Jace and Raphael lowered Simon onto the table. Jace used a book as a kind of pillow for Simon's head and then he stepped back and watched as Jonas approached the body.

"People will be wondering what we found outside the perimeter," Jace said.

"I'll go," Alec offered. "I'll tell 'em we didn't find anything. Nobody will come down here."

Alec turned to leave, and Jace caught the soft look Jonas shot at him as he went.

Jace had definitely caught the… thing going on between Jonas and Alec, but he had no idea what exactly the 'thing' was— Or how exactly Magnus Bane was involved.

"I might be a vampire…" Raphael spoke up as he spotted the piled of crucifixes in the back. "But I was raised a good Catholic." The vampire then made the sign of the cross in a respectful manner.

"The vampires breached the Accords," Izzy said. "Killing Simon is grounds for war."

Raphael argued, "The vampires were not behind this. Just Camille. She attacked Simon on her own."

"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" Jace snapped.

"I could have gotten rid of him, but instead I brought him here." Raphael stared evenly at them all in turn. "I don't want trouble with the Shadowhunters."

"Smart decision," Izzy replied.

Raphael's lips thinned. "I warned the mundane to stay away… but Camille gave him a taste of her own blood, and like an addict… he came back wanting more."

Jonas huffed. "I mean, if we're going to play the blame game then you were the ones who kidnapped him and got Simon addicted to Camille's blood. And now he's dead." Jonas crossed his arms. "Last I checked, one plus one equals two."

"I never meant for this to happen," Raphael insisted.

Jonas glared at the man with an icy gaze. "That doesn't change the fact that he's dead."

Jace swallowed thickly at Jonas' words and watched Raphael sit down. "There is a way," the vampire said.

"'A way' what?" Jace asked.

Raphael leaned forward to answer him, "A way to bring Simon back."

Jonas blinked, "What?"

"He's a fledgling. It's a state of transition. Your friend can be resurrected."

Jace disagreed immediately, "No."

"Jonas, no," Izzy said.

Jonas' brows furrowed as he thought it through. "We can bring him back to life?"

"That's just it," Izzy cut in. "He won't return alive or breathing. He'll be a vampire."

"And not the sexed up, romantic kind," Jace cut in. He looked pointedly at Raphael. "The ugly, bloodsucking, coffin-dwelling kind."

Raphael sat back, scrunching his nose in distaste. "That's offensive."

"Really?" Jace retorted, incredulous.

"Coffin implies wooden box," Raphael said. "We have caskets now. They're made of 14-karat gold."

Jace clicked his tongue in mock sympathy. "My bad."

Raphael sighed and looked up at the windows. "It's almost sunrise. Simon must be turned into a vampire tonight or staked through the heart."

"What about option C?" Jonas asked. "We leave him be."

"His soul will be trapped for eternity," Raphael answered, sounding bored.. "You have 'till sunset to decide. The clock is ticking."

Jace huffed, pursing his lips in displeasure.

Izzy looked between Jace, Jonas and Raphael. She then said, "I'm going to help my brother. Good luck sorting this out."

With that said, she left the room and Jace walked over to the side of the room. He grabbed a sheet and brought it back to Simon, draping it over the boy's body.

Jace walked over and leaned against the wall, studying the Shadowhunter across from him. Jonas was staring at Simon's body, seemingly deep in thought.

"Jonas," Jace said. "Are you okay?"

Jonas looked up, meeting Jace's gaze. "Hmm?"

"You alright?" Jace reiterated.

"I never really knew Simon," Jonas said, sounding distant. "He was always Clary's friend."

Jace waited in silence for Jonas to say more.

With a sigh, the man continued, "I'm not the one who can make this decision. I– I can't."

He stood and walked to the head of the table. Jace didn't know what to say to the man. He figured telling the guy that he didn't have a choice- that he was the only one who had even a slight claim to this decision- wouldn't go down well.

"What could go wrong if I bury him?"

"Jonas, no." Jace shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"Shh," Jonas hushed him.

