The training room was quiet. At her arrival to the Institute, she hadn't come across anyone. Perhaps Maryse was out. She knew Alec was with Magnus and assumed Isabelle with Simon. Therefore, she was alone.
Which was how she liked it. Being alone gave her plenty of leeway to think. And to do so in an open fashion. For Eliza, this meant that the twelve training dummies she had set up were in mortal peril.
Her sword moved like an extension of her hand. With each movement, the blade cut into the fabric of one of the dummies. Straw and filling spilling onto the floor.
She grunted as she forced the sword into the chest of the last dummy.
The floorboard creaked. She spun, launching a knife from the brace on her wrist. It landed in the wall next to the door. Isabelle was standing in the door, body stiff.
"Sorry." Eliza muttered.
Isabelle yanked the knife from the wall. "You know we're on the same side, right?"
Eliza crossed the room and took the knife from her. "Yeah. I'm aware." She wiped the knife off and secured it back inside the brace. "Was there something you needed?" She asked, putting the sword back in the sheath on her back.
Izzy grimaced. "Figured you'd need some girl time. Wanna eat? Get drunk? Do a face mask?"
"Now's not a good time. I'm busy."
Izzy looked around the training room. A dozen training dummies had been defeated. Pieces were strewn amongst the room. Straw covered the floor. "Right. You're definitely not in the headspace for girl time." Her eyes landed back on Eliza. "Look, I know you just spent the better part of two months traipsing around the world with the Crazy Team and you need some time to ground yourself back to the Sane Train but locking yourself in Magnus' apartment for days is not healthy."
The Crazy…Team? There was no team. It had just been she and Jonathan until she had dragged her poor sister into it. Now, she had to get Clary back and kill Jonathan. No matter what.
"So," Izzy sighed, "breakfast?"
"Yeah. Breakfast would be good. Can I change?"
Izzy grinned. "God, yes. I'd prefer it if you did."
Her training gear, apparently, was not appropriate for breakfast. On that, she had to agree with Izzy. The younger girl followed her to her room and waited as Eliza changed into a pair of dark jeans and a burgundy sweater that seemed a bit big on her. It smelled like sandalwood. She sniffed it again, her nose twitching with some sense of familiarity.
"I must have mixed Alec's laundry in with mine on accident." She told Izzy, leaving the sweater on. "Tell him I'll give it back later?"
Izzy frowned. The sweater was not her brother's. "Uh, sure…" She took out her phone, eyeing Eliza before sending a quick text to Alec.
"I really am hungry. You have good timing." Eliza said as they left her room. Down the hall, just three rooms, a door was open. She stopped, peeking inside the room. It was immaculately clean. The bed was made, books lined the shelves. There was a ripped leather jacket on the back of the desk chair.
She didn't remember anyone occupying this room.
She glanced at Izzy. "Did someone move in?" She asked.
"I…What?"
Eliza motioned to the room. "This room's been empty since I got here in May. And now, it's not. Did someone move in while I was gone?"
The other girl frowned at her. "Did you like hit your head or something while you were training?" Eliza said no. "Liz, this is Jace's room."
Jace…?
"Who?"
Izzy made a frustrated noise. "Jace?" Eliza stared back blankly, waiting for an explanation. "Jace Wayland. Herondale. Whatever he's going by. He's my adoptive brother. And your boyfriend."
Her what? She did not have a boyfriend. Her last boyfriend had been Declan, who she had broken up with after her father's death. And he was currently dead. Dead dead, not vampire dead.
Eliza laughed darkly. "I think you hit your head, Isabelle. Maybe we should reschedule breakfast so you can lie down."
Izzy opened her mouth, but then shut it quickly. "Yeah, good idea…See you later." Izzy turned and sprinted down the hallway.
Eliza's eyebrows downturned. "Weirdo." And so she resolved to finishing her training session.
"You did what to her?" Jocelyn Fairchild shouted at Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. Her friend and ally for nearly sixteen years. Her fiancé, Luke Garroway (or Greymark, depending on who addressed him), grabbed her wrist.
