"What happened?" Magnus questions as Simon, Clary and I brought Luke inside his apartment.
"He was attacked!" Simon blurts out.
"He needs a warlock. He needs you." Clary says after him.
Magnus rushes and lays a sheet on the couch, "Put him here."
We lay him on the couch, his blood on my forehead and scattered on my side, the bruised cut on my cheek still some how bleeding out.
"Where are you?" Luke calls out, "I can't find you."
He was in some sort of trance, as we tried out best to hold him down, "Zee's the key?- You want me to unlock her? To save you- to stop Valentine? Wait! Jocelyn! Jocelyn-"
"No, Luke, it's Clary." Clary held his face, "Can you hear me?"
"Clary, where's Zee-" Luke reaches out for me.
"I'm here- I'm right here." I grabbed his hand.
"Listen- you have to listen to me." Luke weakly spoke, "I have to tell you, just in case-"
"Stop it- don't say it." I stop him.
"No, listen to me." Luke shook his head, I open my mouth to say something but he beats me too it, "No, you need to know!"
"Was he bitten by an alpha?" Magnus questions.
"Yeah, why?" Simon looks up.
"Three, two, one-" Magnus counts down, Luke letting out a gasp, his eyes flashing green.
I gasp, Magnus walking away, Simon looking up, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Hold him down." Magnus orders, "We don't have a lot of time. It'll take a few moments to take effect."
"What's happening to him?" I question, helping hold Luke down.
"Random werewolf transformation." Magnus told me, putting a piece of bark in Luke's mouth, "It's a side effect of the poison in the alpha bite."
-
I was seated on Magnus's ground, a few feet away from Luke, tears slipping my eyes, red around my eyes due to how much crying I had done.
I had tried to stop crying multiple times, but with every moment, worry increased in me, and I could stop the tears from falling.
I couldn't lose him.
I didn't want it to be my fault.
But that's all I could think about.
My legs were crossed, the photo album I had found at the loft resting in front of me, as I slowly flipped through the pages of the white album, pictures of my mother and I, Jocelyn, Simon, Clary, Luke and I, even Maureen, etc.
It was my family. Filled with the people I cared about.
Filled with people I once knew.
I come across a photo at the end of the photos, half of the book empty, the date I had written ending two years ago. A man, holding my mother.
Scott and Margaret Young.
I am snapped away from my thoughts, when Simon speaks to Clary, "You okay?"
"How could I have doubted him?" Clary stood up, "Simon, he's- the only father Zee and I have ever known. I can't lose him."
Simon embraces her into a hug, "I get a good vibe from this Magnus Bane guy. He seems like he knows what he's doing."
Magnus walks in, holding many things, "The bark will stop the transformation for now, but Luke needs an antidote to stop the poison in his system. And I don't have all the ingredients here."
I wipe my tears, "Just tell me what you need and how to get it."
"No, you and Clary need to stay here." Magnus points at me, walking onto his balcony, "Luke will need you if he wakes up."
Clary's eyes widen lightly, correcting him, "When he wakes up."
"I'll go." Simon offers.
Jace walks in, running a hand through his hair, blood dripping from his nose, "I'll go."
"Jace, what happened to you?" Magnus walks by him, taking notice of the blood, holding jaw to look at it for a second, before walking away.
I got up, sniffling, his eyes instantly landing on me. I walked over to him, my hand reaching to grab his face, my eyes glued to his bleeding nose, but I form it into a fist quickly, dropping it to my side, "Jace-"
"Luke's car may have found its way into a pole while I was stashing it." Jace admits, grabbing a tissue, wiping away the dry blood, but barely, "I don't do mundane driving."
I let out a weak laugh through my tears, my voice quiet, "I told you I should've done it."
"I didn't you want you do it alone and- even if you came with me, we still would've ended up into a pole." Jace looks down at me, his eyes filled with something I couldn't decipher, "I wanted you to be with Luke. He needs you."
"You didn't get any blood off-" I slowly took the tissue from his hands, holding his face with one hand, wiping away the rest of the blood, throwing away the tissue.
Jace watches my every move, then gently grabs my arm, "Hey- come here."
I looked at him, as he pulled me into his chest, knowing that I needed a hug.