Raphael sighed. "If Simon is buried and he doesn't emerge… he would be trapped under the earth… starving for eternity."

"Jesus," Jonas cursed. "What about the other option?"

"If you stake him," Raphael said. "He'll die a human death. It's painless, as far as I know."

Jonas shook his head. "I can't do this. I need to– I need to see his mother."

"What?" Jace questioned. "You can't be–"

He cut off as Jonas dashed up the stairs and out of the basement. Jace shot Raphael a bitter look before hurrying after Jonas. He caught up with the man as he exited the Institute.

"Don't try and stop me," Jonas hissed as Jace neared.

Jace exhaled slowly, knowing this was all going to end badly, but he didn't have it in himself to stop it.

"I won't."

Jace remained glamoured and watched Jonas walk up and knock on the door to Simon's house. Jace stood off to the side, but was close enough that he could slip in after Jonas if they entered.

"Hello?" A lady said as she opened the door.

"Hi, Miss. Lewis." Jonas offered a nervous, but polite smile. "I don't know if you remember me... My name is Jonas, I'm–"

"Clary's brother," Miss. Lewis said. She smiled in recognition. "I haven't seen you in years, last I heard you went away to boarding school."

"Something like that," Jonas replied vaguely.

"Well, it's a pleasure to see you again." Miss. Lewis opened the door wider and took a step back. "Did you want to come in for some ice tea? I just was about to pour myself a glass."

"Um, sure." Jonas glanced back at Jace, and then slipped inside. Jace followed after quickly, and managed to dash in before Miss. Lewis shut the door.

"I'll be right back," Miss. Lewis said. She gestured to the living room. "Have a seat."

"Thanks."

Jace walked over to the far end of the room, examining a photo on the desk. It was of the mundane and his family. Jace sighed, frustrated, and glanced at Jonas. "This is a bad idea. Promise me you won't tell a mundane" -Jonas sighed at Jace's words- "that Simon was bitten by a vampire.

"I'm not stupid," Jonas said.

"Good," Jace said. He put down the photo frame and continued, "'Cause part of our job as Shadowhunters is making sure mundanes don't know anything about the Shadow World."

Simon's mother returned then, offering a drink to Jonas.

"I'm… Uh, actually here to talk about simon," Jonas hurried to say. "I was supposed to meet with him when I got back to town but…"

Miss. Lewis sighed as she explained, "I haven't heard anything from Simon since yesterday, Jonas. And he flipped out on Rebecca and I. And then just disappeared. Have you heard from him? Or have you seen him?" She asked. "Should I be calling the police?"

"Er, no. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually," Jonas replied evasively. "Worst comes to worst, I've got Luke on speed dial."

"I just want to know if he's all right."

Jonas exhaled in a huff, resigned. "I saw him."

Well crap, Jace thought. Things had taken a turn for the worse.

"Oh, my God." Miss. Lewis put down her drink and sat next to Jonas. "You did? Where? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Not… really," Jonas replied.

Jace got ready to interrupt the conversation if need be. He lined his hand up with a small monkey statue, prepared to knock it off.

"Is it drugs?" Simon's mother asked. "I mean, he said that it wasn't, but–"

"It's definitely not drugs," Jonas said. He hesitated.

"Jonas… Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Jonas swallowed and began, "Here's the thing–"

Jace cut him off by knocking the statue off the edge of the shelf. It landed with a loud thud and Miss. Lewis looked over in confusion. "What the…"

She got up to investigate, and Jace hurried over to Jonas.

"What are you doing?"

Jonas whispered back, "I have no fucking clue."

Jace glanced back, noticing that Miss. Lewis was finishing up. "Just… Don't tell her about the Shadow World. That will only put her in danger."

Jonas gulped and nodded.

Miss. Lewis walked back over to Jonas, carrying the monkey statue. "Simon got this for me for Mother's Day. You know, 'cause he's my little... monkey. Jonas, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him. Rebecca and Simon, they're all I have. After I lost their father…"

She trailed off, and then sniffled and prompted, "But you were saying?"

