Alec was talking to Lydia in the control room when the Enclave arrived. Himogenes Herondale, the leader of the group, was accompanied by about six guards all armed, as well as a silent brother carrying the mortal sword and other instruments of interrogation. They crossed the room, greeting Lydia and asking her to prepare the room for Isabelle's judgment.
Alec was doing his best to convince Lydia to postpone the judgment or to insist to the Enclave that they look for Jace and Abbigael and also hold them responsible for the attack, because they were also present during the incident and were the leaders. However, Lydia did not want to hear anything and said that she did not have the power to contradict the Enclave and withdraw her complaint against Isabelle Lightwood. The silent brother was particularly frightening, with his impassive expression and the mortal sword in one of his hands. Himogenes Herondale had a dominant presence, exuding authority and power.
Despite the tension in the room, Alec persisted in his efforts to save Isabelle. He was willing to risk his own life for her. But with the Enclave having made the decision to hold a judgment, things seemed more and more gloomy for Isabelle.
Abby stayed outside for a while, even though it was cold. She wanted to have a moment just for herself, alone, without any voices around her telling her what to do. Voices never say the same thing, and she needed a little time to think. Clary and Simon came out to explain to her that Jace was getting better, and suggested that she could go see him if she wanted to. Simon let go of Clary's hand and went forward to leave the twins alone for a while. It was at this moment that Abbigael realized that they were holding hands. Clary sat down next to her twin and put her head on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke, they only recharged their emotional batteries. After a few minutes of staring into the void, Abby stood up and gave her sister a kiss on the forehead. "Promise me to stay safe with Simon at the Dumort."After receiving an answer from Clary, she returned, knowing that she wanted to see Jace. The restaurant was empty, except for Michael, who was sitting on one of the tables. Luke had probably asked the wolves not to interrupt them.
"Luke went to get your twins and the vampire," Michael suddenly says. "Who is he to you exactly?" "Luke. I know he loved your mother at the time," his voice was bitter, "but who is he to you and your twin?"
"I don't really see how it's any of your business, but since you're asking the question, he's our dad. He told me that you were friends when you were teenagers. You should be glad that he is finally with the woman he loves, the same goes for Jocelyn. She should finally be with a good person, someone who loves her for herself and not a man who only wanted children to manage," Abby slows down the pace of her speech so that he has time to hear all the words she was saying, before looking him straight in the eye.
"You will be surprised to see the number of Shadowhunters who only want children to wage war. That's our goal as Shadowhunters," he replied. For the first time, Abby began to lose her means, she no longer knew what to say. "You should go see Jace, he's just waiting for that."
Abby was taken aback by the discussion, she was right, she knew it, but she was going to keep it to herself until she was more than sure. Abby walked silently to the bedroom where Jace was resting. She was relieved to know that he was getting better When she entered the room, she saw Jace lying on the bed, as usual playing with his stepmother. He looked peaceful, but she could see the marks of the attack on his neck. Abby walked over gently and took Jace's hand. She calmly walked over to Jace, who had regained his colors, he seemed fit and full of energy. She sat down on the chair that was in front of him at the same time he straightened up to be at her height, he seemed happy to see her, he was
-Thank you for bringing me here and calling Clary for some blood. I guess she's going to stay with Simon at the Dumort. Abbigael sprawled on the chair from fatigue and vaguely answered what Jace had just asked him. He leaned over to her. "How long has it been since you slept, Bi?"
"I don't really know," she straightened up a little to pretend that everything was fine, "and it wasn't me who had an injury that made me scream on the benches."She didn't give Jace time to answer and changed the subject. "Your father?"
"You found him again. That's why I'm going to find your mother. Besides, he must know where she and Valentine are", Jace was really happy to have found her, so Abby decided to take her time to tell him what she was thinking.
"The child whose bird was killed when he was little, is that you?"She realized that she had no energy left and that it was hard for her to take tweezers when she was talking. "I am mistaken."