There were many people sitting in Magnus' living room. It resembled an impromptu conference that had taken place only a week ago. The only person missing was the one who happened to be the subject of the conversation.
"Let him talk. I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation." Luke told Jocelyn softly.
Jocelyn's green eyes were lit with ferocity. "He'd better." She snapped.
Magnus leaned back into the high-backed purple armchair. Not so long ago, he had walked in after a meeting to see his roommate engaged in a heated makeout session with her steamy boyfriend. It had been a sight that made even him blush.
"She asked." He told them all simply.
Jocelyn's expression configured into a harsh rage. One her eldest daughter wore often. He had once believed the expression had been inherited from her father, but now he knew her mother was responsible. "Did you even try to talk her out of it?"
There was a sarcastic comment ready on his tongue. At the look of warning on his boyfriend's face, he decided against it. "For over an hour. Your daughter is especially stubborn."
"I know." Jocelyn muttered.
Alec licked over his lips. "So, you made her forget about Jace entirely? Why would she want that? What even brought that on?"
This was the part that Magnus was reluctant to share. More so in front of his boyfriend and his younger sister. They would be the ones most hurt by Eliza's plan, should she succeed on her mission.
"The night before last, I was pushing Eliza out of the apartment. She'd been holed up here for days. I asked Declan to retrieve her and to feed her something other than chips from a can. He came for-."
Isabelle interrupted him. "Where is he, anyway?" She did a onceover of the room. Declan was almost always present. He and Magnus were close friends and even after she had broken his heart, he remained loyal to Eliza. Magnus and Simon shared a look, which Isabelle witnessed. "What aren't you telling?" She demanded from Simon.
"Declan's….uh, he's kind of dead…" Simon mumbled.
Magnus crossed his legs.
"Yeah. He's a vampire. None of you are exactly alive." Isabelle snapped.
Simon looked to Magnus for help. The warlock heaved a sigh before standing up. "Declan was murdered two nights ago. By Jace."
"What?" Isabelle breathed. "No. Jace wouldn't…He'd never hurt Declan. He knows what that would do to Eliza. She'd never forgive him."
The sad look on Magnus' face confirmed it. Jace had in fact killed Declan. "Eliza said that the entire point of the encounter was to pit Jace against her. Jonathan wanted Jace completely to himself and he knew just how to do it. He made it seem as if Eliza never cared for Jace and had come back for Declan. He was so distraught, so angry, that he murdered Declan in his rage."
Jocelyn let out a breath. She grabbed onto Luke's hand. "And that was enough to convince her to do this? I didn't know she cared about Declan so much."
Magnus shook his head. Eliza did care about Declan. But there was someone else that she cared about more. So much so that the possibility of that person's death had pushed her over the edge.
"So, what?" Jocelyn asked. "What else could he have done to her to make her go this far?" And then, she answered her own question. "He threatened Jace, didn't he? He threatened Jace and she did something drastic." A talent she had inherited from her mother.
"Worse." Simon told the mother of his best friend.
There was nothing worse to Eliza than threatening the life of the boy she loved. There was nothing more dangerous to a person's life than threatening that of Jace Wayland's.
"What could be worse to her?" Luke asked. "She doesn't love anyone more."
Alec stood up quite suddenly. Magnus watched him pace about the room, thin hands raking through his dark hair. The blue eyes of his boyfriend were wide. "Yes, she does." His head snapped over to Magnus. "There's one person." Luke asked who that would be. "Clary." He looked back at his boyfriend. "Sebastian threatened Clary, didn't he?"
Jocelyn began to argue that Eliza cared about her sister, but not at the length she would place her over Jace. "She loves him too much. His life is over everyone else's."
