Bonjour!

Okay, first of all I want to send a shout-out to my beautiful Aussie readers (I am truly envious, always have been) and second, I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed or followed or favorite-d, it means so much!

Well, this is the end of City of Ashes, and things get pretty intense in the next book, so...

Hold onto your butts.

- EasyIsTheDescent

Disclaimer: I own nothing but three characters and a laptop.

A little while later, just as Liam had predicted, Alec came pounding on the door.

I was sprawled across the bed, trying to sleep and let my problems slip away, which of course was unsuccessful. Isabelle was perched by the window, and I objected to that, but she didn't seem to be falling out of it.

Max had answered the door, holding it open slightly, and it was only when Alec threatened to tell her parents that they started to annoy me.

"Just let him in, Max." I snapped, and he didn't hesitate to open the door.

When Alec got inside, he looked a little panicked at Isabelle's current seat, but then he looked at me, and apparently I won.

"What happened? What did the Australian do?" He asked immediately, and I cringed, shaking my head.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I said through my teeth, and he sent me a worried look, but didn't reply.

I ignored their bickering, trying to tune the world out completely, until I heard a large thud, seeing that Alec was on the floor.

"What the hell-"

"All right, all right, you've tortured him enough. I'm here." Someone laughing interrupted me, and I snapped my head up, to see Jace standing in the doorway, a little injured, but Jace, all the same.

"Hey, sister," He winked at me, and I forced a smile to my face as Max caught him in a large hug, resulting in a grimace.

"Did the Inquisitor do this to you? Because if she did I'm going to take that ugly-ass cloak of hers and-"

"No Rose, she didn't beat me up too badly. She just locked me up in the weapons gallery. Alec helped me get out."

Isabelle and I's heads snapped up to look at Alec. "Alec, is that true?"

"Yes. So there," He snapped, brushing off his clothing as he stood up off the floor.

"If it helps, I believed you the whole time," I murmured, though it lacked my usual sarcasm.

"Damn, what happened to you? Miss me too much?" Jace guessed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Partially," I replied, just to please him.

"I figured. Isabelle, what kind of weapons do you have in here? And bandages, any bandages?"

I pulled my stele from my boot. "I can get you an iratze-"

"An iratze would be good for my bruises, but it won't help these. These are rune burns." Jace held up his wrists in proof, and the gory wounds before me made Isabelle pale. "And I'll need some weapons, too, before I-"

"Bandages first. Weapons later." Isabelle interrupted, and she ushered Jace into the bathroom, where she was surly going to patch him up.

While Alec, Max, and I stood outside of the bathroom door, Alec leaned in towards me, whispering in my ear.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't ask me that if you don't want the answer." I hissed, and he raised an eyebrow.

"How come I have the feeling-"

"If you say one more thing about the Australian, I will castrate you with a spoon."

Alec flinched away from me, the desired reaction. I will have to record that threat. It may come in handy in the future.

"Alec, can you get the phone?" Jace called, and Alec looked on the dresser after Isabelle told him to.

"It's not on the dresser." I glanced over as well. It wasn't.

Isabelle cursed, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking about Ethan and Liam, both against me. I wanted to laugh at the irony. My brother, ditching me for my boyfriend. How wonderful.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the door shut, and Max was no longer in the room.

They started a conversation concerning Valentine and the Inquisitor, and I slipped away again, leaning against the wall and trying to go unconscious. At least if I fell and gave myself a concussion, I could escape reality for a little while.

"Rose? Are you listening? Tell Jace that we are coming with him!" Isabelle argued, and I opened my eyes, to see the three people were watching me intently, including Max, who had reentered the room.

"No, you three are staying here and dealing with the Inquisitor for me. When Valentine doesn't come through with his part of her deal, you're the ones who are going to have to convince her to send all the backup the Conclave has got after Valentine."

This caught my attention. "And you plan to escape how exactly?"

Jace flashed me a grin, before he stepped up to the windowsill, and Isabelle cried out at the same time I yelled his name and lunged towards him, but he was gone. I ran forwards, leaning my head out the window, but Jace was nowhere to be seen.

Well, nowhere to be seen is better than splattered against the sidewalk, I thought to myself.

When I imagine quality time with my siblings, do I mean slicing the heads off of multiple demons and realizing that it is highly unlikely I will go back home unless I'm in a wooden box?

No, no I do not.

And yet, here I was!

Isabelle, Alec, their parents, and I were now on Valentine's ship, along with the rest of the available Clave members, at Maryse's orders. She had taken over the Inquisitor's duties over this after her plan to trade Jace for the Mortal Instruments had so pathetically failed.