"This is my father. All he wanted was to teach me a life lesson."
"By killing your pet, Jace. There is teaching a child a lesson and killing his animal when he is 10 years old."Abby caught her breath, "And what now, you don't believe in love? And I'm not talking to you about falling in love", even if the thought that he didn't believe in the possibility of falling in love hurt him, "but you love Alec and Isabelle or Maryse. So what do you believe in?"
He got even closer to her. She had a second of regret. Maybe it was a little mean to have said that and to have said it like that. They were within a few inches of each other. Jace didn't waste a second and kissed her, a simple little kiss, and then they parted. Jace looked at her then moved closer to her ear and slipped, after kissing her, "I believe in you."Then this time it was Abbigael who kissed her. He put one of his hands on her jaw and the other on her hips to bring her closer to him. She had her hands in Jace's hair, undoing it. Abby hasn't had many kisses in her life, so out of anxiety she bit Jace's lip. She felt him smile through their kiss. Abby was happy to be sitting, she probably would have fallen to the ground if she had been standing. Jace and Abby stepped back as they heard a growl coming from the far end of the room. Luke stood on his feet. He had not stopped looking at Jace when the two young men had turned to him.
"We are waiting for you, Michael will explain to us what he knows."He left the room. Abby got up and put her hair back on, part of her hoped Michael wouldn't guess anything.
-He's going to kill me, a gleam of amusement passed through Jace's eyes.
-I don't know, she was still gasping for breath from the kiss. My sister didn't kill you, and he didn't kill Simon.
-Simon kissed you, his muscles tensed at the thought.
-What? No, Abby realized what she had just insinuated, no, but it seems logical to me that he kissed Clary, right? I mean, didn't you see how they were holding hands?
-Yes, I noticed, he bent his knees so that she could be at the same height and straighten her hair properly. But I thought you were the first to know. That's right, she was the one who should have known. So you're going to kill Simon? Jace pulled Abbigael out of his reverie.
-I haven't really had time to think about it. Jace laughed at his comment and the two went to meet Luke and Michael in the dining room. Luke and Michael hadn't sat next to each other as if they were avoiding each other, so Jace sat next to his father and Abby next to his.
Alec went to the office where his sister was. He began by giving her new clothes so that she could change. When she had finished changing, she broke the silence by asking Alec if he had heard from Jace, Abby or Clary. He sat down. You could see by his dark circles that he hadn't slept for several days. He explained to her, avoiding eye contact with his sister, that, through Abbigael, he knew that Jace was fine. He didn't really know where Clary was, so to reassure his sister, he lied to her and told her that she was at the restaurant with Luke. Abbigael was with Jace and refused to return the cup to them untils he had found her mother. Isabelle, being locked up in this office until the end of her judgment, asked her older brother to go to Magnus and ask him for her to come and defend her. He promised his sister to bring Magnus.
Alec decided to go to Magnus to ask him in person to do him this service. The closer he got to his apartment, the more he slowed down. He stood in front of Magnus's door for a few minutes before finally knocking on the door. The door opened and Alec glimpsed a blue mist around it, he guessed that Magnus must have opened the door magically. He advanced slowly through the apartment. He heard footsteps behind him and when he turned around, he saw Magnus. The second their eyes met, Magnus made a glass of alcohol appear in Alec's hands, he placed it on the first surface he found. Alec tried to breathe as calmly as possible, but being in the same room with Magnus didn't help. When his pulse was back down, he explained to Magnus that he was there because Isabelle wanted to have him as a person to defend her during her trial. While listening to Alec explain this to him, Magnus sat down on his small armchair, Alec noticed that he was wearing a small dark blue tunic that highlighted him.
"Nothing to do with me, it's for my little sister."Alec couldn't stand still without moving.
"Oh, you're telling me about your adorable little fiancée who arrested your sister for saving an innocent man from certain death."Magnus no longer looked at Alec in the same way as when they had met. "What can I do for you, Alexander?"He took his glass filled with alcohol and waited for an answer.
