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They were shocked. After Alec and Magnus told them what happened at the Unseelie Court, nobody breathed for a minute, assimilating the information. Then Jace moved, faster then the wind, and swept Clary in his arms, holding her so tight that she had trouble to breath. Her arms instantly went to his neck, locking behind it and she held on hiding her face in his shoulder, shaking.
"He's fine, oh Angel, William is not sick—" Jace whispered, his golden eyes shining with relief and happiness, an incredulous smile on his lips. It had all been a ploy, a cruel trick but at that moment it wasn't important. All that mattered was that their child was not in danger, that they could be a family again.
They didn't know for how long they stayed there, just hugging and whispering to each other, the relief washing over them in waves until they were breathless and on the verge of crying from the sudden realisation that the nightmare was almost over. There would time to curse and cry, to think about how wasted those months had been, to understand that they had never needed to leave their son with the fairies. But that was for later. Now only one thought filled their minds.
"Let's go save our son," Clary murmured at last, moving so that she could look at her husband. Her eyes were glossy with held back tears but her gaze was steady. "I want him back, now."
Jace nodded and put her down, keeping an arm on her waist.
"I didn't know. I swear I didn't." Kaelie said, as pale as a ghost. She looked like ready to cry. "Maybe Jiliel did, but I didn't. Oh God, that's so horrible—"
You don't know the half of it, Alec thought, his lips pressed in a thin line. Neither him nor Magnus mentioned the prisoners in their cages and they were determined not to, with Kaelie around.
"I never expected it to be a trick." Simon said, still shocked. Isabelle was just beside him, squeezing his hand to the point of breaking it since she heard the news. "The Seelie Queen gambled on the fact Jace and Clary would have never risked Will's life."
"And she was right." Isabelle grimly replied. "But it makes sense since she's using his blood to cure her daughter. Had we known about it sooner—" She was furious, looking ready to kill. All those months of suffering for nothing—Will's "death" hadn't affected just his parents, Simon recalled.
"So what now?" He asked, slipping one hand to Isabelle's waist.
"Now we go to Idris." Clary replied, looking at them. "Now we talk to the Consul and the Inquisitor, and my parents, and then we go get William back."
"Now?" Simon widened his eyes. "Clary it's night. We need a permission to portal to Alicante."
"Has that ever stopped me before?" She took out her stele. "I don't have time Simon. We need to act as quick as possible before Jiliel starts suspecting something is off. For now Kaelie has my back, but it can't last long."
"She's right." Jace nodded. "We need to go." He didn't add anything else, but he didn't need to. How could they expect them to wait any longer? He was practically burning with the need to do something right now. Will was healthy! If Jace could survive an attack to the Seelie Court alone, he would have already left to save his son.
"But we need a plan!" Alec protested. "Or are you willing to just spill the beans with our father and let Clary be imprisoned?"
"She won't be." Kaelie quietly said. She was still shacking, her blue eyes in shock. What happened was beyond cruel; poisoning a child was plain evil and she never approved of it, but tricking his parents and keeping him away from them under a false threat? Destroying their life when there was no real risk? That was inhuman.
"I'll be the one talking with your Consul." She continued, turning to Alec. "I owe you all at least this."
"But—" He started, but Jace stopped him.
"It's all set Alec. Clary will explain it all but in the meanwhile I'd like you to come with me for a moment please." He moved out of the library and when the door closed behind his parabatai he turned to him. "Now tell me the whole story. I know you held something back."
"I did." Alec nodded, his jaw set in anger. "And I'm glad you weren't there because you wouldn't have been able to refrain from doing a slaughter." He shook his head in disgust. "That place is horrible and the Unseelie fairies are sick sadistic bastards: they keep Seelie fairies prisoners and they torture them, they enjoy their pain. I don't know how I managed not to take out my bow and kill them all, they deserve it for sure. But I will. Someday I will. That is one race of Downworlders we can do without."
Jace was stunned, he never heard his parabatai talk like that. Whatever he saw was horrible enough to warrant a vengeful fury rarely shown by Alec.
"Sounds like it was a good decision not to let Kaelie go with you." He cautiously commented and when Alec nodded, he asked. "So what did you promise to the King? What did he want?"
"The Seelie Queen's head." The Shadowhunter replied without blinking. "He wants her dead during the raid, he doesn't want a Clave trial. And he wants the Clave to acknowledge that Seelie fairies and Unseelie ones are indeed different from each other and should not be subjected to the same treatment."