"Isabelle!" I burst through the library door as I was following the yelling, a hand on my dagger, but there was no danger.

Well, besides the Inquisitor, anyways.

Alec, Isabelle, Maryse, Robert, and the Inquisitor were all standing before me, and Robert had obviously just gotten here, standing directly in front of me.

"What happened?" I demanded, glancing over my two siblings for injuries.

"We're going after Valentine." Alec whispered in my ear, and I nodded, already pulling out my stele in anticipation.

Alec took my arm and Isabelle's, dragging us out of the library, and it was when we hit the center of the hallway that my blood ran cold.

"Rose?" Izzy asked, alarmed when I froze.

"They can't come," I whispered urgently, and they looked confused, silently asking for an explanation. "Liam and Ethan, they can't come. Please, we have to leave them here, they never have to know." I pleaded, and they shared a look, before Alec turned to me.

"We were going to leave Ethan to begin with, but Liam is an expert fighter-"

"I don't care, Alec! Please!" I hissed, and Isabelle nodded again.

"Fine, but we have to go now. Go get dressed." She urged, and I slipped into my room.

A minute later, fully dressed in gear, weighed down with multiple weapons, and smelling of newly applied Marks, I slipped past Liam's door, pressing my ear against the wood silently.

"I'm telling you, Darkstrider, I did not mess up the rune! We fell through the ceiling on our own accord!" Ethan was arguing, and I smiled slightly, before I ran to the front doors.

And now, I was beaten, bloodied, and there were still at least a hundred demons, judging by my necklace's reaction.

If I had thought the Greater Demon had been bad, this was much worse. I felt the necklace burning into my neck like a hot coal, but between my other injuries and the adrenaline, I barely noticed.

I was still glancing around, looking for Jace, when I finally found him. He was crouched next to something, and Alec saw him at the same time, hurrying towards him.

Alec was talking to him hurriedly, and suddenly he pointed in my direction. Jace glanced up, and I winked, flashing him a grin as I dispatched two demons.

I heard Isabelle shout something, edging towards Jace, but I only caught bits and pieces, distracted.

It was only when the demon advanced towards her that it had my full attention.

"Isabelle!" I shrieked, but the poison struck her, and suddenly her whip had sliced the demon clear in half.

I instinctively ran towards her, my first mistake.

A demon struck me from behind, and I cracked my head against the wooden deck, momentarily blinded by the spots behind my eyes. I swung my blade out, beheading the demon quickly, and I stumbled, climbing to my feet and running to Isabelle's crumpled form, in Jace's arms.

"I got her," I said hurriedly, and I put my arms around Isabelle, propping her up against my side, helping her to the ladder. She climbed, thankfully, and Jace gave me an urgent look, pleading for me to climb with her.

I refused to listen.

And Alec was right behind me.

Just as a very large and very intimidating demon approached him, I whirled around in order to fight a group of three spider demons.

That's why all I saw was Jace falling through the deck, and Alec sliding over the side of the ship.

"Alec!" I yelled, but it was too late. He was gone, Jace was gone, and I had to get Isabelle out of here.

"Go to a boat, get out of here!" I yelled to her, and she nodded weakly, obviously unable to do anything else.

I turned away from the side, facing the mass before me.

I could barely see any Shadowhunters, just demons.

And I was running out of time.

It was kind of like a sequence, right now, my brain slowly freezing. Swing out, dodge the attack, whirl to the side, and repeat. And again. And again.

But now there were demons behind me, demons in front of me, and everywhere else one could imagine.

The thought of Ethan and Liam back at the Institute, far away from here, made me thankful I had left them there.

Or, thought I had left them there.

"Rose!" Someone yelled, barely audible through the ringing in my ears.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time I had imagined the voices in my head were alive.

Not that I would ever admit that.

It was when I heard the sickening noise of a seraph blade stabbing something behind me that I knew I wasn't imagining it.

"Liam?" I whirled around, and he was on the ground, looking sickly pale. I gasped, sliding to my knees, and he looked up at me, grimacing in pain.

I realized from the cuts on his arm that he had landed on his right side, and from the look on his face, something had snapped.

"What can I say, gracefulness is not my first skill," He joked weakly, and I smiled, though I didn't feel like smiling. I was sitting next to him, and we had to move.

Now.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to help him stand, and he was making a good effort, but it wasn't working.

"Did you honestly think I was going to let you leave me alone? I told Ethan I was going to the bathroom… I wonder how that turned out," He groaned, his face pinched in pain.