I hugged back tightly, burying my face into his chest, my heart beat quickening.
Within the moments he held me, I felt better. I felt as if I had escaped everything for those few moments and it was just him and I.
I pull away, giving him a weak smile.
"What do you need for the antidote?" Jace questions, watching Magnus wall by us.
"Hey, I got this." Simon cuts in.
Magnus walks right past them, putting more things onto the table, ignoring their little disagreement, "Phoenix eyes, moon salt, and Idris fulgurite."
"One trip to the pharmacy, it'll take two seconds." Simon started to walk.
Jace stops him, "I know a guy. And, uh- I don't need him."
"Too bad." He shot right back, "You're getting me. We'll be right back."
"One more thing." Magnus stops them, "I need Alexander."
My eyebrows furrow, my eyes landing on Magnus, "For what?"
"Uh, why do you need Alec?" Jace questions after me, clearing his throat.
"Virgin Shadowhunter energy." Magnus throws out a reason, looking between us.
Simon exhales, "That explains so much."
"Well- he's not so virgin anymore." Jace remarks, crossing his arms, his eyes landing on me.
My jaw drops at his words, completely speechless. I close my mouth, sucking on my teeth, shooting him a look.
Simon's eyebrows furrow, looking at me, "Wait- you and Alec-"
"Simon-" Clary cuts in, saving me from the awkward conversation, coming to my side, "I think we should focus on the task at hand."
"Um, Alec, yeah- I can't." Jace shook his head.
"Jace, just ask, please." I plead, "You need to sort your issues out- I don't know what those issues are- but you guys need to talk."
Magnus walks by Jace, looking at him, "Trouble in paradise?"
Jace huffs, walking away with Simon, "Just don't speak to me-"
-
[ alec's pov ]
Isabelle walks into the room I was in, "Mom's in rare form today."
"She's been different since she got back from Idris." I turn and face her.
"If you say so." Isabelle shrugs, "Same old judgmental Mom with me. Have you spoken to Jace yet?"
"He can call me when he's done chasing the little girl and-" I began.
"The little girl you've shown interest in?" Isabelle shot me a look.
I roll my eyes, "It was one time. It didn't mean anything to either of us-"
She cut me off, "Alec, you need to call Jace."
My father walks in, interrupting, "No "welcome home" for the old man?"
"Max!" I smile, Max running over and giving me a hug, "What are you doing back so soon?"
"Got in trouble in Mumbai." Max told me.
My smile grows wider, as I stayed crouched to his height, "Oh, what'd you do?"
"Nothing." Max lied.
"He started a fire with his stele during rune studies." Our father exposed him.
"Max." Isabelle giggles, giving him a hug.
"I told you, I was hungry." Max spoke, "I was trying to draw the Nourishment rune."
I laugh, "Those two runes look nothing alike, Max."
Max shrugs, "Well, they do to me."
"Max, go up to your room, open the Gray Book and look up the Extinguish rune." Father points, Max leaving the room, "Where is Zee Young? Your mother said she's missing."
"She's not missing." I stood up, "She's with Jace and Clary."
"We can't have that girl out of Institute control." He spoke, "The entire Shadow World is looking for her. It's a security risk. Get them all back here now."
-
"You need to get back to the Institute." I walked through the halls, on the phone with Jace.
"You need to help me first." Jace conditions.
"No, I'm not messing around." I began.
He cuts me off, "Me either. I need your help."
"You okay?" I question.
"I'm fine." He answered, "It's Magnus. He needs your powerful Shadowhunter energy, or something like that."
"Magnus- why does Magnus need me?" I ask.
"To help save Luke's life." Jace told me honestly.
"No, I told you at the wolf den, no more Downworlder business." I told him, "We can't be seen as interfering with a pack alpha dispute. How can you even ask me-"
"I shouldn't have to ask you, Alec." He cut me off, "We're parabatai."
"That's exactly my point." I shot back at him.
"Alec, you're a man of honor, and the only person in the world I would trust with something like this." Jace spoke, "I'm counting on you to do the right thing."
-
[ zee's pov ]
"What's all this for?" I question, watching Magnus dump different portions of different ingredients into the bowl in front of me, "The base for the potion-"
"Stir." He pours a glowing mixture into the bowl, Clary seated with Luke, not leaving his side as I helped Magnus.