"The first part is easily done." Jace's eyes narrowed. "Between me and Clary I doubt that bitch will survive the attack. I never willingly struck down a woman but what she did is unforgivable. I'm not willing to risk a trial and the possibility of a sentence different from death. I want her removed from our lives."
"That's what I thought as well." Alec nodded even though he was still a bit uncomfortable about it.
"As for the second part I guess it will be easier than me trying to persuade the Clave to revise the peace accords." Jace sighed. "But I promised Kaelie that I'd try and I will."
"Are you sure about telling Jia and our father? I know we need the Clave's permission to attack the Seelie Court but it's risky."
Jace ran a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. "Trust me, if I could, I would avoid it. But even if we managed to save Will on our own, we would still have to explain how he's still alive, while everybody think he's dead. And that would be worse because they would be probably question us using the Mortal Sword. If Kaelie tells them of her own accord, it's more believable and we may be spared a questioning. And I won't let anybody touch her. But Alec—" Jace looked directly in his eyes. It was painful, but he still had to say it. "If things go bad, if Clary is caught and they remove her Marks, I'll go with her. We'll take William and we'll disappear, leaving the Shadow World for good."
His parabatai froze, his whole body stiff, his fists clenched at his sides. A tense moment passed before he found the strength to reply. "I wish I could yell at you, call you stupid and punch you until you see reason. I'd really like that. But I can't because I know I'd do the same for Magnus."
He put a hand on Jace's shoulder and squeezed. "When we first met Clary I hated her. She made you act in a reckless way, you were suddenly so different from the usual you that I barely recognised you anymore. But then I realised she made you a better person, she gave you peace. And when Sebastian bound you to him, I felt like a part of me was missing, torn apart from my heart. I missed you, my parabatai. If I lose you again that hole in my heart will be painful, but I'll gladly bear it if it means you're happy. You need to stay where your soul is at peace and that place is where Clary is."
Jace deeply breathed and then pulled Alec closer to hug him. He patted him on the back, keeping his brother as close as possible. "Thank you. I knew you'd understand."
"I always knew that girl would bring trouble." He smiled shaking his head. "Don't tell Izzy before this is over, though. It may be unnecessary and you know how she feels about losing any of us. We have a battle to fight and she needs to be focused."
Jace nodded, his heart suddenly lighter. Yes, he would suffer in leaving the Shadow World behind. It wasn't just his job, it was part of his soul, his blood, his entire being. But he knew Alec would understand why he had to, why he would always choose Clary over anything else. Having his parabatai's blessing meant the world to him and even if he dreaded feeling that hideous void in his heart again, he knew he would never really lose Alec or Isabelle. They were his family and he was sure they wouldn't give a damn about respecting the rules when it came to him. They would always be there for him. They would always be a part of his life. They would always be his siblings.
"Lightwoods, all together," he whispered to himself, remembering that day when he woke up after Glorious burnt his bond with Sebastian away. Izzy's tears, her grip on his hand. Yes, they would always be together, no matter what.
He smiled at Alec feeling love, pride, and a sweet sense of peace filling his heart, looking at his brother. "Let's go before they leave us here."
Alec laughed and they went back to the library shoulder by shoulder, together, like they would always be.
Alicante was silent that night as the seven of them quickly moved through the alleys to reach Amatis' house where Jocelyn and Luke lived now. So far nobody saw them but to be sure Isabelle always walked in front, making sure the passages were free before telling the rest to come. If they were caught, they would be severely reprimanded but Magnus and Kaelie were Downworlders and they were there without the express approval of the Clave; they would be imprisoned in the blink of an eye.
The Glass City was as beautiful as ever but for the first time Clary wasn't looking at it in awe, her mind set on one thing only. They could have been in the ugliest town in the world for all she cared. When at last they reached her parent's house she breathed in relief and silently told the rest to wait for her, as she went to knock the door. It was a soft knock, meant to be as quiet as possible but she knew Luke would hear it. Clary waited, praying that her parents received the fire message Magnus sent earlier that night and when the door opened and she was dragged inside into a bear hug she smiled and closed her eyes.
"Oh thank the Angel." She murmured into Luke's chest, taking a quick glance around. Her mother was there, her eyes clouded with worry and just beside her the very people Clary needed, were standing with a guarded expression: Robert and Maryse Lightwood and Jia Penhallow.
"Are you alright? What's with—" Luke started but Clary interrupted him.
"In a moment. The back window, Luke, open it. I'm not alone."
