Chapter 49 – The Seelie Court
The next morning, we found ourselves at the Gard early in the morning to start the planned journey to the Seelie Court. Though I'd lain awake half the night brooding over Adam's betrayal, I found it difficult to focus on the voices around me, making the final preparations for our departure.
Betrayal. I couldn't think of another word to describe the feeling in my chest. Blake had almost killed me, and Adam still felt it necessary to protect him from me. As if I was the bad guy. What good friend did that? The first rays of the sun had already risen over the horizon, but I had still been lying awake and still hadn't come up with a reason to justify Adam's action. I had wanted to find a justification for it. Because the alternative would be that Adam actually betrayed me. And I couldn't accept that.
The new day brought no helpful promptings. I had been brooding all night and had gotten no further than a headache and tiredness. Adam had still been unconscious when Jace and I had gotten back to Isabelle and him yesterday. They had followed me in silence as I had simply turned and disappeared off the rooftops. We had left Adam on the roof and despite the cold, I was fine with that. I was still having a hard time swallowing the anger at Adam's showing up yesterday, or ignoring the anger coursing through my veins that reminded me Blake was still out there in Alicante, probably laughing himself to death at me right now. Most of all, I ignored Adam himself, who was standing a few feet behind me, digging holes in my back with his stares.
When I'd seen him standing next to the Inquisitor earlier, I'd almost turned on my heels and left the Nephilim to deal with their damn problems. Should they go to the Seelie Court without me. But Isabelle had me staying with the simple sentence Since when does Clary Morgenstern run away from her opponents? even if it had taken every ounce of my willpower not to ram my sword against Adam's temple again. Jace had tried to talk to his grandmother, to no avail. Somehow, through his brilliant connections on the Clave, Adam had managed to be nominated for this mission. To the chagrin of each of us. So far Adam had kept his distance from me, which was probably only due to the murderous look in my eyes. But it was only a matter of time before he would ask for understanding and forgiveness again.
The murmuring around me trailed off and my eyes followed the attention that shifted to Magnus Bane, who was strolling into the empty Clave chamber. Alec walked at his side. Their faces could not have projected more different emotions. While Magnus winked at me and seemed quite pleased with himself, Alec's features exuded a grimness that seemed even darker than his usual expression. Alec wouldn't be accompanying us to the Seelie Court due to his new position at the negotiating table with the Shadowworlders, which I was a little relieved about. We still didn't really trust each other, even though the frost had settled down a bit.
Magnus bowed his head to the Inquisitor and Consul, and they slowly approached the center of the room where I had positioned myself. Their mouths were moving, and even though Jace had given me an audibility rune, among other runes, before we had left for the Gard, my ears were ringing. It was the storm of emotions that was dulling my senses. I was unconcentrated and tired, which could easily be my undoing in the fairy kingdom if I wasn't careful.
Someone nudged me and I snapped my head up. I didn't even realize I had lowered it to the ground in front of me. Isabelle stood on my right and grinned slightly. "I have my best daggers with me," she whispered to me, the words barely penetrating the pounding in my ears. "If he's getting on your nerves, I can just cut out his tongue."
It was only a joke, of course, but it still made me feel a little better. My fingers went to the hilt of Eosphoros, and my heartbeat slowed. Before I could even reply, the Inquisitor came within earshot, Jace at her side, and I bit back my comment. Malachi stood a little one side, watching Magnus with undisguised skepticism as he began the ritual that would open the portal to the Queen's court. Traveling to the nearest natural point of access to the Fair Folk would take too long, so the Seelie Queen had approved of the portal.
"Think of your task when you're there," Imogen said in her usual commanding voice, which automatically clenched my hands into fists. "No distractions ..." Her eyes locked on me. "No rash actions."
My mouth twitched, but Isabelle gave me another light nudge with her elbow as she turned her head to look at Jace. His golden eyes rested on me, silent warning within. You can talk, after all she doesn't hate you, I wanted to say, but instead pressed my lips together. One day I would get back at her.