Jonas ducked his gaze. "I've gotta go, but I'll let you know if I hear from him."

"Oh." Miss. Lewis blinked, clearly she'd not been expecting that. "Okay. Thanks for stopping by."

Jonas got to his feet without meeting her gaze. Jace hurried after him, and after a few more farewell exchanges, the two Shadowhunters stood outside.

After a few moments, Jonas sniffed and turned to Jace.

"Jonas… what happened back there?"

"I was going to tell her that Simon's not coming home," Jonas said. "But I couldn't. It didn't feel right deciding that for him."

"You need to figure out what you're doing," Jace scolded.

"I'm trying to," Jonas said. "I mean, logically it's better to just give him a human death, right? But then I feel like crap thinking that because at least if he's a vampire he can stick around to see the Deadpool sequel. I just can't rationalise my feelings, okay?"

"Okay. Look..." Jace sighed and started walking. Jonas hurried to keep up. "There was a boy… and his father bought him a falcon for his sixth birthday."

For a moment it looked like Jonas wanted to make a comment, but he refrained.

Jace continued. "His father told him to tame the bird. Make it obedient. And the boy would spend every day with that falcon. It would scratch at him. Make him bleed. But eventually… he earned its trust. He brought the bird to his father, to show him that the bird would come back to him. He thought his father would be proud."

Jace paused, swallowing as the memory played fresh in his mind. "His father took the falcon and snapped its neck."

"That's horrible," Jonas said. "And incredibly messed up."

"You're missing the point," Jace said. "Yes... the boy was devastated. But he realized his father was right. He was told to tame the bird" -Jace's voice came out, hoarse and thick with emotion as he continued- "not to love it. That's why you have to listen to your head. If I listened to my heart… I'd never be able to do my job. Third rule of Shadowhunting… emotions cloud judgment."

Jonas was silent for a moment, and then he glanced over at Jace. There was something… empathetic in his gaze. "Thank you for telling me that."

Speechless, Jace merely inclined his head in a 'your welcome' kind of motion.

They walked in silence for a while longer, before Jonas finally spoke up.

"What about Luke?"

"Luke?" Jace asked, raising a single, arched brow.

"He was closer with Clary, and probably Simon, than I was." As Jonas spoke, he seemed to grow more confident in his idea. He nodded. "Let's go talk to Luke."

Jace shrugged. He didn't have any better ideas. "Okay."

The bell chimed as they stepped into the restaurant. Jace looked around in concern as he took in the trashed state of the place. Luke approached them as he noticed them enter. Jace looked to the man and asked, "What happened?"

"Uh... you should see the other guy. We were attacked by a Forsaken, if you can even call it that. Anyway, it's dead. It looks worse than it was." Luke exhaled, clearly dismissing the severity of the situation. "I called Alec. He took the Forsaken back to the Institute for an autopsy."

Jace began to walk around the room, examining things. He looked up to comment, "We've got the best forensic pathologist in New York."

"Yeah, so I've heard." Luke turned to Jonas. "Jonas, what are you doing here? Now that you have the Cup, you know you should be back at the Institute, protected."

"I haven't taken my eyes off him," Jace declared. He was kind of offended that the werewolf could think he'd just let Jonas roam around, defenceless, to get himself killed.

"Something's happened," Jonas said. "And… It's not good." He drew a steadying breath and continued, "Simon… Simon's dead."

"Oh God," Luke murmured.

"There's a chance we can save him though," Jonas hurried to explain. "He's a vampire fledgling…"

Luke nodded, his gaze flickered to Jace.

Jace caught the pointed look and bowed his head. "I'll be outside if you need me, Jonas."

"Thanks," Jonas said. "Stay close."

With a nod, Jace exited the restaurant.

Once Jonas was finished, Jace took him back to the Institute and to Simon's body. Jonas stared at it for a while, whilst Raphael looked between them both.