"Thank you- for helping us." I stirred, looking at Magnus as he gathered another ingredient.
"I'd do anything for you, my dear." Magnus pours something else in, "Keep stirring, we need to have it ready before your boy toys get back."
I stir, "They're hardly anything but my friends-"
"Biscuit, do you really expect me to believe that?" Magnus grabbed a few more things, "Jace is head over heels for you."
"Magnus-" I trail off, continuing to stir.
"Both Jace and Simon are fighting for your attention, my dear." Magnus sprinkles something into the mixture.
I shot him a look, shaking my head.
"But, it seems- there's something going on with you and Alexander?" Magnus mentions something from what was said earlier.
"There is nothing between Alec and I-" I instantly deny, "It was something that was in the moment. He doesn't like me at all-"
"Is that because of Jace?" Magnus adds more things into the mixture, "Because Jace is interested in you?"
"Magnus." I looked at him, "Alec is all yours."
Magnus breaks out into a small smile, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
"He's a challenge." I continued to stir, looking down at the mixture.
Magnus smiles, walking away, grabbing something, coming back over, "I love a challenge."
I change the subject after a few moments of silence, "What if they don't get back in time?"
"You can't think like that, biscuit." Magnus went out to his balcony, grabbing something, walking back over, tossing it into the mixture.
"That's all I can think about." I admit, "I feel so guilty for not believing Luke. I mean- he's been a father figure to me for years, and I doubted him so easily."
"You were cautious, that's all." Magnus defends me, looking through different ingredients.
"Magnus, I don't know if I can do this. I'm not cut out for this-" I shook my head, "I'm an art student. I'm no Shadowhunter."
"Who says?" Magnus looks at me.
I look at him, "I do. I don't know what I'm doing. I've put so many people in danger and the same people have been risking everything to help me."
"Don't sell yourself short." Magnus puts a strand of my hair behind my ear, tossing another ingredient in, "You forget, I've seen you in action, Zee Young."
"Jocelyn!" Luke calls out, as Magnus and I immediately drop what we're doing, rushing over to him and Clary.
"Luke, I'm here." Clary held his hand, "I'm here."
"Let me take your pain away." Magnus told him, ready to use his magic to do so.
"No-" Luke resisted.
"Agitation only makes the venom work faster." Magnus adds in.
"I need to tell Zee." Luke breathes heavily, "She needs to know-"
"Save your strength." Clary told him.
Luke looks at me, "No, you need to know."
"Magnus, do it." I told him.
Luke stops him, "You need to tell her, all of it. Promise me."
Magnus nods, then uses his magic, looking at me, "The poison is spreading. Your suitors need to hurry."
-
[ jace's pov ]
"Keep up, mundane." I call out for Simon, walking way ahead of him.
"Would you stop calling me that?" Simon questioned, following me, "I have a name."
I shrug, "Well, learning it would mean I care, so, no."
"Yeah, and God forbid you care about anyone but yourself." Simon mutters.
"I care about a bunch of people." I spoke, "Just don't care about you."
"Me, or what- what's it called, your- your parabatais?" Simon says.
I stop, turning, "Whoa, watch your mouth. You don't know a thing about me and Alec. We clear?"
"Twenty bucks says he leaves you hanging tonight." Simon walks past me.
"Not a chance." I follow him.
"Really? "Come, fetch, roll over." You know, "Lie down." You treat him like a lap dog." Simon rolls his eyes.
I shoulder past him, "Guess it takes one to know one."
Simon stops, "What's that supposed to mean?"
I turn, walking back over to him, "It means, you're like a yippy dog nipping at Zee's heels."
"I don't nip." Simon said to me, "And she's my best friend."
"That's all she's ever gonna be." I told him flat out, claiming her mine, "Have you seriously not figured that out yet?"
"Look, I don't want Zee as anything more than a best friend." Simon told me, "And I'll have you know that there are tons of women who have more-than-a-friend feelings for me."
I look around, "Where are they?"
"I don't have to introduce you to them." Simon spat at me, "And my point is, Zee and I have always had each other's backs. We had our entire lives. That's more than I can say for you or Alec."
