Lissa Graymark
"Jane? Mike?" I called out to the two guards outside my room.
"Yes milady?" Mike asked for the two of them.
"Will you help me to my office?"
"Is that a good idea, ma'am?" Jane asked politely.
Is that a tone of concern, I hear?
"The medics said you should rest for as long as possible in this room," Mike corroborated.
"Jane… Mike…" I smiled slightly as I turned to face each of them individually. 'I've done all I needed in this room. I need to go to my office."
"Yes, your majesty," they announced in unison as they bowed.
I nodded my head in greeting to people we walked past as my two guards escorted me through the institute, stopping occasionally to give me short breaks.
"Jane, Mike," I called their attention when we got to a more secluded part of the Institute, "Why do you still escort me around? I'm a disgraced royal at this point…" I trailed off slightly, "This is a job with no honour."
"Oh no, milady," Jane rushed to reassure me, "Serving you will always be an honourable job."
"After what I've done…" I thought about everything I had done, "-the terror I can cause with a wave of a hand. You're still honoured to be by my side?"
"You're our Princess," the man of few words gruffed out, "Our future Queen."
"Our bringer of peace and balance," Jane continued with a small smile, "It will always be an honour to serve you."
"Oh…" I responded dumbly, blinking at them as I tried to understand what they had said. "Thank you for your service."
Nothing could have stopped me in that moment as I leapt forward, bringing them both into a hug.
Nothing happened during the rest of the walk to my office. It was once we had gotten there when the drama began.
"What are you all doing here?" I asked in confusion when I saw Clary, my ex-sister, Jace, my ex-boyfriend, Izzy, my ex-best friend and Alec, my ex-brother, all gathered together in my office. An office no one is supposed to be inside when I wasn't present to let them in.
"We wanted to talk to you-" Izzy began to say.
"Would you like us to escort them out, your majesty?" Jane asked as she aggressively stepped towards the party.
"This is important," Clary argued as she backed away slightly.
"When is it never?" I couldn't help but scoff. I turned my attention to Mike and Jane, smiling sweetly at them, "It's alright. I'll yell if I need you."
I continued to smile as the duo bowed deeply, my eyes tracking their movement as they stepped back outside.
As soon as the door shut, my smile dropped as I turned to face everyone else, "What do you all want?"
"Sebastian is Jonathon," Clary announced as she stepped forward again.
I kept my focus on my balance as I slowly made my way to my desk. Most specifically, my office chair, the comfiest seat in this room, "What do you-"
"Jonathon has been glamoured as Sebastian since he got here," Jace grimly spoke.
"Saving us from Azazel..." Izzy spoke up as I finally sank into my chair, "...it must have all been part of Jonathan's plan. We were the ones to bring him to the Institute."
"Don't. We're all responsible for this," Alec cut her off.
So now it's a team effort. Yay.
"At least now we know Valentine can never get the mirror and raise the Angel," Clary spoke optimistically.
"I'm not so sure," Jace stated. "Look, even with our pure angel blood, doesn't it seem strange that Clary's runes would be powerful enough to destroy a Mortal Instrument? And why didn't it destroy the sword?"
I should probably interrupt and ask why she thinks she destroyed a Mortal Instrument… Nah. He's on a role with his thoughts so I'm sure they'll figure it out in a second.
"What if the mirror I destroyed isn't the Mortal Mirror?" Clary stood up from her seated position.
Bingo.
"Then why would your mom give it to the warlocks to protect?" Jace asked her.
Clary moved to the centre of the room, "Maybe she thought it was. We all did. Maybe whoever made it wanted it that way."
"To distract people from finding the real one," Izzy continued the narrative. I watched as Clary walked up to a painting of Lake Lyn to the right of my desk.
"Uh, well, the legend says that the mirror's meant to not be easily found. That the angels hold the key..." Jace paused, not knowing where to think to go next.
"The water," And she's figured it out. "It's a reflection."
"What water?" Jace asked her. "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't destroy the mirror," Clary announced.
I couldn't help myself. I let a small snort leave me as I whispered, "Of course, you didn't."
"These visions I've been having," Clary continued, "-they're a message from the Angel..."
"The Mirror is Lake Lyn," I finished with Clary. I sat up, fiddling with the rings on my fingers as they stared at me with varying degrees of shock, "I've tried to tell you all multiple times but no one wants to listen anymore." I looked up at the sound of footsteps only to see Alec approaching me, "Am I getting shouted at again? Because if I am-" I slowly moved to get up.
"No," Alec stopped me. I slowly began to sit back down. Mainly because I was still exhausted from trying to get to this stupid office in the first place. "Look, about earlier, I'm sorry-"
"Is there anything else you need to say to me?" I cut him off, tired of rehashing the same things, "I have to contact the Clave."
"Why?" Clary asked me as the four of them stood in a united line opposite me.
I gave them a distrustful look as I brought out a paper and pen.
