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Author Note: I'd like to thank you all for reviewing and I wanted to say that I'm sorry that I can't personally reply to the Guest reviews... but I read them all, and they make my day! On to the chapter... I hope you'll like it!
The moon was high in the sky that night and Kaelie looked up at it, breathing deeply and trying to stay calm. She had every reason to be scared though, as she was planning to go to the Court and spy for the Nephilim. What Isabelle told her had Kaelie deeply worried, because she had no idea of what she was talking about and it shouldn't have been that way. She knew for a fact—something she immediately told the Shadowhunter—that William was neither injured nor suffering. He actually had an army of nannies, little fairies that kept him entertained during the day and that ensured that he was fed, that he slept and that he enjoyed himself. And at night he was never alone, sleeping with several fireflies fairies on the ceiling and around his bed; he loved them and they were keeping an eye on him as he slept.
What bothered her was that the news Isabelle told her were coming from Jiliel and she knew her brother: he liked to lie, but he wanted his lies to be believable and thus he always mixed in some truth. And if he lied about William being mistreated, then it was possible that the Seelie Queen was indeed using him for something. The problem was that she knew nothing about that while her brother apparently did.
The question was: why? As Jace's jailer she should be up to date with everything concerning the child. It was scary to know something was going on behind her back: maybe her spy mission was over even before beginning, maybe the Queen never trusted her or maybe she suspected she would betray them sooner or later.
Well, I still have to do this. I just hope I won't walk into a trap.
Walking in the Court at night was like entering a fairy tale: the lights were dim, a light breeze would make the butterfly curtains gently move and the air was full of delicate whispers, the sound of sleeping fairies. Kaelie always loved walking through the corridors when it was silent, when there were no parties going on, it made her feel peaceful, at home. But that night she was scared, the well known path seemed full of shadows ready to stop her, to grab her and throw her down like the traitor she was. Did she really have to do that? Was it worth it? Was she really positive the Fey couldn't win that war? After all, they wouldn't be alone in fighting the Shadowhunters and if Clarissa Morgenstern wasn't an idiot she surely realised that, after all the Council meetings she attended to. And yet her heart wasn't at ease when she thought of the upcoming fight. She knew what everybody kept saying, that there had been a world before the Nephilim came along and there would be one even after they would be wiped out of existence, but Kaelie wasn't so sure it was true: since the battle of seven years ago, tales had been spreading about the eventful journey of Jace Herondale and his friends, tales about the world of Edom, about how it was barren, dead, lost for everyone. And about the dead Shadowhunters that once lived there, that once fought against the same demons that were trying to take their world over. If Edom suffered such a terrible fate because the Nephilim weren't there to protect it anymore, who could honestly swear the same thing wouldn't happen to Earth? The Seelie Queen didn't seem to care. Maybe she thought she would be long dead before anything like that happened, but that was so selfish that Kaelie felt anger just by thinking about that. To condemn a whole world just because she lost a lover—
The fairy stopped moving and hid in the shadows of the corridor, flattening against the wall as fast as she could.
Jiliel. Her brother was there. But Isabelle told her he was supposed to be with Clary—that was actually the reason Kaelie chose that night to go into the Court, she didn't want her brother around when she was investigating. And yet there he was. And with a sleeping William in his arms. Where was he taking him? What was going on?
Kaelie struggled to keep as silent as possible as she watched her brother walk away, a hand on her mouth to keep herself from making any noise. If he discovered her, she would have to come up with a convincing lie about her presence there—that is if finding him with the child wasn't already enough to condemn her. If he was on a mission for the Queen he would have no remorse in killing her, sister or not. That was Jiliel: ruthless and fiercely loyal to the Seelie Queen. And Kaelie was no match for a warrior like him. She had to be very quiet and very careful if she didn't want him to find her out.
The Fey was walking down the corridor, carefully holding the sleeping child. After a while Kaelie recognised the path as the one leading to the Queen's personal chambers but when Jiliel went in, she heard the sound of a door opening, a door she knew couldn't be there. She was one of the ladies allowed in, so she knew what the chambers looked like, and there was no door in the farthest part of it. And yet, when she peeked in, she saw it slowly closing, a door perfectly hidden in the wall, like it was a part of it. She ran and blocked it from closing, the door soundlessly resting in her hand. So there was a secret passage, one she never knew about; Jiliel really was up to something with the Queen, something that involved Will. Kaelie heard her brother descend some stone steps and his footsteps faded in the distance before she gathered enough courage to follow him. Left, right, then left again, she was in a part of the Court she never visited. The ceiling looked like made of stone, the walls resembling more and more those of a cave. A faint light was shining at the end of the stairs and when Kaelie reached the bottom, she looked around while staying hidden.
It was a big, stone cave, with several shining crystals on the walls and the ceiling, the only source of light. Their colours gifted the room with a faint but precious glint, like they were standing in the middle of a rainbow. Kaelie hid in a dark spot before the last steps and in the farthest corner she saw the Seelie Queen talking to her Knight, her eyes glistening with anger.
"She did what?" She was asking, her voice as cold as the stone walls.
"I taught her a lesson. She won't dare attacking me anymore." Jiliel smirked. "I was actually going to her again tonight to make sure she learnt her place, before you called me here."
"Make sure she keeps her head down," the Seelie Queen ordered, "but don't kill her and don't injure her too much. I need her work in the Council before I hand her over."
"Yes my Queen. I think I can affirm she hasn't got the faintest idea about our plans: she still believes we're trying to get back into the Clave's good grace and that she's the one who's supposed to persuade them." Jiliel adjusted William in his arms and right in that moment the child opened his eyes and looked around. Kaelie noticed the relief in her brother's face when he put William down and the kid started walking in the cave like he perfectly knew where he was.