"The sun is setting," Raphael spoke eventually. "Have you decided?"

Jonas nodded. "I don't deserve to make the decision, Simon does. I at least owe him the chance to decide what to do with his life. We're going to bury him, and if he doesn't want to exist as a vampire, I'll stab him myself."

Jace's jaw clenched, unhappy with the man's decision, but understanding it. "Okay then." He pulled the blanket off of Simon's body and tucked one arm under the boy's neck, the other under his knees. "Grab a shovel," he said, heaving Simon's body into his arms. "Let's get this over with."

They traveled deep within the cemetery, and Jace continued glancing intermittently at Jonas. It was hard to judge how the man was fairing, but Jace kept a close eye on him anyway.

Eventually, Raphael stopped at an empty plot of land. He dropped his duffel bag and Jace took his cue.

He stepped forward and gently lowered Simon's body to the ground. Jace then stepped back and glanced at Raphael, but they all turned suddenly at a noise in the distance.

Jace drew his blade in preparation, and a moment later Camille appeared.

"You shouldn't be here," Jonas said.

"I want my property back," Camille replied.

Jonas glared at her. "Last I checked, you can't own people."

"If you'll just hand him over," Camille continued. "I'll be on my way."

Jace stepped forward threateningly. "You heard Jonas. You're not laying a hand on him."

"Fine. I tried to do this the nice way." Camille snapped her fingers, and over a dozen vampires appeared behind her.

Jonas glanced at Jace in concern. "Jace–"

"I'm glad you brought everyone here to witness your demise," Raphael cut in. "Camille killed this mundane," Raphael said and pointed at Simon. "Now, I have all the proof. She's been breaking the Accords for too long now. He's the evidence we need to show the Clave what Camille has been doing."

Camille chuckled at his words. "Are you trying to overthrow me?"

"No," Raphael said. "I already have."

The vampires raced closer to Camille, and she shouted, "Don't listen to him. Raphael doesn't know the first thing about leading. You need me. I've given you everything you could want. All the riches. All the pleasures you could desire."

"By breaking the law," Raphael cut in. "Which will only destroy us."

"We can fix this," Camille insisted. "If we just get rid of the body, this mundane means nothing."

Jace glanced at Jonas, noticing how he'd tensed and seemed furious. For a moment, Jace wondered whether the man would go and punch Camille. Whilst Jace was sure it would've been interesting, Jonas refrained.

"Fuck. You." Jonas spat the words, pronouncing them with such clear vindication that Jace felt kind of scared.

Then, all of the vampires converged on Camille and captured her, dragging to vampire off to somewhere. Hopefully some place awful.

Content that they were safe to proceed, Raphael grabbed the shovel and offered it to Jonas.

Jonas nodded and took it, then with palpable determination, he began to dig.

Jace and Jonas took turns digging and then filling the grave. Simon's body was buried in between. Raphael wasn't much help, but Jace didn't really give a shit about the vampire.

Jonas sat down once they were done, appearing exhausted. Jace sat down next to the man, and they waited.

After a few minutes, Jonas brought out his phone and plugged in headphones. He placed one bud into his right ear and began to listen to something.

As time passed by, Jace noticed Jonas become more and more anxious. Eventually, he gave in and tried to comfort the man. "That mundane's a fighter," Jace said. He smiled. "He survived the vampires at the Hotel DuMort. He survived the werewolves at Jade Wolf. He survived accounting… for whatever that's worth."

Jonas sucked in a sharp breath and pulled out the earbud. "Thanks, Jace."

Jace's chest warmed, glad that he'd helped, even just a little.

The ground began to rumble all of a sudden, and both Jace and Jonas stumbled to their feet. Raphael hurried over, bringing his duffel with him. "It's happening."

The three of them watched in intrigue as, first, a hand broke through the surface of the grave. Simon's hand clawed at the ground as he managed to free his head, and then finally the freshly-turned vampire pulled himself out of the grave.

It was a terrifying, but impressive display. That grave was deep.