"It's stupid and I'm not even sure it's allowed by law," he finally ends up looking Magnus in the eye. "But my sister would like it to be you who defend her in front of the Enclave. And I promised him I'd come and ask you. Look, I know you don't necessarily want to do this and be in front of the Enclave, but I promised him, so I'll give you everything you want."
"A Shadowhunter can ask an obscure creature to defend him. Nothing in the law is marked in this regard, no Shadowhunter would think that one of their own would want an obscure creature to defend them. So the Enclave didn't bother to exclude us. So as you all say: "The law is the law. ""Magnus had taken a big voice to imitate the Shadowhunters and for a split second, Alec smiled. "So there's nothing stopping me from defending her, and you said I could have whatever I wanted."Magnus had a slight smile.
"Name him."Alec was finally going to find out what saving his sister would cost him.
"You."Magnus pointed at him.
"No," Alec began to breathe badly, "something else."
"What else is important to you? He came closer to him as he walked and drank his drink. What is important enough for you to make a real sacrifice to save your sister? Magnus let the suspense hang for a few seconds before saying: "Oh, I know, your bow and arrows. Do you prefer this option?"Alec finally agrees.
Michael suggested to his son to go train to be able to better see his evolution. So Jace took two bottles of water, one for himself and one for his father. Michael took gloves and Jace started punching in the gloves. Jace was finally starting to regain his strength. After only a few minutes, Jace already had his hair full of perspiration. He took off his t-shirt to be less hot and continued to train while explaining the last years of his life to his father whom he had finally found. Now that they were just the two of them, Michael didn't hold back from asking Jace why he had let himself be fooled.
"She only wants my good, and she's right, my parabatai bond with Alec is weak."While saying this, he touched his parabatai rune.
"Why is that, he is your parabatai, you should be with him?"Michael asked.
"We had a fight, it happens to everyone. Abby and Alec don't really get along and all she wants is to find her mother."
"And what tells you that she doesn't use you to see her mother again?"Michael worried.
"It was me and no one else who promised to help her find her mother."
"Listen son, I've seen the way you look at her, at the Shadowhunters, when you find someone, it's for life."
Neither Michael nor Jace continued, interrupted by Abbigael.
Abbigael and his father arrived at a large disinfected hospital. Through the windows they could see round gleams, probably demons that Valentine had put in protection. There was no one to see. The journey had been silent; neither Abbigael nor Luke had spoken. Luke knew that his daughter had something on her mind and wanted to give her time to talk. It was always like that when she had to tell him something; he felt it and gave her the time she needed. They stopped in front of bushes in front of the hospital to avoid being spotted. Abby finally broke the silence :
"I read in the Codex that werewolves have a supernatural instinct."
"Yes," he turned his head to his daughter, who was smaller than him. "It is true that it is more developed than in other creatures.
"How do you differentiate your instinct from fear or desire?"
Abby finally looked her father in the eye. In her heart, she already knew the answer, but she hoped to be wrong this time.
"You know the answer, don't you?"he turned completely to his daughter and affectionately took her shoulders. "Partially, it comes with time, experience. But the biggest part of differentiating all these emotions is listening to yourself."He smiled at her, with the same doubts as her. "And if you don't like it, it's probably your instinct."
"You were close to Michael when you were still part of the Circle," Abby continued to scan the hospital, hoping to see or even catch a glimpse of her mother, "and can you be sure that she's okay?"
"He was quite reserved, liked to read. No one knows how it went with his wife. He's always been too shy with women."
"So, nothing to do with the man we have in front of us, and the man who raised Jace."
"Jace told you about his father, and well, I didn't realize that you were so close. You love him, don't you?"
"Why do you say that? He's not the first boy I've dated."
"Indeed, but you've never looked at someone like that, and if you want to know, he looks at you the same way."