"You do not get to talk about Alec-" I lash out, stopping him, "-mundane."
"I told you, don't call me mundane!" Simon pushes me against the wall, holding my blade up to my neck, a smile of humor breaking onto my lips, "Are we clear?"
"What are you gonna do now?" I taunt, stepping closer, letting the blade touch my skin, "You gonna cut me?"
I hit his arm out of the way, knocking the blade out of his hand, grabbing him by him neck, knocking onto the ground, holding him down, "Do that again, and I'll kick your ass."
"I'm sorry." He stammers, "Dude, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that- I'm sorry."
I help him up, putting my blade away, "What happened to you at the vampire hotel?"
"Nothing." He told me, "I told you, I was a hostage."
"You sure?-" I grab his face, trying to move it to see his neck.
He pushes me away, "Leave me alone! I told you, it's nothing, it's- you just piss me off."
-
"Okay- I have absolutely no idea what's going on here." I paced back and forth, "What is so important that you need to tell me-"
"I want to know too." Clary nods, "What's so important that Luke risked his life?"
"Everything Jocelyn hoped to hide from you." Magnus poured himself a drink, a sketch book and charcoal appearing in front of me after using his magic.
I slowly picked up the charcoal, "You want me to draw?"
"When you were younger, I'd watch you sketching." Magnus recalls on those memories, coming behind me, "It was your bliss. You're gonna need some bliss now."
"I could use a drink now." I mutter under my breath, not knowing that Magnus had heard me.
Magnus rolls his eyes playfully, "You're underage."
I looked at him instantly, shooting him a look, "You act like I've never used a fake id before."
"Zee-" Magnus trails off, staring at me.
"One." I persuaded, shooting him an innocent smile.
Magnus stared at me for second, before pouring it to me, "One."
"Much appreciated." I take it, setting it down, opening the sketch book, Clary declining the drink Magnus equally offered to her.
I stare at the blank page, "I don't know what to draw."
"Whatever your heart desires." Magnus circles around me.
"I don't know what my heart desires anymore." I drop the charcoal, huffing, "It feels like every part of me that I knew disappeared when Jace walked into my life."
"Everything from before- everything that you were- it's still here. Just in different scenario." Magnus explained, looking at me, "You're the woman your mother always knew you could be."
"The woman I was kept from being." I mutter, sighing deeply.
"That's why you need to know how you got here." Magnus nods towards me.
Clary cuts in, "Will it help me find my mother?"
"That's the only reason I can think of why Luke would be so adamant." Magnus admits.
I looked at Magnus, "I'm ready. Tell us everything."
Magnus nods, "When I first heard about your father, around the time he and Jocelyn first got together, long before the Uprising and the Circle, Valentine elevated the Morgenstern name- to be synonymous with virtue."
"But by the time my people came to know him, barely two years later his name had become synonymous with devastation." Magnus went on, looking at Clary, "Your mother told me it was then she first saw the signs."
I began to sketch something, focusing on the blank paper being stained, as Magnus continued, "They never found all the bodies. We'd all stood with the Clave for centuries."
"How could that not matter to him?" I question, blending the charcoal in.
"He was obsessed with ensuring purity of blood." Magnus sipped his drink, "Convinced that the impurities were a threat to peace."
"He was the threat to peace." Clary mutters.
"Mad men rarely make sense. Mostly, they just hate." Magnus stops, "And he hated the Downworlders, for the gifts that we possess that he could not have. He hated us enough to kill us all."
"Ever since Jocelyn was kidnapped, and the Shadow World was my new life, so many Downworlders have helped me, not even thinking about what it might cost them." I dropped my charcoal, "How could Valentine not see good in any of them?"
"He was blinded by his ambition." Magnus took a seat.
"Why didn't the Clave stop him?" Clary questions.
"He was clever." Magnus continued, "He and his followers, they managed to convince the Clave that the Downworlders they killed on their special missions had violated the Accords in some way. Complete fabrications."
"How could the Clave not see?" Clary questions again.
"Shadowhunters believe in the Law as absolute."
Magnus explains, "They could never conceive of one of their own going astray."
