CHAPTER TWENTY
FAERIE BELL

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Adrian wasn't invited to join the large Council meeting, of course, since he wasn't eighteen. Though Adrian had traveled back to the New York Institute with Isabelle and Alec, he had to stay behind with Isabelle while Alec disappeared into the library, where the meeting was taking place. Adrian and Isabelle briefly talked to each other about sneaking into the library—they should've arrived earlier, they agreed, to sneak in before anyone had arrived—but guards were stationed at the door. One of them even gave Adrian and Isabelle a warning frown, clearly knowing their intentions. Adrian offered a small smile, then grabbed Isabelle's arm and headed for the stairs. They went toward Isabelle's room. Clary was already in there, since she had spent the night at the Institute, and now she was spread-eagled across Isabelle's bed, staring up at the canopy with glazed eyes.

It had been a few hours since then, and Adrian had settled into Isabelle's window seat, flipping through a book he wasn't really reading. Isabelle was at her vanity, trying out new makeup looks. Clary was still sprawled on the bed, so anxious she couldn't lay still for longer than five minutes. Church had scratched at the door half an hour ago, mewing loudly until Isabelle had grumbled and let him inside. Now he was on Adrian's lap, purring as Adrian pet him gently. Every now and then, Church would paw at Adrian's lower stomach, the movements like he was kneading dough. Adrian gave him extra scratches whenever he did.

"How much longer will the verdict take, do you think?" Clary burst out, sitting up in one smooth motion. Adrian sighed and finally set the book aside, giving up entirely on reading a single sentence. Just like Clary, his mind was fully on the Council meeting, on whether Clary would be found innocent, and on the decision about Jace. Some people thought he went willingly, but Alec had said he would speak out as Jace's parabatai. The bond was very useful in proving Jace's innocence; wherever Jace was, he didn't want to be there. His bond with Alec could prove that much, considering Alec couldn't feel anything from him, not even joy. He tilted his head to study the alarm clock on Isabelle's bedside table. It was a bit likely that it wasn't even accurate, but Adrian took the time as it was.

"Not much longer," Isabelle said before Adrian could. Council meetings could take a very long time, but that was usually when most of them were arguing. From what Adrian had heard, many didn't agree with Clary being on trial at all. He was less sure about Jace. "Five minutes, probably."

"They've been in there for a few hours," Clary pointed out. She had flipped her phone open to check the time. "Is that normal? Is it a bad sign?"

"It's normal," Adrian told her comfortingly as Isabelle got up and went to join Clary on the bed. "A majority of that was probably just going over the evidence, all the testimonies." All of them had been called to testify over the last two weeks, telling their versions of the story under the Mortal Sword. Holding the Mortal Sword had felt like holding ice. It was so cold and it burned like sinking a frozen limb into hot water. Adrian had been shaking and covered in sweat toward the end of his testimony, which had been the same as Isabelle's and Alec's. No, he hadn't known Clary had revived Jace using an angel's wish. No, he hadn't been aware of Lilith's involvement until they discovered her lair the night Jace had gone missing. Yes, they had left Jace on the roof with Sebastian's dead body alone, since he had asked for it. No, he hadn't known Sebastian had been resurrected, and no, he'd had nothing to do with Simon wearing the Mark of Cain. Adrian had managed not to mention Clary then, but only because he wasn't asked who had put the Mark of Cain onto Simon in the first place.

"It's not a bad sign, either," Isabelle added, stretching her arms above her head with a deep sigh. "Like Dri said, it just means they're talking everything over. You'll be fine. You didn't break the Law. That's the important thing." Clary sighed. She didn't look convinced, and Adrian didn't blame her. The Clave wasn't exactly a good example of avoiding corruption. Isabelle shot Clary a short glare, and Adrian got up to join them on the bed, sensing Clary would need both of them to comfort her. Church absolutely shrieked when he stood and disrupted his nap, then darted under the bed to sulk. "Quit it," Isabelle ordered. Clary blinked.

"Quit what?" Clary asked.

"Morbidly thinking about all the horrible things that are going to happen to you, or that you wish would happen to you because you're alive, and Jace is...missing." Isabelle's voice jumped up a bit at the mention of Jace. She mostly avoided mentioning him entirely.