"Jonathon took the Cup when he left," I told them as I began to scribble out a check-list of the things I needed to do today and the people I needed to contact.
"What?!" I barely flinched at the screeches that emitted from the people opposite me.
"How?" Izzy continued.
"That is my business. This is, after all, all I care about." I looked up and smiled sarcastically at them. "Duty before anything else…" I began to do shooing gestures, "Now, leave me alone so I can track him down. Inveniet. Ahhh!"
I screamed as a hot steering pain traveled through my body, making me drop down onto my desk.
"Princess!" I heard Mike's voice after a rush of footsteps rushed to my side. I was easily picked up and moved to the couches on the other side of my office.
"What's wrong with her?" I heard Alec's voice as I tried to relearn how to breathe properly.
"She over exerted herself earlier," Jane informed them before turning to chastise me, "Brother Enoch told you not to use your powers!"
"I'm fine…" I tried to reassure them. They obviously didn't believe me as I was still having difficulties getting over the pain, "I'm fine. Okay. You're both dismissed."
I'm sorry… I don't want you to get close… I can't lose more friends.
The duo bowed before once again exiting the room to guard me from the outside.
"How was the Cup lost, you said it was hidden!" Clary hissed at me once she was certain my guards had left.
"It was…" I winced as I tried to reposition myself into a comfier position, "-but if you become my closest friend and get close enough to invade my mind, I think it's pretty easy to find the location of the Cup."
"How did he even get that close?" Alec asked me incredulously.
"I don't know…" I huffed in annoyance at being tricked again. God damn it. My ability to find traitors is shoddy. I used to sniff out a traitor in seconds and now look at me. "We were having private lessons for a long time. Nothing extraordinary happened during those other than -" Fuck. "The tonics…"
"Tonics?" Izzy quickly picked up, "What tonics?"
"Every session we had, he'd give me this," I picked up a familiar vial that was left on my coffee table. Seb- Jonathon must have been meaning to give me this before he was exposed and left. "He said it could be used to boost my powers," I continued out loud.
"After you started taking them…" Jace's face was thoughtful as he thought back, "-your powers started to grow. Maybe something in them caused the change."
"I can analyse it for you if you-" Izzy began to offer.
"I don't really want you to," I answered her truthfully, "-but there's no one else." I threw the vial in her direction. "Here. Go crazy. I need to also check with the Clave that the Sword is still safe."
"The Sword is gone too?" Clary spoke up in confusion that quickly melted into horror, "That's two out of the three Mortal Instruments."
"Tell that to them…" I stated, pointing at the guilty looking boys. "They decided to go behind my back and move the Sword. Congratulations boys. Well done." I gave them slow claps as I sarcastically smiled at them. My smile dropped in an instant as I gestured to the office door, "Now get out."
"Allie," I turned to face the voice, a smile on my face. The smile dropped at the sight of the approaching Jace, Clary and Izzy. "Your results came through."
"Fun," I rolled my eyes at Izzy's news as I drew a glamour rune. "I'll see you guys later," I waved my stele at them before starting to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Clary asked me as they hurried after me.
"None of your business-"
"You're going to Sebastian's?" I froze at Jace's question. I saw him nod as they stepped outside after me, "We're coming with you."
"Clary, don't," I heard Izzy speak up for the first time when we were one block away from Sebastian/Jonathon's apartment.
"No, I knew there was something off about Sebastian…" I heard her huff in annoyance as I tried to speed up to lose them, "-or Jonathan. I should've never second-guessed myself."
"He would've found his way into our lives, one way or another," Jace said as they easily caught up to me. "The only thing that matters now is taking Jonathan and Valentine out."
"Allie," Izzy suddenly spoke up as we got to the building entrance, "-the tonic he was giving you, it-"
"Right now isn't appropriate. Tell me another time," I responded to her neutrally as we all made it inside.
Right this moment, I don't particularly care.
"Maybe you should know," she pulled on my arm, making me spin around to look at her." The tonic contained a magical booster for your powers, yes but it specifically increases a person's affinity to their darker magic."
"Lucifer's grace…" I whispered, pulling my arm away from her grip.
"It also contained-" she was cut off by the sound of someone kicking down a door.
"Jonathan!" I heard Clary's voice shout.
I hurried along with Izzy, activating my seraph blade. As I entered the apartment, I caught sight of the still figure that kept its back to us, and sat at the desk facing the window.
"Turn around and face us," Jace gruffly spoke up.
"Where is Valentine?" Izzy continued the questioning to the figure that had its back to us.
Izzy slowly approached, her staff raised to help her rotate the swivel chair that the figure sat on.
When I caught sight of the vacant eyes that stared back at us, I couldn't help but pity the poor soul.
What horrors have you suffered under their hands?
"What, did Valentine kill him?" Clary asked us as I moved to stand in front of the corpse.
"He's been dead for days," Izzy informed her.
"Tortured first," Jace confirmed.