"My father didn't go astray, Magnus." I cross my arms, "He went insane."
"What happened back then is happening again." Magnus looks at me, "The Clave refuses to believe that Valentine's a threat. Nineteen years ago, their lack of vision allowed the Circle to almost decimate the entire Shadow World?"
"That was the Uprising?" I asked.
"Yes." He nods, "Valentine wanted to create a new Shadowhunter army. And for that, he needed the Mortal Cup."
Magnus went more in depth, "He knew it would be on display at the signing of the Accords as a show of the Clave's power. He seized the opportunity to accomplish everything he ever wanted. Destroy the Accords, murder Downworlders, and secure the Cup."
"How could my mom and Luke be a part of something like this?" Clary questions.
"Jocelyn and Luke tried to prevent the Uprising." Magnus looks at me, "This is where your mother comes in."
I stare at him, as he began, "Your mother was never part of the Circle. She was one of Jocelyn's closest friends, but she never agreed to what Valentine planned. She always saw through what he spoke, and knew what he was really planning."
"She tried convince your mother that it was wrong, and she should come with her. But- Jocelyn's love for Valentine was too strong." Magnus went on, "Soon, Luke and Jocelyn had came to their senses. They tried to change Valentine's mind about Downworlders."
"Obviously, they didn't." Clary looks away.
"Clary, if it wasn't for Margaret, Jocelyn and Luke, the Circle would have won." Magnus sipped his drink, "After they fought, Margaret took the Moral Cup and made sure, if it ever came to it, only Zee would be able to retrieve it. Jocelyn hid it for her after her death."
"Ever since I found out Valentine was our father, I wondered how my mother could be married to someone like that and why she stayed." Clary scoffs in disbelief, "She had to stop him."
"And safeguard the Cup." Magnus nods, "Everything Jocelyn did, she did to save the people she'd sworn to protect. She took her oath as a Shadowhunter seriously."
I swallow a big gulp of my drink, blinking hard, "How does that help me find the Cup?"
"Maybe Luke thinks if you know your mother better, you'll know where she hid it." Magnus suggests, getting up.
I looked at him, "Did my mother give up being a Shadowhunter?"
Magnus nods, as I followed up, "Why?"
"Because the one thing in the world she loved more is you." Magnus told me, "She had to protect you."
"From Valentine." I scoff, "That lunatic."
Luke starts to let out grunts and screams, as I set down my drink, rushing over, "Luke-"
Clary and Magnus were right behind me, "The magic's wearing off-"
"It was our fault- It was our fault!" Luke breathes, his eyes screwed shut.
Clary looks at the wound, "It's worse."
-
[ simon's pov ]
"So is this where you kill me and dispose of the body in some ditch- where no one will find me?" I question, following Jace.
"Tell me again-" Jace stops, "What does Zee see in you?"
"My inner compassion." I told him, "Something you're sorely lacking."
"You don't really need compassion when you can get by on charm and good looks." Jace simply said, looking at the door.
"And you wonder what she sees in me." I roll my eyes, "What are we doing here?"
"My black market dealer operates out of this building." Jace informs me.
"Cozy." I mutter, "Downworlder, I'm assuming?"
"Hates mundanes." Jace comments, shooting me a look.
I remark, "So- you guys have something in common."
"Just, uh hang back." Jace told me, starting to head towards the door.
"I told Zee I'd get her what she needs to save Luke." I follow him, pulling him back, "I am not hanging back like some third wheel."
Jace whips out his sword and holds it to my neck, stopping me, "You are a third wheel."
He pierces his sword into the ground, "And I wasn't asking."
He walks in, leaving me alone outside.
The feeling of someone's presence distracts me, my head snapping back, seeing Camille, my eyes widening, "Camille?"
I rush over to where she stood, only for her to no longer be there, and my dead body on the ground.
I stare at myself with wide eyes, two fang marks in my neck, a shaky breath leaving my lips.
Jace's voice fills my ears, "Run!"
I stay frozen, Jace grabbing his sword, grabbing onto me, pulling me away, killing a demon.
"Come on, mundane." He pulls me along, "Zee will not be happy if I let you die."
-
[ zee's pov ]
"I'm running out of magic." Magnus became weaker with every moment, trying to keep Luke stable.