"Which is not your fault, Clary," Adrian added quickly, when Clary's face darkened. "No one could have predicted that the spell Lilith was doing worked. She was dead, and so was Sebastian the last anyone saw them."

"I can't help it," Clary revealed, looking miserable. "If I were allowed to patrol—if I were allowed to do anything—I think it wouldn't be so bad."

"You haven't had enough training," Adrian pointed out, as he had many times, when Clary had suggested going with them on their solo patrols even when the Clave deemed her unfit until they decided what to do with her for bringing Jace back from the dead. "Besides, you don't have the stamina to do sixteen-hour patrols." Clary grimaced at him, but said nothing to argue against him. She knew he was right. Adrian would've gladly continued her training that Jace had started if he could, but he was just so tired now. Perhaps Maryse had been right to force him to take a break, to force all of them to take a break. No one should've been on sixteen-hour patrols in the first place, least of all teenagers, but the Clave was so obsessed with finding Sebastian that Maryse had to fight tooth and nail just to give them a weekend.

"I don't know," Isabelle sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. Adrian shifted and reached for her hand, her fear and disappointment going into him like an echo. He had never thought a parabatai bond was so literal until he'd started feeling Isabelle's more depressing emotions. He was with her whenever he could be now. His presence seemed to help her feel better, and her presence made him feel better. It made Adrian even more worried about Alec. "It all feels so futile."

"You mean you think he's dead?" Clary asked, her voice small. Isabelle immediately shook her head.

"No, I don't," Isabelle quickly reassured. It was Alec that continuously told them Jace wasn't dead. The bond between them was quiet, but it wasn't gone. They were all clinging to that. It was the only thing they had. "I just think there's no way they're still in New York."

"I agree," Adrian said quietly. "It would be stupid of Sebastian to stay here. He'd know we'd be patrolling."

"But they're patrolling other cities, right?" Clary asked, reaching up to play with her necklace. She had given Jace's old Morgenstern ring to Magnus, in the hopes that Magnus could track Jace through it. Magnus hadn't had any luck, but Clary hadn't asked for it back. She now wore a small silver bell in its place.

"Of course they are." Isabelle frowned and reached over to touch the bell curiously. "What's that?" Clary opened her mouth to respond, but stopped, clearly hesitating. Adrian and Isabelle shared a look, both agreeing to press the issue until she shared whatever it was she was hesitating about. Before either could start speaking, though, the door to Isabelle's room opened. Alec slipped inside. He was wearing the Council robes, long and black, with silver runes along the cuffs and hems. He slipped it off himself as they all straightened, throwing it over one of Isabelle's many chairs. Adrian reached a hand out of him as soon as his hands were free, and Alec came to him immediately, the tension in his jaws and shoulders relaxing as soon as Adrian's hand was in his. Alec flopped down on Isabelle's bed, and the four of them shifted for a moment to get comfortable, moving so they could all see each other's faces.

"How did it go?" Isabelle asked quietly, once all of their shifting was done. Alec was rubbing at his eyes with his free hand, his face pale. Adrian rubbed comforting circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. "What's the verdict?" Alec sighed and dropped his hand from his face, looking at Clary with a frown.

"Jia Penhallow handed down the verdict," Alec told her, blinking tiredly. None of them had gotten enough sleep last night. "You're cleared of any wrongdoing. You broke no Laws, and Jia feels that you've been punished enough." Isabelle and Adrian released identical breaths of relief, but Alec didn't look relieved at all. Adrian frowned at him, but didn't speak as Clary pulled out her phone to call her mom. Alec reached to stop her, his hand covering Clary's completely. "Clary," Alec said softly. "Wait."

"Alec." Clary blinked as she took in Alec's serious face, then slowly lowered her phone. Her face paled slightly. "What is it?"

"It wasn't your verdict that took the Council so long," Alec revealed, letting her hand go and settling back. He leaned slightly toward Adrian then, and Adrian took his weight, releasing his hand to wrap his arm around Alec's waist. He rested his chin on Alec's shoulder. "There was another matter under discussion."