Simon panted, sounding rabid. Jace felt wariness settle in his bones, and when Simon suddenly snarled, Jace pulled Jonas back and away from the kid.

Simon's legs didn't seem to be working properly, though, and he dragged himself along the turned soil, snarling at the two Shadowhunters.

"Once reborn, you emerge hungry," Raphael declared. He opened a bag of blood and then chucked it to the ground in front of Simon. Simon rushed to the bag and ripped it open with his teeth, chugging the contents.

He'd finished it within seconds.

Raphael opened another bag and threw it to Simon. Simon did the same with that bag as well.

"Very hungry," Raphael commented. "Drink up."

When Simon eventually became cohesive enough to realise what was going on, he looked up at Jonas. "Jonas... what's happening?"

"You kind of... died," Jonas said.

"I what?" Simon questioned. He ducked his gaze, and caught sight of all the empty blood bags littering the ground. "What's this?" He grabbed one of the empty bags and gasped, throwing it away and scampering backwards. "That's blood!"

He then must have noticed his fangs, because he reached up and gripped them. "Oh, my–" he tried to say something, but cut off. "Oh, my–" He spluttered, saliva falling from his mouth as he snapped. "Why can't I say–" He choked again, gagging.

"God," Raphael finished for him. "It'll take time to regain the ability. There's a lot you will need to learn."

"Oh, my–" Simon began to say, but stopped. He slammed his hands into the dirt beneath him. "Damn it!" He was shuddering as he next spoke, "Am I… Am I a vampire?"

Jonas nodded. "Yes, but not the sparkling kind."

Simon ducked his gaze again. "Jonas, tell me… tell me this isn't real. Tell me this is not really happening!"

"This isn't real," Jonas said in a wistful voice. "Life is a lie, nothing is real."

Jace shot the man an unimpressed look. Jonas shrugged, but lowered his head sheepishly.

"I'm… I'm... I'm repulsive!" Simon shouted.

"Er, no," Jonas said. "No you are definitely not repulsive. Trust me, I know repulsive."

Simon shook his head, as though he hadn't heard Jonas' words at all. "I'm nothing more than a monster."

"You are definitely not a–" Jonas began to say, but Simon interrupted.

"Stay away!" Simon exclaimed and jumped to his feet. "Please just… stay away."

He then ran off in a blur of movement.

"Shit," Jonas cursed, and reached up to tug at his hair in frustration.

"I'll look after Simon," Raphael said. "You have my word."

Raphael then followed after Simon. Jace watched him go, and then turned to Jonas.

"You okay?" Jace asked. "That was…"

"Rough? Scary? Concerning?" Jonas exhaled in a rush of breath. "I'm going to avoid thinking about it. Right now we need to find Simon."

Jace nodded. "C'mon," he said.

The two of them raced off after Raphael, sprinting at a speed that pushed them to their limits. They emerged from an alleyway and turned left, screeching to a stop as Raphael stepped forward. "I swear, if that kid ruins one more jacket…"

"Did you see where he went?" Jonas snapped.

"He'll be back."

Jace glared at the vampire. "You just let him go? You said you'd look after him."

Raphael seemed unfazed. "I can't do that until he's ready."

"Well that explains everything," Jonas replied in a drawl.

Raphael elaborated, "He's gone where everyone does when this happens. His own personal hell."

"Because of me," Jonas said.

"If it helps," Raphael began. "He doesn't even remember it was you. Those first minutes… a complete blank."

Jonas shot him a look. "Oh yeah, I'll just keep that hidden from the newbie vampire. That's gonna end well."

Raphael ignored his response. "Once you rein him in, he'll be walking, talking proof to the Clave that Camille broke the Accords. In fact, as a new leader–"

"You know what, Raphael?" Jonas interrupted. "That's the least of our problems right now. There's a baby vampire on the loose, and we need to track him down before he does something he'll regret."

"Give me a call when he turns up," Raphael said and inclined his head. "He'll need my help."

