"Three second head start and you didn't try to run?" Jace came out the other side of the portal, "I'm disappointed."

"How far do you think I was gonna get in three seconds?" I stared at him, "And what's the point? You're just gonna catch me again anyway, right?-"

Jace grabs my arm and shoves me forward to make me keep moving, "Let's go."

"You know, we can run all you want." I walked with him, "It's only a matter of time before the guards from the Clave get to us- and then I'm right back to my execution."

Jace almost laughed at me, "That's why I activated your Anti-Tracking rune."

My jaw clenched, before spinning to look at him, stopping in front of him, "Let me talk to him."

"Please- let me have a minute with him." I stare into his eyes, "I want to talk to him."

Jace took a step towards me, his face inches from mine, "There is no version of this where your Jace wakes up and comes home."

I swallowed hard, my voice low, "Jace, I know you're in there- and I know you hear me. I am- so sorry-"

"We were so close- we were so close to bringing you home, but- she got to us." I felt nothing but guilt in my heart, "But, I will never give up on you- never."

"Who knew you had such a soft side to you?" Jace grabbed my face aggressively, his face close to mine. "The life you knew is gone- you belong to Lilith now."

"Come on!-" He threw me forward, before grabbing my arm, dragging me along with him, "Keep moving."

-

"Come on." Jace pushes me again when we walked down an alley, "It's not much farther now."

"When are you going to say that and actually be right?-" I stumbled lightly, my eyes falling onto a broken beer bottle next to a few cardboard boxes.

If the Clave doesn't find me, maybe Alec will.

I purposefully tripped, falling right by the glass, grunting lightly, putting my hand over a shard, Jace stopping, "Get up."

"Just give me a minute." I leaned back against the wall, using an excuse to add to my act, "I haven't stopped moving since Valentine's interrogation- do you know what it's like taking on a group of Circle members with a broken wrist?-"

"I'm sure it was light work for you-" Jace gripped my arm and pulled me to my feet aggressively, activating my Stamina rune, "You're gonna need your stamina."

I inhaled sharp when I felt the rush through my body, blinking a few times, as he gripped my arm tightly, pulling me along, "Let's go."

I squeezed the glass in my hand as tight as I could, feeling the wetness of my own blood fill my palm, a smirk falling onto my lips.

-

"The prodigal sister." A woman who I could only assume was Lilith looked back at me when Jace brought me through an apartment, all the mundanes that had been possessed stood in a row, "Well, this is certainly the welcome surprise-"

"I was not expecting it to be you-" Lilith folds her hands, "I thought I needed to use your sister as bait to lure you here."

"What can I say?" I clicked my tongue, tilting my head lightly to the side, "I look good in an orange jumpsuit."

Lilith slowly looked from me, to the sarcophagus, "The family resemblance is striking."

I blink, "To tell the truth, I just don't see it."

"You're a sassy one, aren't you?" Lilith looked at me, a slight glare falling onto her expression, as I simply smirked back.

"Sorry for the delay, my Queen." Jace held out the rib for her, "Valentine's rib."

"All that matters is we have everything necessary to begin." She slowly took it from him, putting it on the glass, the rib slowly sinking into the sarcophagus.

"My Owl is going to need his energy." She then said, slowly turning, walking towards Jace, pressing her lips into his, complete disgust crossing my expression.

Lilith looks at me with a slight smirk when she pulled away, my eyes fixed on her, "Make out with your demonic minions often, do you?-"

"And-" I began before she could reply, elbowing Jace right in the face, before spin kicking for his face right after, "That's for kissing her while you're dating my little sister-"

Jace moves the moment he collected himself, grabbing me by my neck and slamming me into the wall, his eyes locked with mine.

My teeth were clenched, a smirk forming onto my lips as I thought about the time Alec and I were fighting outside of the City of Bones, "Jokes on you, I like being choked-"

Jace tightened his grip on my neck, eyeing me up, "You think you're so hilarious, don't you?"

"I do." I didn't let my expression break at my lack of oxygen, coughing lightly, "Really witty-"

"Oh yeah?" Jace let out a slight breathy laugh, "You know, I always did find you a lot more attractive than her-"

My leg flew up, kicking him back with full force, elbowing him in the face again, a grunt leaving my lips as I did so.

"Stop!" Lilith shouts at him when he gets back up, "Do not waste your energy on her."

"Leave." Lilith orders him, before he obeyed what she said, her eyes falling onto me, "Anger isn't a good look on you."

I looked at her, "Isn't it?"

"Not at all-" Lilith snapped at one of her minions, "Neither are those clothes- or that brace."

Lilith waves her hand, my eyes going wide at a sudden jerk in my wrist, making me letting out a grunt, before the brace was gone, and my wrist was as good as new.

"Get her cleaned up and into a change of clothes for her brother's rebirth." Lilith orders, "Perhaps something blue- that's what your kind wears when the lost return, isn't it?"

