More Than Starlight (Lady Midnight Julian + Emma)

Chapter 25 - Gold for a Bride in her Wedding Gown

This is going to be the last chapter of this story! Thank you all SO much for being such amazing readers and for all the votes and wonderful comments.

Only a few short months till Lord of Shadows is out and I'm so excited! Love you all ♥

Emma was putting the finishing touches on her hair, pinning half of the curls up in a twist low on her head. Today was the day of Clary and Jace's wedding, and something about the sentiment made Emma's stomach flip. She had never been to a wedding, with all the things going on in the past few years, the people she was close to had either died or were too busy for marriage. She was fascinated to see what it was like to be at a Shadowhunter wedding rather than just read about it in the Codex.

A knock sounded at her door, "Emma? Are you ready?" It was Livvy.

"Yeah! I'll be right down!" She called back, and listened to the footsteps fade away down the hallway. Emma grabbed her stele, fastening it to her thigh strap next to a seraph knife; it didn't matter how fancy the occasion, Emma never went anywhere unarmed. She let the dress fall back down and looked in the mirror of her room. She was wearing a deep crimson dress, a silky fabric that slid against her skin like air. It was strapless, showing the black runes twining on her shoulders and arms- even showing the faded parabatai rune on her forearm. Her heart swelled immediately at the sight, thinking of Julian and making her smile. Her hair was hanging down to her waist in soft curls, half of it pinned back from her face in an elegant twist. It was so interesting to her to see herself dressed so fancy, everything clean lines and smooth skin. Being a Shadowhunter, she was used to black gear, scarred skin and wild braids. This was like an entirely different person in front of her. But with a final glance, she turned and left the room, making her way to the portal in the foyer.

***

"There she is!" Magnus cried out in exasperation as she began to descend the stairs, "I am the date of the best man and I'm already late."

"A – Shadowhunters don't call them that, there are just primary witnesses for the bride and groom. And B – you're not either of those things so I'm sure no one cares." Emma sneered with a chuckle as she hopped down the stairs, the rest of the Blackthorns congregated about. Cristina was there as well, Mark's arm around her emerald green dress. Livvy and Dru were playing with Tavvy while Ty and Kit stood off to the side talking about whatever they were talking about. And then there was Julian. As soon as he saw her walk in, his face lit up, eyes clouding in a dreamlike daze.

"You look beautiful." He whispered to her under his breath as she came to stand beside him. He was still in the habit of being discreet despite the fact that there was nothing keeping them apart anymore.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She winked. It was no lie; he was dressed in a classic black suit, a black tie fastened loose around his neck. He planted a kiss on her cheek and lightly grabbed her hand as they all made their way through the portal, stepping into the sunny and cool atmosphere of New York City.

***

The wedding was taking place at the Institute, in the sanctuary where downworlders could attend; it resembled a large ballroom cleared out and decorated with gold and lights. Depictions of herons were imprinted on curtains, napkins, tablecloths, and anything else that it could be on. Everyone took their seats as they procession began. There were people she knew all around in the crowd as well as up at the front of the room; James and Tessa, the Lightwoods, Simon Lovelace, Jocelyn and Luke as well as downworlders such as Catarina Loss and some of Luke's pack. No vampires were present since the sun was still setting, but she was sure a few would be present at the reception. She looked at Jace up on the dais laughing with Alec and Simon; the primary witnesses for Jace and Clary respectively. She hadn't seen Simon much in the past years, and it was strange to see him with the telltale black marks of Shadowhunters. He had ascended after the Dark War and was now Clary's parabatai. Isabelle was sitting near Emma and she could see her smiling at the new Shadowhunter, a ring with a heart stamped on it resting on her finger. Finally they saw Clary walking forward towards the front of the room, her hair wound up intricately on the back of her head, small tendrils hanging down by her face. She was dressed in an iridescent gold dress, embellished and flowing to the floor in a beautiful shape. She looked gorgeous, and from the look on Jace's face, he agreed. Once they were together at the front, the Silent Brother proceeded over the ceremony, blessing the couple by the angel as they etched the wedded union rune on their hands. The other rune was meant to go on the heart, but was often not done at the ceremony itself. With a little magic from Magnus, the lights in the room glowed brighter, spreading glorious golden rays on the couple as they sealed the ceremony with a kiss.