"This was the real Sebastian Verlac," I whispered as I reached over to close Sebastian's eyes. "I'm sorry they did this to you. I wish you had another chance. Ave atque vale."
"Hail and farewell," the rest intoned.
"Lis…" I heard Jace's voice warn me.
I didn't need the warning as I willingly stepped away from the corpse when I saw his hands twitching. I twirled away from the demon, raising my activated blade as it raised his head towards me. I avoided crashing into Jace as he lunged at the corpse with his blade.
"It's a possessing demon," Jace informed us as we all looked up to the demon poised on the ceiling.
"The same kind that murdered my mom," Clary snarled as she raised her blade too.
"Then we know how to kill it," Izzy used her whip to pull it down from ceiling by the neck.
"Oh no you don't," I called out, raising my right hand up instinctively. I jerked my hand towards my body, grasping to an invisible force. "Hello, ugly," I greeted the demon that I successfully removed from the real Sebastian's corpse.
The demon stumbled around trying to recover from being pulled out of a body unexpectedly. Before it could recover, Jace swiftly stabbed it, causing it to burst into a million pieces.
Now knowing that it was safe, I confidently approached the now demonless corpse, choosing to sit by his side.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," I said to him, reaching over to reclose the corpse's eyes.
"I wish he didn't have to suffer and die at Sebastian's hand," Izzy agreed, "We'll make 'em pay for what they did to you."
I tried to pull my hand away from the corpse but found that I couldn't. My eyes widened as I saw a gold glow begin to shine from beneath them.
"We're going to make them pay for everything," I heard Clary say.
"Oh no…" I whimpered as the gold glow began to intensify. Not again. I wish my body would let me blink as my eyes began to burn. From experience, I assume they also began to glow gold. I couldn't hold my scream in as the angelic grace started to burn me from the inside out. "Ahhh!"
"Lis!" I heard a scream that vaguely resembled Jace's tone.
I heard several crashes against the barrier that had erected between us once again.
"Come back, my warrior," a voice whispered through me, "Your Queen calls you back for service on Earth…"
I could feel his life force travel through me, returning to Sebastian all the while draining my own.
How did this happen again?
I'm sorry Brother Enoch.
I didn't mean to.
As the pallor of death left the real Sebastian's body, I could feel myself grow fainter and fainter.
"Allie you need to stop!"
Was that Izzy?
"What's happening?"
Clary?
As the poor soul gasped back to life, I felt myself drop down by his side, my eyes shutting as the truth came out once again.
I groaned as the light began filtering through my eyes.
"Ahh," a voice hummed by my bedside, "Sleeping Beauty awakens."
Lissa flinches away.
"Jonathon," I gasped, flinching away when I caught sight of the blonde at my bedside.
"Sebastian actually…" he stated, smiling smugly at me.
"The real Sebastian, Lils," my head jerked towards the next voice.
I winced as my headache intensified at the sudden movement. I let a moment pass, allowing myself to acclimatise to the pain that echoed throughout my body. When I finally recovered from my small moment, I slowly sat up, smiling at the medic that helped me comfortably move to a sitting position. When I was comfortable, I finally looked around, noticing Clary, Jace, Izzy and Alec also scattered around the room near my bed.
"How did I get here?" I asked the room.
"The others brought you back," Alec informed me. Stepping forward with his arms crossed before nodding his head to one of the blondes at my bedside, "Alongside the very much alive Sebastian Verlac."
"Nice to meet you," said man greeted me with a charming smile, "I've been told you met me before but as someone else."
"Huh," I murmured staring at him in confusion, "You're a lot more charming as the real you."
"I can see why we became friends," he informed me, holding a hand towards me, "Sebastian Verlac," he smiled before cocking his head to the right slightly, "The real one at least."
"Alicia Graymark," I nodded my head with a smile as I took his hand, shaking it.
"Crown Princess of Idris," he acknowledged before pulling my hand to his mouth, giving it a feather-light kiss. "Enchanté."
"So he's always this flirtatious," I heard a whisper from the side as I pulled my hand back with a smile.
"Seems so…" I saw Izzy smirk in Jace's direction.
"You didn't need to stay by my bedside," I told Sebastian, ignoring the background conversation.
"As the person who saved my life," he winked at me, allowing me to sigh in relief knowing he'll keep my secret. "I felt that I should at least say thank you in person. So thank you."
"No worries," I waved him off, reaching for the water at my bedside, "I didn't realise what I was doing half the time anyway…" I took a sip of water before continuing, "Not that I wouldn't have done it again if the possibility came around." With a final smile, I turned to the others in the room, "So what's the story?"
Alec's back straightened, reverting to his soldier stance as he informed me, "Jonathon kept him prisoner the whole time and we managed to recover him."
"Simple as that?" I asked them, replacing my glass at my bedside.
"No one knows I died apart from us-" Sebastian informed me, "-so I guess it's staying that way. Thank you again-"
"She got it," Jace cut him off with a glare.