Of course, Adam thought that this very moment was the perfect opportunity to join us. Jace's eyes narrowed as I felt Adam's presence on my left. I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye and took three long strides in Magnus' direction, putting myself out of his reach. I heard Isabelle hiss something behind me, but then followed me.
"Why is he here again?" I asked Jace as he appeared next to us; loud enough for Adam to hear.
Jace crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes darted briefly to Adam, then back to me. His weapon-belt was filled to the brim with seraph blades and other weapons. The Seelie Queen would certainly like to see that. "My grandmother likes him," he murmured so softly that only Isabelle and I could overhear. "He and his family are considered impartial because they've friends across all factions on the Clave. They're pretty much what she thinks of diplomats. His parents have deep ties to the main Shadowhunter families in Alicante."
"How impartial can he be when he's been friends with Blake for years? He's lived half his life in the same Institute as him," Isabelle replied, confused. She gave Adam a long, cool look, which he returned neutrally, and then tossed her long hair in a haughty gesture.
"Blake and his family are known for their ... radical opinions and that Blake leads a group that continues to hunt and kill Shadowworlders despite the Accords is no secret in some circles. But Adam ..." Jace shrugged. "If he was ever part of that group, it was never made public. We don't know how deeply involved he's in Blake's machinations. All I know is that the Demonhunters also have powerful allies."
I gritted my teeth angrily. Adam had been friendly and approachable to me from the moment I had first arrived at the New York Institute, and I had thought the whole time that he could distinguish between my father's actions and mine. But what if he had never cared how much I had actually been involved in Valentine's machinations? What if all he had seen from the start was a new chess piece on the board that could potentially have a lot of influence among the Nephilim? What if he had only befriended me because he liked having friends in positions of power? Sure, most Nephilim despised me, but the Circle had been quite powerful once. Getting on good terms with everyone has always been a safe bet. The thought hurt more than I wanted to admit. Could this really be true? Did Adam really think that strategically?
The Inquisitor clapped her hands and I winced. A hiss echoed through the room and I instinctively took a step back as the portal appeared out of nowhere in a shower of glowing sparks. Magnus had his hands up and nodded at us. "The portal will take you near the Seelie Court."
"The fey will come for you, so don't move!" Imogen shouted over the whoosh of the blue portal, which seemed to draw in the air like a whirlpool.
"I'll go first!" Isabelle leapt forward, a motivated smile on her face. She walked casually towards the portal, then turned her head over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at us before her character disappeared into the portal.
Jace stepped closer to me. "You or I?"
"Go," I said, jerking my chin at the portal.
Jace's golden eyes studied me for a long second, as if considering whether stepping forward was actually a good idea. Then he nodded and stepped through the portal.
My legs slowly moved towards the portal, and I gave the Inquisitor a long, meaningless look, which she returned just as callously. Her eyes traveled to my wrist and her lip curled in displeasure when she spotted the end of a rune under the sleeve of my outfit. The corners of my mouth moved upwards of their own accord.
Then Adam stepped next to me and the moment of dominance was over. I was about to step through the portal when he raised his voice, a pleading note in it. "I hope I'm still your friend in your eyes."
The world around me went white. For a second, I seemed to float through space and time, my journey accompanied by a deafening whistle, as if a wind whipped around my body. Then the portal on the other side spat me out again and I took a staggering step forward, eyes squinting against the glare of the sunlight, before I whipped my legs around and my hands slammed into Adam's chest so hard, he would have stumbled back to Idris, if the portal hadn't immediately closed behind him.
"I don't want to see you and I don't want to talk to you," I spluttered out, my fingers back on Eosphoros's grip. Hectic footsteps approached, the snow crackled under their boots. "I have no idea why you're here but stay away from me."
A second later, Jace was at my side, pressing his hand against Eosphoros as if trying to stop me from making a wrong decision. I jerked my hand from the hilt and gave him a venomous glare before fixing on Adam. He had just straightened up and regret reflected in his jade green eyes. Was he just pretending again, or did he actually believe he was right?
