𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 ━━ ISABELLE LIGHTWOOD

21

KADE THOUGHT THAT THE Seelie realm was too fairytale-ish. According to him, the whole place screamed fairies, unicorns and glitters more than nature. He really did not like the place.

"Imagine living here," he voiced out his thoughts to Isabelle and Jace as they walked around. He received a hum from Jace and complete silence from Isabelle which made him look at her, "so where does this little boy toy of yours live?"

"Right through here," she replied and walked through a door with the two boys following her. The entered a room which was incredibly simple yet decorated. Meliorn turned to them, his eyes lingered on Isabelle, "Isabelle. I see you brought friends."

"More like a brother. Jace Wayland." Isabelle replied, looking at Jace then at Kade. She said nothing about him though and he didn't mind because he had absolutely no idea what he'd say either. It wasn't like they were in a relationship, all they did was kiss— more like make-out for a minute in the kitchen.

"Ah, Kade Hawthorne blessing us with his presence. What has the world come to?" Meliorn tutted; sarcastically, his eyes fixed on the shadowhunter who flashed him a hard look in response. "Seelie," he acknowledged even though he knew his name.

"Here to deliver a message?" Meliorn asked to which Jace responded with, "here to ask questions."

The seelie looked at Isabelle, "so you do want something."

"Of course," Kade spoke up which made the seelie turn his attention to him, knowing that something harsh was about to leave the shadowhunter's mouth, "why else would we be here?"

"Nice to know that some things never change," Meliorn commented as Isabelle cut in, "but the information we want will cost you nothing.

"Sometimes knowledge is the most precious thing of all," he approached Isabelle while Jace walked towards the curtains, his back facing them in an attempt to give them privacy. However, Kade stayed standing next to Isabelle.

"Ask away. We can discuss the price later," Meliorn said, ignoring Kade's presence. Isabelle smiled which the seelie took as an opportunity and raised his hand to her face. Just as he was about to touch her, Kade swatted his hand away, "so, the questions."

Meliorn looked at him for a few seconds, pursing his lips in a thin line and took a few steps backward to maintain a distance between himself and the dark haired Shadowhunter. The warning Kade gave him with the mere action of pushing his hand away was loud and clear to the seelie.

Isabelle decided to ease the tension, "Is it true that your queen has broken off communications with the Clave?"

"You’ve heard that’s the case?" Meliorn looked at her as she nodded, "yes. Does it have anything to do with the scouts you sent out after Valentine?"

He tilted his head to the side, "Is there another reason you can think of?"

Jace, who has been inspecting the decorations in the hut turned to them, "butterflies can only mean one thing… Fair Folk are in mourning."

"How do you know our customs?" Meliorn asked, surprised by his words while Kade raised his brows at Jace who shrugged at him in response.

Isabelle smiled, "apparently, I’m not the only Shadowhunter who enjoys the company of a Fair Folk."

Kade clicked his tongue at her words as Meliorn mirrored Isabelle's expression, "maybe if more Shadowhunters exhibited such good taste things would be different today."

"The scouts are dead," Jace realised, "that’s who you’re mourning."

"Oh they were killed by Valentine," Kade added, everything connecting in his head, "weren't they?"

Meliorn's eyes darted from Jace to him, "if you know so much, maybe I should be asking you."

"If that’s true, Valentine needs to be stopped." Isabelle cut in, "don’t you agree? Why break the Accords now when there’s a threat?"

"Perhaps the Accords don’t provide equal protection for all Shadow Realms," Meliorn said, "perhaps all threats don’t affect all of us the same way."

"Valentine threatens everyone," Jace defended making the seelie sigh, "those who antagonize an enemy stand to lose more."

"Which is another way of saying you’ll side with whoever win," Jace intervened, seeming confident as he added the next part, "I promise you, that will be us."

"I’m sure you believe that," Meliorn gave him a smug look which made Kade raise his brows but before he could say something regarding it, Jace's phone chimed which made him take it out of his pocket to read the message.

Kade watched as the blonde looked up, clenching his jaw, "damn it, Alec."

"What?" Isabelle questioned to which he replied, "Clary snuck out of the Institute."

"And yet you’re blaming our brother?" The black haired Shadowhunter scoffed in disbelief, "fascinating."

"I told him to look—" Jace was cut off by Kade, "— redhead's not some child. You know what? It's whatever. I'm not dealing with this again. Let's just go."