fallen hero | matthew fairchild

chapter 13 | bronze doors

Hero snatched the paper out of his hands and continued reading the words.

"The discovery of Miss Furyton's untimely demise had been made by her friend, Sam Rosales. They were partners on the Phalanx, the prestigious faction of warriors that were trained in total secrecy. Their techniques remain a mystery to most shadowhunters.

After uncovering the death of his fellow fighter in front of the New York Institute, Mr. Rosales followed protocol and reported her death to the Silent Brothers. 

It was then, that the Brothers learned that the damage that had been done to Miss Furyton's body pointed away from demons' usual signs. 

It seemed as if she had been pushed off the roof of the Institute. 

Florence Lovelace, the leader of  Shira's squadron, denied to comment." 

"What the hell?" She looked away from the paper in her hands. "Why would Sam reveal all of this?"

Matthew ran a hand through his golden hair.  "This is a mess."

She started pacing around the training room. It wouldn't take long before they put the puzzle pieces together.

Shira had been hunting her down and then she was found dead? There was only one lead.

And it only led them right to her and Matthew.

Hell, Pistol had already figured it out.

She could only hope that the other shadowhunters were far stupider than Pistol. 

But, she couldn't make sense of why Sam would do this.

He knew that they had killed Shira. Why didn't he just expose them? 

Is it because he didn't want to expose himself?

She whirled around to look at Matthew.

Hero hadn't paid much attention to him when he had first entered. 

He wasn't even trying, but he looked beautiful. 

She had never seen an angel before, but she was sure they would look like him. 

Matthew caught her staring at him. "What?" he asked exasperatedly, snapping her out of her feminine fog. 

"We need to investigate this," she exclaimed. 

He rolled his eyes at her statement. "Do you truly believe we need to get even more involved with this?"

She shook her head. "I think there are too many unanswered questions."

"No, Hero."

She blinked. 

"What do you mean no?" Hero asked cautiously. 

"I mean you and I are already in enough trouble as it is. And I will clarify by saying, we could get our marks stripped."

Her heart was hammering. Her life was just one large question mark. She needed to investigate what was going on. 

She couldn't live in the unknown.

"We... I have to do this. I mean, I still have no idea why they want to arrest me. Or where is Florence? Or why do they-"

"No," Matthew said, his voice louder. "Do you understand what getting your marks stripped entails? It means we would have to live our lives as mundanes. I know you don't understand how our world works, but I have a family I don't want to lose."

It was like a lightning bolt to the chest. His eyes were glowing with anger, but he had just delivered a death blow.

I have a family.