I turned and let Jace lead me to Isabelle, who had her hands on her hips and was watching the scene from a few yards away. "Luckily the Queen's guards aren't here yet. Otherwise, I'm sure she'd be extremely amused to find out all about this argument."
From the stories my father had told me about the Queen of the Seelie Court, I was pretty sure she already knew about this. She had her little spies everywhere. But Isabelle was right. This wasn't the place to lose your composure. No matter how much Adam had hurt me. So I just shrugged and focused on our surroundings.
We stood in a small clearing surrounded by dense trees, ferns and flowers. Even in the fairy kingdom it seemed to be winter and although everything was covered with snow, a light shade of green shimmered through everywhere, giving the surroundings an almost turquoise effect. Even the sun's light had a slightly greenish glow, at least as deep in the forest as we were. The flora must have been different from that on Earth, because the fine blossoms and thin stems seemed to be able to withstand the cold without any trouble; moreover, I could not name a single one of them.
Something rustled to our left and four heads turned within milliseconds to the source of the sound, which lay off the clearing. My gaze rested on Jace's hand, which was slowly making its way to his weapon-belt. I imitated him. Better safe than sorry. But it was false alarm. The atmosphere in the air shifted and I felt the others around me tense as the five fey entered the clearing.
It was the first time I faced a fairy and despite the many stories and books that had warned me, they were a hundred times more beautiful than expected. Their otherworldly features seemed to melt with perfection and each of their muscles seemed to move in unison with each other and with the nature around them; calm and even as water. No artist could have modeled this beauty with such precision. Even without the pointed ears, anyone would have known right away that they weren't human. They were taller than any Nephilim I had encountered, but roughly the same build. Their brightly colored hair – black, green, pink, blue, and gray – fell long and straight over their shoulders; some had pigtails others didn't. They were all dressed in brown leather uniforms and carried a uniform silver sword at their belts. No other weapons visible.
Then one of the fey caught my eye and I flinched out of the admiration as if I had been burned. His bright yellow eyes fixed me with such intensity, full of cruelty and inhumanity, that the hairs on the back of my neck rose up. His full, round lips curled into a perfect, superior grin that took me several blinks to see through the perfection of his form. It was nothing more than a facade; a weapon the fey mastered better than anything else and must master if they were to keep the true nature of their being hidden.
The fey marched past his companions, who positioned themselves behind him in a unit ready to attack. They were warriors through and through, nothing to suggest otherwise. He stopped at a respectful distance from us and nodded once, the disdain evident in his eyes. He didn't want his queen to negotiate with us. "The Queen sent us to escort you to the Seelie Court. Follow us." Even his voice sounded like a string of the finest, softest tones.
The fey turned on his heel and his companions followed him without a peep as he crossed the clearing and disappeared back into the trees. Isabelle started to move and Jace and I didn't hesitate to join her. Behind us, Adam's boots crunched on the snow. Unlike the fey, he seemed to disapprove of a safe distance.
For a quarter of an hour, we strolled through the nature of the fairy kingdom at a leisurely pace. None of the fey turned around to see if we were still there and hadn't lost our way. If you believe the legends, it was not uncommon for earthly people to get lost here and never find their way home again.
The fairy kingdom had nothing in common with the world I knew except for the basic elements like earth and water, the seasons and the principle of astronomy. The air was filled with a sweet, inviting scent that made my mouth water and with every step we took a dozen pairs of invisible eyes followed us; most likely tiny fairies hiding in the plants. So far, we hadn't met a single animal, not a bird, not a rabbit, nothing. In return, it became clear that we were approaching the center of something powerful. The density of the trees decreased and again and again we passed ruins of old buildings and abandoned paths that led in different directions, deeper into the forest. Then the Seelie Court finally appeared before our eyes.
The Seelie Court was not a castle or a building but was made from the roots of huge trees that had sprout from the earth centuries ago and were larger than many houses in Alicante. Their brown bark formed a variety of different networks that stretched out in all directions. I knew that much of the Court was actually underground, but just looking at the part above ground was impressive enough. Aside from the oversized trees, the Court featured a variety of colorful ferns and flowers, straight out of fairytale images. We encountered other fairies and fey, most too busy to care for our presence. Hundreds of them lived here at Court alone. We Nephilim were greatly outnumbered by them.