I smiled at Sebastian, nodding my head surely, "I can see us becoming friends Sebastian…"
"Good because I'll be taking up your offer," the blonde stated, turning to Alec.
"Offer?" Jace asked, stepping forward, "What offer?"
"Mr Lightwood," Sebastian stated, nodding towards Alec, "-offered me a place at this Institute and as long as Jonathon is alive, I want to be able to help track him down."
"Wow," Izzy spoke up, "That's amazing. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Isabelle," he smiled charmingly at her as he stood up from his seat. He headed her direction and held out a hand, "You know what, would you like to escort me out whilst they have their serious conversation with the Inquisitor?"
Izzy giggled, taking his outstretched hand, "Of course."
"Good riddance," Jace barely waited until they were out of the room before he started snarking.
"He's cute," Clary noted.
"He is," I agreed, nodding my head in agreement.
"No wonder why you were flustered when he kissed you," she stated with a smirk.
I could feel my face immediately redden at her words, "The Inquisitor?" I instead asked.
"Imogen wants to video call," Jace informed me, keeping his eyes on the door with a slight glare.
"Hand me the tablet," I sighed.
"Princess," I was greeted with a stern face when I initiated the call.
"Inquisitor," I nodded my head in greeting.
"Mr Lightwood has informed me on the Verlac situation, have you notified the Verlac family yet?" she asked me.
"The Penhallow daughter, Aline, will deliver the message in person, Madame Inquisitor," I informed her.
"Defiling the body of a fallen soldier and turning it into a booby trap is sadly par for the course for Valentine, isn't it?" she shook her head in disgust and shuddered at the thought.
"We're lucky that you managed to save his soul, Princess," I nodded in acknowledgement.
"The possessing demon wouldn't have done this its own," Alec told her from his position by my shoulder, "The trap could only have been set using the Mortal Cup to command it."
"So he had it all along," she pondered out loud.
"No, Jonathon stole the Cup from the institute yesterday during the attack," I informed her, "My intel also shows he's also in possession of the Mortal Sword."
"How?"
"There is a mole in the Clave, Imogen," I told her honestly. "You must be wary, someone from the inside stole the Sword."
"Do you have any good news for me today, Miss Graymark?" she snarked at me.
I shared a look with Alec before continuing to speak, "Valentine and Jonathan believe that the New York Institute is in possession of the Mortal Mirror. They won't leave the city without it."
"Thank the Angel that at least he wasn't able to find that."
"We were," Alec nodded before looking to the other side of my bed, "Clary..."
"Our connection with the Angel led us to it," Clary informed her, "It's in Idris."
"Lake Lyn, more specifically," I added.
"That's the very same water that Raziel first rose from," Imogen sat forward, "Who else knows about this?"
"Unfortunately, the number of people we can trust is getting smaller by the day," Jace sighed, "We thought it best to tell you first." He straightened, hands clasped in a soldier's pose, "We'd like to officially request soldiers from the Guard to be placed in the surrounding woods around the lake. It may only be a matter of time before Valentine realises he's been had."
"I'll speak to Consul Malachi," she said, nodding along to the idea, "-about deployment at once. Good hunting."
After final courtesies, we hung up the call.
"So what do we do now?" Jace asked us.
"There's only nine million people in the metro area," Clary sarcastically spoke, "How hard could it be to find two?"
"The job is too big to go alone. We need to ask for help," Alec stated.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "From who, Alec?"
"From everyone," was his simple response.
After promptly summoning the Downworlders to the Institute, I instructed some shadowhunters to prepare a meeting room. It wasn't long before they arrived at our perimeters so I had to hurry along and change into a clean outfit before being helped to the corridor adjacent to the meeting room where Clary, Izzy, Alec and Jace were waiting for me.
As soon as I arrived, I slowly let go of my guards and lead the way into the meeting room.
"Where, oh where is Simon?" the Seelie Queen greeted us as we approached the table.
The Seelie Queen was positioned to be directly in front of my seat, Raphael at her right and Luke on her left. Magnus was not sitting, choosing instead to stand behind the Seelie's Queen's chair, to her right.
I see the Seelie Queen has a new right hand warlock.
I chose to ignore her, nodding my head in greeting to each member present before moving to take the seat at the head of the table. As I approached my seat, Raphael stood from his own, moving to guide me to my seat. I smiled in thanks at him.
Ever the gentleman.
I opened my mouth to initiate the meeting but I soon found myself interrupted.
"Your Highness," I heard Clary's sarcastic tone, "What an unpleasant surprise."
I couldn't help but let out a sigh, immediately moving a hand to my forehead in attempt to wain off the oncoming migraine I could feel forming.
"Well, I'm sure she didn't mean to..." Alec began to say from his position behind me on the right.
"No offence, Alec," Jace interrupted him behind me from the left, in the same direction Clary's voice had come from, "-but I agree with Clary. Your Majesty…" I heard the sound of Jace crossing his arms as he continued, "-is this another one of your little games?"