Jace watched the vampire walk away and opened his mouth to offer a scathing retort. Jonas spoke up before he could.

"Wait," Jonas called. Raphael paused, turning his head to show he was listening.

"We… Uh. It—" Jonas ducked his head, and finally managed in a rush, "At the graveyard, with Camille, things probably wouldn't have gone as smoothly without you there."

Raphael's lips twitched, perhaps in amusement, and then he was gone.

"...Nice," Jace commented.

Jonas' cheeks flamed. He grumbled, "Shutup."

Chuckling in amusement, Jace pulled out his phone and dialed Alec's number.

"Who are you calling?" Jonas asked.

Jace held the phone to his ear. "I'm getting reinforcements," he explained. As soon as the call went through, Jace said, "Alec, I need you."

"It's Izzy." There was a paused. "We need you. There's been an attack at the Institute."

"An attack?" Jace questioned, concerned.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker so Jonas could hear.

"Valentine created a Forsaken that went through the wards."

"That's not possible, Izzy." Jace frowned and argued, "Nothing can get through the wards. There... There are warlock spells to defend against all Downworlders."

"Not this one. It had Seelie blood with angel properties." Another pause. "Jace, it went after Hodge and Alec."

"Is Alec okay?" Jonas asked.

"Are they okay?" Jace inquired at the same time.

The two shared a look.

Jace began to ask, "Did Alec–"

"They're banged up, but they'll live. Hodge killed it. It was after the Cup."

"Izzy," Jace said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

He hung up and slid the phone into his pocket before running off. Jonas followed closely behind, but eventually he began to lag and he called out for Jace to stop.

"Slow down, Usain." Jonas panted as Jace pulled to a stop. He leaned over his knees, gasping for air. "Man, you're too fucking fast."

"Valentine attacked my home," Jace said and started at a slow walk. Jonas followed with a groan. "Alec's injured. We've got to go."

"As much as I want to check on Alec," Jonas began. "I need to go after Simon. He's my responsibility."

"It's not safe out here, Jonas."

"I know I'm still kind of a baby Shadowhunter," Jonas said. He gestured in frustration. "But you're forgetting that we don't have a lot of options right now and–"

Jace pulled to a stop. "Jonas, you're right, okay?" He reached out and placed a hand on the man's shoulder to stop him. "You're right."

Jonas chuckled, expression shifting to one of disbelief. "Did I just get Jace Wayland's seal of approval?"

Jace sighed. "Don't get used to it." He thought for a moment, and then said, "Look, maybe Luke can help you find Simon. Werewolves are really great trackers."

"That's not a terrible idea," Jonas said.

Jace huffed, but clapped the man on the shoulder once again. "Good luck, don't get killed."

"Yeah," Jonas replied. "I'd hate to saddle you with all of that paperwork."

Jace huffed and turned away from the man, because he had more important shit to deal with.

...Also so he could hide the amused twitch of his lips.

Jace spotted Alec and Izzy up in the training room, and he hurried over to them. "Hey. You all right?" Jace asked his parabatai.

Alec turned his head away, and replied under his breath, "I'm fine."

Somewhat satisfied, Jace said, "I just spoke to Robert and Maryse. They're being sent back to Idris."

Izzy frowned. "What?"

"Yeah," Jace confirmed.

Izzy turned to Alec. "Another 'order' from Lydia?"

Sensing the tension between the two siblings, Jace asked, "Who's Lydia?"

"She's in charge of the Institute," Izzy replied, clearly displeased with the situation.

Jace's gaze snapped to Alec. "She's what?"

"Temporarily," Alec elaborated.

"And now she's convinced the Clave that Mom and Dad aren't doing their job?" Izzy summarised.

"Well, maybe they aren't," Alec snapped. "The Institute was under their control when the Forsaken got in."

Jace couldn't believe what his parabatai was saying. "What are you talking about?" he asked, growing impatient.

In reply, Alec blurted, "Mom and Dad were members of the Circle."

"What?" Izzy exclaimed. "They don't have Circle runes."

