Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended
Author's note: I'm sorry I couldn't reply to the reviews. It's been a crazy couple of days!
It was almost midday when Kaelie went back home and she was exhausted. The night had been spent plotting, and Jia even called her up to the Council to repeat everything she said in front of several Shadowhunters who clearly couldn't wait to throw her in the Silent City jails and leave her there forever. She still wondered if she picked the right side in this fight because it was as clear as the sun that the Nephilim had no desire of ever rethinking their decisions about the fairies; this war was the final nail in the Fey's coffin. And yet between obliteration and punishment, she would pick punishment every day.
She yawned looking for the keys in her purse and picked up her phone as it started ringing.
"Yes, Jace, I'm home." Finding the keys of her apartment she tilted her head so the phone would be stuck between her ear and her shoulder and opened her door. "I'm fine, I just need to sleep."
The house was dark because the shutters were closed but she didn't mind: she couldn't wait to reach her bed. "No, you know why I couldn't stay. After tonight the last thing I want right now is to be around more Nephilim. No offence, but your Consul and Inquisitor aren't the nicest people I ever met."
She laughed at his reply. "No, I don't want to imagine someone worse. Tonight was challenging enough."
She sighed then, putting her purse on the table in the entrance. "Jace, I'm home. What could possibly happen? I just want to get a good day of sleep before—well, you know. Get some rest as well. Yes, alright. See you later."
She hung up, shaking her head. Soon it would all be over, they couldn't afford to wait much more to attack before Jiliel started suspecting something was off. She knew she should have stayed at the Institute to rest but she also knew she wouldn't be able to, not surrounded by Shadowhunters: all she wanted was some time for herself to relax her mind and her body, to close her eyes and just not think.
This was it and everything would change. People would probably die, fey knights, fey soldiers—and her brother and her Queen. She balled her fists on the table and shut her eyes tight, trying not to cry; it was too late for that. She vowed to herself that she would do her best to save Jiliel, but she honestly knew she had no chances, not against Clary and Jace and their anger. They would shove her aside like she was a little doll and go for the kill without even blinking.
"Oh brother," she whispered in the dark, "why did you have to be so cruel to her?"
Kaelie sighed, walking into the living room and froze on the spot. The room was dark, but she would have recognised that silhouette everywhere. As Jiliel stood up from her couch without saying a word, Kaelie instinctively took a step back.
"What are you doing here?"
He didn't answer but with two quick steps he was in front of her, taking her phone from her hands and throwing it behind him. Then he grabbed her wrist and dragged her in the kitchen, shoving her in one of the chairs. As soon as she was down, she felt one of his hands on her shoulder, keeping her seated while the other went straight for her throat.
"So, sister." He whispered in the dark, squeezing his fingers. "How come you met the Nephilim Consul? And the Inquisitor?"
Think, think, think, think!
"They came at the Institute last night." Kaelie choked out, grabbing her brother's hand on her throat.
"Oh?" He grinned even though she couldn't see him. But it was clear in his voice. "A social call? How nice of them."
"You're hurting me—let me go, please." She was trying hard to breathe but she was starting to see coloured dots before her eyes.
"What have you done, Kaelie?" Jiliel asked, still choking her. She couldn't talk, she couldn't breathe anymore. She shook her head, panicking, desperately trying to get up from that damn chair but her brother shoved her off on the hard, cold, floor, suddenly letting her go. She stayed there, coughing and breathing, tears streaming down her cheeks while Jiliel turned on the light and came back, kneeling in front of her.
"I didn't do anything, I swear." Kaelie tried, a hand on her aching throat. "I don't know why they were there. They talked with the Lightwoods and then they were gone!"
She was suddenly on her stomach, her head slamming down the floor and her brother pinning her arms behind her back. She cried out in pain.
"I don't believe you." He told her, his voice calm like he was talking about the weather. "You know why? Because I'm not stupid, dear sister."
He adjusted himself on Kaelie's back, keeping her down. "So let's see, when did this start? It was when you took them to see the brat some days ago? You took pity of them? Or were you planning this since the beginning?"
"I didn't do anything!" She shouted, still trying to deny it but she cried out when Jiliel squeezed her wrists, almost breaking them.
"Yes, you did. I knew you would be a liability, too much history with Herondale. I told the Queen about that but she didn't listen because she remembered how full of hatred you were at the peace conference. She thought you'd be perfect, that you would jump at the idea of revenge."