"The Institute," the Seelie Queen emphasised, "-called an emergency meeting of the Downworld Council. I speak on behalf of the Downworld."
After a brief pause, Alec spoke across the table to the warlock in residence, "Magnus, is this true?"
"Henceforth," I watched as Magnus looked away from, letting the Seelie Queen answer for the collective, "-when you need anything from the Downworld, you shall address me, Mr Lightwood. Such is the nature of our new agreement." My trepidation grew as the Seelie Queen's smirk grew, "And by what right do you all have to speak before your own Queen?"
"I'm used to it by now…" I spoke up for the first time. "Hello, your Highness. Magnus. Luke. Raphael. Representatives of the Downworld Council. Welcome back to the institute," I finished greeting them formally, as per the old traditions we were supposed to follow when greeting the Downworld Queen. "I'm sorry that I left our previous meeting so early last time your Majesty," I turned my full attention to the Seelie Queen, "My friend needed me."
"Ahh yes. It is true what the Downworlders speak of," she cocked her head to the side, keeping her full attention on me, "You are a Downworlder friend." I simply smiled in response, letting her continue with whatever ploy she wanted to play, "I wonder why you still remain here with them."
"They are my people," I swiftly responded, "You would never abandon your own people so how could you expect me to abandon mine?"
"They are not your only people," the Seelie Queen immediately responded, "When your family first took their positions as rulers of the Shadow World, they vowed to protect the Downworld and it became their most sacred duty."
"Alongside keeping peace and harmony and being entrusted the Mortal instruments," I finished her statement, almost citing my coronation vows. Words I knew by heart and could recite at any given moment.
"Your family was also entrusted the duty to maintain balance between our worlds," she continued.
"What is your point?" Clary interrupted our stare off.
"Girl," the Seelie Queen snapped, whipping her head to face the red head, "Be quiet." She turned her attention back to me, "Again I ask you, why stay with these people?" she continued to spin her spider's web, "They have no trust in you. Did they not turn their backs on you, just yesterday."
I slowly moved my gaze upwards to the warlock, the only figure standing of the Downworlders present. When he caught my gaze, he immediately looked away in shame, confirming the fact that this news had come from him. "Or do you not mind what they are doing? After all your time is almost up-"
How did she know?
"Your Highness," I interrupted her, a glare forming on my face. The floor immediately began to shake as the tension rose in the room. After a few deep breaths, I slowly relaxed, allowing the minor earthquake to stop. My face neutralised as I continued, "Valentine believes the Institute has the Mortal Mirror; and he's not going to leave the city without it. The head of the institute," I gestured to Alec's position in the room, "-would like to request the Downworld's help in locating him."
"In order to capture him so that he might escape once again?" the Seelie Queen sarcastically responded.
"In order to execute him so this threat may finally end," I calmly responded, knowing my fellow shadowhunters were beginning to tense.
"Why should we believe you?"
I sighed, rubbing my forehead once again, "I understand why you might doubt my intentions after what happened with the Soul Sword. And for that, I am sorry," I bowed my head, looking at each and every member of the council, "But Alec founded this council to make things more transparent between the Downworld and the Clave."
"And how has that been going?" she smirked at me, "Did they not steal the Soul Sword from you and give it to the Clave." I nodded my head, slightly confused at where she was going with this, "They used you as a scapegoat, letting the people believe you were the one that lost it."
"I did lose the Mortal Cup," I weakly responded, not sure about how to defend my friends, "I'm sorry for that."
"When did you lose it?"
"Yesterday." How the fuck did she know? "It was also yesterday that I found out about the Sword. Unfortunately, I have been unconscious for a long period of time, otherwise," I truthfully told the group, "I would have informed you sooner."
"Is this true?" The Seelie Queen turned her attention to the warlock by her side. He stiffly nodded, giving her a quick answer. "At least we know that you've always been honest," she remarked, turning her attention back to me, "Does it not hurt knowing they've used you for so long? Are they not your friends?"
I sighed before slowly rising from my seat.
I guess there was only one way this meeting would end. With or without my consent, they will leave us to it. There's only one thing to do.
"For far too long, the Downworld has depended on the Clave and this Institute to protect you from men like Valentine," I acknowledged.
The Seelie Queen grinned back at me, rising from her own seat, "It's time we learnt our lesson and started fighting for ourselves." For the first time, she nodded respectfully towards me, "I know that you understand."
"I do," I stated, acknowledging her statement, "And I agree."
"We can't do this alone," Alec argued, stepping up to the table, "Valentine is a threat to all of us." He turned his full attention to me, "Allie. As the Princess, you can order them to stay!"
I shut my eyes in pain at those words, "I would never force my will on others. And if you think I would do so, you don't know me at all." I opened my eyes, turning back to the Downworlders, "Do what you want." I said nodding my head. I turned, making sure to look everyone in the eye, "Just know that what happens next is your responsibility. You've sealed the fates of those around this table... I just hope that peace between us all is possible in the end." I finished with a whisper.
