"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
-J.K Rowling

Lisa's first instinct was to look at Thomas, to her surprise he looked as shocked as she did. So the Queen had played him too.

"I will wipe the shadowhunters off the face of the earth once and for all, the Seelie Court will rule again." Without further ado, she started reciting a Latin spell. Her red hair was lifted by the sudden gust of wind that swept through the room. Pink leaves were ripped from the tree and floated around like a sandstorm. That was just a foretaste of the scepter's power.

Lisa made eye contact with her parabatai. They had to do something before it was all too late. It was Lisa's fault that this could happen, she was going to fix it herself. Anna gave her a revealing nod. She smiled, knowing they were thinking the exact same thing.

Not a second later, Anna rammed her elbow into the eye of the guard holding her. Surprised, he jumped back and pressed his hand to his sore eye. Lisa saw that as her sign to get moving. She punched her leg back, right between the legs of the fairy. He gave a cramped sound and fell to his knees. Lisa couldn't contain a laugh as she picked up his fallen bow from the ground. She quickly took the arrows from the quiver before he rose again.

When she looked back up, her friends were surrounded by guards. They were fighting in group, even Olivia had found a weapon and fought with as much strength as any shadowhunter. Her gaze went to the gigantic tree, there she would have a great overview, her legs started to move.

Soon her path was blocked by an elf, he lashed out with his sword. Lisa bent down, she felt the blade go right over her head. She nocked an arrow, turned quickly, and hit the fairy in the forearm. Satisfied, she reached the tree and began to climb. Involuntarily she thought back to her training sessions with Jonathan. The branches creaked alarmingly as she leaned on them with all her weight.

She had a good look at the Queen from that position, who was fortunately still casting her spell, clearly shaken by the unexpected fight. Again she nocked an arrow, raised her bow, and held her breath, trying not to fall from the branch. Her hand trembled terribly, this arrow couldn't miss, but there was no time to lose either. Reflexively she let go of the string, the arrow shot right at the ruby ​​of the scepter.

At this point, the scepter was more dangerous than the Queen, she had to destroy it at all costs. Tumult rose in the room as the arrow bounced off the gem. The impact wasn't powerful enough to break the ruby, but it was enough to snatch the scepter from her hands temporarily. Her plan had failed.

"An assault on our Majesty!" cried the guard, who she had kneed. "Kill her!" Lisa took the ring off her finger, which luckily still worked, and jumped off the branch as fast as she could. She heard the sound of dozens of arrows digging into the wood behind her.

Her short flying lessons didn't prevent her from nearly knocking to the ground. The ring slipped on her finger again, Lisa scanned her surroundings. There was the scepter.

She began to run purposefully, much to her delight Jonathan and Anna shielded her from the guards. Flashes of silver and blond hair filled her view. Olivia had picked up the scepter from the ground and kept the Queen at a distance with her sword. As soon as Lisa came within range, she threw the staff at her. She gave her an understanding look, then turned to the scepter.

"This ends now!" she cried. "Without this weapon, you can't do anything against the shadowhunters." In the moment of ecstasy, she threw the scepter to the ground with all her strength. She heard the sound of cracking rock.

The ruby ​​had made a hole in the white marble floor, but it was still completely intact. It didn't even have a scratch.

Much to her frustration, she heard the Queen laugh, "Nothing can destroy the weapon, stupid child."

She looked around anxiously, some fairies had been injured, but a large part was still standing. Her friends were surrounded, they wouldn't last much longer.

In the corner of her eye, she also saw the Queen making her way towards her, Olivia on her heels. Lisa could swear she saw fire in the elf's eyes. She would pulverize her with a wave of her hand. Her brain was working at full capacity.

Excindo, Anna's voice rang in her head. She cursed to herself, why did Anna have to pick this moment to speak Latin. The Seelie Queen was now a few feet from her hair. When her red-painted nails dug into Lisa's arm, everything fell into place.

Excindo meant to destroy, she had to fight fire with fire. The only weapon that can destroy the scepter is the scepter itself. She looked straight into the flaming eyes of the woman, who frantically closed her hands around the scepter.

"Excindo!" she shouted. The fairy woman shrieked in horror, all the eyes pointed at them, no one dared to move. The ruby ​​glowed slightly, sparks danced around the scepter. The light grew brighter, the whole room began to shake. "This is for my father," she hissed. Without thinking, she shoved the staff into the Queen's hands. She could keep it.

A loud buzz filled her ears, she ran. Jonathan speechlessly looked at the scene, she dragged him along and jumping behind a gigantic table displaying fruit.

The deafening sound was followed by absolute silence as if the scepter had absorbed all the energy. She peeked over the table. The fairy was reciting some inversion spell, she and Jonathan cursed.

That's when the ruby ​​exploded. She was first blinded by a red flash of light, then was blown away by the ensuing bang.

She groaned as her head slammed into the wall. Only a few seconds later, when it became quiet again, did she dare to open her eyes. Jonathan helped her up, the whole room was in ruins. She followed his gaze, the Queen was lying on the ground. To her relief she saw her chest rise and fall, she didn't want to be responsible for killing an ancient, powerful fairy. Only then would they really have a reason to go to war. The scepter on the other side was nowhere to be seen. The corner of her mouth lifted.