"Jiliel—"
"But you know what?" He hissed behind her. "I tried to trust you. I tried to believe you really were screwing Herondale, that you wanted to torture him as much as I was doing with Clary. Because you're a fairy and they are Shadowhunters. I guess I was wrong."
"Let me go, damn you!"
"You're an awful liar, Kaelie." Jiliel said, planting a knee in the centre of her back, making her gasp. "When you told me that you were going to stay in the Institute yesterday night, I suspected something was wrong. First of all, you would have asked me if Clary could stay there, because you know I'm in charge of her. And second, you aren't the kiss and tell type; if Clary was there, you would have taken Jace away. Rookie mistake sister, when you try to deceive someone you don't deviate from your normal routine."
"I just wanted to—" She didn't get to finish that sentence because Jiliel took her left thumb and sharply pulled at it until she felt blinding pain and started screaming. He just broke her finger.
"You'll shut up until I ask you a question, do you get me Kaelie? Do you?" He shouted, pinning her down again and she could just nod, crying and sobbing, scared to death. "What did you tell them, sister? Do they know we're going to attack? Answer me."
"I didn't tell them anything." She said, pain blinding her sight. "I haven't even talked to them!"
Another sharp pull and her forefinger snapped, making her owl. "Wrong answer. And if you keep this up I'll run out of fingers pretty soon. Then it's your toes, Kaelie. Then your arms. Then your legs. And then I'll start over with your fingers, but this time I'll use a knife and I'll cut them off. Spare yourself the pain."
"Kill me already if you think I'm a traitor!" She managed to shout between her sobs. It hurt so bad she couldn't help to cry.
"I don't think you're a traitor, sister. I know you're one." Jiliel was calm again, taking her middle finger, ready to break that one as well. "I tried calling Clary yesterday night, you know, to say goodnight. In my own way of course. But her phone was off and Clary knows better than cutting me off on purpose, I made very clear several times that I must always be able to reach her. Then I tried calling you, so you could tell that bitch to turn her phone on, but, surprise, your phone was off too. So you know what I did? I went to the Institute. I was ready to play the part of this jealous boyfriend who doesn't want his girl in the same building of her ex-husband, but nobody came to open the door when I rang. So, you see, the Consul wasn't there. You were with the Consul. You were in Alicante, that's why the phones weren't working right? No technology in the precious City of Glass."
Kaelie didn't reply, feeling her heart missing a beat. Jiliel knew. He knew she lied and he was perfectly capable to connect the dots. It was over, she was about to die like the traitor she was. She cried again when her brother broke her middle finger but she was too weak to try to fight anymore.
"You know, I'm surprised, I never thought Clary would choose the Nephilim over the safety of her son. She must know he will die if they try to rescue him, he won't have access to the antidote anymore. Or are they hoping to keep him alive by magic?"
Again she didn't say anything, unsure whether he was telling the truth or whether he was trying to understand how much they knew about the Kohl poison. Maybe he really had no idea it didn't work on a child, but she wasn't going to disclose it to him if he didn't know already.
"What did you tell them?" Jiliel asked when it was clear Kaelie wasn't going to reply. "Did you tell them about the plan? The vampires? How far did you go?"
"I won't tell you anything." She whispered, tears still flowing. "Just kill me already because I'm not going to say another word."
"Oh yes, you will sister." He grinned behind her, grabbing her head and lifting it up making her back arch. "You will tell me everything I want to know, even things you think you forgot. You won't stop talking until I tell you to. And then you will die."
Blinding pain exploded in her head when he smashed her on the floor again. Kaelie closed her eyes and let herself be lost in the darkness.
"So." Jace said, aiming his knife and throwing it with lethal precision across the training room. "You're marrying my sister, uh?"
They were all there, Izzy and Clary sparring with each other, Alec working on his bow, Magnus sitting down with his eyes closed. It had been a long night, but nobody was relaxed enough to sleep, so they were trying to work off some steam.
Simon shrugged beside Jace, taking a knife of his own. "If this is some elaborate method for scaring me off, save it. Alec already did that when he learnt about the wedding."
"Oh?" Jace's golden eyes turned to his future brother-in-law. "Damn it, he beat me at the older brother stuff, then. What did he threaten you with?"
"He said if I don't make Izzy deliriously happy, he will have Magnus turn me into a rat again and then he'll feed me to Chairman Meow."