"My fellow Queen," she nodded with a smirk to me before turning to the others. "The answer, Shadowhunters..." she flickered her gaze to everyone present, "-is no." She turned her attention back to her shadowhunters, "Come along."
I watched as the council left, leaving me behind with Jace, Clary, Izzy and an angry Alec.
"What was that?" he immediately asked me when the Downworlders had left the room.
"I am trying to make sure that at the end of all of this, no matter what happens, the relations between the Downworlders and the Clave does not break apart completely."
"You've doomed us all," he scoffed, shaking his head at me, "Has your powers been clouded so much that you can't see the right path?"
"No, Alec," I smiled sadly at him, knowing exactly what would happen next. Or at least what exactly would be happening to me, "For the first time in a long time, I can see the path right in front of me. I just need to stay on it."
After completely retreating from the others, I found myself in the company of the resurrected Sebastian. I don't know how long I spent getting to know him but time flew by as we sat near the fireplace in my office.
"You know…" I trailed off after a brief pause in the conversation, "If I got to live a long life, I'd have you there as my best friend."
"You know what, ditto," he smiled charmingly at me with a wink, "Luckily for us, we do have more time for that to happen." He paused, catching sight of my sad smile, "Unless if I don't-"
"No, you do," I quickly reassured him, "As far as I know. You're alive."
He quickly caught on to what I meant, "That means you-" I nodded, staring intently at the flames, "Have you told the others? Maybe we can do something to prolong your-"
"No. I-" I stopped, turning to face him, "I've been told it's pretty inevitable…" I smiled sadly as I recalled the Angel's words, "No one can go against the Angels' decree."
"Oh."
"I haven't told the others yet…" I solemnly told him, "I didn't want to distract them from their current missions."
"Is that why you've been a complete bitch to them?" I winced at his truthful words, "And from what I hear, why you let the Downworlders leave during the meeting…"
"They'll feel less hurt when-" my breath hitched as I thought about my future, "-when I'm gone if all they felt for me was hate. Not that it's hard for them, right now."
"Won't they feel more hurt when you're gone and they find out you had the time to tell them but you didn't?" he asked.
"I don't know," I shrugged, turning back to the flames, "It just seems easier this way…"
"For them? Or for you?" my brows furrowed, knowing he was telling the truth, "Tell them, Princess, before it's too late."
I smiled softly, turning to face him once again, "Alicia, call me Alicia."
He stood from his seat, before making a deep bow, all the while smiling back at me, "Alicia."
With that, he walked away, leaving me alone in my office to my own thoughts.
"We were right," I said out loud to the empty room, "We would have been amazing friends."
After maybe another hour of resting, I figured I have probably recovered enough to go back to work. I slowly made my way to Ops, my trusty tablet on hand.
I was walking through Ops, when I suddenly got a phone call.
"Hello?" I answered the phone distractedly as I continued to look down at my tablet.
"Too busy to talk to your uncle, Viv?"
"Luke?" I put my tablet down, completely focusing on my phone conversation.
At the sound of his name leaving my mouth, I was suddenly flocked by several people, Clary being the first to join me, "Why is Luke calling you?"
"Shhh," I shushed her, "I thought you weren't supposed to be helping us."
After her persistent attempts to join me on the phone, I eventually put the phone on speaker. I placed the phone on the table before picking my tablet back up.
"Consider this an anonymous tip," he stated. "We ran down his Circle members, but we lost Valentine when Jonathan grabbed him and pinballed up three fire escapes and leapt out of sight."
"Yeah, Blondie moves like a demon," I heard a voice agree.
"Hello, Maia," I distractedly greeted, finding something on my tablet which drew my attention.
"That's because he is one," Clary agreed.
"Well, on the plus side," Maia stated, "He won't get very far."
"Yeah," Luke started to agree.
"Oh my god," I quickly cut him off, "When did the Queen put up Wards all around the city?"
"I knew she'd find out soon," I heard Maia's voice whisper in the phone.
"What?" Jace asked me in surprise.
"By the order of the Queen," Luke started to say, "Warlocks have put up Wards all around the city. No portals or travel, in or out, for anyone with Nephilim blood."
"A Shadowhunter crosses that threshold, they get vaporised." I hummed as I looked at the perimeter covered by the wards on my tablet, "It would be impressive if it couldn't be used against us. Thank you, Luke and Maia."
"Be careful," he warned us, "We'll continue the hunt on our end."
"We will," I responded as I frantically started to type on my tablet.
"What are you doing?" Clary asked me once Luke had hung up.
"Making sure none of my shadowhunters accidentally get vaporised," I informed her, continuing my actions.
After a moment or two, everyone's phones start beeping, instantly notifying me that my message had gone through.
"When did you put that in place?" Jace asked curiously as he looked up from my memo.