"Jace?" Clary whispered. They'd all hinted at her that Jace would be discussed, but even Adrian frowned when Alec shook his head slightly.

"Not exactly," he said with a grimace. Adrian tilted his head to the side in confusion. "A report came in early this morning from the Moscow Institute. The wardings over Wrangel Island were smashed through yesterday." Adrian and Isabelle both went stiff at the news, but Clary just blinked. Wrangel Island created the wards that protected Institutes and other areas from demonic attacks. If they were attacked, then the Council would turn their focus on strengthening the wards around everything. "They've sent a repair team, but having such important wards down for so long—that's a Council priority."

"Son of a bitch," Adrian sighed, pressing his forehead to Alec's shoulder, infinitely more annoyed now than he had been earlier.

"Well, that's bad," Clary said, sounding confused, "but I don't see what it has to do with—"

"The Clave has its priorities," Alec continued. "Searching for Jace and Sebastian has been top priority for the past two weeks. But they've scoured everything, and there's no sign of either of them in any Downworld haunt. None of Magnus's tracking spells have worked. Elodie, the woman who brought up the real Sebastian Verlac, confirmed that no one's tried to get in touch with her. That was a long shot, anyway. No spies have reported any unusual activity among known members of Valentine's old Circle. And the Silent Brothers haven't been able to figure out exactly what the ritual Lilith performed was supposed to do, or whether it succeeded. The general consensus is that Sebastian—of course, they call him Jonathan when they talk about him—kidnapped Jace, but that's not anything we didn't know."

"So?" Isabelle demanded. "What does that mean? More searching? More patrolling?"

"They're not discussing expanding the search," Alec said quietly with a shake of his head. He was tense again. "They're de-prioritizing it. It's been two weeks and we haven't found anything. The specially commissioned groups brought over from Idris are going to be sent home. The situation with the wards is taking priority now. Not to mention that the Council has been in the middle of delicate negotiations, updating the Laws to allow for the new makeup of the Council, appointing a new Consul and Inquisitor, determining different treatment of Downworlders—they don't want to be thrown completely off track."

Clary stared. Slowly, her pale cheeks reddened in anger. "They don't want Jace's disappearance to throw them off the track of changing a bunch of stupid old Laws? They're giving up?"

"They're not giving up—"

"Alec," Isabelle snapped, her voice sharp. Adrian immediately raised his head. He didn't like how tense Alec felt against him, and he didn't like that Clary and Isabelle were glaring at him.

"Watch it," Adrian snapped, defensive. "This isn't his fault. He's just telling us what happened." Alec took a deep breath then, before bringing his hands up to cover his face. That seemed to soften Isabelle and Clary toward him, at least. No one was feeling Jace's absence more than Alec, though Clary was a very close second. Adrian pressed a comforting kiss to Alec's wrist, and Alec relaxed slightly and dropped his hands.

"Clary, for you—for us—this has always been about searching for Jace," Alec said slowly, calmly, "but for the Clave, it's about searching for Sebastian. Jace as well, but primarily Sebastian. He's the danger. He destroyed the wards of Alicante. He's a mass murderer. Jace is..."

"Just another Shadowhunter," Isabelle whispered, her face pale, her eyes wide and wet. "We die and go missing all the time."

"He gets a little extra for being a hero of the Mortal War," Alex said. "But in the end, the Clave was clear: The search will be kept up, but right now it's a waiting game. They expect Sebastian to make the next move. In the meantime, it's third priority to the Clave, if that. They expect us to go back to normal life."

"It seems stupid to de-prioritize finding Sebastian when he's so dangerous," Adrian muttered, "but then, the Clave has a history of being stupid."

"That's what they told us after Max was attacked, after he stopped talking," Isabelle whispered, her mind still on the last thing Alec had said. "That we'd get over it—that he'd get over it—if we just went back to normal life."

"It's supposed to be good advice," Alec muttered, if bitterly. On top of Max no longer talking, he had yet to pick up another weapon. Before, he'd been so excited to start his training. Now he didn't even want to watch whenever Adrian, Isabelle, and Alec went into the training room. He just stayed in his room to read, or went to his friend in Luke's pack to practice sign language.