"Well, that is pretty creative." Jace smirked throwing another knife. "I suppose I can just jump in and say that before Magnus turns you I'll make you bathe in tuna, so his cat will find you more inviting."
"That's gross." Simon shuddered and made a disgusted noise.
"Seriously though, I suppose I should thank you for wanting to take care of my sister?" Jace's eyes were smiling. "Or should I buy you a tombstone already? Izzy can be a bitch when she wants. Didn't I tell you many years ago that she would walk all over you?"
"I heard that!" Isabelle called, parrying Clary's blow. She was concentrated on her fight but her eyes drifted on her brother just for a second.
"And that's my parabatai you're threatening!" Clary laughed. "Shall I come defend his honour?"
"As if you could beat me, little girl." Jace challenged her with a small smile on his lips.
"Oh, you're so on, Herondale." The red head twirled her sword and marched to her husband while everybody stopped training and just looked at them in silence. Watching Jace and Clary sparring was a joy for the eyes. She may have been inexperienced when they met but several years under his careful training and she was a war machine, as lethal as he was. Whether he used his superior strength against her, she could dance around him indefinitely because she was faster and smaller. And truly, their fights were a dance, an elegant, gracious dance that everybody had been denied to watch for too long. When was the last time the married couple was able to be that close, to let everything go? Because even though they were now trading blows, even now that they were sweating, trying to best each other, even now everybody could see the indissoluble bond of love that tied them to each other.
This is the reason, Simon thought, watching his best friend fighting on the blue mat. Because if they let themselves be that close even once, we would have known how much they still loved each other. And we would have wondered why they were apart. But it will be over soon. This is something I will be able to watch for a long, long time after we get Will back.
A blink of an eye later, Jace was on his back on the floor, his long legs stretched, his weapon on the ground. Clary was straddling him, sitting on his stomach, her sword at his throat while her emerald eyes were fixed in his golden ones. Slowly, oh so slowly, Jace bent his legs until they were touching her back and his hands raised to rest on her hips just as Clary dropped the sword from fingers that were trembling now. His eyes never left hers as his hands lightly caressed her thighs, up and down, rising back up to her hips, then to her waist, then to her arms. His touch was light as a feather as if he was learning again every curve of her body and maybe he was.
Trust me, he was silently begging her. Let me show you that I'll never hurt you. Let me help you heal.
He was vaguely aware that his family wasn't ever daring to breathe, that the typical "get a room" would never arrive. They knew what he was doing, he realised, they knew this wasn't about sex at all; this was about him adoring her and wanting her to learn again that she was a human being, not an object. This was about her knowing that every time she said no, he would stop. It was about her getting back her confidence, her strength, her will.
She wasn't moving, frozen on top of him, trembling under his fingers. She kept her eyes on him trying to breathe, trying not to move away from his touch, trying to tell herself that she was safe and that this was Jace and he loved her. She wanted to caress him too, she wanted to run her fingers on his chest, she wanted to trace his features, his neck, his shoulders—but as much as she willed her hands to move, they were on her sides, shaking and unable to move even an inch. She opened her mouth to try to explain, to mutter an apology, anything, but no words escaped her lips, nothing but a strangled whimper that made Jace bite his lips and stop touching her, his arms resting now on his sides. Clary followed his gaze again, expecting to see the pain of rejection, pity or even anger.
"It's okay." She heard him whisper, his eyes conveying such love and understanding that she felt her own filling with tears. "It's okay. You say no, I'll stop. Every time. Till the end of our days, if that's what you need. I love you, Clary. You'll never have to apologise to me, to feel guilty. I love you. In this life and beyond that. Always and forever."
Her heart started beating so fast in her chest that its roar echoed all the way to her ears, almost deafening her but before she could say anything the spell was broken by the sound of a phone. With a silent curse Alec answered and Clary stood up, suddenly embarrassed by their public display, turning to the blue eyed Shadowhunter who was quietly talking in a corner.
"It was mom," he said when he hung up. "Word has been sent to all Nephilim to gather in Idris, ready to attack. The Council declared that they don't have time for a Clave meeting, if Kaelie is right and the vampires are in with the Fey. They agree with us that a pre-emptive attack is the best course of action, a hard blow before the war explodes in our faces. And since they know Clary and Jace's disappearance would raise suspicions, they aren't delaying the attack. It's scheduled by tomorrow, at dawn. Mom required that Kaelie stays with us at the Institute until then."