"Clary what the—"
"The window, now!"
He narrowed his eyes at the urgency in her voice and went to open the window, standing apart when six black clad people jumped in in perfect silence.
"Excuse us for the secrecy," Jace muttered standing up, directly looking at the Consul, "but we couldn't risk an official permission to leak out."
"So you decided to sneak in Idris and make the werewolves representative summon me and the Inquisitor for a "matter of the utmost importance"? I believe that's what your fire message said, Clarissa." Jia crossed her arms on her chest, taking in them all. "This is quite an impressive company." She noted, her eyes stopping in outrage on Kaelie's face. "And what critical matter made you think you could bring two Downworlders to Alicante? I could—with a big effort—pretend not to see the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but you brought a fairy with you!"
"Please, we can explain." Clary said with a sigh.
"Then do it, and fast." Maryse said. "I was here for dinner when your message came and Jocelyn thought it would be best if I stayed: when you're concerned, Clarissa, my kids are not that far."
"And I would like to know what's happening before dragging that outlaw up to the Guard." Robert said, stepping forward.
Kaelie froze but Jace calmly walked in front of her. "You won't do anything like that. Just listen and you'll see why we had to do this. It's serious... dad."
Robert glanced at Jace with surprise; this was maybe the third or fourth time he ever called him like that in his whole life, the last time he remembered was at his wedding with Clary. He just never did it, he usually called him by his name.
"Just tell me you're alright Clary. Has something happened?" Jocelyn asked, definitely worried.
"I'm fine." Clary nodded, trying to smile at her mother. "I'll be better when this whole story is out in the open though. We need your help. We need the Clave's help."
"Why don't you all sit down then? We have enough chairs and couches for all of us." Jocelyn took her daughter's hand and gently pulled her towards the table. "I know you wouldn't break the Law without a reason, but I hope it is a good one, dear."
"It is." Clary nodded, taking a big breath. Then she turned to the Consul. "Jia, I know we're not supposed to talk about Council meetings, but do you remember all the reports about the vampires?"
She narrowed her eyes and nodded. Clary was feeling like a child, they were all sat down while the "adults" were on their feet looking at them, like a firing squad.
"We found out what's happening and it's not a feud. It's war, Jia. The vampires allied with the fairies and they are about to attack us."
The Consul paled, her arms falling to her sides. "What are you saying?"
"I will explain, if you let me." Kaelie took a step forward under the suspicious eyes of the Shadowhunters. "It was me who uncovered the plan and I immediately went to Jace when I found out."
"And what would you have to do with my son?" Maryse asked, her lips tight. It was obvious that she knew nothing about the involvement of Jace and the pixie.
"It's more what I have to do with—" Kaelie sighed, closing her eyes. "His son. William Herondale. He's alive. He's in the Court."
Dead silence met those words and Jace took a step forward, joining her side. "He wasn't sick, six months ago. He was poisoned. The Seelie Queen did this and then she took him from us because the only antidote was a plant growing in the Fairy Kingdom."
Jocelyn's eyes widened and the blood left her face. "Why would she do something like that?"
"For revenge." Magnus stepped up, placing himself in front of the Consul. "I warned you years ago, when you made the Fey sign that peace treaty. I told you hate would be the end result and here we are: the Seelie Queen abducted Will to make Jace and Clary suffer because they killed Sebastian and then she blackmailed them into keeping quiet threatening William's life. Now she allied with the vampires and she's ready to wage war against the Nephilim. All because you saw fit to crush them under your thumb rather than show some mercy."
"Magnus—" Alec quietly called, reaching his boyfriend. "Enough. Please."
The warlock made a disgusted sound but nodded and Kaelie resumed talking in the general silence. It wasn't easy for her because she had to forge a decent lie, something the Nephilim would believe without questioning, something to condemn her race and save theirs. So, talking about William's kidnapping was instrumental to make them believe Jace and Clary had been just the victims of a cruel revenge, that they had no notion about the impending war. Talking about the alliance with the vampires would be necessary to make them think more about the war and less about the unsanctioned expedition to the Unseelie Court, although when Alec talked about that, he earned a very stern and furious stare from both his parents. In the end convincing the Consul and the Inquisitor wasn't that hard, since neither of them really wanted to believe that two of their most famous war heroes would ever be capable of betraying them.
"So we have a war ready to start," the Consul said, pacing around. Her eyes were narrowed, her fingers stroking her chin. "But why would the vampires help? What did the Queen offer them?"