-

"Raising Jonathan from the dead-" I began when they brought me out back by Lilith, all cleaned up and in better clothes, "Is he really worth all the murder?"

"The things we do for our children." She slowly set down her cup of tea, "Besides, the mundanes killed by my disciples will do far more for this world in death than they'd ever do in life."

"And yet you need me alive-" I cross my arms, "You know, if I'm going to be a part of this- ritual, per se- I'm going need to know how this works- because, you can't really just- borrow my heart."

"Oh, I'm afraid that's exactly what it's like." Lilith tilts her head to the side lightly, "But the heart isn't what you think- Jonathan needs to share your life force in order to breathe again, so- I might hold him once more."

I don't reply.

Lilith exhaled slow, "Losing Jonathan- hearing him call for me with his final breath was the single most painful moment of my very long life."

"You say that like you loved him." I scoff at her.

Lilith stops and looks at me, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Demons aren't capable of love." I shrug lightly.

"A failing of frail human imagination." Lilith took a step toward me, "Demons live, we die, we feed, we lay- why wouldn't we love like you?"

I stare at him, not replying.

Lilith fixed a glare on me, "I need to care for Jonathan like you and your father never would."

I seethed through my teeth, "If there's one thing that my father and I can agree on, it's the fact that the world is a much better place with a monster like Jonathan dead and buried."

Her hand came in contact with my cheek, making me clench my jaw, landing a blow right on hers, before she used her magic to lock my ankles and wrists together by two bars, "My son is not a monster!"

-

"The fire alarm just went off downstairs." I heard Ollie say from behind me when we walked into the room, "The mundanes are evacuating the building."

Jace sucks in a breath, "There's no fire."

"Luke Garroway is leading a strike team from the Institute." Her words brought a smirk to my lips.

One that faded away when Lilith inched closer, staring at them, "Is the Daylighter with them?"

"Wait-" I looked at her, then looked between them, "Why do you care if Simon's here?"

Lilith stares at me, before looking back at Jace and Ollie, "Keep them away from my boy- avoid the vampire, and kill the rest."

-

"They're coming." I taunted Lilith from where I stood, "Won't be long til they're storming through those doors and sending you straight back to hell-"

"Let them come." Lilith slowly walked over to me with a hard look on her face, pulling the dress she had dressed me in slightly to the side to expose my chest, "I bet Jonathan can't wait to see them again."

"Don't touch me-" I elbowed her right in the face, onto for her to slam me back onto the table and hold me there, beginning to carve a symbol into my flesh.

The pain was nothing like I'd ever felt before, an ear piercing scream leaving my lips when she forcefully carved the rune into my skin, shaking under her touch before I had successfully pushed her off.

Then, she smirked at me, her nail dripping with my blood as she pointed at me when I stood up straight, "As you live, so shall my son."

She spun around and headed back toward the sarcophagus, leaving me breathing heavily and staring at what she had just done to me.

It wasn't until there was a quick whoosh in front of me, along with the sound of Simon Lewis' voice where my attention had been caught, his hands prying me free of my restraints, "Hey, miss me?-"

"Oh my god- hey!" I whisper shouted and instantly threw my arms around him before I could stop himself, hugging onto him tightly, "I did-"

Simon held me tight for a moment, before pulling away with a soft smile on his lips, "Let's get the hell out of here-"

"No, wait!-" I grabbed his hand, stopping him from going further, "We can't let her bring my brother back to life-"

Simon paused, "Sebastian?"

"Jonathan." I correct him.

Simon held up his fingers, "Two brothers?"

"Same guy." I responded.

"Oh, cool, cool, cool-" Simon nodded slowly, looking at me, "What do we do?-"

"Alright- uhm," I thought out loud, "Lilith is afraid of that mark on your head-"

"But- it's defensive, not offensive." Simon reminds me, "We'd have to get her to make a run at me, but- she's smarter than that, isn't she?"

"Not when it comes to her son, she isn't." I pointed at him, then huffed lightly, running my hands through my hair, "God, I need my kindjals-"

"Alec thought you might say that." Simon gave me a flat smile, pulling them out from his pocket, making my eyes go slightly wide.

"God- I love him so much-" I immediately grabbed one of them from him, "Alright, here's the play-"

-

"Get away from Jonathan." I called out to Lilith to catch her attention, hiding the kindjal behind my back, watching as she slowly turned around to see that I was no longer in the restraints she once had me in.

Lilith stares at me, "Why would I do that?"

I revealed the kindjal, holding it to my neck as she instantly tensed up, "As I live, so shall your son."

"You wouldn't." Lilith took a step.

I smirked at her, starting to pierce the blade into the skin of my neck, as she instantly started heading towards me, my eyes lighting up gold, as I flew my palm out and shot her with raw sunlight.