"It doesn't matter now, we need to get you out of here," I said, and Liam shook his head, the simple motion causing him a challenge.

"Rose, I don't think that's going to happen." He murmured, and he grimaced as he turned slightly, causing me to gasp.

There was a large, jagged cut in his back, and it obviously had been caused by the unstable planks of the deck. He was losing blood at a rapid pace, and I shook my head fiercely. He was coming with me.

"Get up, or I swear by the Angel I will drag you across the floor and throw you over the side." I demanded, my voice wavering, and he smiled slightly.

I somehow managed to prop him up while carefully avoiding his injured arm, his other arm around my shoulder as he leaned heavily against me. I held up to my promise, dragging him over to the side and helping him onto the ladder.

I swung my leg over the side, before I felt something grab a handful of my hair, pulling me backwards as I cried out in pain.

"Rose!" Liam called, but I couldn't respond. The demon I was facing had grabbed me by the neck, my toes just reaching the ground, and I felt my throat burn in protest.

I fumbled with my jacket, finally finding my family dagger, and I jammed it into the demon's back, stumbling away, gasping.

I sprinted to Liam, who was halfway down the ladder, and I followed suit.

"Rose, over here!" Someone yelled, and I was welcomed by the sight of Isabelle and other wounded Shadowhunters, positioning a small boat below us.

When Liam and I finally were able to collapse, Isabelle brushed the hair out of my face, and I realized thankfully that her wounds were healing.

"Rose, Alec, he… he…" She stammered, and I took her hand, gripping it tightly.

"Magnus took care of him," I said firmly, though my voice was hoarse and cracked. I didn't know where the comment came from, but I knew somehow that Alec was okay.

She nodded weakly, and I turned to Liam, who looked like…

He was dying.

"Liam," I choked, and he grinned at me.

"Don't give me that look, Nightlock." He argued, and I smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Darkstrider."

Three days.

Three days since the fight on Valentine's ship.

Three days since Liam had told me he loved me.

And three days since he was awake.

I still remembered what had happened when we had finally made it back to the Institute. The Silent Brothers had met us there, and some of them whisked Robert away, Maryse following them. Isabelle was already healing slowly, but Alec insisted on helping her to her room, leaving me to wait alone in the hallway with the Silent Brothers and Liam.

"He's dying," I urged, and the hooded figures ignored me, still hovering around Liam.

"Liam!" Ethan yelled, "Where are you?"

Take care of your brother, one of the Silent Brothers ordered, we will take care of Liam.

I nodded weakly, and they disappeared towards the infirmary just as Ethan appeared in the foyer.

"Rose?" He asked, his face growing angry, "What did you do? Where's Liam?"

"He's been hurt, Ethan!" I yelled, and his face fell instantly.

"What happened?" He asked, "What happened to Liam?"

"We went after Valentine," I explained, "And he was hurt. The Silent Brothers have him."

"Well where is he? We have to go help him!" Ethan yelled, and I wrapped my arms around him in restraint. He struggled, and from the way he was hitting me I was definitely going to have bruises over the pre-existing ones.

"He's going to be okay," I said, my voice strained, "We just have to wait."

"He loves you, Rose." Ethan choked, "He always has."

I cringed, still holding onto Ethan tightly. "I know."

And now here I was.

"'He's still healing,' they said, 'Give him time,' they said, well I'm going to need healing too, if I have a panic attack." I muttered.

I was sitting in a chair in the infirmary, my feet propped up on Liam's bed, drawing over the runes on my arm with a stele.

I didn't need the strength or the power, but it felt nice to have something to distract myself with.

The burning sensation of applying Marks was perfect.

The Lightwoods (excluding Robert, who had been seriously injured) were currently at a funeral for one of their friends that had died on the ship. Ethan and I had volunteered to stay, not just because of Liam, but because of Ethan's ever-growing fear of funerals.

Liam was still unconscious, looking quite peaceful, his golden skin back to its original color, his hair rumpled slightly. Ethan had stayed here all night the past three days, but he obviously was uncomfortable, and I made him go back to his room and sleep.

Leaving me here to evaluate my problems in life.

"Why is it that I can't seem to draw Clary's runes to save my life?" I murmured, not expecting an answer. I had been doodling on a sticky note, trying to copy the rune she had drawn on Alec's arm, though I wasn't having much luck.

"Though I guess that isn't the question to be asking," I continued, "Out of all the things I want to know." Liam didn't move. I sighed, tucking my stele into my boot, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes.

"Why did you save me, Liam? See, that there is a good question," I approved, leaning back against my chair. "Especially after I was so rude to you, I probably deserved to face a couple of demons."

