"Ugh I'm bored..." Kit groaned, lying on his back atop hundreds of loose papers in the office of the Herondale manor in Idris. They had left the townhouse in Alicante, needing more space and seclusion away from the prying eyes of the city. Clary had offered the use of the Herondale manor, it was where her and Jace spent their time when not at the New York Institute, and it was beautiful. Kit and Ty were holed up in the large office with Jem and Tessa, poring over pages and pages of research over the Black Volume. Details on the type of magic it used, who could wield it, and anything that could possibly overrule it. So far, however, they had not found anything that they didn't already know or that could help. The office was massive, vaulted ceilings with mahogany beams and tall windows on the far wall. There were plenty of plush armchairs and loveseats, but the two boys chose to take up residence on the ornate rugs. Jem and Tessa were studying their own paperwork on the large desk at the far end of the room, quietly murmuring to each other about their findings. Ty guessed that they hadn't found any more than himself and Kit had, though.
"Really? I thought you enjoyed reading through the same pages over and over again." Ty mused, not taking his eyes off the book in front of him. He saw Kit sit up from the corner of his eye and finally looked up at him. He was beaming.
"Was that sarcasm you just used?!" Kit exclaimed, his smile spread wide across his face, simultaneously giving Ty butterflies and making him regret using sarcasm altogether.
Ty shook his head with a poorly-hidden smile and looked back down to his book, his dark hair falling in his eyes, "Don't look so smug, Christopher, I can be funny."
"When?" Kit asked innocently, smiling when Ty glared up at him with his silver eyes. "Kidding, promise. You know I think you're funny."
Kit brushed Ty's hair back and he felt a blush creep across his face before pulling away slightly, "It's okay, you use enough humor for the both of us."
The smile fell slightly from Kit's face as Ty pulled back and he continued to read through his papers on the floor when Jem stood up. "Let's go ask Clary." He said to Tess as she stood up and brushed the dust from her blue skirt, following him out of the room.
"We'll be right back, let us know if you find anything." Tessa and Jem walked past them and to the training room where Clary, Helen, and Dru were.
Kit nodded absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the paper he was studying. Ty continued to read his own book, his eyes glazing over as he tried to read the same paragraph for the fourth time; he could not retain anything. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to quiet his mind, trying desperately to grasp any sort of focus. It was in vain, as soon as he thought his mind was clear again, the thoughts came running back; worry for his brothers, frustration with this mission, and the ever-present ache in his chest at the loss of his twin. The pain was always there, like a constant pressure on his chest, but sometimes it was debilitating. He opened his eyes quickly, pushing away the image of Livvy, worried that the overwhelming pain would come back and drag him under. He must have gasped, because Kit looked up at him now, worry in his sky blue eyes.
"Ty?" Kit reached out to touch him, but thought better of it and recoiled. This time, though, Ty grabbed his hand and pulled it to his own face, wrapping his slender hand over his cheek. Kit spoke into the silence, "Why did you pull back before? Did you not want me to touch you? If it's too much I don't have to-"
"No," Ty interrupted him, talking fast, "No, you can. I want you to. I'm just not used to it. It's – it's new for me."
Kit laughed softly, "It's new for me too." He leaned in now, his hand still resting on Ty's face. His fingers gently brushing the dark hair at the nape of his neck as he pressed his lips to Ty's. He let his eyes flutter shut, letting the feel of Kit's soft lips against his calm his frantic mind. He vaguely remembered that they were still sitting in the office in the Herondale Manor; that Tessa and Jem could walk in on them kissing any minute now. Only he didn't feel as shy about it anymore, he had seen Jem kiss Tessa in front of them before. Had seen Jace and Clary kiss, even seen Mark and Kieran kiss and there were both boys. He never understood it, why you would want to kiss someone else, it all seemed a little unsanitary to Ty. But when Kit kissed him, he understood it a little better. It warmed his heart, made goosebumps raise on his skin. And Kit's lips were soft, it felt nice. He made a mental note to himself to kiss Kit more often. The doors burst open now, the two boys pulling away and looking up to see a distraught Dru in the doorway. She seemed to note that they were kissing but think nothing of it, her skin pale.
