After

Epilogue: Tessa

NINETY-FIVE YEARS LATER

The cold stone felt rough against my fingertips as they brushed over the names.

James Carstairs
1861-2050

I looked farther down.

William Carstairs
1992-2063

Charlotte was on the Herondale one, she had ended up marrying Austin, as was Alexa who had married Logan. I looked over at Magnus who was staring the Lightwood mausoleum, sadly. It had been ninety-five years, since my children's generation had passed away. Though, Magnus and I still kept tabs on the Lightwood's, Herondale's, Blackthorn's, and Carstairs. 

I moved over the Herondale one and saw my daughters name, Logan's, Alexa's and Austin's and all of their children. Scarlett was on the Blackthorn one. My eyes drifted up farther.

William Herondale
1861-1937

James Herondale
1886-1951

It never stopped hurting. Magnus and I had grieved for years and years after all of our loved ones had passed. I remembered feeling the agony I had felt with Will. After Jem had died, I had left. I couldn't bear to see everyone else die. When I heard about Jace and Clary, I had broken inside. I had known Clary ever seen she had been a baby, and it had hit me hard. I saw my children on their deathbed, and had promised both of them I'd take care of their descendants. Forever.

Even in the ninety-five years after their passing, Magnus and I hadn't dated anyone. It took him much longer to move on from Alec than it did for me to move on from Jem, if you can believe it. Though now, the memory of them brought us back happy memories instead of the raw agony we had felt. Magnus walked over to me, and smiled at Alexa's name.

"She was sure something." He chuckled.

"She was." I smiled sadly. "Just like her mother."

Her and Logan had had two sons and a daughter, their daughter, with her pale blonde hair and their sons, all black hair and green eyes. They had been quite the heartbreakers. Scarlett and Blake had had two girls and a boy. They had black hair, except for their youngest daughter, with Scarlett's fiery red hair. My children had had children of their own. Austin and Charlotte had had two sons, and Will and his wife Emily had had a daughter.

My eyes went over to the Blackthorn one again, and I spotted Paris' name. She had grown up to be female version of Logan. She had been a breaker of hearts, with her pale blonde hair, and blue-green eyes. Paris had also inherited Clary's amazing talents. She had gone on to marry one of Mark Blackthorn's sons, and had had two daughters. It was quite odd how her and Scarlett had both married Blackthorn's. Clary and Jace sure had a lot of grandchildren, I thought and smiled.

Magnus' eyes went to Jace and Clary, and he sighed. "God, I miss all of them."

"Me too." I said and my eyes started to well with tears.

"It's crazy. They had all been such a big party of my life, with defeating Valentine and Sebastian and now they're gone. As if they were never really there." He said sadly.

We were both then silent.

"I'll give you a moment." He said, and then walked away.

I stood there, feeling empty for a few moments.

"Thank you." I said aloud. "For everything. All of you. I miss you all so much."

I then felt a hand take either of my hands. I looked to my right, and saw Jem smiling at me. His brown were soft, and he looked young. I looked to my right, and saw Will. His blue eyes were bright, and he was smiling at me happily. I smiled to myself and then we walked away, the three of us.

And so another generation had passed.