***

The reception took place outside in the courtyard, heat lamps powered by warlock magic floating above the crowd along with strings of light. It looked as if the night sky was lit up by hundreds of brighter stars, hanging low in the sky. There were tables spread throughout the courtyard of the Institute, people sitting about and dancing to the music on the stone patio. The Blackthorn children were spinning Tavvy around on the dancefloor as Mark showed Cristina dances he had learned in Faerie. Emma watched Clary and Jace dancing and couldn't help but smile as he spun her around in circles, her red hair falling from its up-do.

"Do you think she knows that Simon snuck off with Isabelle and are missing the celebration?" Her favorite voice chimed from behind her. As a Shadowhunter, she had been trained to be aware of her surroundings and never be caught off guard, but here in the safety of family and friends, she had let her guard down and Julian's voice made her jump in surprise.

After catching her breath and playfully smacking his arm as he laughed at her, she grinned, "I'm sure they're celebrating in their own way." Julian took this as a green light to tease her; arms wrapping around her waist from behind, he planted a kiss on her temple.

"I bet that is a very fun way to celebrate a wedding." He whispered against her ear, his hands running along the silky fabric of her dress. She grabbed his hands and twisted around, planting a soft kiss against his lips.

"We're not leaving the wedding!"

"I doubt they'd notice," He smirked, pulling her closer again. She laughed and dodged his kiss, his lips landing against her cheek. "I mean, look, I doubt they'd notice much of anything."

Sure enough, when Emma looked back, they were off of the dancefloor, Jace's hands cupping Clary's face and his lips hungrily devouring hers. By the looks of things, she doubted they'd notice if the whole crowd left. But she stood her ground, pulling Julian to the dancefloor instead. He let out a groan of protest but followed, catching her waist as they began to sway to the music. His other hand remain clasped to hers, dancing around lazily.

"You know what this reminds me of?" He asked, and she knew exactly what he was referring to. He had the same dreamy look in his eyes now as he did that night at the lottery. The night that she noticed resolutely that things between her and Jules had shifted from friends to something much more intimate. She would have kissed him right then and there if the announcer hadn't come on and torn them from their dazed state then. Now, it was different. There was still the tension between them, but it was comfortable. It relaxed her knowing that she could touch him however she liked without worrying about prying eyes. Knowing she could kiss him at any moment, which she did right now. Pulling her hand out of his, she grasped the nape of his neck, her fingers softly stroking the soft skin there as she brought her lips up to meet his. She could feel him smiling against her mouth as his hands moved down to her waist and his lips moved gently against hers, tongue gently grazing the inside of her mouth. Her nerves fired from every ending, setting her body ablaze when she heard someone clearing their throat from behind her. Immediately drawing back, she saw Jace smirking behind them and Clary trying to suppress a smile but doing a horrible job at it.

Clary stopped chuckling and pulled Emma in for a hug, "Thank you so much for being here!"

"Of course!" Emma said, pulling back and holding her at arm's length, "You've always been there for me and I'll always be there for you."

Jace whispered something to Julian and his eyes widened until Jace laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, Julian sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with an awkward laugh. Jace joined Clary's side again and smiled at Emma.

Clary let go of her with a final smile, "By the way," She said in a hushed voice, "It makes me glad to see you two happy." And with one last hug, the two Herondales walked off.

Emma turned back to Julian who still had a still fading blush on his cheeks, "What did Jace say to you?" She chuckled.

"Apparently, they have surveillance cameras in their elevators." At that, Emma's smile slid of her face, her expression shifting to the one Julian was wearing before as she remembered their intimate moment in the Institute elevator weeks before. Now it was his turn to laugh.

"Well," She said flippantly, "It's not like they didn't know before."

He took her hands back in his and bent down to kiss her again, murmuring against her lips, "And now we don't care who knows. I love you Emma Carstairs."

She pulled back and looked up into his Blackthorn blue eyes, stroking his curls, "I love you Julian Blackthorn. I love you more than Starlight."