"What can it do?"Abby looked away from her father. "He is only one boy among many others."
Luke looked at her, his eyes shining. He knew he was right. They decided to return to the Jade Wolf. Luke called someone he trusted the most among his wolves to come and fight with them. Abby went to the back of the restaurant to pick up Michael and Jace. Jace was shirtless and Michael was wearing big gloves; they were working out. The first thing Abbigael heard was Jace's laugh, followed by Michael's. "Sorry to interrupt you.""Oh no, it doesn't matter. Jace was telling me about you."Michael had a big smile on his face, happy to have found his son. "Nothing wrong, I hope," she smiled as well. "I did not raise my son to speak ill of a young woman." "I see that you have brought him up well. Hm, Luke and I didn't offer you anything to drink, so if you want, you can help yourself in the restaurant kitchen. I'm just going to grab my things and I'll meet you in the dining room."Michael left the room. Abby thought that Jace had also left the room, so she dropped her mask and took her things with a little sigh of exasperation. Jace came discreetly behind her, took her by the hips and whispered in her ear: "What was that? I could see that you raised him well," he said with a higher voice and small gestures.
"I don't talk like that," she replied, turning around, "and I just wanted to be nice, after all he's your father."
"And I, in two hours, he criticized the way I raised myself," Jace retorted.
"I criticize everyone, don't come to believe that he is unique," she added, but Abby didn't have time to finish her sentence when Michael entered the room.
"Ah, so that's what you do when your back is turned," Michael joked with a chuckle before leaving the room.
Jace and Abby followed him and the four of them decided to create a plan before heading to Renwick.
Simon and Clary had spent the last few days together. Simon had finally had the courage to confess to Clary that he wanted to be more than friends with her. Clary had hesitated, not sure what she wanted. After all, how could she know if it was love or friendship? Maybe part of her was afraid that her first relationship would turn out as disastrously as her mother's.
But after several days spent together, Simon and Clary were inseparable. They were sleeping next to each other, holding each other in their arms. Clary had gotten used to the rhythm of a vampire's life and slept mainly during the day, like Simon. She felt revitalized thanks to her days spent with Simon. It was like before, they were laughing all day and enjoying each other. Clary didn't need to worry about anything, Abbigael was already taking care of it for them. However, Simon was still angry with her and intended to avoid her as much as possible.
Isabelle was ready for her judgment. There were a lot of people sitting in the room, among them, she spotted Hodge, but not her parents. As usual, they had left the institute without warning Alec or Izzi. At the very back of the room, there was Imogen Herondale sitting on a very large chair bearing the symbol of the Shadowhunters. Two meters in front of her was the mortal sword carried by a blue stone, like the moonstone of the Shadowhunters. She was placed by the Silent Brother.
Isabelle entered the room. Magnus welcomed him with a little hug and a smile that was meant to be reassuring. She sat down on the first row of chairs on one side intended for her and Magnus and on the other for Lydia. Magnus was called first and had to put his hands on the sword, swear to tell only the truth. Isabelle turned around to find her brother who was sitting right behind her. The two smiled at each other. When Magnus put his hands on the sword, he heard Brother Enoch's voice ringing in his head. He had not felt this way for several centuries. The tip of the sword shone when his hands were on it.
"Start your argument, warlock," could be heard in Imogen's voice, who didn't really want him to be there, but she couldn't go against the law.
"It's very simple, Isabelle Lightwood here has indeed disobeyed an order from the Enclave."Hearing these words, Alec shudders. "Which allowed the fairy Meliorn to be free to this day. But his interest was not against the Enclave. By warning them to lead Meliorn to an assured torture, she saved a scandal with the Enclave."
"We are not here to speculate on what would have happened. Today we are gathered to discuss the crime of Isabelle Lightwood."
"We all know what would have happened to Meliorn, torturing a fairy."
"I am waiting for valid arguments."Himogenes got back comfortably in his seat. "Do you have any in?"