"Guys we have a problem with the plan." She said with a shaky voice.
Kit sighed dramatically as he stood up, "Already? You'd think we'd at least get through half a day without problems."
***
Kit, Ty, and Dru walked into the training room where the rest of them were waiting. The training room in the manor was smaller than the those at Institutes, but still large enough. It was on the top floor and very open, a few beams and training stations. They chose here for its open space, allowing Clary the room to create a portal if they needed. They had pulled some chairs in from the library so that they could sit while using the conveyance element, but no one was sitting now. Helen was holding it as she paced back and forth, her expression looking as if she were not entirely there – almost like she was sleeping with her eyes open. Clary was watching her with worried eyes, Jem and Tessa watching in silence.
"What is happening?" Ty asked, opening and closing his fists at his sides. He absolutely hated not knowing what was wrong. If there was a problem and he had all the information, he could fix it. But not knowing what was wrong was like torture, you couldn't fix what you didn't know.
Helen looked towards him now, her eyes seeming to actually look at him for the first time since he had entered the room. "Tiberius? It's- it's nothing."
"Don't lie to him." Kit snapped, his eyes narrowed at the blonde girl.
Ty looked at her levelly, "Helen, I'm not a kid anymore. We can help."
"The plan. The plan was to lure the King to the Seelie Court, block his Knights from ambushing us. The King is already on his way to the Seelie Court, a few gentry and scouts with him as expected. They just passed by Mark and the rest of them, we could see it from the Conveyance Element. But there is a factor we didn't consider. Not all of the King's reinforcements are in that cave." Helen was still holding the stone, but was looking at Ty directly, her hands slightly shaking.
"What do you mean? I mean surely they can handle some Unseelie Knights." One look at Helen's expression told him that a few Unseelie Knights weren't the problem. Kit grew more anxious, "What did you see?"
Helen looked at the stone in her hand, mind half in the room and half somewhere else, "The Riders of Mannan. They're travelling with the King."
"The riders?! Does Julian know?" Ty asked, a small seed of panic rooting itself in his chest. Julian had to know, he needed to know. His brother was there, and Emma and Jace.
Clary shook her head, "No, we hadn't seen or heard from them in weeks. They aren't expecting it."
"Then we need to warn them." It was Kit who spoke up, everyone's eyes flicking to him. "Clary can you send a fire message?"
Clary shook her head ruefully, "Unfortunately not, the blight prevents fire messages from being received. It's a form of magic."
"Well," Kit shrugged, "Then portal us to Faerie."
"Absolutely not," Helen interjected before Clary had a chance to answer, "You two are not going into Faerie alone!"
"If we don't then Julian, Emma and Jace could die!" Ty yelled at Helen, seeing her flinch at the tone. He could see Clary drain of color at Jace's name, her freckles standing out among the paleness. "I already lost my sister, I'm not losing my brother too. I thought you would understand that."
Before Helen could refuse again, Clary turned to her, "I can portal them to Jace, Julian and Emma. They won't be alone in Faerie. If I can see them with the element, I can portal them straight there. But I can't portal you back out, the blight prevents it. You'll have to find a way out with them."
"You can't be serious, Clary-"
Clary's green eyes shifted to Helen apologetically, "You know as well as I that if we don't, they'll find another way."
Dru shrugged at her older sister, "You know she's right."
Helen closed her eyes with a deep sigh and held her hand out to Clary without any hesitation. "I'll show them to you, do you have a stele?" Clary nodded and took her hand gently, "Please be safe, Tiberius. You too, Kit. All of you come home safe."
Clary and Helen closed their eyes, the stone glowing a little brighter as Clary grasped the stele tightly in her hand and began moving it in thin strokes through the air. Ty noticed idly that Clary held the stele similar to Julian, like a paintbrush. Emma would always yell at him for it, but Clary was moving it gracefully as the rune took shape and a portal began forming in the room. Clary signaled for them to go, her eyes remaining closed.
Ty grabbed Kit's hand with a faint smile, "Off to save the world." Kit smirked. And with that, they stepped through the portal, the Herondale Manor and Idris dissolving behind them.