Lilith fell to the ground, using her arm to try and block the sunlight, "Foolish child!-"

"Simon, now!" I gave him the signal as he slid to a stop by the sarcophagus, keeping my palm steady to keep Lilith down, "Simon, do it now!"

Simon slammed his fists against the glass, the sound of cracking filling the room, making Lilith jump up to her feet the moment the sunlight gave out, "No!-"

Lilith ran towards him and swung her arm in attack, but Simon's mark reacted like we knew it would.

But, what happened wasn't what we expected.

Nothing at all what we expected.

Simon's mark let out a blast so big that it sent them away from each other, Lilith falling onto the ground, while Simon was off his feet and flying towards the glass.

My heart stopped, dropping the kindjal onto the ground and starting to rush toward the window when his body clashed against it, "Simon!-"

My eyes were glowing still, my portal rune spinning in my hand before I pushed it toward him when the glass shattered, catching him right as he fell through.

I let out the breath I was holding in, relief washing over me, a feeling that quickly came to an end when I felt a wet hand grab my arm right as I rounded the sarcophagus, jerking me to a quick stop.

My head snapped toward my arm, my heart shattering into millions of pieces when I realized the hand that had grabbed me was one that was reaching out of the sarcophagus.

Jonathan.

My eyes slowly faded back to their normal color, my expression filled with fear and distraught, my heart beat racing and my head tilting up to see Lilith slowly standing up to her feet, her eyes glued to Jonathan's hand as well.

Her eyes were wide with accomplishment when she locked them with mine, a look that faded away when she started to scream and shake, her skin starting to glow red.

That's when I knew it was over.

So I closed my eyes.

And she blew.

-

[ third person pov ]

The explosion shook the building, almost making Jace fall over as he rushed up the steps, fighting off any one of Lilith's minions to get to Zee.

Isabelle, Clary and Luke looked around at all the mundanes dropping to the ground after the aggressive shake, not knowing there had been an explosion, but knowing Lilith had been taken down.

Alec and Magnus were the only ones who saw.

And when the flames erupted and loud booming filled the air, Alec's eyes went wide as ever, his heart stopping.

Because he knew that if Simon had gotten Zee out, she'd be standing here with him, outside the building.

"No-" Alec found himself murmuring when he was forcefully pushing his body onto his feet, even with the wound in his chest and his broken arm, "No!-"

Alec was coughing, carrying his aching and weak legs to the entrance of the building, Magnus rushing right behind him when they entered the building.

And it was a sight they dreaded to see.

Isabelle had completely collapsed, her parabatai rune burning and stinging, her pained filled cries filling their ears as she felt herself losing Zee.

"Something's wrong-" Isabelle revealed her red parabatai rune, indicating Zee was dying, "She's- she's not okay-"

Clary's eyes were wide, and Alec's were filling with tears, "There was an explosion on the top floor-"

"Zee-" Magnus was piecing it together, his eyes starting to water, "You don't think-"

"I need to get to her-" Isabelle tried to use Luke's support to get up but she fell to the ground again, wailing out in pain as she felt the last of her connection with Zee fade, along with the rune.

"I can't feel her anymore-" Isabelle was breathing heavily, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hand over where her rune used to be, "I can't-"

Clary was frozen, the tears that had filled her eyes escaping them, knowing that her sister's death was all her fault.

Alec was taking a few steps back, the redness and dampness in his eyes clear, his breathing slow.

He backed into the glass, sliding down it slowly, the tears in his eyes falling free, before a small sob left his lips, starting to cry his eyes out.

He didn't care that it was in front of everyone.

Silence fell between all of them as they tried to comprehend that the one woman they tried to save had winded up dead anyway.

The possession free Jace had finally reached the roof by the time they had all known, his raspy shout filling the air when he burst through the door, "Zee!-"

The apartment was gone.

It was empty, ash and flames everywhere.

Instead of being greeted by his best friend, he was greeted by Simon Lewis, who was on his knees, his back to him, having been the first person up there.

Jace put a hand on his shoulder, Simon immediately jolting up and becoming tense, tears present in his eyes, "Hey- it's me, it's me-"

"Where is she?" Jace put his hands on both his shoulders, "Where's Zee?-"

"She saved me." Simon's voice broke; the tears in his eyes falling, "And- I killed her."

Jace's heart dropped, his eyes pooling with water, "What?-"

Simon's words set him in a state he knew he wouldn't recover from, "Zee's dead."

authors note:

yeah, i killed her, what's new

alec's reaction really broke my heart

and IZZY'S- ugh.

but, zee really saved simon's life and took lilith out all at once, then proceeded to literally die- and she was the one who needed the protecting-

i love the tiny moment zee and simon had tho, i feel like it shows her character development in a way because she has people she loves and cares for now

but, thank you for 53k !!

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