Alec said no, not truly. "There are two people that Eliza would sacrifice everything, even the world for. Jace and Clary. Ever since Clary came into our lives, Eliza has done everything she can to protect her. She put herself in the way of Abbadon to save Clary. She put herself in Valentine's way over and over to protect Clary, even though she was terrified of him. While we were in Alicante, she said horrible things to Clary just so she'd come home because Eliza knew what the Clave would do if they knew about Clary's abilities. She felt awful about it. And when we fought Sebastian, I have never seen her look angrier than when he hurt Clary." He explained.
"Alec's right." Simon agreed. "The night I got kidnapped by those vampires, Eliza almost died trying to get Clary out of there. She let Raphael take a chunk out of her neck."
Magnus stood and walked over to join his boyfriend. He put his arm around Alec.
"What did he say about Clary?" Jocelyn asked them. "I know that she told you, Magnus."
He let go of Alec. "He told Eliza that she had to choose which one she was going to save. She could either have Jace or Clary. He even offered her Jace and she turned him down." He looked Jocelyn in the eye. "She took what you said to heart. Too much so, I believe. She thinks the only way to win this, to beat her brother and save Clary is to-."
"To what?" Isabelle interrupted. She jumped up. Simon tried to grab her, but she evaded his hand. "What is she planning, Magnus?"
"It seems you already know." He said quietly. He didn't want to say the words. To say them was to speak out the possibility it would happen.
"Say it." Isabelle snapped at him. The two words were spoken in a constricted manner.
Simon turned his face from her. Magnus was silent. Simon looked back at her. If Magnus wouldn't say it, he would. "She's going to kill him."
Isabelle turned her dark eyes on him. "Which one?" She asked slowly.
"Either. Both. She explained it all when we picked her up that night." He answered. "She doesn't think we have the time to find out how to separate the two of them. She thinks killing them is the only way to stop Sebastian."
The finely molded expression on Isabelle's face faltered. Her shoulders slumped. "No. She can't." She murmured. "She can't kill Jace. She loves him. She'd never…"
"Not anymore." Alec reminded her solemnly. "She doesn't even know him now."
Simon agreed with him.
"She knew that she couldn't sacrifice him if she still loved him, if she could look at him and see someone she once loved." Magnus told them.
"How long will it last?" Luke inquired. Jocelyn was staring out the window, her face drawn together in deep thought. "What you've done to her mind, how long will it last?"
Magnus said there was no telling. Altering her entire memory had taken a lot of magic. Combining that with making her forget an entire person, changing her heart, he had no idea just how long it would take for it to wear off. If it even would.
"You did it to her before." Isabelle said. "You made her think she was someone else completely. Why is this different?"
"Because before, the alteration was based on fact. She had created an alternate persona for herself. The life I created for her was based on the one she had. I was replacing memories. This…I just took away. I took away memories, I took feeling, I took part of her."
Luke said something under his breath. Magnus asked him to repeat himself. "If she does this…If she succeeds and one day, it all comes back to her, it's going to destroy her. She'll never forgive herself."
Jocelyn finally turned back to them. "Then we have to make sure it doesn't get that far." Magnus met her eye. "We're racing against two clocks now. Jonathan and Eliza. He can't go through with his plan and she can't go through with hers."
Isabelle had a resolute look on her face. She wiped her face. "We need to separate Jace from Sebastian. Fast. And then Eliza can do whatever she wants to Jonathan."
The door opened. They all turned. Eliza shrugged off her coat and tossed it on the coat rack. She turned towards the living room. "What're you guys talking about?"
"Nothing." Isabelle said quickly. "Dinner plans."
Eliza made a face, but let it go. "Great. I'm starving."
It was three days later when Eliza remembered the oddity of Isabelle's behavior nearly a week before. Her strange words, the boy who had a room at the Institute, but Eliza had no recollection of him. And yet, in Isabelle's mind, the boy had an entire life story.
An overheard conversation between brother and sister in which the name "Jace" was invoked was how Eliza found herself standing in front of the door to this very room. After a glance in both directions, she pushed the door open.
The scent of sandalwood wafted through her nose. Light poured in through the windows. A straight ray of sun stretched over the white duvet over the bed. The door to the adjacent bathroom was open. The leather jacket was still on the back of the chair that was tucked neatly into the desk.