"Since the night of the Sword incident," I informed him, "It's easier and less draining than portalling around the city to tell everyone." I nodded resolutely, looking around at the people milling around the room, "No more shadowhunters are dying today…"
Apart from me at least…
"Hey," I looked up as a new voice joined us, "I just got your memo," he informed me, "Isabelle's on her way back with Rufus; guess who just tried to portal to Idris?"
I sighed, "Valentine must know that we don't have the Mirror. And, presumably, where the real one is."
"Look," Jace rounded the table to my side, choosing to be near me for the first time, "Let's stay focused on what we can control, not what we can't. We will figure this out."
"So we're stuck inside the city along with them now, but have no way of finding him..." I heard Alec's voice trail off as I began to start a fire message to Imogen, informing her of Valentine's plans. "…tracking runes."
I tuned back into the conversation when I heard Clary's voice, "I might be able to speed things up. But I'm going to need Jace's help to do it."
When I sent the message off, I looked up, only to see everyone's attention already on me, waiting for my approval.
"Go," I nodded my head dismissively, "Do whatever you need to do," I told them, slowly moving away, "I need to go talk to the Seelie Queen about letting me through the wards so I can get to Idris."
I was instantly pulled back by an argumentative blonde, "By yourself? I don't think so."
"It's not like you guys can stop me," I stated, yanking my arm from his grip. I quickly portalled myself out but found myself collapsing into a courtyard when I stepped through. I laid on the floor, allowing myself to recover for a while.
Portalling was always one of the easiest things I mastered fastest when I rediscovered my powers. Why is it so difficult to use now?
Wait.
Izzy did say that Jonathon's potion was releasing more of my darker magic… Is the potion repressing my lighter powers? Is that why I've found it so difficult to control my magic?
I was pulled out of my thoughts at the sight of Clary and Jace entering the courtyard. I definitely did not make it far. I hid behind some columns as the duo entered the yard.
"So you want to use your blood to track your un-trackable brother," Jace started to say as the duo stripped themselves of their jackets, "-through the Angelic connection that you and I share? Well, totally. That sounds great. Doable."
"Yeah," Clary smiled at him, "I want to try. Jonathan and I both have Morgenstern blood in our veins. I had this flash of a rune when I was thinking about the three of us. Maybe I can use our shared connections to figure out where Jonathan is." She began drawing the rune on her upper arm, "Which, I realize looking back, is a bit far-fetched. But, hey. This from the girl who can shoot sunlight out of her hand and make portals out of thin air."
"Well, sometimes," the blonde conceded with a head tilt.
"Help me find a blank spot?" she asked him, tugging at his shirt. "Um, could you..."
I looked away as Jace began tugging his shirt off, the duo entranced with one another. The last thing I saw was of the two of them, their eyes locked, Clary's rune causing the runes across their bodies to shimmer gold. I backed off when I saw the duo begin to embrace one another.
When I saw that neither would notice me, I quickly ran out of the Institute.
I let my body lead me as far away from the Institute as possible. When I initially left the shadowhunter home, the sun hadn't even begun to set but now, the moon was high in the sky. I don't know how long I was walking around in a daze but when I started to come to, I noticed I was in some cemetery.
How did I get here?
I barely had time to gather my thoughts before I caught sight of two familiar blondes. Without even thinking, I activated my bow, shooting several arrows towards Jonathon, who had Jace on the ground, a sword pointed at his chest. My aim didn't fail me, instantly hitting him, one in both shoulders and an arrow to the stomach. I ran in their direction as Jonathon pulled the arrows out, stumbling away from Jace.
"Stay away from him, you son of a bitch!" I deactivated my bow, activating my seraph blade.
My sword clashed with his several times, sparks flickering off our joint blades. I swung at his head, slashing as he easily ducked out of reach. The momentum of my swing, had me easily spin. I caught Jonathon's blade with my own, stopping it from touching me. With an unknown strength, I pushed him away, slashing at his retreating figure once again. I blocked the blow that came at my face, pushing him away again. We clashed blades, sparks flying once more. He pushed me away, twirling to slash at me. I leapt away from his reach as he smiled devilishly at me. As our blades joint once more, I used our momentary stillness to kick him in the face. We stumbled away from each other. he recovered faster, jumping after me. I quickly slid away from him.
I wasn't fast enough.
Before I could turn around to face him, he had me in a headlock. He used my hair to pull my head back, my scream of pain letting my mouth open. He took that opportunity to shove another tonic down my throat.
"No!" I heard a voice scream.
Jace…
He was soon pulled away from me by an unexpected source. I turned to my saviour, seeing Izzy there on the other side of the bridge, whip in hand made my heart swell.
"Well, I suppose this won't be a fair fight, then, will it?" Jonathon smirked at her, stepping away from me.
I crawled, heading to Jace's prone body to check if he was still okay.
"You didn't seem to have a problem when you took a run at my baby brother!" I heard a yell from behind me as I started to draw an iratze to begin Jace's healing process.
Once I knew he was okay, I stood, turning to face the other monster on the bridge.