"What do we do?" Clary questions quickly.
"I can't leave him, but the potion stock still needs Komodo scale." Magnus told us, "Find it, add the rest when they get here. You'll have to feed it to Luke."
"What about you?" I question, the ground starting to lightly shake, a few things knocking over.
"I'll hold on as long as I can." Magnus told me, "Go!"
Clary and I rush around, looking for the ingredient.
I turn, running right into Alec Lightwood, my face ramming into his chest, his hands grabbing my arms and lightly pulling me away from him.
"Alec-" My eyes were wide, "You came-"
"Of course I came-" Alec lets go of me.
"Go-" I point, "Magnus is in there-"
Alec nods, walking through the doors and disappearing into the room.
"Zee!" Jace's voice catches my attention, my head snapping sideways, Jace and Simon running in with a small bag.
"Do you have it?" I question, Jace nodding, handing me the bag, "Right on time-"
I rush back in, slipping on something, almost falling over, Jace catching me instantly, saving me from falling on my ass.
"Thanks-" I quickly thank him, tossing the ingredients into the mixture, mixing it as quick as I could, pouring it into a small cup, rushing over to Luke, pouring it into his mouth.
Luke swallows, his eyes opening, letting out a breath.
He smiles weakly, "Zee-"
Magnus falls into Alec, Alec keeping a hold on him and looking at him, "You okay?"
Magnus weakly nods, "Yeah."
I look between them, pursing my lips to hold back a weak smile, my head quickly snapping down towards Luke.
-
I stood by myself in the hall, letting the last of my drink spill out of the glass and into my mouth.
Alec stops at the end of the hall at the sight of me, then walks in, picking up a few things, "Are you drinking?"
I hollow out of my cheeks, my eyes widening, looking at him, swallowing what was in my mouth, the liquid burning down my throat, my voice raspy at how quickly I took it down, "No-"
Alec shot me a look, then starts to leave me alone, as I stop him, "Alec, wait."
He pauses and turns, looking at me.
"If you hadn't gotten here in time, we could've lost Luke." I cross my arms, looking up at him, "Thank you. I'm glad you and Jace are okay now."
Alec stares down at me, "I didn't do this for Jace."
"Then I'm glad you did it for you." I correct myself, giving him a small smile.
His straight face breaks, the corner of his lips turning up lightly at my words.
Jace walks in, walking over to Alec and giving him a hug, "Thank you."
Alec hugs back, giving him a smile, then leaving us alone.
Jace crosses his arms, turning towards me, "You have an interesting effect on people, Zee Young."
"Do I?" I accidentally slur the slightest bit.
"You smell like liquor." Jace smirks lightly.
"Really?" My eyes slightly widen, "That isn't good-"
"That and you just slurred." Jace points out.
"I may have had one drink." I admit shyly, scratching the back of my head, "I mean- I'm lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so I might be the slightest bit tipsy right now-"
Jace smiles lightly, "You're cute."
I roll my eyes playfully, "Thank you."
"For what?" Jace questions, "Calling you cute?"
I shook my head, "No?"
"For running an errand?" Jace guesses once more.
I unintentionally break out into a smile, "For having my back."
Jace uncrosses his arms, holding my face, "I'm always gonna have your back."
My heartbeat quickens at his touch, our eyes connected and locked.
Simon clears his throat, ruining the moment, "Zee- Luke's asking for you."
I clear my throat, stepping away from Jace, nodding at them both, quickly leaving them and walking towards the room Luke was in.
Clary slowly walks out, giving me a small smile.
"How's he doing?" I quietly ask.
"A lot better than what we witnessed a while ago." Clary hugs me, "He wants to speak with you."
"All right." I nod, rubbing her back, pulling away.
"You seem- happy." Clary held my arms, "What happened?"
"Magnus is totally into Alec." I quietly told her, a small smile on my face, "This is going to unleash Alec's inner gay- so, he won't be tempted to kiss me- I won't be tempted to kiss back- and I can finally focus on what I really feel."
She puts a strand of my hair behind my ear, "Like your feelings for our dear friend Jace?"
"Clary-" I shot her a look.