"The weapon is destroyed," Jonathan cheered as if he could read her mind. She hugged him, he made a cramped sound and pushed her away. His arm was at an odd angle, it must have been broken.

Her hands automatically went to her weapon belt, but they slid along the black dress. She could have cursed herself for not changing after the parabatai party. A shadowhunter always had to be prepared for a fight.

Those words echoed through her mind as she was attacked from behind. Anna had put her arms around Lisa and lifted her up. Olivia and Arthur had also escaped the fight unscathed, the boy handed his stele to Jonathan.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible," he said as an iratze formed on his arm. He was right, some fairies were already standing back up and heading their way. Lisa pointed to the nearest door and ran.

All her friends had made it, she thought, they would all get out of here.

Almost all. She turned her head, looking for the pale blue stain of a Centurion cloak. Perhaps Thomas would realise that revenge was not an option. Otherwise, Lisa would have strangled the Queen with her own hands, but taking her life wouldn't bring her father back.

Lisa bumped into an elf blocking the passage. Startled, she looked up, it was the boy who had spoken to the Queen earlier. His gaze rested on her, she had never felt so small. Without saying a word, the knight turned a quarter turn. He stretched out his muscular arm to let them through.

They passed him open-mouthed, hoping it wasn't another fairies' trap. From the moment they disappeared from his sight, they ran aimlessly. The elves had to realise that without the scepter they can do nothing against them. Lisa smiled triumphantly, she was able to prevent a war. Well, without her the war wouldn't have started, but that didn't matter.

She walked back into another hallway, not sure where the exit was. The Court was a veritable labyrinth, the corridors constantly moving. Judging by the faces of the others, they didn't know where they were either. That friendly elf could have given them a map, she thought.

Just then she heard snow cracking beneath her feet. She looked down in surprise, it was real snow. Its coolness was refreshing, she felt back at home in Antwerp.

"I know where we are," Anna cackled, "there's the exit." She pointed to a dark hole in the wall. She walked over to it suspiciously, a stairway led all the way up to where a faint ray of sunlight could be seen. She followed her friends up the stairs, wondering where it would end up. As long as it was far away from here. Feet stamped on the steps, which seemed to go on forever.

How would they explain to Marianne and Richard where they had been that night? Would they tell the whole story to the Clave? Her brooding was interrupted when she had to stop. Anna and Jonathan pushed open a hatch with their shoulders.

The midday sun was high in Idris's sky, Lisa's legs were tickled by the grass. In the ensuing haze of hugs and shouts of victory, Anna realised her parents must be terribly worried.

"We're going home as soon as possible," Jonathan reassured her.

She heard heavy footsteps behind her. Wasn't she the last one on the stairs? Lisa turned around, surely someone was approaching them. She didn't realise everyone else was already walking to the mansion. She stopped as if petrified, her grip on the fairy bow tightening. Did they come after them? As a precaution, she placed an arrow on the bow.

Her heart skipped a beat when Thomas appeared from the dark tunnel, he'd come back for her. But her heart sank again when she saw his gaze. His look was disappointed, deeply hurt.

"How could you do this to me," he whispered, "that weapon was my only chance for revenge." She shook her head, too scared to answer. He bit his lip, dark brown locks clinging to his forehead with sweat. With a flick of his arm, he released the daggers from their scabbards. She took a step back, he could never hurt her, could he?

Then she came to a realisation. The Raum demons, the red flashes of light. It made her feel deceived and a bitter taste rose in her mouth.

"It was you." Her eyes moved across the grass and Thomas's look of surprise as all the pieces of the puzzle came together. "You killed that vampire." Her thoughts went back to the vampire who had turned to ashes. She winced.

"Yes," he said flatly, "he knew too much about the scepter. With some fairy magic, I was able to eliminate him before he could remove the weapon from under our noses. You do understand that, don't you?" The look in his eyes changed from anger to innocence. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Determined, she raised her bow. "And that Kappa? Was it a coincidence that that demon attacked me just when you were there?"

He shook his head. "I summoned that demon so I could save you." He took a step in her direction, she aimed her arrow at him. She couldn't think clearly anymore, everything had been a lie. "That's how I won your trust. Everything I've ever said is true." He put on a smile. "I love you Lisa, more than anything in the world."

"Then stop this nonsense." Her voice broke.

"Someone has to make the sacrifice for the greater good," he said soothingly, again taking a step closer to her. "I'll always find a way to get revenge." He laughed, "I could even walk into the Accords Hall and kill every member of the Clave."

"I wouldn't let you." She still had drawn her bow, the arrow pointed at him like a clear message. He closed his eyes.

"Maybe you're not as docile as I thought you were. Move aside, otherwise, I won't be responsible for the consequences."

Me neither, she thought. As he raised his daggers and walked slowly towards her, her instincts took over. He was a threat. He had to be stopped.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she released the arrow. Her vision was blurred from the tears, yet she saw him fall to the ground right in front of her feet. The shaft stuck out of his eye, blood streaming down his cheek as tears ran down hers.

Defeated, she slumped to the ground next to him, stroking his hair one last time. "Tell your sister how much you love her." She heard herself speak in the distance. Her hands trembled as she pulled the arrow from his body. "Ave atque vale, Thomas Ashdown."

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What did you think of this chapter? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Did you expect this from Lisa? I'm sad that Thomas had to end up like this.
The last chapter will follow soon! -->