The Dark Artifices One Shots

Diana

A surprise bit of Diana requested by my parabatai, divergent1106 . . .

"No, Diana, we're quite alright here. Stay in Idris a little longer if you want. Dru's been pushing us all to research on Annabel. We're all busy enough."

"Are you sure, Cristina?" Diana asked. She sat alone in the Consul's office and spoke into the only phone in Alicante.

"Yes. Dru won't let us take a break." Diana heard a smile in Cristina's voice but could still sense a bit of sorrow behind it.

"How's Julian?" Diana couldn't help but be worried for him. She'd watched as the little twelve year-old had single-handedly raised his four younger siblings. She watched him give each one of them a piece of his heart, including Emma. With Livvy gone so was that piece of him. "And Ty?"

"Ty is better. He has Kit. And he knows he's not alone in this," Cristina's voice paused. "Julian . . . he's doing his best. We all know it. But I don't think Mark will be able to fill his shoes right now with the stress of Kieran still at the Scholomance." Diana heard static on the other end. The connection was never good in Idris.

"Diana?" Cristina said, her voice muffled, "Diana, I have to go now, Mark's burned something—"

The line went dead.

Diana sighed and put the phone on its receiver. She admired the kids for handling the situation as much as they could, but there was still a part of her that wanted to be in Los Angeles with them. She knew she had never been officially lax with them— she was only their tutor. But Diana still felt for those children, even Mark. And of course she missed Livvy. She remembered the multiple times Livvy pried at Diana in hope of getting her a love life and other things she had dismissed. Now she wished she hadn't. How many times had she turned down Livvy and her obsessions? Too many. Diana knew she wasted the time she had with the younger girl, and she held too many regrets in her heart, too close to where the ray of sunshine named Livia Blackthorn had somehow made room for herself. A space now empty.

But there was nothing she could do now. Diana found a scrap of paper and wrote a thank-you note to Jia Penhallow before she collected her things and left.

***

The sky was painted broad strokes of pink, yellow, and orange. Diana walked along the cobblestone pathway of Flintlock Street to her weapon's shop. Alicante had been eerily quiet since the commotion at the Council Hall. It seemed most people were afraid of what was going on; the sick warlocks, new Inquisitor Dearborn, the free Annabelle Blackthorn, and the millions of other things that had gone down that day.

The metal quiver-shaped sign of Diana's Arrow glinted above as Diana closed the old shop up before heading up to her apartment.

There was a letter from the Inquisitor on her desk, exactly where it had been for the past few days. Emma and Julian were to join her in Alicante as soon as possible, for Angel knows what Dearborn wanted them for. Diana had been given the gift of telling them herself, but couldn't stomach breaking the news now in the chaos the Blackthorns were swimming in. She especially couldn't rip Julian away from his family.

Diana finished dressing for bed when a gust of wind forced her to push out her thoughts as her Nephilim instincts took over. She grabbed a throwing star off her desk and whipped around, poised in perfect stance. Her window that had been latched shut moments ago was now wide open, allowing the unique aroma of Alicante to waft in. And upon the flat pillow at the head of her small, creaky bed glimmered a small object.

Diana relaxed her shoulders as she eyed the object, stepping closer to her bed. It was a tweed bracelet. Diana almost laughed aloud that a bracelet had put her on edge. She picked it up and the bed frame groaned as she sat on the thin mattress.

Minuscule shells of every color were strung on the thin pieces of twine braided together. At the middle of the precise interlaced plait was a small yet beautiful wooden charm of a koi fish, each groove and scale and detail whittled with delicate and careful hands to match the same print on her cheekbone.

Diana smiled inwardly and wrapped the masterpiece around her slim wrist. She knew what message it would send him— the one who was no doubt watching as Diana latched the window shut and ducked under her covers. Who no doubt had stayed in his hiding spot until she fell asleep, the bracelet tight around her wrist, placed just above her heart.

It's been MONTHS. Ugh, I have no excuse y'all I'm sorry. Thank you though to the comments and encouragement for me to keep writing and update! It really means a lot that people like my writing! Anyways I know I haven't covered some of the ships mentioned in the summary, but I've decided to write the rest of my shots as Kit and Ty stuff because I love it and I know you guys love Kitty as much as I do. But requests like this one are always welcome! Either comment or message me if you have any suggestions (or writing tips).

Sooooo how was this part? I worked off of the Queen of Air and Darkness sneak peak that Cassie released a few months ago and I'll be incorporating it in future shots. There really wasn't any action in this part but I can't wait to see how Cassie figures out Gwyn and Diana's relationship!

*Art by Cassandra Jean