As I woke up again I laid on the floor made out of cold stone. The moment I opened my eyes I knew I was still at the Siberian institute. Alone. The pain was gone. I lifted my shirt and saw the hole in my stomach. No blade. I was dead and knew it.

"I can't believe you did this."

I turned around. It was Magnus. Even in death he would haunt me.

Magnus: "I know that we had a hard start, and I am probably the last person you want to see right now."

Kalia: "Where is Korey?"

Magnus: "Even in the face of death, all that matters for you is your family. He's save. We brought him back home. His memories of this were erased."

I was releaved.

Magnus: "They send you off to spy on us, so they could destroy the institute?"

I nodded.

Magnus: "Did you come to the institute with that aim?"

Kalia: "No, the moment I was allowed to leave I knew I would do none of his tasks. It was pure luck that Jace found me in the pandemonium. Is Jace alright?"

Magnus: "Well, how can he be alright if he just lost the love of his life? He's traumatized and does not want to leave you. We brought you back home."

Kalia: "I don't have a home."

Magnus: "You sure have. Home is not always a place. Sometimes home means being by the side of a person you truly love."

Kalia: "I never considered it that way."

Magnus: "You are young, of course you did not. And that's okay."

Kalia: "How can you actually be here?"

He smiled.

Magnus: "You are almost dead. It's the last step. Freja is pretty powerful when it comes to magic. She sent me to you, so we can have a serious conversation."

Kalia: "I don't think we have anything to talk about. Where is that stupid light or tunnel or whatever that I need to go through to reach hell?"

I looked around me but there was nothing likely like that.

Magnus: "You think you are going to hell?"

Kalia: "I killed people..."

Magnus: "... and saved even more. You have a pure heart. I mean, for sure you are insane. What did you think? Walking into here and killing everyone while they sleep in their cozy beds with fluffy blankies and their stuffed animals in their arms? There was no chance. You just decided to die even though it is not the right timing."

Kalia: "Is there ever a right time to die?"

Magnus chuckled.

Magnus: "You are mature for your age, my dear one. Actually there is a right time to die. Your clock still goes on. The angels give you another chance. You either go back to your body and live or stay here until the white light shines."

Kalia: "I can still live?"

He nodded and came closer.

Kalia: "I don't see a reason in life, tho. My own brother and my parents don't even recognize me anymore. If I go back to the institute they will derune me. Where am I supposed to go?"

Magnus: "Why should they derune you?"

I began to laugh.

Kalia: "I broke like every law that I ever heard of."

Magnus: "Yeah, we definitely need to work on that. The laws are there for a reason. We both don't like that but it is what it is. You showed loyalty towards the clave and decided to die in order to save a mundane and us."

Kalia: "You just tell me that, so we can leave. You can go. I will stay."

He came closer and grabbed me by both of my shoulders, shaking me carefully.

Magnus: "We are family. I'm probably the uncle you really dislike, but we are a family now. And I won't just let you die. Life is worth living."

Kalia: "It's not."

Magnus: "Stop talking back, it is. See the unlimited chances you were gifted with. You can travel the world, visit your desired city, you can explore the darkest caves and search for the sunken treasures in the blue sea. You can see the colors of your surroundings, smell the scent of the trees, flowers and earth. You can hear the voices of your loved ones and the music that guides your way. You are lucky enough to decide on your own, to choose your destination, your partner. We are all gifted for what we have but most of the time we don't even see it. How blind are we to oversee how gifted we are?"

I could not talk back this time. He was right.

Again tears ran over my cheek. He wiped them away.

Kalia: "Can we please go?"

Magnus: "Of course, we can."

An instant later we stood in my room in the NY institute. I could see my own body, covered in blood. The whole bed was full of it. I saw Jace, he kneeled beside me, digging his fingers into the soaked fabric of my shirt. He was crying and it broke my heart to see him suffer like that.

Magnus: "Jace is a player. He likes women, no doubt on that. But he loves you. You are his source of hope. Don't let it vanish."

Magnus disappeared. I was more or less alone now.

Alec entered the room.

Alec: "Jace, maybe you should let her go. The iratze does not work and I think she is not going to listen to Magnus either."

Jace lifted his head and looked at me... well, my body.

Jace: "If she dies, bury me by her side."