancer said plainly. "Not intentionally, anyway. But we are all capable of hurting those we love. Even you."

"I would never hurt someone I love."

"Given a choice, I would never intentionally hurt anyone—unless they were trying to hurt me. Then it's fair game and, as far as I'm concerned, they've asked for it. Still, it happens from time to time. Mistakes can be made, words said in the heat of anger that can't be unsaid… After all, we are only human. Well, except you. But I'm assuming the same rule applies to elves. You're no better than the rest of us, though your kind often thinks otherwise."

"I wouldn't know," said Nissa, looking away.

"No, you wouldn't, I suppose. Being that you have so little experience with your own kind—but that makes you all the more arrogant."

"Me, arrogant? You're the one who is arrogant!"

"Oh no," said Liliana, stepping up alongside her and looking down at her. "You see, I know my own faults. And I readily admit to them. You're the one who thinks you have nothing to hide, even as you continuously hide from yourself."

She smiled again, and then said, "Good night, Nissa. It was good talking to you."

"What do you mean?" Nissa asked, as Liliana opened the door and stepped inside. The necromancer waved a hand without turning back to her, so Nissa asked again, more loudly, "What do you mean?"

Before she had an answer, though, the door was closed; Liliana was gone. Nissa felt a wave of fury—low and calm but still fierce. She almost went after the necromancer but decided against it. If Liliana was trying to provoke her into a battle, Nissa refused to play into her hand. She had no doubt the necromancer wanted her out of the way, but that was all the more reason to stay right where she was—if only to protect those she loved.

Nissa heaved a sigh. She was not going anywhere tonight, so she returned to her room. Chandra was still fast asleep, but she stirred when Nissa slipped into the bed beside her. For some reason, she felt the need to hold her extra close that night. She needed to protect the one she loved most.

CHANDRA

At tactical meeting the next day, Jace and Teferi teamed up to discuss the nature of Phyrexian offensive attacks and defensive strategies. As usual, Chandra was placed at the far end of the table, as far away from any of Jace's books and papers as possible. She noticed there was even a font of water nearby, supposedly just for people to wash their hands. She suspected there was more to it than that since it was strategically placed right by her assigned seat at the table.

The whole assigned seat thing was fairly new, but she was sure it had more to do with her than anything. The last thing Jace wanted was to risk his precious books on one of Chandra's outbursts. But hey, she thought, at least she wasn't completely banned from his sanctum anymore. There was a time when she was almost virtually not allowed in there, at all. But now that Jace had moved all their meetings to his sanctum, for whatever reason – she really wasn't paying that much attention when he explained the change—he seemed to have devised this new method of protecting his flammables from any pyromantic mishaps.

Chandra smirked and leaned over to whisper to Nissa, "That's why he's put me here."

"What?" Nissa was entirely, and understandably, confused.

"Never mind. I'll tell you later."

She tried to tune back into the meeting, but it had been going on for nearly three hours and she was so hungry that she couldn't concentrate. Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she was sure everyone at the table could hear it. Nobody looked her way, but they were probably just being polite.

Chandra moved her gaze toward Lavinia, who stood apart from the others at a lectern, diligently taking notes, as usual. While Chandra had never asked to see the minutes, she assumed Lavinia kept copious records of each and every meeting, since the beginning of time. She just managed to stifle a bout of laughter that threatened to erupt from the thought of Lavinia as some eternal minute-keeper.

Suddenly, her gaze drifted to Liliana. She wondered what Lavinia thought of the return of the necromancer. She was surprised, in fact, that Lavinia had never expressed her thoughts or feelings on the matter—at least, not openly anyway. She had certainly been as surprised as everyone else when Jace announced that Liliana was alive and had returned to Ravnica at his invitation to rejoin the Gatewatch, but she had never been vocal about her feelings on the matter. It seemed strange, given Lavinia's long-standing working relationship with Jace, in which she had never been afraid to express her true thoughts on anything, it seemed. So, why when it came to this, she remained silent, Chandra had no idea.

Come to think of it, Lavinia had been much more docile and less expressive than usual. She was never one to be filled with feeling, of course, but she had likewise never been so silent on important matters. Chandra watched her closely, for a moment wondering if Liliana had secretly killed Lavinia and turned her into a zombie to keep her obedient. The thought was appealing, in a grotesque way, but Chandra quickly realized that was ridiculous. There was nothing even remotely undead-like about Lavinia. No, it was more likely that Jace had done something to Lavinia's mind, to keep her from raising any objections to Liliana's presence and, more importantly, her relationship with Lavinia's long-time employer.

She did notice, however, Lavinia glare at Liliana once during the meeting, when the necromancer had raised an objection to something Ajani had suggested. Chandra realized then that Lavinia was definitely not under any type of mind control, so that hypothesis went out into the trash heap alongside the one about her being secretly made a zombie.