"Tell that to Dad," Isabelle said bitterly. "Did he even come back from Idris for the meeting?"

"No," Alec sighed, frowning. "If it's any consolation, there were a lot of people at the meeting speaking out angrily on behalf of keeping the search for Jace up at full strength. Magnus, obviously, Luke, Consul Penhallow, even Brother Zachariah. But at the end of the day, it wasn't enough." Clary studied Alec closely, her mouth pulling into a frown.

"Alec," Clary said softly, "don't you feel anything?" Alec went stiff, his eyes widening briefly before they narrowed and darkened. Adrian could feel his anger then, right under all of Alec's stress and heartache. He quickly let out a small noise to stop Alec from saying something he would surely regret.

"I know you're upset, Clary," Alec said sharply, "but if you're suggesting that Iz, Dri, and I care about Jace less than you do—"

"I'm not," Clary said quickly, her own eyes widening in alarm. "I'm talking about your parabatai connection." Alec relaxed almost immediately, and Adrian released a sigh of relief. He didn't feel like playing mediator between Alec and Clary right now, or ever again, really. "I was reading about the ceremony in the Codex. I know being parabatai ties you two together. You can sense things about Jace. Things that will help you when you're fighting. So I guess I mean...can you sense if he's alive?"

"We've told you he is, Clary," Adrian murmured. Clary just continued to stare at Alec, needing more reassurance now that she knew more about their connection.

"He's alive," Alec said, if a bit cautiously, like he was afraid he would jinx it the more he said it. "You think I'd be this functional if he weren't alive? There's definitely something fundamentally wrong. I can feel that much. But he's still breathing."

"Could the 'wrong' thing be that he's being held prisoner?" Clary asked. Alec frowned at her.

"Maybe," he admitted. "I can't explain it. I've never felt anything like it before."

"But he's alive."

"I'm sure of it."

"Then screw the Council," Clary announced, jerking her chin up in that familiar, stubborn way of hers. Adrian couldn't help smiling at her. "We'll find him ourselves."

"How?" Adrian demanded. He was all for going rogue to find Jace, but if even Magnus couldn't find him, then Adrian was at a loss. "We've already tried everything we could think of, and he's nowhere."

"We were doing what the Clave wanted us to do before," Isabelle pointed out. "Patrols, searches. There are other ways."

"Ways to break the Law, you mean," Alec said, his voice dry as he rubbed at his forehead. He sounded hesitant, but not like he would say no. He was likely just wary of the consequences if they were to be caught. Alec was the only legal adult in the eyes of the Clave; his punishment would be harsher than theirs if they were caught.

"The Seelie Queen offered me a favor," Clary revealed, playing with the bell hanging from her neck, "at the fireworks party in Idris." She tapped at the bell. It made no sound when she did, like it was spelled not to. "And a way to contact her." All of them grimaced at her.

"The Queen of the Fair Folk gives nothing for free," Adrian reminded her. "I thought we learned that lesson the hard way last time." Though it had ultimately ruled in Adrian's favor. It had forced him and Alec to really confront their feelings, to talk. Adrian couldn't forget the hurt he'd felt after the Seelie Queen's games, though.

"I know that," Clary told him, still wearing that stubborn look. "I'll take whatever debt it is on my shoulders. I just want one of you to come with me. I'm not good with translating faerie-speak. At least if you're with me, you can limit whatever the damage is. But if there's anything she can do—"

"I'll go with you," Isabelle decided. Adrian whipped his head her way, his eyes growing wide in alarm.

"Well, now I have to go," Adrian said, sighing dramatically. Alec gave him and Isabelle both dark looks.

"We already talked to the Fair Folk," Alec pointed out. "The Council questioned them extensively. And they can't lie."

"The Council asked them if they knew where Jace and Sebastian were," Clary argued. "Not if they'd be willing to look for them. The Seelie Queen knew about my father, knew about the angel he summoned and trapped, knew the truth about my blood and Jace's. I think there's not much that happens in this world that she doesn't know about."