Simon snorted. "I don't like the fairies, but Kaelie helped us and we're at this point because of her. And yet they still don't trust her."
"I can't blame them." Clary said, shrugging. "And besides if she stays here she'll be more protected. I never agreed with her going home today."
"She was tired." Jace replied, taking out his phone. "And frankly after being questioned all night, I see her point. I think Nephilim aren't her favourite people right now."
He dialled her and waited, raising his eyebrow when she didn't pick up. "That's weird." He muttered.
"Maybe she's sleeping?" Alec suggested.
"Maybe." Jace conceded. "But in times like this, you would think she kept her phone near every time."
He tried again, letting the phone ring longer this time, then he shut it off definitely annoyed. "I guess I'll have to go to her place."
"I can Portal you, if you prefer." Magnus said. "This way nobody will see you or her and everybody will just assume she's still at home the whole time."
"Do you think somebody is watching her?"
"No reason to." Magnus shook his head. "But she just came home from the Institute and it doesn't make sense that you go and take her here again, right?"
"You have a point, oh almighty warlock." Jace quipped, with a smile. "Shall we, then?"
It didn't take long for Magnus to set up the Portal, but it was Jace who crossed it first, followed by the warlock.
The apartment was dark, the windows closed, no lights on. The Shadowhunter whispered to Magnus to stay in the living room while he silently walked to the bedroom. He opened the door slowly, not wanting to startle Kaelie but when he saw the bed was empty, he stopped.
"Jace, come back here." Magnus called and something in his voice told him to hurry. He bolted to the living room and followed Magnus pointed finger, finding Kaelie's phone behind the couch, on the ground. It was still on and he could see his two missed calls on the log.
"She's not here." He said, his heart picking up his rate. What had happened? Without a word the two men started looking around, finding no evidence of struggling, no broken glasses, no moved furniture—but as soon as they crossed the kitchen threshold, they stopped.
"Damn it..." They knelt on the floor by several blood stains, then Jace punched the floor in rage, standing up soon after.
"She's been taken." Magnus grimly said, lightly touching the blood. His eyes flashed bright yellow before he closed them, murmuring something and circling his finger on the stain. "It's recent. No more than two hours ago. And it was a fairy who did this, I can sense it all over the place."
"Jiliel found out." Jace replied, through gritted teeth. "It's the only explanation. He saw through her attempt of deceiving him yesterday night and he took her to find out what's going on."
"And this explain why he didn't try to wipe the blood out." Magnus agreed. "Because he knew I would come here and sense what happened anyway. But I bet he wasn't expecting us finding out so soon."
He stood up, looking at the blond Shadowhunter. "Let's go back to the Institute. We need to make plans; this changes everything."
Jace nodded, passing a hand through his hair. "I failed her. I swore to protect her and look how well I did it. That sadist got her and right now he's probably torturing her to find out everything she did to help us."
Magnus sighed and looked back at the bloodstains. "We have to assume she'll tell him. The poison, the Princess, what happened last night—they will know. Kaelie wasn't trained as a warrior, there's probably just so much that she can endure."
Jace had to stop himself from punching a wall with his bare fist. "You're right. And this just adds up on how much I'll make Jiliel suffer before I kill him. Kaelie is a good girl, Magnus, she never—"
"I know." The warlock put his hand on Jace's shoulder. "We need to tell Robert right now, because you can bet that as soon as the sun sets, the fairies and the vampires will attack Alicante."
"That's Clave's business." Jace snapped, his golden eyes glowing in fury. "Now we need to worry about William. If Kaelie breaks down, they'll know about us. We need to go get Will now, before they have the time to hide him and we need to get the Queen before she flees, or we'll have the Unseelie Fairies on our back as well."
The warlock slowly turned to Jace. "Attacking now."
Jace nodded.
"Just us. With no backup."
"All the backup we can get in thirty minutes."
"That's suicide, you know."
"It's now or never, Magnus. You know that as well as I do."
He did. Kaelie was taken. The Queen would know they were planning to attack and she would relocate William so that he could keep healing her daughter. Maybe they were moving him right now. But they wouldn't expect a small number of Shadowhunters to try and risk everything on a rescue mission, they would expect it took some time to gather the numbers for attacking.
And they had Clary. Clary and her Portals that could take them directly inside the Seelie Court.
"Let's go. Let's do this."
The two men crossed the Portal back to the Institute while Jace was still clenching Kaelie's phone. He would get her back safe, he swore again. Or he would avenge her.