"I can read right through you." Clary reasons with me instantly, showing me that I couldn't lie about it any longer.
"Yes-" I mutter quietly, "My feelings for Jace."
"I think you should go for it." She smiles at me, patting my arm, walking away, "He feels the same."
I playfully roll my eyes at her, then walk into the room Magnus and Luke were in.
"Thank you, Magnus." Luke thanked again, Magnus perfecting everything.
"You're welcome." Magnus nods, "I'll leave you two alone."
Magnus walks over to me, as I gave him a hug, "Thank you-"
"Go easy on him, biscuit." Magnus hugs me back, then pulls away, nodding towards me, then leaving us alone.
I stepped in further, "You know I have questions for you, right?"
"Yes, go ahead." Luke nods.
"I know Jocelyn swore you to secrecy, but I've seen you stand up to her before. Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" I question.
"Because I was afraid you'd hate us." Luke told me honestly.
"Not possible." I shook my head, "The two people that looked after me after my mother died- there's no way I could hate you."
Luke goes silent as I went on, "Okay the last few days, I have not had all of the information."
"And you still don't." Luke said, "But you need to know everything. It'll help you find the Mortal Cup."
"How?" I question.
"You're just gonna have to trust me." Luke relies on that.
"I do, more than anything." I nod, "But- you have to trust me, too."
"All right." Luke agreed.
"Before you telling me anything-" I sat in front of him, "I want to know."
"Know what?" Luke questions.
"I want to know how my mother died." I told him, "You've had to have been there. Please- tell me you know."
Luke looks down, "We all thought Valentine was dead. We thought he was gone- but- little did we know, he wasn't. He was well alive and was secretly on the search for the Cup, staying off the grid."
I nod for him to go on as he did, "As much as your mother hid you away from the Shadow World, as hard she tried to keep you shielded and hidden, one day, Valentine found you."
He continued, "He broke into your home along with some sort of shapeshifting demon and used you as leverage. He was going to kill you if she didn't tell him where the Cup was. Jocelyn and I instantly got our hands on a portal and came- that was the day Jocelyn and I found out he was your father."
"When she refused, he killed her instead of you." Luke told me, "And then, Jocelyn took you to Magnus and removed your memories of everything, and had you move in with us, leaving Queens."
I stare at my hands, not knowing what to say.
"Magnus told you about the Uprising?" Luke changed the subject, after telling me about everything I asked.
I nod weakly, as he continued, "The reason he became that man was our fault mine and Jocelyn's."
My eyes squint, "What're you talking about?"
"We betrayed him, Jocelyn and I." Luke exhales, "We fell in love. Valentine was my parabatai. We both loved him. But as his rhetoric got more violent and he became more combative with the Clave we started to worry. We tried to help him, tried to temper him, but he just kept pulling away. That just drew us closer together. We knew it was wrong, but we couldn't deny it, or hide it."
I nod for him to go on, "Valentine became convinced we were having an affair. He was obsessed with winning Jocelyn's heart back. For love, he was willing to do anything even compromise his own principles. He became fixated on becoming a better soldier. That led him to do the unthinkable experiment with Downworlder blood."
He continued, "Once he crossed that line we never got him back again. In the end, our love did more damage to Valentine than anything anybody else could have done. We broke his heart."
"At least now I know he had one before his crazy, distorted world view set in." I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "What was he like? Before he-"
"In the early days of the Circle?" Luke cuts me off, "He was honorable. Idealistic. He was charismatic."
"Just like you." I sigh deeply, playing with my hands.
"Oh, no." Luke shook his head, "I never came close. He was a leader. Devoted to protecting us from dying pointless deaths."
"And you believed in him?" I looked up at him.
"If Simon told you he had the cure for cancer, you'd want to believe him, too." Luke reasons.
"Well, I'd probably give him the benefit of the doubt-" I shrug.
"Which is what I did." Luke said, "What we all did. The demons were winning. We couldn't train our people fast enough to keep up. Val wanted the Clave to use the Mortal Cup to create more Shadowhunters, but that just made them angry."
"Isn't more Shadowhunters a good thing?" I question, "It help fight the demons off?"
"Not the way he was proposing." Luke shook his head, "Ever since the Angel Raziel created the first Shadowhunters with the Cup, it's been forbidden to use the Cup again to rebuild their forces."