"Good." The Queen was saying meanwhile. "If she doesn't suspect anything, she won't warn them. Now tell me: how did it go with the Buenos Aires clan?"
"It took me some convincing." The fairy warrior shrugged. "They weren't that happy to side with us, but when I mentioned the reward they were suddenly very interested."
"Of course," she laughed, "I still have to meet a vampire that doesn't want to walk in the sun again. Well, except the New York ones maybe. But they are too close to the Nephilim to ask them."
"The Buenos Aires clan should launch its attack on the werewolves in some days."
"Perfect." The Queen nodded. "The werewolves were always the closest ally the Nephilim had, even more now that their representative is married to one of them. Once they are out of the picture, the Shadowhunters will be alone. The warlocks won't interfere and the vampires are with us. We're getting closer, my General."
"According to Clary's reports, the Nephilim still have no idea that we're behind the vampire attacks. They think it's part of the ancient feud between them and the werewolves. They won't even know what hit them when we attack."
The Seelie Queen smiled, a predatory glint in her eyes. "Patience Jiliel, we have to be patient. When I strike it will be swift and deadly. I'll take Alicante down and burn it to ashes, I'll force the Nephilim to hide like cornered mice, and while we fight by day my allies will attack at night. The Shadowhunters won't get an hour of rest until they are all dead. Well," she concluded laughing, "everyone but two."
"Yes, I suppose those two will stay alive as long as they're of any use to the vampires. I would have never guessed the Angel's blood could work such miracles." Jiliel allowed a hint of doubt in his voice, but he knew it wouldn't affect the Queen. She was too far gone to care if she was wrong or right and the prospect of making Jace and Clary be tortured for the rest of their lives was too much alluring to allow any doubts in her mind.
"It must be that." As he expected the Queen looked at him narrowing her eyes, like she dared him to contradict her. "Sebastian said it was Jace himself that told Valentine he fed the vampire with his blood. Before that, the Daylighter was a regular vampire and then he could suddenly walk in the light. If you don't trust Sebastian's word, then you must trust the scars your sister saw on the boy. They are from a vampire bite and he's too strong to ever let any of them so close. He let himself be bitten. And he would only do that for someone he trusted. The Angel's blood in his veins must be what turned that boy into a Daylighter. It must be."
Kaelie held her breath feeling the blood drain from her face: she remembered those scar, she remembered telling Jiliel about them. They were on Jace's arm and neck and she had seen enough vampire bites in her life to recognise one. Now she knew why her brother had been so interested in that bit of information and it was freezing her on the spot. This was the reason the vampires agreed to help the Fair Folk: the Queen promised them Jace and Clary, the two Shadowhunter with an excess of Angel blood in their veins. With them, they could turn everyone of them into a Daylighter.
"One thing I always meant to ask you." Jiliel looked at the Queen with curiosity. "Is the kid part of the deal as well? After all, he has even more Angel blood than his parents."
"No." The Seelie Queen took a step forward and gathered William in her arms, supporting him with care. The child didn't try to go down again but he didn't hug the fairy either. "I wouldn't let Sebastian's nephew to be locked up and experimented on for the rest of his life."
"You're pretty willing to leave his sister to that fate though."
"Clarissa Morgenstern is the one who killed him." She replied, almost hissing. "She deserves that and much more. But the child is innocent. I'll keep him. He will soon call me Mother, I'll be the only family he will remember. And besides, I need him. If Sebastian was alive it would be different but now William is my only hope. I need him to love her, to take care of her, I need them to have their lives so intertwined that he won't hesitate to help her in every way possible. I won't let him go, ever. He'll live and die as one of the Fair Folk."
If Kaelie ever had any concern about Will's well being, now it was wiped away. She knew the look in the Queen's eyes and it was clear that the woman cared for the little child in her arms. Somehow William conquered her icy heart, carved a spot for himself into it and unknowingly gained his safety in the process. Now only the last, most important question remained: why did the Queen need him? What use could she possibly have for a Nephilim child? And who was "her"?
The Seelie Queen silently turned, keeping William in her arms and the child wiggled, extending his hand forward like he wanted to touch something. Kaelie heard him laugh, one of the few sounds William made since he was kidnapped.
"Yes, my little Prince. Let's go to your sister." The Queen said, caressing William's hair.
Sister? What the— From where she was, Kaelie could only see that the Queen was now standing beside a delicate pink marble altar above which a white crystal was set: it was shaped in the form of a long and tall oval, polished and smooth. Although it was opaque, it was possible to see that something was inside of it, but Kaelie couldn't discern what exactly. The Queen leaned the child's hand against its surface and whispered something Kaelie couldn't hear.
William's hand started glowing. It was a soft golden glow, a flowing band that started from his wrist and gently surrounded the crystal drowning it in its golden light. And when the Queen moved a step on the side, making it possible for Kaelie to fully see the altar, the fairy stopped breathing for a second, her eyes widening in surprise.
Frozen and motionless inside the crystal, surrounded by the golden light, a small child no more than six months old was resting. A small child she already met. Kaelie knew that small frame, she remembered the scarlet short hair around the little face. And even though the baby's eyes were closed, she knew they would be an amazing green, like the grass in spring.
But that child was supposed to be dead. She was supposed to be dead since almost six years. And yet, even after all that time, Kaelie would have recognised her everywhere. After all she was there when she was born.
The Queen's biggest secret.
The Seelie Princess.
Sebastian Morgenstern's daughter.