She ran her hand over the back of the jacket, her finger dipped into the large tear in the fabric. Her eyes scanned over the room, landing on the bookshelf. It was filled with books. Dostoyevsky, Dickens, Tolstoy, Rand, Homer. Several works by Haggard. She let her fingers skim over the spines of the books, stopping on one. The Manchurian Candidate. Her favorite.
Whoever this boy was, he enjoyed literature. The classical kind.
There were photographs on the dresser. She recognized several people. One of the photos pictured the three Lightwood children standing and smiling with a boy who looked to be aged near Alec and Isabelle. They stood on either side of him and the boy held Max on his shoulders. She picked the photo up. The boy was…breathtaking. Golden features, a crooked smile, eyes alight.
"Who are you?" She murmured.
Eliza put the photo back. To say her interest in this mystery case was piqued was an understatement. She moved back to the desk. She pulled the chair back and sat down. Unabashedly, she yanked open the topmost left drawer. Pens, pencils, a notebook. Condoms. Nothing of significant interests.
She lifted the notebook to find a carefully folded piece of sketch paper. "What's this?" She murmured, taking it from the drawer.
She moved to open it.
"Liz?" Alec's voice floated through the room.
She turned, hiding the paper behind her. "Alec, hi. What're you-what's up?"
He raised an eyebrow, looking around the room. "What are you doing in here?"
She stood up, discreetly tucking the paper in her back pocket. "I could ask you the same thing." Her voice dropped mysteriously.
"Right." He said slowly. "Look, I need a sparring partner. You in?"
"So, I can kick your ass? Oh, absolutely." She grinned.
Alec landed a solid hit to her side. As he swung again, she sidestepped the hit. Eliza dropped down and her leg swung out, slamming into Alec's ankles and knocking him down. She hopped up, looking down at him as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.
"Best six out of ten?" She asked with a smile. She stuck out her hand.
He took it and grunted as she helped him up. "Your ass is mine this time." He warned her.
"Better not let Magnus hear." She teased.
Alec rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you a question?" He squared his body across from hers.
She cracked her neck, shaking out her hands. "Only if I can ask you one."
He said it was a deal. He jabbed and she ducked the hit. Her fist skimmed his shoulder. "How're you holding up?" He paused to land a punch to her bicep. "And be honest. It's me."
She hesitated before stepping back. "I'm fine." He gave her a look. "Seriously, Alec. I'm okay. I just want all this to be over. I'm sick and tired of living in the Morgenstern shadow of death and darkness."
He stifled a laugh at her comment. Alec knew particularly the strength of that shadow. It had encompassed his loved ones.
"My turn." She hopped forward on her right foot and landed a jab to his jaw. Alec backstepped, and popped his jaw. "What's the deal with this Jace guy?" The question made him fumble back. She reached out, catching him by the arm and pulling him back to a vertical position. "Alec, come on. Tell me."
"You really wanna know?"
"Obviously."
"Jace is…"
She was staring at him expectantly, green eyes bright with curiosity. She was waiting for the truth. It was something he could give her. Something he should give her. Maybe if he gave it to her, she would remember everything and that would solve one of their problems.
But he couldn't. Vividly, he remembered the last time they had been in this predicament. Then, the truth had been dangerous enough to kill her. Forcing it on her now might have the same effect.
The only solution to everything was the separate Jace from Sebastian so that Jace would be safe and Sebastian could be taken care of. By Eliza, the Clave, or whoever got to him first.
But even if Jace came back, she wouldn't remember him. She'd look at him and see a stranger. And he would see her, the person he loved most in the world.
"He's an old family friend." Alec finally said. He wasn't a good liar, really terrible at it actually. Nowhere near as skilled at the art as Eliza. "He stayed here while you were gone. His dad and mine were parabatai."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Shame I missed him." She said. "Saw that photo of you guys. He's pretty hot."
Alec cracked a smile. "He's your type."