The Queen's guard led us into one of the root buildings and down a wide flight of stairs. Uniform violet lights shone out at us from the walls, but their shadows performed wild, rhythmic dances. We were led through long, high corridors and rooms made of earth, plants and water; a completely separate habitat. An underground world so beautiful and perfect that you didn't want to come back to the surface. Fairies sang, played, laughed and didn't let us disturb them as we passed. They all seemed perfectly happy. I peered into the faces of Jace and Isabelle, neither of whom looked overly impressed. They already knew all this and were smart enough to see behind the fairies' masks.
The fey came to a halt at the end of a hallway blocked by a curtain of ferns. For the first time since we had first met in the clearing, they turned their attention to us, their eyes now more bored than hostile. "The Queen awaits you." Jace nodded once, walking to the curtain and pushing it aside before entering the room beyond. Isabelle and I followed, Adam on our heels.
A beguiling scent greeted me as the curtain parted around me. In front of me was the throne room of the Queen of the Seelie Court, but nothing reminded of a throne room. It was warm, almost muggy, and the old stone walls were overgrown with moss and vines. The ground was grass and dotted with wildflowers of the most varied, intense colors that it was almost impossible to stare at them for too long because they gave you a headache. The right side of the hall opened onto a pond from which a stream rippled through the earth in random curves. The soft, dim light seemed to come from everywhere at once. It felt like being out in the wilderness, and even the walls, with a line of faceless soldiers stationed in front, didn't give the impression of being underground.
The long bodies of the guard lay in the shadows as we cautiously passed them; on my way to the throne of wood and orange, yellow flowers on which sat a woman so pretty I had a hard time taking my eyes off her. She had scarlet straight hair with her pointed ears half sticking out. Her slender figure was clad in a sparkling green dress of leaves and drops of water, and her legs were crossed as she eagerly leaned forward in her throne to get a closer look at us.
A pair of clear blue eyes met me, and I struggled to meet their gaze; I had a feeling it would decide today's visit. I hunched my shoulders as I approached, face neutral, lips tightly pressed together. Jace and Isabelle paused a few yards from the throne, and I followed suit as they dropped to their knees for a bow.
"Your Majesty," Jace said in a kind, lovely voice, and my muscles twitched almost in surprise. As we stood up, there was a winning smile on his lips that was at odds with the Jace I knew. "I thank you for the kind reception at your Court. My name is Jace Herondale, and these are my companions Isabelle Lightwood, Adam Demonhunter and Clarissa Mo–"
"Morgenstern," the Seelie Queen interrupted, her eyes fixed solely on me without even acknowledging Jace for a second. "I know exactly who I'm dealing with here, Nephilim."
The queen's face was of heavenly beauty, her features sharp as a knife yet gentle as a feather. Her fair skin was smooth and ageless, and nothing about her revealed her true form. From what my father had taught me, she was a master shapeshifter. My stomach clenched awkwardly as I tried to meet her curious gaze. Looking into her eyes was like looking into a dark hole full of secrets, wisdom and mysteries. With a thousand years of life experience, she's perfected only revealing as much as she wanted. And right now, she wanted me to see her curiosity to learn as much about me as possible.
Jace, his golden eyes unemotionally fixed on me now, didn't let the queen throw him out of line. His wide smile didn't waver and after a few moments of silence, he continued. "As you already know, we came here to speak to you about the Shadowworlder's Council. A representative for each, vampire, werewolf, warlock, fairy and Nephilim. To defend our world against Valentine and Jonathan Morgenstern." It took a lot of willpower not to flinch at my brother's name.
"Your world," the queen murmured, her red lips curling up in a small smile as she looked down at her fingers as if to inspect them. She already knew all the details of our request, however she had obtained this information. "We fairies have our own world. We can continue to exist without yours."