"That's because they made a deal with the Clave prior to the Uprising. In exchange for their cooperation, they were pardoned."

Izzy stared incredulously at her brother and demanded, "You're questioning their loyalty?"

"Valentine is back," Alec began to list. Jace crossed his arms, not happy with where this was going. "The Circle is rising. They're under suspicion."

"No way," Jace said. "Robert and Maryse took me in. They raised me as one of their own. I know what kind of people they are."

"Are you sure?" Alec countered. "They lied to us. For years, they've been telling us how to act. That we have to uphold the Lightwood name. Well, they're the ones who tarnished it. They're hypocrites."

The sound of footsteps drew their attention, and Jace turned to see a blonde female approach. "You must be Jace Wayland," she said and came to stand next to Alec. "Lydia Branwell. You're quite the legend back in Idris."

She stuck out her hand to shake, Jace ignored it.

From what he'd learned, he didn't like this 'Lydia Branwell.'

Jace inclined his head. "Don't believe everything you hear."

Lydia glanced at Alec. "Did you tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Izzy asked.

Alec paused for a moment, seeming resigned. "Lydia and I are engaged," he admitted.

Lydia smiled at them. "We're getting married."

What? Jace thought, unable to process what he'd just heard. "You're not serious," he said.

"You were supposed to tell them 'no'," Izzy said, glaring at her brother. "It's your life to ruin."

She then stormed off, and Jace shifted uncomfortably. He looked between the engaged (engaged!) couple. "Not sure what to say."

He was confused. He could've sworn there was something going on between his parabatai, Jonas and Magnus.

"How about, 'None of this matters'?" Alec suggested. "We have to stop Valentine."

"Finally," Jace said, confusion forgotten. "Something we agree on."

Later, Jace, Alec and Izzy approached a monitor to watch Meliorn's interrogation.

"This is insane," Izzy said. "We have to put a stop to this."

"Yeah, well," Alec began. "Enjoy Portaling back to Idris with Mom and Dad."

Izzy's gaze snapped to Alec. "Meliorn is here because of me."

"Alec's right," Jace cut in, wanting to prevent an argument. "There's nothing we can do to stop this interrogation."

Izzy turned her head slightly, shooting Jace a glare. "You're on Alec's side now?"

Alec spoke before Jace had a chance. "We swore to protect each other, of course he's on my side."

Jace disagreed. "I'm not picking sides. Jace Wayland is Switzerland." He glanced at the monitor. "We have got to find Valentine. Let's let this play out, Izzy. Meliorn might have some important information."

They all turned back to watch the interrogation play out.

"Forensics don't lie," Lydia was saying. "Tell me what you know about the blood in the Forsaken."

Meliorn spoke up. "Have you considered that the blood in the Forsaken came from our dead scouts? Scouts sent to help you hunt for Valentine. Why do you think we would side with a murderer?"

"Seelies always play both sides," Lydia countered.

"You should talk to your own people about playing sides."

Lydia cocked her head. "Excuse me?"

Meliorn smirked. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? If only Shadowhunters had a better relationship with us… Downworlders, you'd know that Valentine's son has the Cup."

"Still think we should let this play out?" Izzy asked.

Jace's lips thinned in displeasure.

This was… very much not good.

So... Alec's getting married. Talk about awkward. How do you guys think Jonas is gonna react when he finds out?

Also, we are getting SO CLOSE to one of my favorite archs (or, well, part) of this story. I'll give you a bit of a teaser, Jonas and Alec are going to be reunited in an unexpected way. You guys got any guesses for what I'm talking about?

ErzsebetMorgana: Thank you so much! I'm not quite sure what you mean about Sebastian? But yes, I've written up to 2x08, so definitely plenty of season 2 material to come!

Guest: Jonas will def be making things interesting! I'm so excited for you all to read what I've written for Jonas/Alec/Magnus' journey. I hope you all enjoy it! I know I did :P And thank you, I was nervous writing it, but I'm so glad it turned out okay!