Eliza smirked as they picked their sparring match back up. "Damn shame then."
As they continued on, Alec watched her. He wanted to tell the truth so badly. Did she feel that way whenever she told a lie? He didn't even have to ask, he knew she did. The truth ate her away like a parasite. And it would do the same to him.
If only she'd been a little more persistent, a little more curious.
Her fingertips fell against the cool marble of the countertop in a crisp pattern, the sound of raindrops hitting glass.
"Well," she leaned forward, elbow resting on the counter and her other hand holding her chin, "have you heard from her?"
Simon blinked. The smell of blueberries curved through Magnus' kitchen. "Who?" He asked absently. "Oh, you mean Clary?"
Eliza rolled her eyes and spun back around to the stove. There was a plate on the counterspace next to the stove. It was filled with a stack of fresh, fluffy blueberry pancakes. She grabbed the spatula and flipped the pancake currently being cooked. "Who the hell else would I mean? Is there someone else my brother is holding hostage?"
Simon coughed.
"So?" She prompted.
"Not lately. Not since…."
She turned her head as she put the pancake on the plate. She poured batter into the pan. "Not since what?"
"Not since you came home." Isabelle flounced into the kitchen. She was wearing one of Simon's shirts and a pair of sleep shorts. Her dark hair was messily braided. "Right, Simon?"
Simon nodded in agreement. "Right." He mumbled.
Isabelle, shockingly, kissed him straight on the mouth. Eliza turned back to her pancakes. So, they were on good terms again. Good to know.
"I smell blueberry pancakes!" Magnus' voice floated into the room. He seemed to glide into the kitchen on air, his teal robe billowing behind him. Alec was next to him, hands entwined. Magnus looked refreshed and renewed. Alec still had sleep all over him. "Delicious, little dove. Absolutely divine." He let go of Alec's hand and kissed the top of Eliza's head. "You are an angel."
"Not hardly." She snorted. The comment earned a stifling look from him. "Simon, can you try talking to Clary again? Ask where they are and how long she thinks they'll be there. If she can tell you, we can Portal over and finish this bullshit."
Behind her, everyone went still.
"Finish it?" Isabelle asked quietly. "What-What do you mean?"
Eliza flipped the pancake and turned around. The spatula was loose in her grip. "Don't play dumb, Iz. If we find out where she is, Magnus can Portal us there. We can get Clary back, I can kill my brother, and this whole mess will be over."
Izzy clamped her mouth shut. Alec and Magnus looked at one another. Eliza's eyes rested on Simon, one of her thin eyebrows arched questioningly.
"Yeah, uh, I'll try again. I'll wait 'til later today, it's probably nighttime wherever they are."
She said nothing else before turning back to the food.
Her back burned. Written deep in the porcelain flesh were dozens of whip marks. Scars that had never healed properly because they were made from a demon weapon. An iratze couldn't heal something inflicted by demon poison. They were jagged, rough over smooth skin. Barely noticeable, nearly the same color as her own skin.
Shadowhunters were made of scars. The silvery glaze of old runes and battle marks.
On the side of her neck, where it connected to her shoulder, there was a raised, red circular scar. It was lumpy to the touch. A thick red scar cut down the middle of her chest where her father had murdered her. Not that it had stuck. There was another scar, a faint pink line from that same night. It was barely the length of her pinky finger, just above her left pelvic bone. Thank you, Jonathan.
Her eyes lifted in the mirror, finding the dark rune on the left side of her neck. A sharply jutted line, curves and edges. Parabatai.
It was the first time it hadn't hurt since she'd returned home. A great distance between two parabatai could sever the bond. Maybe that was it. Or maybe, just maybe, the night she had nearly killed him had done the bond in. Parabatai weren't exactly supposed to turn on one another.
Runes could be ruined. Disfiguration usually broke the power.
"I won't let you hold me anymore."
She picked up the knife on her desk, pressing the tip to the middle of the rune. The cool tip of the blade stuck into the skin.
"Eliza!"
