A/N: I suppose a bit of explanation is due. I have no good excuse for missing this long and I applaud all of those who have stuck with this story and continued reading! I was accepted into an Olympic Training program and have been doing that for the past months so that is what has been unfairly taking my time away :( I will try to update more often I SWEAR it! Thank you! Please enjoy!

Everyone just sat in the melancholy of silence as the time passed. We all tried to pretend that we knew what was going to happen- what action we were going to take- but the blank emptiness in our eyes gave away our vacant thoughts. Every so often, one of us would look up and scan to see if anyone had had an epiphany of some sort, but the results remained the same and things stayed still.

"Well… maybe we should… call the Clave. That's our best shot now," said Aaron remorsefully.

"Are you an idiot?!" exclaims Meg scornfully, "We're already in deep with the Clave and if they find out about this, we can all kiss our runes and Shadowhunter identities goodbye! You and I and everyone else knows quite well that the Clave is not of the forgiving sorts."

"He's just trying to help, Meg. I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas," says Laken. This is the first and probably only time I had ever seen him so serious and dark.

Meg rolls her eyes and tightens her arms around herself, brushing her thumbs up and down her arms as though they were her only source of warmth in a dark, barren wasteland.

"Don't yell at her… she's right. We'd be done fore," says El, defending Meg.

I decide that it is my turn to speak up so I say, "It certainly is selfish of us to think of our own Shadowhunter identities before the life of an innocent. That poor mundane is probably either dead or on their way. We can't forget that our first and foremost duty as Shadowhunters is to protect those who cannot protect themselves from our world. Please… don't forget that."

I can see Paul nodding his head thoughtfully like he always does but he stays silent. He has an awful habit of suppressing deep thoughts, especially when we would most prefer to hear them. "We aren't forgetting that Clary. But how do you expect us to protect mundanes when we are no longer capable of doing so."

I let out a huff and close my eyes. Of course he was right but we didn't know how many people Sebastian had with him. It was Ludacris to leave these people with him. He would kill them in an instant.

"Maybe… we should call help?" suggests El.

"Who's going to help us take down a manic demon-boy with an army of downworlders?" asks Laken sarcastically?

Then Aaron says, "I have an idea…"

JPOV

I was still lying in my bed when I heard a knock on the door. It was a firm knock, so not one made by the delicate wrists of Isabelle, but it wasn't bruiting so not one made with the hard fist of Alec. I scrunch my eyebrows in annoyance when the knocking doesn't cease and I roll out of bed and open the door.

"Morning sunshine," says Magnus with a deep set in sarcasm.

"Get out of here. No offense, but I'm not really in the mood to try out new sexual positions that you could use on Alec, but catch me tomorrow, yeah?"

He groans and says, "Shut up, I'm trying to give you some news, yeah?"

I roll my eyes impatiently and say, "Spit it out then, I haven't got all day."

With that, he curls his thin lips into a mischievous smirk and says, "Pack your bags pretty boy, we're going back to Florida."

CPOV

El had called them. They were coming today. Was I ready? I didn't really know yet. I decided that I didn't want to be here for the awkward arrival so I got changed in a long sleeve, flowy gray V-neck shirt, black jeans, and I tied a red and black flannel shirt around my waist. I clipped on my gold wish bone necklace and brushed my hair down. I then strapped on some dark brown sandals and walked out of the institute.

The sun beat down but the cold breeze made the heat disappear. If anything, it was a bit chilly this March evening. I crossed my arms and began my walk down the cement walkway, no place in particular in mind. I just wanted the time to pass quicker. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to be a shadowhunter now. I mean, I knew that I loved it. I loved the adrenaline rush. I loved the new friends I had made. But I didn't love ugly and distressing weight and responsibility that came with it.

Love is a funny thing actually. It is also very misleading. You can say you love something silly like, 'I love artichoke dip!' but that doesn't mean that you wouldn't prefer a nice bean dip every once in a while.

Then there is that love that has the power to break someone's heart. Like when I used to say, 'I love Jace Wayland," and he would say it back to me… but that love broke us. I never thought that my father's old saying, "To love is to destroy," would ever have such an insurmountable impact on me. He was right, of course. As time progresses it seems as though he was always right, which is a deeply terrifying thought.

A walked a few more miles and then when the sun began to fade back into the horizon I figured it was safe to go home. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I returned, only that it wouldn't be as happy as it was a year ago.

I walked through the threshold of the institute and was only welcomed by silence, with the exception of slight murmuring in the background. I followed the noise to the foyer where everyone was standing like statues, unaware of what to say or do.

"Clary, er, we thought it would be more appropriate to wait until your return to inform the others about the uh… recent events," says El hesitantly. I can tell that she doesn't wish to be the bearer of bad news so I chime in, seeing how delivering bad news is my 'specialty.'

"Right," I begin, "so the other day, we received something rather interesting in the mail…"

"You gathered us here to help you investigate a false package? Don't tell me, instead of getting your Prada purse, they delivered Coach instead?" mocks Alec.

"Alec! Don't even joke about Prada! I didn't raise you like that," yells Isabelle and I smile.

Alec furrows his expression and says, "Iz, you didn't raise me at all, on the contrary."

Isabelle holds up her hand in annoyance and motions for me to continue on.

"Well anyway, er… perhaps this would be easier if I just showed you. Follow me."

