I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XI ] Surprise Visitors

Emma and Julian walked into the library, not unaware of the looks from the family. This wasn't a very good start on their separation. Clary and Jace however, just smiled and greeted them. Although Clary was smiling, there was something off about her – her face was drawn with exhaustion, she looked run down. And Jace seemed more subdued than usual, his golden eyes flat.

"Thank you for coming, there are some matters we should discuss." Julian spoke, his voice carrying like the head of the institute. The two heads of the New York Institute simply nodded their heads in acknowledgement. "We need to be able to enter Faerie without the Unseelie King knowing. We plan to seek out the Seelie Queen to help us defeat him."

Jace scoffed at the mention of the Queen, "Good luck with that. Unless she can find a way to ensure that she'll get some benefit, she won't help us."

Julian's eyes were hard, his demeanor far less laid back than moments before, "This will benefit her. She wants to keep her court, if she doesn't help us then she might as well give it up."

"I understand that, but-" Jace tried to speak but Julian cut him off.

"Then you should understand that this is our only option." Julian snapped. Jace's eyes were burning, anger brewing inside him. Jace did not appreciate being interrupted or condescended to, especially when he knew he was right.

Before Jace could retort, Emma spoke in a soothing tone, "Julian, you have to realize that if we don't offer the Queen anything, she's not going to help us. We've dealt with her enough to know how she operates, we need leverage."

"And what kind of leverage could we have?" Julian asked, his stony expression softening under Emma's gaze.

"Information." Kieran spoke up from across the room. He was perched on the arm of a chair, his blue hair ruffled above his shoulders. All eyes fell on him expectantly, willing him to continue. "You must be aware that knowing a Faerie's true name gives you power over them, but there are other ways to take that power."

"Ah yes, blackmail. Works on humans too." Kit supplied from the desk as he fiddled with one of the contraptions that Julian had made for Ty.

"Mundanes? I'm sure it does, do we know of any information we could use?" Julian asked, half-ignoring Kit.

"We almost do," Clary added timidly, her voice low, "We spent time in Faerie seeking a weapon but found nothing. While searching, however, we ran into another Shadowhunter. He said he had found an heirloom to allow you to enter Faerie undetected, which it sounds like you have heard of-"

Cristina's eyes lit up, "Do you have it?"

Clary smiled sadly at her, "We did, yes. But it was – lost. We spent days at the Spiral Labyrinth, working with Tessa and other warlocks to see if we know how it works which is why we could not communicate easily. We thought that maybe this heirloom was the weapon we were looking for."

"But those weeks we spent in Faerie searching for it, we realized that the heirloom wasn't the only thing we needed to find," Jace continued for Clary, exhaustion seemed to have taken a toll on her, "We learned something. Something valuable. The entire court answers to the Queen, and everything communicates. If you listen closely enough and are hidden, you may learn things about the Queen. Things she may not want you to know."

"And what did you learn?" Emma asked.

His amber eyes looked to her, sparkling with his characteristic mischief now, "The Seelie Queen has something she has been keeping a secret for 15 years - we just have to figure out what it is."

***

"What kind of something?" Emma questioned, everyone in the room looked curious, even Kieran.

Everyone was brimming with questions, Mark was the next to ask, "And how are we going to find out what it is?"

Clary's face paled and Emma noted Jace's reassuring hand pressed to her lower back, "That's what we need to figure out. And fast. We believe it is the weapon – something Sebastian Morgenstern left behind for her."

"What makes you think that?" Kit asked, Ty was started to fidget in his seat, hands opening and closing at his sides.

"During the Dark War, when I was bonded with Sebastian and Clary was trying to find evidence as to what he was doing, we found letters between him and the Seelie Queen. And although she is powerful and beautiful, the Seelie Queen does not often consort with others. She finds most partners unsuitable and insufferable. She enjoyed Sebastian's ruthlessness apparently." He explained, quoting some of the letter that he could remember. Everyone was watching Jace intently, but Emma spared a glance at Julian, remembering Kieran's words to him; He said you were gentle, the most gentle person he knew. You are not gentle. You have a ruthless heart.

"They were working together, we just need to figure out what they had planned." Jace continued to explain their time in Faerie; the story of finding the Shadowhunter who they had not named yet, how they found the heirloom, how they lost the heirloom, and even them seeing the blight spreading. But Emma could think of nothing else, a tight coil of uneasiness in her chest making it hard for her to listen. She hated the idea of her Julian being compared to a psychopath like Sebastian. Almost as much as she hated the idea of the power they had turning them into just that. She felt like she was going to throw up. She vaguely heard Clary say something about the Shadowhunter they had seen, mention a name. But it didn't click until a tall man with dark hair and tattoos swirling across his skin walked into the room and she heard Cristina's sharp inhale next to her.

"This is Jaime Rosales. He was the one who helped us in Faerie." Clary said, motioning to the man beside her.

His dark brown eyes went directly to Cristina with a smile, "It is good to see you again, Tina."

***

Instinctively, Emma went into defense mode for her friend, "Jaime Rosales, sounds vaguely familiar." She stated with venom.

"All good things I hope," He winked at Emma now, finally taking his eyes from Cristina who had regained her composure.

Emma smiled back, a sinister smile, "Oh most definitely not. I recall something about-"

"Emma, be nice." Julian warned her, his expression guarded. She pressed her lips shut with a smile and saw Jace chuckle. Clary smacked him on the arm subtly with a pointed look; Jace must not like him much either.

Jaime inclined his head to Julian before he continued on, his voice rich with an accent, "As Jace and Clary said, we were in Faerie, searching for this heirloom. And, well," Jaime's eyes cut to Dru now, "It seems to have gone missing."

Dru's face turned red with blush as she looked at her feet, pulling at her dark braid. She seemed like she was going to say something, but Ty spoke up. "We took it. I'm sorry." He was standing just in front of Dru now; a big brother looking after his sister.

Jace's expression flashed with surprise, but no anger, "You have it? You have the ring?" The corner of his lip was twitching in amusement, "We've been looking for it for all this time, and the Blackthorns have had it all along. Figures."

"Wait, a ring?" Kit asked, furrowing his eyebrows, "We don't have a ring."

Jaime blanched, his face turning as pale as a sheet. Clary glanced at him before turning her gaze back to Kit and Ty. "So then," She started, curiosity painting her features, "What is it that you took?"