The knife knocked from her grip, clattering to the floor.
Her mother was staring back at her, green eyes wide with horror. "What the hell are you doing?"
She turned, her finger sliding against the spot where the knife had once been. Her fingertip came back slick with a drop of blood. "I-uh," she paused, "it's not-."
"It's not what, Eliza? Are you trying to hurt yourself?"
Fiercely, Eliza shook her head. "No. Of course not. I was just trying to break the parabatai bond. I don't want it."
Jocelyn's face softened. She picked the knife up from the floor and set it back on the desk. "Come here." She led Eliza to the bed and sat her down. "Listen, when I told you that your father and your brother were a part of you, I never meant for you to do this. Being a Morgenstern isn't a bad thing, Eliza. Not if you aren't-."
"A crazy psychopath?"
Jocelyn laughed under her breath. "That wasn't where I was going, but sure. I know how it feels to be in your shoes. And I know that they've done horrible, despicable things to you. Things no one should go through. They made you strong. It was wrong, but for it, you're a better person. A brilliant Shadowhunter."
Jocelyn's hands were holding onto hers, fingers curled around hers. "Jonathan said I'm not a Morgenstern. He said-."
Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Are we taking everything he says to heart now?" Eliza said no. "Good. Because he's wrong. You are a Morgenstern. And you're a Fairchild. No one can take that from you, unless you let them."
Maybe she didn't want to be a Morgenstern anymore. It was a hassle, living in the shadow of a deranged father and a psychopath brother. Everyone expected her to be the same. To do the same, refuse to serve.
"What if I don't want to use the name?" She murmured. "Could I go by Fairchild?"
Jocelyn pulled her in for a hug. Her hands raked through Eliza's short hair. It had grown down to her shoulders but wasn't nearly as long as it once was. "Of course, you could. The Fairchild name would be lucky if you used it. But I've got to tell you…"
"What?"
She kissed the top of her head. "The Morgenstern name used to be a great one. It was revered. Honored. They used to be a great family, before your father. You have the power to do that again, build it back up into something great. The stain is deep, but it can be removed."
Eliza smiled. The look faltered. Refusal to serve. She didn't want that. "Mom," a word she hadn't said very much, it still felt foreign on her tongue, "everyone thinks I'm going to be like them. Bad, wrong. I don't want refusal to serve hanging over my head. I'm never going to be like that."
"Kiddo, you already are." Jocelyn told her. Eliza pulled back. "I mean," she started, hands on her shoulders, "it isn't about betraying the Clave or turning away from your loved ones. Your father thought it was all about some loss of great power refusing to serve. You already bore that mark. You have since the day you turned against Valentine. The moment you chose to be better was your refusal to serve. The words mean what you want them to."
She pulled the cloak closer to her body. The upper streets of the city were cold, but as always, the Silent City proved colder.
She was wanted in the Silent City. Specifically, her mind. The truth. Whatever information she cold divulge to the Consul. No one ever took her truth fully. The girl of lies was not capable of the truth. Not willingly, anyway.
"It's fine." Maryse whispered to her. "You have nothing to be worried about."
Eliza gnawed on her bottom lip. "I'm not worried." She insisted. "I'm simply not too keen on holding the Angel's Sword."
The Lightwood matriarch put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Maryse had never been so informal with her before. "It will be over before you know it. It's heavy, but once Jia realizes you're telling the truth, it will be over."
Jia? As in, Jia Penhallow? The Penhallows weren't too fond of her. And she didn't blame them. She had allowed them to house her brother under a stolen, bloodied name. Any shame they felt in falling for Jonathan's lie was placed on her.
She'd nearly forgotten that Jia Penhallow was the new Consul. Fantastic.
"It's not the truth I'm worried about." Eliza muttered. Ever since Maryse had arrived at Magnus' and told her that she was wanted by the Consul for questioning, her chest had been on fire. The scar seemed to be burning a hole into her.
They arrived in the council chamber. Jia Penhallow stood amongst the newest of the Silent Brothers. The only ones left. A sick feeling rang through her. The ranks of the brothers were lower than ever.