"I trusted you when I was at my weakest!" I remarked hoarsely, Izzy's whip slicing at Jonathon's face, "At my lowest!"
"I brought you into my life into my family and you betrayed me!" her whip wrapped around his arm, holding him in place.
"What was in that tonic that you gave me?" I clearly asked him.
"I listened to you when nobody else did!" he faced me, eyes wild as he gestured to those around me, "I helped you when everyone left you alone!"
"Allie," I heard Izzy's soft voice, "-that tonic had hallucinogenic properties and herbs that would increase a person's insecurities and negative thoughts."
"Why?" I begged him, wanting to know why he would do this me, "I was your friend!"
"You needed to know what kind of friends you have. And I wanted you distant from them so you could embrace your other side." He smiled darkly at me, grabbing a hold on the whip that held him in place, beginning to pull on it, "The side more like me-"
"Have we been saying things to you?" Izzy started to huff as she fought against Jonathon. "Things that have put you off, things-"
"The conversations about or between Jace and Clary…" I stumbled away from the both of them. "The ones I used to tell you about-"
"That's what you meant about Clary and I-" I heard Jace's voice croak. I turned to face him, relieved to see he was okay.
"Why did you do this to me?" I stared at Jonathon in horror.
"They don't deserve you," he stopped tugging at the whip for a moment, turning to look eagerly at me. "I saved your life. That should be worth something."
"That's why I'm giving you a more honourable death than you deserve," Izzy spoke up for me, for once we were on the same wavelength.
Izzy released her grip on the whip and in the same instance, Jace came up from behind him, stabbing him in the back.
"That spot on a man's back..." Jace panted as I stumbled to the railing, my thoughts crashing around inside me as a tsunami of emotions took over, "Father taught me, too."
I heard the sound of footsteps running towards us.
Clary and Alec probably…
I grabbed onto the rail when I caught sight of Jonathon's fallen body.
"Hail and farewell," I heard Izzy's voice from behind me.
Those words broke me. I couldn't tell you what started it. The next thing I knew, the ground below us began to shake once again.
"Allie?" I heard Alec's concerned voice from behind me.
The shakes began to worsen as I practically collapsed at his words.
"Something's happening…" I whispered, clawing at the bridge railing as I fell down to the floor.
My eyes shut.
When I next opened them, I was cradled in Izzy's arms.
"It's okay," she started to reassure me, the blood on her face mixing with the tears that began to flow, "You're fine. You're gonna be okay."
"Her hands are shaking," I heard Clary's voice as my vision began to darken in and out of focus. "You need to take deep breaths."
"I'm a monster," I whispered, bringing my hands to my face in a daze, "He made me into a monster. And the worst part is…" I dropped my hand as my vision completely disappeared as I slumped back into Izzy's arms.
I don't even know what's real anymore.
"You really have a thing for sleeping beauty, don't you?" a voice greeted me when I woke back up.
"It's you again," I greeted Sebastian hoarsely as I blinked myself awake.
"Yeah, it's me. I volunteered to watch over you whilst the others did whatever they needed to do."
As if hearing his words, a knock interrupted us.
I turned my head, only to see Jace standing at the door entrance.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," I smiled tiredly at him.
"I'll leave the two of you alone," I watched Sebastian's progress as he left the room. Shaking my head at him slightly when he walked past Jace, giving me a thumbs-up behind his back.
"Jonathon really did a number on us, didn't he?" I said, gesturing to the two of us once the door had shut behind Sebastian.
"He did…" the blonde agreed with me. After a small pause, he immediately zeroed in on me, "Why didn't you talk to me about how you were feeling?"
"I thought- or think-" I sighed in frustration, holding my face in my hand hands. Jace gently pulled my hands from my face, holding them with his own, caressing the top of my hands with a thumb. When I eventually managed to calm down and gather my thoughts, I eventually began to let my words out, "I thought you guys- you and Clary were becoming more than friends. I- I couldn't get the conversations or what I was seeing out of my head."
"Whatever you saw between Clary and I," he gently told me, shaking his head, "-wasn't true."
"But how do I know for certain," I desperately told him.
"Don't you trust me?"
"I don't know what's real and what's not, anymore," I stared deeply in his eyes, "So how can I trust you when I can't even trust myself in figuring out what is real."
"Trust in the fact that I love you, Lis," he squeezed my hands once before releasing them, moving them to either side of my face. He pulled me close, his breath fanning gently across my face, "I love you, Alicia Vivian Renata Graymark. You. Not anyone else. You."
He pulled me towards him, gently placing my head on his shoulder as I was engulfed in a hug.
What we didn't realise was that this action was all I needed. His hug. His affection. His love was all I needed to heal me. Or more literally, it was what activated my iratze rune, truly healing me from the effects of the tonic.
The mess that was my mind soon cleared. All my worries and doubts gone in a moment, allowing me to think straight for the first time in a long time.
I hugged him back, cherishing this moment.
I love you too, Jay.