"She offered us." Jace replied, his shoulders stiff. Kaelie looked at him with surprise, she had had no intention of revealing that part of the plan. "They found out the reason Simon was turned into a Daylighter when he was a vampire. The Queen offered them me and Clary because our blood has the power to turn them as well."
"Wh—" Jocelyn looked at her daughter, her face paling again.
"It's the angel's blood Valentine poured into us." Jace continued. "And yes, I know I never reported about Simon drinking my blood, but he was dying and I wouldn't let him. I would have kept the secret if it wasn't for this current crisis, I didn't want to risk the vampires to find out. Except that now they did."
Robert looked ready to kill somebody as he walked to Jace, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This was a dangerous secret to keep. A stupid one. You were always reckless, but how could you—" He stopped talking with an effort, shaking his head but Simon knew what he was about to say: how could he let a Downworlder touch him? Bite him? How could he volunteer to keep one of them alive?
It was hopeless, he grimly thought. The rift between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders was too far gone to be ever fixed... the Nephilim would never consider anybody equal to them. He saw Jace was about to reply but he shook his head, making sure Jace saw him.
"Let it go. It's not important now." Simon quietly said, looking straight at the Inquisitor. "Besides, I'm a Shadowhunter now, aren't I? Isn't this what matters? That I'm not a filthy Downworlder anymore, that your daughter is marrying a child of Raziel instead of one of the Night? What a terrible shame if I was still a vampire. Don't you see? Can't you tell? This is the reason the vampires allied with the fairies: how long can you go while you're considered an inferior being? How long can you stand living in fear because the race that's supposed to protect you, goes around crushing an already won enemy just to prove a point? Do you know that we're living in something that's called the Cold Peace now? The Shadow World is scared of the Nephilim. They are scared of what we'll do if they even breathe wrong, but fear doesn't last forever, Inquisitor. Sooner or later it's replaced by rage, and this is where we stand now. Seven years ago you showed the Shadow World you're unable to forgive, and this is the result: the Shadow World is trying to decide whether or not they need the Shadowhunters to live on... and apparently the vampires decided they don't. Congratulations."
"You're walking a dangerous path, Simon Lovelace." Jia quietly said, narrowing her eyes. "Are you sure you want to insult the Clave's decisions?"
"I'm not insulting anybody, just saying things as they are. You crushed the fairies and you know it. You wanted to. You wanted to set an example but now it backfired. Or are you going to deny it?"
"Jia, this isn't going anywhere." Clary walked over and stood by her parabatai. "We need to deal with what's happening: the Fair Folk has my son and we'll have a war soon if we don't do anything to stop it. The vampires attacked the werewolves to thin out our allies and you know the warlocks won't interfere in the conflict. It doesn't look good. We need to attack before they do. If we cut this before it starts, the vampires will retreat, they won't risk fighting alone. They'll pretend they never had a deal with the fairies. But we need to do something now, before this whole thing escalates more."
"You." Jia turned to Kaelie after a long moment of silence. "Why would you come to warn us? I remember who you are, you're the fairy who represented the Seelie Court when the Dark War ended. What do you hope to gain from this?"
The pixie stared her out trying to look calm. "Just justice for my people. The Seelie Queen is leading the fairies in a place they don't deserve to be. This new fight is just because she wants revenge for Sebastian Morgenstern, she's not thinking about the Fey's well being. She's going to destroy us, even more than we were at the end of the Dark War and my people doesn't even know about this! She armed our soldiers again, she had our youngs trained but all she said was she couldn't allow the Clave to deny us our right to defend ourselves, especially against the Unseelie fairies. I doubt anybody knows she'll soon give the order to attack the Nephilim, she kept it a secret because she wouldn't risk anything to leak out. It will be a slaughter and I can't allow it!"
"And you think you can avoid it by coming here and warning us?" Robert was incredulous. "You think we'll just send a messenger to the Queen, demanding William back and telling her to back off? She went this far, she won't take the diplomatic course. You know we will attack, pixie. And you know your people will die."
"Killing them is not necessary!" Kaelie yelled, clenching her fists. "As I told you most of the soldiers are young, fairies that were children when the Dark War happened. They aren't experienced. If you have a big number of Nephilim invade the Court, you'll be able to disarm them without killing anyone. Meanwhile I'll guide Jace and the rest to where the Queen is: once she's captured, the army will surrender. There won't be a need for a bloodbath. Unless—" her gaze turned icy. "Unless you want one."