"Maryse. Thank you for bringing her." Jia stepped out, robes the color of blood. "Miss Morgenstern." She was acknowledged with a stern nod.
"Consul Penhallow." Eliza replied curtly.
Her eyes traveled through the chamber. The Speaking Stars stood out on the floor. Above the stars, on the wall, hung the sword itself.
Maellartach.
If she'd never seen it again, it would've been too soon.
It was clean. Scourged of any blood. There was no evidence to show that it had been shoved in her chest. Not on the sword anyway.
"You know why you're here?" Jia asked.
She nodded, stepping closer, away from Maryse. "I'm being questioned on my loyalty to the Clave. You want to make sure I'm telling the truth."
Jia said that was exactly it. "Brother Zachariah."
The Silent Brother (who was the most un-Silent Brother-like of his kind) stepped forward. Miss Morgenstern. I am glad to see that you are yourself once again.
She stared back at him. Could the others hear?
No. I speak only to you. I must inquire upon your dearest companion, Jace Herondale.
Jace Herondale? Who was that? The only Jace she knew of was Jace Wayland. Alec's friend, ward of the Lightwoods. And she didn't even know him, she knew of him. Now, there was another Jace, someone Brother Zachariah thought to be close to her. She didn't even know who he was talking about.
"I don't know who that is." She said. "Shadowhunter's honor."
Jia's eyes narrowed as she looked between Eliza and Brother Zachariah. "The Sword. For questioning."
One of the Silent Brother's lifted the Sword effortlessly. Eliza Morgenstern, step forward for questioning.
She placed herself among the Speaking Stars, her feet covering one of the smaller stars. Though they were shaking, she held her hands out, palms up.
"Afraid of the truth, Miss Morgenstern?" Jia Penhallow asked proudly.
"Not hardly, Consul." The Silent Brother placed the Sword in her hands. The metal blade was cold on her skin. She winced as her fingers moved to curl around the edge of the blade. "I just…" Eliza groaned, "I don't like holding the weapon that killed me. Bad memories or whatever."
The pain itself had been something words could not describe. And so had what came before death. The image of the Angel standing before her father. Likenesses of Raziel did not do him justice. There was no way to capture the raw beauty of the Angel.
Death itself was not memorable. She hadn't really been dead long enough, she supposed. A blank nothing. The void. The angels didn't allow demon spawn into Heaven and she didn't think she was evil enough for Hell.
"Is it true that Lilith, mother of warlocks and first of demons, brought life back into your body?" Jia interrogated.
"Yes." Eliza said easily. The Sword was heavy, but pain would not come unless she tried to lie. "She took a life in order to restore mine."
"How did she restore life to your brother?"
She closed her eyes. She remembered, she knew she did. But where that memory had once rested now became a blank spot in her mind. Jonathan was alive. But how? He had died, she knew that. She had seen it. She was sure it was her knife that had been tucked into the notch in his back that severed his spine and pierced his heart. It sounded right, but it didn't feel right.
"Miss Morgenstern, how did Lilith bring your brother back to life?" Jia repeated. "You must answer the question.
Her eyes opened. "I don't know." She spoke the truth.
"Yes, you do. You were here. We know you were there."
Eliza shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't…I don't remember."
Still, no pain came to her.
She is free of pain. Her words are truthful.
Jia grimaced. "You were bound to your brother. Lilith did this?"
"She used a demonic form of our Wedded Union runes to bind me to Jonathan." Jia asked why this was necessary. "We hate each other. We always have. He wanted to be Father's favorite and I wanted to be free. Lilith believed that since we were twins, we were connected. She took it upon herself to ensure we would be."
"Why has the bond failed?"