When Jace continued going on and on about the Phyrexians and what they may or may not do in response to an attack, Chandra groaned inside. Then she turned her attentions to Nissa, hoping to get the elf's attention so she could ask her what she wanted to do about lunch. Nissa wasn't receptive to Chandra's hopeful stares, but neither was she attentive to the meeting. Chandra shifted in her chair and tilted her head to examine Nissa. She seemed weirdly more distant and distracted than usual and had been all morning.

Huh. I wonder what's on her mind…

Chandra wished then she had Jace's powers. That would make the meetings so much more fun, if she could read everyone's minds and find out what they were thinking while Jace and Teferi went on and on about their intel and their experiences with the Phyrexians. She noticed Liliana kept fidgeting, alternating between holding her stomach and picking at her fingernails. She must be hungry, too, Chandra thought. Everyone hated it when the meetings ran long.

Then she moved her attention to Rowan and Will. Both twins were giving Jace their rapt attention, although Rowan seemed to be fading since the meeting first began. Chandra thought about their competition at breakfast, seeing who could more quickly fry a pan of eggs using only their powers. Rowan had cooked hers more quickly, but in the end, it was Chandra's that tasted better. She felt a moment of pride at that.

Ajani sat between Teferi and Will, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He and Liliana did not see eye-to-eye on some matter or other. Chandra partially wished she had paid more attention, because it was probably amusing to watch the two of them go back and forth in a disagreement. Whatever had happened, it seemed like Jace and Teferi had both sided with Liliana, who looked more than pleased with herself, despite her constant fidgeting.

Kaya sat next to Liliana, with Rowan to her left and an empty chair between her and Chandra. Jace had probably devised that seating arrangement to keep her and Rowan from talking during the meetings. At least he had the decency to put Nissa to Chandra's left and across from the empty chair, so she wasn't completely alone at the end of the table.

Chandra glanced at Liliana again, just as she was turning her head. Liliana saw her and winked and then turned her attention back toward Teferi, who was sitting across from her and currently had the floor. Chandra wondered who was more long-winded—Jace or Teferi. Either way, they both talked a lot at the meetings and used more words than needed. Chandra would just ask Kaya or Liliana to sum it all up for her after the meeting was over, like she often did because, as she herself admitted, she had the attention span of a flea.

When, at last, Jace clapped his hands together, and said, "All right, that concludes our meeting for today," Chandra was the first to jump up from her chair. She had heard little else, but that phrase was one she was trained to hear no matter what, because it was her favorite part of any meeting.

She looked at Nissa, hoping to talk about lunch. Nissa was watching Liliana, though, and just when Chandra was about to speak to her, Nissa walked toward Liliana and confronted her about something. Chandra moved closer so she could hear what was being said.

"I'm sorry?" Liliana was asking in confusion when Chandra approached.

"What you said last night. What did you mean?"

Liliana inhaled deeply and shrugged. "I don't remember what I said, I'm afraid."

She stepped forward as if to go around Nissa, but then Nissa's outstretched palm held her back by the shoulder. Liliana looked down at her hand and then back at Nissa with a raised brow, as if to ask if she even knew what she was doing. Nissa was unphased, however, and said, "You know what I mean. Tell me what you meant. Why you said it?"

Now Chandra spoke up. "Am I…interrupting something here?"

Liliana smiled, and said, "No, not at all. We were just having an intriguing conversation about I don't know what."

Nissa turned to Chandra in frustration. "She's being difficult on purpose! Chandra, make her tell me what she meant."

Chandra raised a brow and looked to Liliana. "Um…can you just…tell me what's going on?"

"I have no idea what's going on, to be perfectly honest."

"She was outside on the roof last night!" Nissa shouted, her tone accusatory. "I saw her there. She was wearing one of Jace's cloaks."

Now Jace approached, asking, "Is everything all right? What's going on?"

Liliana looked to him and shrugged. Chandra stood there helplessly, as Nissa said, "Jace, I think Liliana is planning something."

Jace looked at Liliana with a raised brow but spoke to Nissa. "You think this…why, exactly?"

"I…can't explain it. Just…read my mind. You will see."

"Okay," said Jace, watching Liliana closely.

She just stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently, and said, "The elf is delusional."

Jace linked with Nissa's mind and, when he was finished, shook his head. "I…don't see anything suspicious, Nissa."

"That's because you're infatuated with her!" shouted Nissa, storming off.

"Nissa, wait!" Chandra called. Then she turned to Liliana, and said, "I'm…not really sure what's going on here, but I'm really sorry. I'll try to talk with her when she's calmed down."

"I think you're rubbing off on her, Chandra," Jace teased. "I've never seen her like this before."

"I'll…catch you guys later!" Chandra called, running after Nissa. Something weird was going on and she needed to find out what.