"It's true," Isabelle said, straightening a bit. She was growing excited about this, about finally doing something different, something useful. Adrian didn't quite share her excitement—he had no desire to visit the Seelie Queen—but he would go, if only to protect them. "You know you have to ask faeries the exact right things to get useful information out of them, Alec. They're very hard to question, even if they do have to tell the truth. A favor, though, is different."

"True," Adrian had to admit. "The Seelie Queen will have to honor the favor she offered Clary. It might come with more tricks and games, but she'd risk dishonoring herself if the favor wasn't actually a favor."

"And the potential for danger is literally unlimited," Alec grumbled. He clearly wasn't happy with the direction this conversation had gone. "If Jace knew I let Clary go to the Seelie Queen, he'd—"

"He's not her keeper," Adrian cut in swiftly, seeing Clary go red in the cheeks. It didn't stop Clary at all.

"I don't care," Clary said. "He'd do it for me. Tell me he wouldn't. If I were missing—"

"He'd burn the whole world down till he could dig you out of the ashes, I know," Alec said flatly, making Clary scowl and stick her tongue out at him. It made Alec crack a small smile, at least. "Hell, you think I don't want to burn the world down right now? I'm just trying to be..."

"A big brother," Isabelle said quietly. "I get it." Alec looked at her, and his face twisted with pain.

"If something happened to you, Izzy—after Max, and now Jace—" Isabelle shot across the bed then, throwing her arms around Alec's shoulders. Adrian had to shift back to allow it, and he and Clary shared concerned looks at the siblings took a moment to themselves. Alec and Isabelle murmured something to each other, Alec tugged teasingly at Isabelle's hair, and then they were separating. Alec looked a bit better, some of his anxiety gone. "We should all go," he said then, nodding toward the bell necklace Clary was playing with. "Should we tell Magnus? Just in case we get stuck there."

"Absolutely. If anyone can get us out if we're trapped, it's him," Adrian decided. Alec nodded.

"He's downstairs, waiting with the others. You'll have to give Luke an excuse too, Clary. I'm sure he's expecting you to go home with him. And he says your mother's been pretty sick about this whole thing." Clary grimaced at him as she rose from the bed, stretching as she got to her feet. They all followed her lead, and Adrian let out a low groan as he stretched out his cramped legs.

"She blames herself for Sebastian's existence," Clary revealed, shaking her hair out. "Even though she thought he was dead all those years."

"It's not her fault," Isabelle declared, taking her whip off the hook in her wall. She looped it around her wrist until it formed a bracelet. "No one blames her." No one mentioned the fact that some people in the Clave actually did. They claimed that she should've stopped her husband; never mind the fact that she had tried, and that she had been a victim of Valentine's experiments as well. Adrian shook his head. He stopped only to grab his weapons belt he'd tossed on one of Isabelle's chairs—it held his staff as well, shrunk down to carry comfortably—and then he was following his friends and boyfriend down the hall. They walked to the elevator in silence. Alec had taken the lead toward the elevator, but he paused at the doors, waiting for Adrian to catch up. When he did, Alec grasped his hand and brought him close, keeping Adrian plastered to his side as they rode down to the main foyer. The large open room in front of the library was littered with Shadowhunters and Downworlders, all loitering after the meeting, gossiping about everything they'd heard. The chatter seemed to quiet slightly when they noticed them—noticed Clary, really—walk off the elevator.

"I don't think there's been this many people looking my way since you kissed me in Alicante," Adrian murmured to Alec as they walked through the room, searching for familiar and friendly faces. Many faces around them were guarded, and they were glaring mostly at Clary, muttering under their breaths. She was innocent according to the Law, but that didn't mean they approved of her decision regarding Jace. Adrian scowled at the thought, then impulsively said, loud and clear, "Take a picture, it'll last longer!" Clary shrank back to hide behind Isabelle, Alec hissed his name, and Izzy just laughed under her breath. His outburst worked, though. Many eyes turned away in embarrassment, and Clary released a small sigh of relief.

"There's Magnus," Alec breathed, nudging Adrian slightly before nodding across the large hall. Magnus was secluded in a corner, talking to Luke and Oliver, all three of them wearing solemn and serious expressions. "I'm gonna go ask him if he's had any progress with Jace. You coming?" Adrian started to nod, but he paused when he saw Isabelle dart off in another direction out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see where his parabatai was going, and smiled when he saw her talking to Aline Penhallow and Helen Blackthorn.