I glanced back at the infirmary door, but there was no Ethan, no Lightwoods.

I might as well let off some steam.

"But yet here we are, you being the selfless person that always ends up being hurt, and me being the cruel Jace-impersonator that deserves it," I rolled my eyes. "Jace would be proud."

I hadn't necessarily realized I was crying, and I ran my thumb under my eye, avoiding a mess of mascara.

"Now I thought angels weren't supposed to cry," A familiar voice said, and I looked up in surprise, my brown eyes being met with green.

Liam.

It took me a minute to be able to respond. "Perhaps they aren't, but I am no angel," I whispered, and he smiled.

"I would beg to differ."

"And I would agree to disagree."

"There's no point in crying," He continued, ignoring my previous comment, "Over someone who is clearly alright."

I rolled my eyes, uncrossing my legs and removing them from the edge of Liam's bed. He woke up five seconds ago, and we were acting like our old selves already, even as I hid my anxiety.

"You're alright?" I asked skeptically, and he grinned, nodding confidently.

"Fine." I said, standing up, brushing off my jeans, and he watched me, raising an eyebrow. "Then perhaps I have no need to watch over you anymore."

His eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly. "No, now that you say it, I am feeling quite ill-"

"Oh, but you just said you were alright!" I argued, "Which is good, because now I have the chance to yell at you!"

"And you would be yelling at me why?" He asked, curious.

"Well for starters, Ethan attacked me when we got back to the Institute," I shuddered at the memory, "And not only that, but you almost left me, Liam Darkstrider. I almost lost you, and I would never have had the chance to tell you that I loved you-"

"What?" He interrupted, and my eyes widened.

"What?"

"You said that you loved me."

I laughed, a hoarse, choked sound. "I thought it was kind of obvious, Liam."

"No, it wasn't."

"Well it should have been, because I have loved you since the moment I met you, Liam."

He thought over this quietly, not responding. I watched him warily, waiting.

"You mean that time when you yelled at Hodge and blamed the mundanes of assaulting you?"

I laughed again. "I was kind of hoping you had forgotten about that, actually, but yes."

"Trust me, there is no way I could forget." He whispered, and I sighed.

"There you go again. Stop being nice to me, it would be much easier," I argued, and he crossed his arms, glaring at me.

"Easier for who?"

I didn't answer him, I just walked up to him, fluffing his pillows, making sure he was alright, and I clenched my fist to avoid running my hand through his hair.

"Get better, okay?" I murmured, and I walked towards the infirmary door, my heels clicking against the tile harshly.

"Why didn't you tell me you loved me?" Liam called. I stopped in my tracks, turning around. He was watching me carefully.

"When in particular did you want me to tell you?" I asked bitterly, and he shrugged, unaffected.

"Anytime would have been fine, considering there wasn't one time since I met you that I wouldn't have been able to tell you I felt the same way." He replied, and I groaned, frustrated.

"Why do you have to do that? You are the single most frustrating person I have ever met, Liam Darkstrider." I snapped, and he grinned.

"It's both a blessing and a curse."

I stared at him in disbelief, and he stared right back, waiting for me to say something.

"I was afraid," I whispered finally, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain?"

"I was too afraid to admit that I loved you." I repeated, and I walked back to his side, reclaiming my chair and propping my feet up on the edge of his bed. He glanced at the long heel fearfully.

"Why?"

I huffed, trying to find some way to explain my conflicted emotions. "I've never exactly been in love before. I loved my parents, my siblings, my friends, and yet I never had strong feelings for my boyfriends, as strange as it sounds. I guess I just didn't know what to do," I sighed, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Well you better figure it out," He reminded me, "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," I grinned, "Because I wouldn't have it any other way."

I leaned forward to kiss him, and I would have kissed him, had the infirmary door not banged open just as our lips met.

"Rose, Clary's on the phone for you-" Ethan cut off as soon as he saw us. His brown eyes brightened. "Liam?"

"Hey, kid," Liam grinned at him, and I stood up, worried.

"Clary?" I repeated, and Ethan nodded, handing me the phone. I jogged out of the infirmary away from the noise.

"What's wrong?" I asked as soon as I had the phone to my ear.

"Rose," Clary said, relieved, "I was hoping I'd be able to reach you."

"Clary, what's going on?" I asked, alarmed.

"Rose…" She paused momentarily, "I need your help. I know how to wake up my mother."

Alright-y, that's the end of CoA!

Ugh, I am so tired. Today has been a long day.

Well, read and review, darlings!

Besitos!

- EasyIsTheDescent