"Jocelyn and I, we tried pulling him back, but he just misconstrued that as-" Luke trails off.
"The affair." I finished his sentence, "It's not your fault, Luke. There's no way you two could have pushed him over the edge. He did that to himself with the blood injections."
"And the more injections he took, the deeper it seemed he descended into madness." He went on.
"Is there any chance-" I trail off, looking away, "He experimented on other people?"
"I-" Luke trails off, "I have no idea."
"What did he do?" I looked at Luke.
"Jocelyn is the only other person I ever told this to." Luke spoke, "I never wanted it to burden you."
"Tell me." I nod.
"Valentine asked me to back him up on a mission. Some farmers had gone missing. He said it was werewolves." Luke explains, telling me about how Valentine tricked him and locked him with werewolves, "He betrayed our parabatai bond. And then he betrayed everything else he believed in."
"For a while, I thought he'd killed your mother. He wanted all three of us dead." He said, "He killed thousands. Turned Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"God only knows what he'd do if he got the Cup." I sigh deeply, placing my head in my hands.
"We have to get the Cup before Valentine does." Luke told me.
"That's what I've been trying to do." I sat up, "But I don't know where it is. Or even where to start looking."
He stares at me, "It all starts and ends with you."
"How do you know that?" I scoff, standing up.
"Because I know Margaret." Luke told me, "You're the only other person she would have trusted with the location of the Cup."
"Well- Margaret's dead." I lash out, my eyes stinging as small tears began filling my eyes, "If she trusted me so much, why didn't she tell me any of this? She kept me in the dark for years- then I was handed over to Jocelyn where she continued her bidding."
Luke grabs my hand, "Zee- she didn't think this was gonna happen. She made provisions just in case it did."
"The potion, Dot- Jocelyn said that I should tell you everything about our past." Luke told me, "That it would unlock you."
"What does that even mean?" I blink away my tears, pulling away from him.
"I don't know! But you do." Luke looks at me.
"Memory's wiped, remember?" I run a hand through my hairs.
"There are clues." He urges, "They're inside the mundane world. Think, Zee."
"Everyone keeps telling me to this- but I don't remember anything." I pace, "If Jocelyn hid the clues, I don't know what they are."
"You have to figure this out!" Luke pushes.
"You said you had to tell me everything." I stop, a idea popping into my head, walking over to my bag, grabbing the box out of it and sitting right in front of him, "What is this?"
Luke shook his head immediately, "No."
"I know this belonged to my father." I set in between us, "What is it?"
He shook his head again, "No."
"Valentine is my father." I pushed, wanting answers, "Who is "JC"?"
"I want you to remember your father could be a good man." Luke was denying.
"Do you really expect me to think any better of what I think of him now?" I question, "After he killed my mother- what he did to you- how he took Jocelyn?"
"This is worse, Zee." He dismisses.
"I need to know." I kept pushing, "You said so yourself. You have to tell me everything. You can't leave this out."
Luke looks down, huffing, "JC stands for Jonathan Christopher your brother."
I felt like the wind had been knocked of me, "-brother? Clary and I- we have a brother?"
"You did." He looks away, " He died in a fire at Fairchild Manor. A fire that your father set."
"That monster." I took a shaky breath, trying to hold back tears, placing the box over the blank paper in my sketch book, my hand resting on it, only for my hand to drop onto the paper, the box now a drawing on the paper.
Luke and I both jump, my eyes widening, "What the hell did I just do- how did I do that-"
"There are Shadowhunters that have unusual Angelic Powers, but I've never seen anyone do what you just did-" Luke slowly picks up the book.
I looked at him, "Can these powers be inherited?"
"I think so." Luke nods a little.
My thoughts shift towards my 18th birthday.
The biscotti that was suddenly a drawing in my book. It didn't disappear, I didn't eat it too fast. I had done what I just did.
I looked up at Luke, "I know where Jocelyn hid the Cup."
authors note:
double update because I'm a writer who sucks at writing and loves publishing * insert me hitting the woah *
also because i already had a gif for this and this is the last chapter I've written in advance and I've finished it soooo
like enjoy my guys