"You go ahead," Adrian said, turning back and pressing a quick kiss to Alec's cheek. "I'm gonna go say hey to Aline and Helen. Come get me if Magnus has anything new to share." Alec nodded, returned the kiss, then turned to head toward Magnus, Oliver, and Luke. Clary followed him to talk to Luke, so Adrian headed for Isabelle. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and set his chin on top of her head, smiling at Aline when she broke off mid-sentence.

"Adrian, hey," Aline said, smiling at him after she got over her surprise. Helen smiled too and waved at him. She was still wearing her Council robes, and she had her hair pulled back from her face, revealing her delicate pointed ears. Her and her brother Mark's half-Fae heritage had been scandalous gossip when Adrian was a boy. He didn't really know why it mattered. "We didn't see you in the meeting."

"Not eighteen yet," Adrian said, releasing Isabelle to step up beside her. "Because a few months makes all the difference, apparently. How's your mom settling in as new Consul?"

"It's an adjustment, but nothing she wasn't ready for. She was born to be Consul, I think," Aline said. Adrian smiled at her, then looked at Helen, who was rocking on her heels in slight awkwardness.

"How's the kids?" Adrian asked. Helen's family was so large that she often had to help with her siblings, since her father—if rumors could be trusted—wasn't very present ever since his wife died. Adrian didn't really know any of the kids except for Mark. The only other one he had even mildly met was Ty, and that was brief, and when Valentine had attacked Alicante a few months ago.

"They're good," Helen said, giving him a relieved smile. "They're around here somewhere. We couldn't find a babysitter, so we had to drag all of them here. We left Jules and Emma to look after them—not that that's reassuring. They're always getting into trouble. They wanted to see Max."

"Oh, he's locked up in his room," Isabelle said, a frown pulling at her lips. "He doesn't really like big crowds anymore, or loud noises." Helen's face softened in understanding, and Aline made a small sound of sadness. Neither Adrian nor Isabelle had any desire to speak of Max's troubles right now, so Isabelle struck up a new conversation, turning to Aline as she once again brought up her mother. "It must be weird, with your mother being the new Consul. Not that Jia isn't much better than—" She cut off abruptly, eyes widening, and Adrian choked on a laugh.

"Much better than my dad who turned out not to be my dad?" Adrian asked, nudging her playfully. She cast him a sheepish look. He didn't blame her for breaking off her insult. Sometimes, Adrian couldn't even stand hearing his adoptive father's name. Today wasn't one of those days. "It's okay, Iz. Everyone knows he sucked."

"Oh, that's right!" Aline exclaimed. "Jia mentioned granting you permission to seek out your mundane family. Did you find them? How are they?"

"Yeah, I found them," Adrian said, his smile softening. A bit of heat rose in his cheeks when all three girls gave him his undivided attention, and he took a moment to clear his throat. "They're great. Turns out I have two siblings, All I need is four more, Helen, and I'll be catching up to you." Helen snorted, then laughed loudly, drawing a few people's attention. As she was laughing, Clary wandered over, looking lost in thought. Adrian raised his arm in invitation, and she plastered herself to his side, a sad look on her face.

"Hey, Clary," Isabelle said, her voice softening slightly when she noticed the expression on the other girl's face. Adrian wondered what Luke had told her to make her so solemn. "Aline, you remember Clary." Aline nodded, and Clary blinked, coming back to the present. She nodded to Aline as well. "This is Aline's girlfriend, Helen Blackthorn. Helen's family runs the Los Angeles Institute. Helen, this is Clary Fray."

"Valentine's daughter," Helen said, looking both surprised and impressed. Clary winced at the mention of Valentine, stiffening slightly against Adrian's side.

"I try not to think about it too much," Clary said.

"Sorry. I see why you wouldn't," Helen said quickly, flushing. "I voted for the Council to keep prioritizing the search for Jace, by the way. I'm sorry we were overruled."

"It's not your fault," Adrian told her. Helen just shrugged.

"Thanks for trying," Clary added, then she looked at Aline. "Congratulations on your mother being made Council. That must be pretty exciting."