"What you really want is the Mortal Cup."The silence was the most complete as soon as he uttered these words. "My client doesn't own it when this whole business is about this Cup. I guess this case has no place to be."Magnus knew deep down that to broach the subject of the Cup was risky.
"Your argument is unfounded."
-This whole case is unfounded. "He pointed to Isabelle. "It's not Isabelle's fault, it's the Cup's fault. Make a Cut trial. "Magnus did not say another word and left to sit next to Isabelle. Isabelle was called to answer the questions that Lydia Branwell would ask her, so Isabelle got up and went to the small chair next to Imogen Herondale's seat. Lydia got up and began to question Isabelle about the reasons why the Fairchild twins were also in the City of Bones. Isabelle declared that she did not know anything about the reasons for their presence there, except to protect them. As soon as Isabelle had finished explaining that she had helped Meliorn on her own, without the slightest help, Imogen found a way to talk about the Mortal Cup and Valentine Morgenstern.
"You know what's crazy? "she said. "It is to believe that we Shadowhunters have the right to treat the life of an obscure creature as insignificant. »
"Isabelle," Lydia resumed in a soft voice, as if she were speaking to a child, "I must warn you that everything you say will be considered during the written trial. »
"Very well. "Isabelle got up, now addressing all the people in the room. "Consider this: Valentine did not come from nowhere. He uses our angelic blood to justify everything we do, just like him. Just like him, we forget that we are not just angels. We are partly human too. We can be afraid, and fear makes us cruel. And we turn against the dark creatures, just like Valentine did. And just like him, we turn on each other. »
"Is that what you think we're doing to you? "asked Imogen.
Isabelle having said enough, was willing and was able to return to sit next to Magnus. It was his turn to ask questions to the people he wanted to interview. He decided to start by questioning Lydia. The Imogen cohort did not see the point, but let Magnus do it.
"For you, I would have only one question," he said, walking in front of the sword while unbuttoning his blazer. "Why are you pursuing my client? »
Lydia took a few seconds before answering. "Because the law is tough, but it's the law," she says.
Magnus sighed. He was about to answer, but Lydia continued. "That doesn't necessarily make it fair. We are in the process of prosecuting someone for showing compassion. She saved a life that was going to be sacrificed for nothing. »
"That will be enough, Miss Branwell," Imogen tried to calm the situation, which was getting out of her control.
-No, not yet, Lydia turned so as not to face Imogen's gaze, today all I see is a brother and a sister who don't always think the same thing. Isabelle turned her head to look at Alec, who offered her a big smile, except for how much they love each other and how loyal they are to each other. A man who agreed to defend Isabelle claiming to make payments in objects, but who in fact just believes in justice. And that's why I decide to withdraw my complaint.
The first to get up to celebrate this victory was Isabelle, followed by Alec. The two hugged each other as if it had been years since they had seen each other again. When they had finished hugging, Izzi took Magnus in her arms and whispered to him how grateful she was.
-Stop, everyone, this case will not be over until the Enclave has recovered the deadly cup.
Imogen and the silent brother who accompanied her came out of the room to discuss. They will soon be followed by Lydia, Alec and Magnus. The five of them talked for more than an hour, an hour during which Isabelle had to wait in the office like the last day she had just lived. The guard who had accompanied him inadvertently left his phone on the desk. Isabelle took it and typed in Clary's number, which she had learned by heart. When Isabelle heard Clary's voice, her heart melted. She wanted to cry, but she realized that no one had told Clary that there was a trial in progress. So, in order not to frighten her, she kept silent about it. Clary explained in a voice filled with joy that she and Simon were together, that they were both staying at the Dumort alongside vampires. Unfortunately, Izzi had to hurry to hang up and delete the call on the guard's phone. She hurried to put the phone down on the desk. The door opened, Alec and Magnus entered. The two of them had a little smile on their lips. Alec announced to his sister that the case had been stopped, that she was free. The two adeles took each other in their arms. Alec did not take his eyes off Magnus for a second, with a smile on his lips.