I walk briskly out of the room with everyone on my heels until I reach the library. "In here?" asks Simon. I nod and walk over to the back of the library where a hall leads to a separate room. We walk down the hall silently and I then slowly open the door. I look back one last time at everyone and then push the door open. I motion for Meg or Aaron to lead everyone in while I hold the door open. And of course, I couldn't help but notice that the last one in… is the one person that causes me so much happiness and so much pain.

I look at him and watch as his hair gleams in the dim light before he catches my stare and looks back at me. Though I would normally turn away with a furious blush, this was no time. I stare back at him and then open my mouth as though I am to say something but the only sound that comes out is the hollow sound of air circulating in my lungs. I can't tell what it is, but something about his stare hides an emotion that I wouldn't normally expect. I want him to say something but before either one of us make a move, Laken pipes up.

"Clary, hello?" I jump and shoot my gaze back to everyone else, a bit startled, but I don't miss the soft laugh escaping Jace as I circle the table I the middle of the room with a wooden box on top of it.

"Okay… so I'm sure you've been wondering what was sent to us. I don't really know how to prepare you for this so… here is goes."

With that, I remove the wooden covering, revealing the severed hand and the note that was sprayed with a gust of blood. I hear multiple gasps in the room ad catch El and Paul cringe. "What does the note say?" asks Magnus.

"See for yourself," I reply. I pick up the parchment, careful not to touch the hand or the blood, and give it to Magnus.

He reads the letter out loud so everyone can take it in and by the time he is done, the tension in the room in so thick it was like I was drowning in it.

"That's… not… possible," says Simon slowly.

"H-he's dead. We watched him die."

"No, we didn't. We watched him be stabbed and then we assumed he was engulfed by the war flames but if you remember correctly, we never found Lilith. He's back and that's certain. The only question now is… what is he planning?" I say.

"That's not the ONLY question," says Jace for the first time and my heart clenches at the anger and determination in his voice. "We don't know if he has an army, or how strong he is, or where he is, I could go on. But I see your point, I suppose all the other questions are just minor necessities." He looks at me and I expect to see the cold, hard look of betrayal but I all I see is disappointment and in some ways, that's even worse.

I turn my head to the floor and say, "Yeah… uh anyway, we haven't told the Clave."

"That's smart," says Magnus, "not only would they take away your runes, but they'd probably kill you."

"Kill us?" asks Meg

"Yup, you know they aren't forgiving and they are very presumptuous people. The fact is, they know something is going on between the Nephilim and Downworlders, they just don't know what. They've already got a grudge against you all and if they have any reason to believe that you are somehow responsible for disrupting the peace of their 'perfect sanctuary,' you're gone."

I swallow the lump in my throat and out of the corner of my eye I can see Jace tightening his jaw and fists. I know when he's anxious and I know when he's feeling protective and I wanted nothing more than to jump in his arms and tell him that everything would be okay, that we could protect each other. But I knew that I had destroyed that possibility because I didn't have his trust anymore, but I expected that. I just loved him too much, and it hurt.

"We'll be okay, you know?" I heard Aaron reassure everyone else. "The Clave has the collective intelligence of a pineapple, so hiding things from them shouldn't be too hard, right?"

I shake my head and furrow my brow and say, "You better hope you're right."

After the meeting with everyone, I told Magnus that we needed him to try and track where Sebastian was using the note and hand. He said that there was a possibility he could do it, but working with mundane artifacts was tricky because they usually couldn't handle the forces of our world, so it would take some time.

Of course I understood but I was still nervous about the fact that I would have to spend days, maybe even weeks, under the same roof as Jace. I made it pretty clear that I still loved him but I was almost positive that his feelings for me diminished. I was stupid. I understood that.

I walk into the kitchen to get a drink of water when I hear footsteps coming from the stairs. Out of instinct, I grab a carving knife and get down. I hear the intruders footsteps come closer, slowing with each step and as my heart beats faster, I pop up and throw the knife.

"What the hell!?"

"Oh my Angel! I am so sorry!"

I wanted to laugh but that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do when a half-naked Jace stood with his hands up against the wall and a knife next to his neck.

"Are you trying to kill me? Really?" he asks and this time I do laugh a bit.

"Ha, uh no… I am sorry. I'm a bit on edge."

He raises his eyebrows and says, "Yeah, I noticed." There is a moment of silence until he says, "I think we need to talk."

I nod my head, waiting to hear the inevitable denial I was likely to hear. He then looks down and notices his awkward form and says, "Er, maybe tomorrow… I don't think now is a great idea."

I nod again and say, "Yeah… maybe that would be best."

He stares at me for a moment and then nods again saying, "Goodnight," and walking back upstairs.

JPOV

When I get back up to my room, I wanted to slam my head against the wall over and over again. Dammit! Why did I still love her!? Every time I saw her I wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss her until everything was forgotten. I knew I couldn't do that though. She didn't love me anymore. I had to let her go…

I almost lost it when she said she was 'on edge.' I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that maybe, if she were with me, she wouldn't be so scared. But things didn't work out like they did in fairy tales and I was painfully learning to accept that. I just hoped that it would be easier to let go than to learn to live with the pain. But somehow I doubted that.

A/N: and there's that! Thank you all so so much for supporting this and I hope I can get more time in between practices and workouts to do this! I am definitely to giving up on this story or the other stories I've been doing so just bear with me! Thank you!

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