"She's busy a lot more now," Aline said with a shrug. "Did you know your dad put his name in for the Inquisitor position?" Isabelle stiffened when Aline looked at her, and Adrian's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He'd know Robert was spending a lot more time in Idris lately, but he'd had no idea that he was running for a political position in the Clave. Judging from Isabelle's expression, she hadn't known either.

"No," Isabelle said through clenched teeth. "No, I didn't know that."

"I was surprised," Aline continued. "I thought he was pretty committed to running the Institute here—" Aline broke off, peering over Isabelle's shoulder with wide eyes. Adrian started to turn to see what she was looking at, but before he could, Aline looked at Helen. "Helen, I think your brother is trying to make the world's biggest puddle of melted wax over there. You might want to stop him." Helen let out an exasperated sigh and left, muttering darkly about twelve-year-old boys. As she left, Alec arrived, sliding past her and offering Aline a hug in greeting.

"Now that you're both here," Aline said as Alec pulled away, glancing between him and Adrian quickly. Adrian tilted his head to the side curiously. "I wanted to thank both of you." Adrian frowned, and Alec looked at her in surprise.

"What for?" Alec asked.

"What you did in the Accords Hall," Aline explained, still glancing between the two of them. "Kissing each other like that. It gave me the push I needed to tell my parents. To come out to them. And if I hadn't done that, I don't think, when it came to Helen, I would have had the nerve to say anything."

"Oh," was all Alec could think to say. Adrian himself was speechless. He had never thought his kiss with Alec in the Accords Hall would've been seen as inspiring, or motivating. He hadn't really been thinking of anything except for Alec, and the war going on around them. "And—and your parents, were they goo about it?" Aline rolled her eyes, and that told Adrian all he needed to know.

"They're sort of ignoring it, like it might go away if they don't talk about it," Aline revealed with a snort. "But it could be worse."

"It could definitely be worse," Alec muttered, a dark edge to his voice that made Adrian glance over in worry. Clary shifted to get a better look at Alec's face, and Isabelle grimaced.

"I'm sorry," Aline rushed to say. "If your parents aren't—"

"They're fine with it," Isabelle said sharply.

"Well, either way," Aline continued, glancing between all of them now uncertainly. "I shouldn't have said anything right now. Not with Jace missing. You must all be so worried." Aline took a deep breath, her expression sobering. "I know people have probably said all sorts of stupid things to you about him. The way they do when they don't really know what to say. I just—I wanted to tell you something." She took a step closer and lowered her voice so no one passing by could hear. "I remember once when the Lightwoods came to see us in Idris. I was thirteen, and Jace was—I think he was twelve. He wanted to see Brocelind Forest, so we borrowed some horses and rose there one day. Of course, we got lost. Brocelind's impenetrable. It got darker and the woods got thicker and I was terrified. I thought we'd die there. But Jace was never scared. He was never anything but sure we'd find out way out. It took hours, but he did it. He got us out of there. I was so grateful but he just looked at me like I was crazy. Like of course he'd get us out. Failing wasn't an option. What I'm trying to say is—he'll find his way back to you. I know it."

By the end of her story, all of them were emotional. Adrian's throat felt tight. Alec looked pale and stunned. Clary was trembling slightly with restraint. Isabelle looked on the verge of tears, which was alarming in of itself. Isabelle never let anyone see her cry. Adrian didn't know what to say to her words, what to do. He was afraid if he spoke, he would start crying. Clary was the only one strong enough in that moment to whisper a small thank you to Aline. It was the kind of thing they all desperately needed to hear. That Jace was still fighting somewhere. He was trying to come home to them, whether he was even aware of it or not.

"Aline!" Helen exclaimed, breaking through their small bubble of Jace-induced misery. They all jumped and shifted on their feet as Helen joined them again. This time she had little Julian Blackthorn with her, holding him firmly by the wrist. He had blue wax from the candles in the tapers all over his hands, shirt, jeans, and face, and he was grinning like he had done something extremely fun. Adrian snorted at the sight of him, coughing on a laugh, and it broke everyone else out of their sadness. Isabelle covered her mouth to smother a laugh, and Alec ducked his head to hide his grin. Clary just stared in bewilderment. "We're back. We should probably go before Jules destroys the whole place. Not to mention that I have no idea where Tibs and Livvy have gone."