Alec directed Magnus to the weapons room where his arrows and bow were located. His movements were slow. He took them out of their storage and handed them to Magnus. The latter took them in hand and then said:
-You just have to keep them for me, he looked up looking at Alec. I won't know what to do with them and where to put them. He rested the bow and arrows on the little table in front of him. Goodbye Alexander.
Jace and Michael had gone to one of the sides of the hospital to fight against members of the Circle. Luke was fighting with the seraphic dagger out but not luminescent, against a member of the Circle, an old friend of his with whom he had done his rune lessons, but today, he despised him no longer sharing angelic blood as a few years before.
Abby slipped between the various fights as planned to go find her mother. No one tried to stop her, they wanted her to pass, they had orders to let her pass. She entered the hospital. Everything was abandoned and no sound was heard, but she still felt eyes on her, those of the demons they had seen the day before with Luke.
She moved slowly but surely, knowing that Valentine was not a predictable person, and even if he had made it clear to Clary that he wanted to meet them, there was no evidence that he would not play one of his little games. So Abby continued to move forward, not forgetting to look in her blind spots, her seraphic dagger ready to be used.
She passed two large doors typical of hospitals. Jocelyn was sleeping in a metallic mist in the air, a few steps away from her. Almost a year of searching for her, and she had finally succeeded. Abby had an ounce of hope, very quickly reduced by realizing that her mother was not able to wake up immediately.
She laid her hand affectionately on her mother's cheek, a tear ran down her cheek. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. She was cut off in her momentum when she heard Jace and Michael enter the room in turn, blocking the door. Abby tried to get out to get Luke, but Jace held her back.
-I assure you, my child, Michael seemed tired of having fought, there were two of them and Luke knows how to defend himself.
-We also know how to fight, and you are a member of the circle, you must have trained with them, right? You should know how they fight. Jace had his hands on Abby's shoulders to stop her from doing something stupid, he pulled them back when he realized that she knew something that he was not aware of.
"He let me through first, then closed the door," is what Luke had said. "I'm sure he can handle it, there are wolves to help him, and that wasn't even the plan." Luke had understood what Abbigael had also understood, and he had played the game.
-So I have to stay here, I have to stay here and do nothing while my dad... Her eyes were red with anger. In Michael's presence, Abby took a nasty pleasure in exaggerating the word "dad" when she talked about Luke. "My dad is out, I'm not going to leave him alone in front of demons and members of the circle."She took out the Deadly Cup in a gesture of anger, brandished it high and shouted orders to the demons. They did nothing, so she repeated herself once, then three. Michael came to her aid and offered to try it himself. She did not hesitate for a second and gave him the Cup. He took it, knelt down, while mutilating his right forearm, which revealed his true face, that of Valentine Morgenstern, that of his father.
At this vision, Abbigael squeezed her wrist, which still held the real Cup, and her green eyes were riveted on Jace, imploring him to forgive her for this secret. In Abbigael's eyes, the most important thing was to stop this war. If for that, Jace had to hate her and break her heart, then she would let him do it, but he was the only one to whom she left this power. She loved him enough.
Jace only looked at her for a few seconds before returning to Valentine. His eyes were breaking down the more he understood what Abby herself had already understood several hours before.
Valentine straightened up, smiling mischievously, and began in turn to give orders to the demons while turning to face them. He took pleasure in seeing the harm he was doing. When he turned and faced his daughter again, she had the same smile on her lips as he had himself the moment he had revealed himself. Jace noticed that this smile, the same smile that she must have inherited from him, was in both of them. An immense joy to have managed to fool the other, and both had taken pleasure in doing so.