Eliza unfolded the true events of her night in a London vampire nest as she recalled them. Declan Kensley had rescued her from Edward Delancey and taken her to Magnus. Magnus used his magic on her to hold her. It had an unforeseen effect in which it began to break down the bond. The Wedded Union runes began to fade, and she slowly became repulsed by Jonathan once again. Magnus Blocked her memory so she would forget the encounter and released her with a new memory in which she had been attacked by Delancey. She awoke back in his home. Jonathan had rescued her and slaughtered all the vampires. Since then, the bond broke away.
"Is the bond truly broken or are you a spy?"
"It's broken." Eliza reported. "The runes have faded. I'm ready to kill my brother."
Maryse sucked in a breath. Jia's firm look faltered. "Even at the expense of Jace Herondale?" Jia questioned.
"Who?"
"Don't play stupid with me, Miss Morgenstern."
Eliza gripped the Angel's Sword tightly. Something warm was coating her hands. "I don't know of a Jace Herondale, Consul Penhallow."
"Jace Wayland, then, as he is better known."
Alec's friend? She didn't see how he was involved in any of this. "What does Jace Wayland have to do with this? I don't even know him."
Jia stared back at her. "Miss Morgenstern, I don't-." Maryse interrupted her, rushing to Jia's side.
Eliza closed her eyes once again. The photo of Jace with the Lightwood children was brought to the forefront of her mind. Familiarity prickled. Something about him seemed so…known to her. Did she know him? Not that she could remember, but he brought about an itch she couldn't seem to scratch. Her eyes squinted. Pain surged through her brain. There was a wall blocking something, something important, something vital.
There.
The image of him burst forth in her head. The slight breeze of May, the smell of the ocean behind her. People scurrying, knocking into her. And then there was him. A beacon among the sea of ordinary. Golden curls rested atop his head, the halo of a fallen angel. The dark ink of runes stood out on his flesh, mixed in with the silver of faded Marks that strongly contrasted the golden tan of his skin. Tall and slim, but muscular still. The image refocused closer to his face. Long, dark lashes that hid eyes the color of amber. A brilliant smile, a chipped upper incisor.
This, this was Jace Wayland. Or Herondale. Whatever his name was.
This was the boy her brother used as a human shield.
The image blurred and fell away. She tried to get it back but found nothing.
Pain flared through her and she gasped. The sword fell to the floor. Her eyes flew open.
Jia and Maryse were staring back at her.
"Eliza, are you all right?" Maryse hurried to her. She took her hands and Eliza looked down. On each of her hands was a thin slice. Blood streaked her palms.
Now twice had her blood stained the Soul-Sword.
Eliza nodded, her mouth dry. "Fine." She mumbled. "I'm fine." She clenched her hands into fists. "Why is Jace important?"
"Jace is tethered to your brother. The result of a twinning ritual completed by Lilith before her death. Their lives are entwined. To kill one is to kill the other." Jia explained to her.
Eliza's eyes widened. So, Jonathan did have another hostage. That's why everyone was so reluctant to discuss Jace Wayland with her. His life was in danger. "Is there a way to reverse the ritual?" Eliza asked them. "Can they be separated?"
Maryse shook her head slowly. "We haven't found a way yet. We're all working diligently on it."
A decision had to be made. One or the world. "He has to die." She said tersely. Maryse said she was aware that Sebastian needed to die. "No. I mean, yes, but he isn't who I meant. Jace Herondale has to die."
Maryse's eyes- the same blue as Alec's- widened as she stared back at her. "Eliza-."
"I hate to sacrifice the life of a Nephilim, of anyone, but the only true way to stop Jonathan before he succeeds is to kill him." She told Maryse. Everyone was in agreeance that Jonathan had to go, but upon her return, they all seemed reluctant to finish it. Now she knew why. Someone the Lightwood's cared about was on the line. "If the boy has to die, so be it." She said softly before turning her attention back to Jia. "What is the stance of the Clave on this matter?"
Jia wore a sorrowful, guilty look. "Jace Herondale is a target."
She thought so.
"Jonathan can't be allowed to live." Eliza spoke surely. "And neither, it seems, can Jace." No one was safe. Not even beautiful boys that seemed to be crafted by the Angel himself.