"They were eating wax," Julian said, as if that helped. Candles were in every room and hallway in the Institute. Helen groaned to the ceiling, then hurried to find her siblings, calling for her siblings and dragging Julian away as he rattled on about how he was sculpting something with the wax. Adrian watched them go in amusement, even as he felt a pang. He was mildly surprised to find he missed his own siblings, though he had seen Michael and Abigail just that morning while they'd eaten breakfast. Aline mumbled something about helping her, and then they were all left alone once again. Adrian sighed and turned toward his friends, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"Now what?" he asked. Clary pulled away from his side to check her phone.

"Simon's waiting outside. Let's go," she ordered, already turning to leave the Institute entirely. They all fell into step around her, and Adrian found Alec's hand, linking their fingers together. The sound of rain was loud even before Clary pushed the door open, so Adrian paused to grab them all some umbrellas. The clear one with colorful flowers was Isabelle's, Adrian grabbed a random red one for Clary, and then he grabbed the large rainbow one Jace had bought for him as a joke. Alec rolled his eyes when he saw it and grimaced.

"A brightly colored umbrella won't kill you," Adrian said, amused, as he stepped past the threshold of the door and opened it before any drops of rain could land on either of them. Alec gave him a droll stare as he stepped under the umbrella. Clary had opened her red one and was going toward Simon, who was plastered beneath a small awning to remain half-dry. Isabelle twirled her umbrella once before bringing it above her head with a flourish. Adrian resisted the urge to tease her.

"Bright colors don't look good on me," Alec declared. He sounded rather confident about it, too. Adrian nudged him as they walked toward Simon.

"Everything looks good on you," Adrian flirted, leaning over to kiss him on the mouth quickly. Alec quickly looked away from him after that, a blush dusting his cheeks. It made Adrian laugh, and then he raised his voice to be heard over the room. "Hi, Simon!" Simon smiled brightly at the greeting, raising his hand to wave at Adrian.

"So, what's the verdict?" Simon asked, stepping beneath the red umbrella Clary was holding, his hands shoved into his jeans pocket. His hair was soaked and plastered to his forehead, so thick that Adrian couldn't see the Mark of Cain between the strands. But Adrian knew it was there. There was a presence to it, making the air around Simon a bit thick, like a warning to stay away.

"I'm cleared," Clary revealed, but when Simon started to smile in relief, she quickly shook her head. "But they're de-prioritizing the search for Jace. I—I'm pretty sure they think he's dead." Simon's smile dropped, and he shook his head in disbelief. Isabelle kicked at the wet grass beneath her feet. It got her boots a bit muddy, but she didn't seem to care.

"The Clave can be like that," Isabelle muttered. "I guess we shouldn't have expected anything else."

"Basia coquum," Simon murmured. Adrian, Alec, and Isabelle all sent him identical confused looks, and he blushed a bit, clearing his throat. "Or whatever their motto is."

"It's 'Descencus Averno facilis est.' The descent into hell is easy," Alec corrected, still looking confused. "You just said 'kiss the cook.'"

"You weren't even close," Adrian said, bewildered. "How did you confuse those two so badly?"

"Dammit," Simon sighed. "I knew Jace was screwing with me." Simon pushed his hair back then, irritated, and now the Mark of Cain was in full display. Clary was quick to cover it with his hair again, since Shadowhunters were starting to file out of the Institute, on their way home. "Now what?"

"Now," Clary said determinedly, raising the bell at the end of her necklace for emphasis, "we go see the Seelie Queen."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had originally planned to reread the entirety of The Mortal Instruments to prepare for parts two and three of this story...but then I got into a reading slump. And then a huge writing slump. That's still my plan so I can plot properly, but this chapter has been just sitting here mostly finished for months now and I finally just said "screw it" and finished it with just book content. I'm so sorry for the long wait, I'm trying to get over this huge writing slump I've had the past two years or so. Hopefully people are still around to read this lmao. Vote and comment, please <3