For that second, Jace realized how much she looked like her father. It wasn't physical: Clary, on the other hand, didn't look like Valentine. It was more about the attitude and the way of thinking. It hurt him to think that. He felt something for her that he had never felt, and she seemed more like the person who had killed her parents than he wanted to admit. In turn, after a few minutes of looking him straight in the eye, she brandished the real Mortal Cup and whispered, in a breath of provocation, with her gaze still planted in Valentine's, orders to the demon: "Kill the members of the Circle and leave". The demons, this time, had no need to hear his words a second time and carried out his orders.
Valentine had a slight smirk and began to tell a story to Jace and Abbigael. He told them that they were brother and sister. Abbigael was doing everything to pay attention to Valentine's story rather than the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling and the high-pitched sound that echoed in her ears. Abbigael, who always had his gaze fixed on Valentine, had tears of anger filling his eyes. Jace also had tears in his eyes. Everything he had built and believed in recent years was wrong. Valentine was ignoring his daughter now as if he knew he couldn't handle her as easily, not as easily as Jace.
"Look at us," he said, leaning over to Jocelyn. "Our family is finally reunited, I told you so. "Abbigael wanted to move forward and force Valentine to get away from her mother, but she was petrified, and this time, her rage was not strong enough, fatigue had taken over. Abby ends up turning her head to avoid eye contact with her father, but if only for a few seconds. Valentine opened a portal. It was probably a wizard who had opened it or created it for him. Valentine held out his hand to Jace, offering to follow him. Abbigael hurried to take the few steps that separated her from them. She stood next to Jace but one step in front of him. She brandished her seraphic dagger and used it to make a barrier between Jace and Valentine, preventing Jace from following him.
"I am your father," he raised his voice as he said these words, a glint of anger in his eyes.
"There are no family or friends in the middle of a war," Abbigael scolded with a black look for Valentine.
"That," he looked Jace straight in the eye, "is the child I wanted. After saying these words, he passed through the portal which closed. Luke entered at the same time and went straight to Jocelyn. With a smile on his face, he had succeeded. The woman he loved was back with him and their daughters. He touched her cheek affectionately. When he looked in the direction of Jace and Abbigael, the latter had put distance between her and Jace. He was crying hot tears. Abbigael felt like throwing up his guts on the floor. She was disgusted. How could she have felt so much attraction for her own brother? Luke moved around while carrying Jocelyn. "Come on, let's go home."
"Where's dad? Where do you want us to go? We don't have a house, mom burned it down. We're at war, no one has a house. There will be nowhere for me or even Clary to be safe. We're the daughters of a monster and a sissy who ran away. I want to die there, whatever there is after death, it will be more peace than this war". These are the words she was screaming in her head, the words she wanted to scream about her dad, about Jace. But his body did not move a hair. His dagger was still out. Her dad gently approached her, took the gun and put it in his bag. She only heard a buzzing sound, but she knew that Luke was talking to her, trying to tell her something or reassure her. The three, carrying Jocelyn, had been brought back to the Institute and escorted by the wolves."
On the way, Abbigael had not spoken a word, either to Luke or to Jace. When her dad handed her the phone with her sister, she didn't take it. She just walked to the institute, part of her hoping she could cry in bed all by herself. But she knew that no tears would flow. She had promised herself that she would shed no tears for Valentine or for this little war, not today, not tomorrow, and even in ten years.
Jace had summarized in a few words everything they had learned in the last hour, then he simply answered Luke's questions. Luke's heart ached, he couldn't figure out who would be hurt the most by the news: Jace was Valentine's son, Jocelyn his mother, or Abbigael, his sister.
When they arrived at the institute, everyone was waiting for them: Isabelle, Clary and Simon, happy to see them alive again, and Alec, filled with anger. Clary threw herself on her sister and took her in her arms, filled with joy that she was alive. This one remained as stiff as a piece of wood. She gave the deadly cup to Alec without being able to listen to a word of what he was shouting at her, then went to his room without another word. Luke had heard the last words she had spoken.
6191 WORDS
PUBLIED THE 22 FEBRUARY 2023