"That may be correct, Your Majesty, but do you really think Valentine will stop at your world if he takes ours? Who guarantees you that he won't invade here afterwards?" Jace asked with a hint of challenge in his voice, without losing his mildness.
"My life is so long, little Nephilim, I sat on this throne centuries before Jonathan Shadowhunter was born," purred the queen, leaning further down to us. "I've watched kingdoms rise and fall, rulers rise and fall just as quickly. I've been fortunate to learn from the mistakes and failures of others without ever having to lift a finger myself. You Nephilim have never treated us with respect since you were born. You looked down on all of us, and while the rest of Downworld seem quick to forget that we fairies don't forget such transgressions."
"The Shadowhunters of past generations have made mistakes," Jace admitted, head held high. He continued to radiate a stable self-confidence, as if the queen's teachings didn't apply or even confuse him. Why had she invited us here if she was so averse to us? Was she trying to make us feel that fairy's participation on the Council was not readily acquired? "We're here because we want to do better. We're already doing it right now. All Shadowworlders at one table is historic. Everyone has an equal voice, that's historical. You can't deny that this wouldn't also be of interest to you."
"Possible that it's historical. A nice idea, for sure. You want to do better. Since when? A few months ago, before Valentine's long shadow had appeared on the horizon, nobody cared about our rights. The only reason this body exists is because you need us. Who assures me that after a victory over Valentine, which, mind you, isn't even certain, you won't simply annul these rights again? From what I've heard, it only just got a majority in the Clave. Exactly how many of you want to change?"
The queen was right. Every word she said was true, and it annoyed me that I agreed with everything she said. The Nephilim were too arrogant, too aloof for their own good. Conservatives like the Ashdowns would not hesitate to do whatever they could to break up the body after beating my father.
"We won't let that happen," Jace promised, knowing there was nothing to set his words in stone.
"Not a lie, but certainly not the truth either." The queen had stopped smiling. Her ice blue eyes darted from Jace to something behind him, and even though my every instinct was screaming to turn, I didn't move an inch. "How honest is this offer when you're already bringing a Nephilim who obviously detests us?"
Now I couldn't hold myself any longer. I whirled around only to be confronted by Adam's locked face standing a few paces behind me, Isabelle at his side. She gave him a blatant look of irritation, and I felt my fingers clench at the sight of him. Adam, who now suddenly seemed to be the center of the room, awoke from his rigid state and bowed his head submissively.
"Forgive me if I made such an impression, Your Majesty. I would never presume to judge you or your people without first forming my own judgment. I definitely harbor no malice towards you." Adam's voice sounded like a single, abundant whisper. It went practiced over his tongue, as if he actually meant the words.
"You may deceive your kind with that sort of lie, but not me," the queen replied calmly. A calm that didn't suit me because all the insects and birds fell silent. "I see through human tricks like this. You may not loathe us, but you definitely don't like us. But I don't care either."
Adam opened his mouth to contradict the queen, but she silenced him with a simple, dismissive gesture. A part of me enjoyed the scene, even if it certainly didn't help the tension between our camps. "The Nephilim are distraught and divided because your fear of Valentine has taken on a rigorous scale. How hypocritical considering how many of you secretly shared his views. Even after the Accords, the Shadowworlders were never your equal. Does the direct view of your own ruin finally open your eyes?"
There was not a spark of hostility or bitterness in the way the Fairy Queen spoke to us. Everything here seemed more dream than reality; like a big production with her in the leading role. Valentine had warned me often enough that fairies liked to play games; that they liked to stab you in the back with a knife once you turned around. They were clever, cunning and patient, but above all selfish.
My feet took a step forward so that I was level with Jace. My words were loud and fearless, based on an instinct from my father's teachings. "Why are you stalling us? You've already made a decision."
-
Happy new year!
I'm back! How did you like the chapter? So now it's time to visit the fairy kingdom and it doesn't seem to be going particularly well. Adam still can't regain his friendship with Clary and the queen doesn't seem to have much interest in the Nephilim. What do you think will happen next?
Skyllen