Another silence followed, then the fairy sighed and looked at Jia, pleading with her blue eyes. She didn't want to beg but her pride wouldn't help now. "Consul, I know you don't trust me, and after what the Queen did to William, you have even more reasons to despise me. But I love my people and I want what's best for them: this war and this Queen aren't what we need, nor what we deserve. I just ask that you show that mercy you couldn't show us seven years ago. Avoid this war, reconsider the treaty. Allow the Fairies to rebuild, to gain your trust again, under a new ruler, someone who'll take our best interest at heart."
"And who would this new ruler be? You?"
Kaelie widened her eyes, sincerely stunned. "Me? What—no! I'm just a court lady, I'm a waitress! Do you think I'm doing this because I want to be Queen? I don't—I would never—no!"
"Why don't we worry about this after we deal with this crisis?" Isabelle interrupted them all, impatiently stepping up. "We're losing time and we don't have any. If the Queen notices both Jace and Clary disappeared, she'll hide William and she'll attack. I don't give a damn about this war, or about who will be the next Seelie Queen, this is Clave's business. I just want my nephew safe home again."
She turned to her parents who were standing stiff and cold and her eyes softened. "It's your grandchild we're talking about, and he's been prisoner for six months. It's time to get him back, don't you think?"
"Of course. Of course it is." Jocelyn softly replied, taking Luke's hand. "I still can't believe it."
"I'll go up to the Gard," Jia said, shaking her head. "I'll call for an emergency meeting of the Council right now even though nobody will be too happy about having to meet in the middle of the night. Clarissa, you can explain this whole mess and we'll manage to devise a plan to stop this madness before it starts."
Clary nodded but when Jia was about to leave, Robert told her he would stay some more minutes to talk to his children. As soon as the Consul was gone, as soon as he was positive she couldn't hear them anymore, he sighed and turned to them.
"Now. The truth please."
In the stunned silence, Maryse walked up near him and nodded. "He's right. There's something you're not telling and even though you fooled the Consul you can't fool us. We know you too well."
They watched as Isabelle, Alec and Jace just stood there, their faces as straight as possible, then Robert paled. "This bad? Is this so dangerous that you can't talk about it? I'm not asking as the Inquisitor, I'm asking as your father. We just want to help. Tell us what's wrong."
"Clary, Simon, please." Luke added, looking at them. "He's right. And once the Consul has time to think about it, she'll realise there's more to the story than you told us. The Seelie Queen had William for six months, she had you under her thumb. Are you really trying to make us believe she was just happy to watch you suffer? Not a fairy, and certainly not her."
He shot Kaelie an apologetic glance but she looked away like the rest of them.
"Tell us, please." Jocelyn whispered. "Tell us, so we can help when Jia wants to know more. If you don't let us in, she'll question you all with the Mortal Sword and whatever you're hiding will come to the surface. Please, Clary, talk to us. Please baby."
More silence. It was so deep that it almost shouted with a voice of its own as the tension in the room grew to its breaking point.
Then, in the middle of it, Isabelle took a step forward, her lips in a tight line. She walked to he father, took his hand and gently, slowly, rubbed it with her fingers, like a slow caress, something Robert never remembered her doing, not with him anyway.
"Dad, do you remember when you brought me to the Academy, some years ago? When you talked to the students about the Circle?" He waited for his nod then went ahead. "We talked later, at the end of our visit and you told me something I never forgot: you told me that you loved your children unconditionally, that we were the one thing you would always be certain of. And then you told me that you were ready to spend the rest of your life to prove it to us, and to prove that we could also be certain of you."
"Isabelle—"
"This is your chance. This is it. I'm willing to give you my trust, to trust that I can talk to my father without talking to the Inquisitor as well. Please, tell me you won't betray my faith in you. Please."
Robert looked at her hand, still slowly rubbing his, then at Maryse who was still at his side, so similar to her daughter, so fierce and strong. Luke and Jocelyn were silent and he knew they already pledged in their heart they would never betray their loved ones. It was up to him and for once in his life he had to decide by himself, taking the chance to screw up with the people he loved most: his children.
"I promise." He told his daughter, looking straight in her eyes, so she could see he was not faltering. "I'm on your side, Isabelle. Be certain on me, my daughter."
And when finally he knew all the truth, when his children told him everything, when Jocelyn was silently crying on Luke's shoulder because of what had been done to Clary, he gently took Isabelle in his arms, caressing her long hair and smiling with gratitude.
"Thank you baby." He whispered while holding her. "I won't let you down. Ever."