I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XIX ] Destruction of the Heart

Ooohhh long chapter! I've been awful about posting for the past week or so and yet you all are still so awesome and shower me with love and comments, so here is a quick and long update for you ❤️  YAY PRESENTS!

"Someone already has it? Please tell me it's not Kieran's prick of a father." Emma grumbled before looking to Kieran apologetically, "No offense."

He put his hands up casually, "None taken."

The tension in the room had faded, Julian sat at the table next to Dru and Ty, his demeanor returning to the stoic adult. Tavvy had joined the room now and was tugging on Julian's sweater. Kit, however, was watching him carefully from across the table. Kieran and Mark were standing at the kitchen island with Cristina. Emma was pacing restlessly as per usual, unable to sit still whenever they were discussing plans. Mark had an ice pack pressed to his head, iratzes often didn't do much to help with head injuries, and you could see Julian wince when he looked at what he had done to his brother.

"My sister has it." The blonde Blackthorn said, causing Emma and Julian to stare at him.

"Helen?" Julian broke his silence, his blue-green eyes sparkling at the mention of his older sister's name. They had forced her to return to Wrangel Island after Livvy's funeral and seeing her leave again was like a knife to the chest. "Helen has it?"

Mark nodded, "We met a faerie when we were searching in the Seelie land – she knew Nene, our aunt. After Lady Nerissa died, Nene had carried myself and Helen to our father. The ring was Lady Nerissa's and she gave it to Helen, it was a family heirloom. It was on a chain around her neck, and Helen has had it all these years."

"Does she know what it can do?" Kit asked.

He shook his head, the movement of his pale blonde hair showing the pointed tips of his ears. "I don't think so, she always wore it as a remembrance of her faerie heritage. She kept it for sentimental reasons but I don't think she had any idea it possessed any sort of power."

"So you remember her having it. You know what it looks like?"

"I do, she's kept it with her ever since she was young. She wears it as a ring now, not a necklace." His face fell, "Or at least she did before the Dark War. I didn't see her wearing it when she was here for the funeral."

"Well we need her then, have you sent her a message?" Julian said.

Cristina answered him, her voice colder than he had become accustomed to, "Yes we have. We have sent word to Jia, but we haven't heard back. We'll have to go to Alicante to propose the idea."

"What about Jace and Clary, have you heard anything from them?" Emma asked her friend, concern tinging her voice.

Cristina's expression softened, hesitating before she answered, "No. No we haven't heard anything from them. We texted Alec, but he has no idea where they are. They must be okay though, his parabatai rune is normal."

Emma wanted to feel relief but she was worried for her friend, Jace may be okay but what about Clary? No, if Clary wasn't okay, Jace wouldn't be either. "Alright, good. I left both of them a message, so hopefully they'll get back to me whenever they can. I'm sure whatever they're doing is important."

"What is that on your arm, Em?" Her friend asked, Emma had almost forgotten completely about the golden circlet on her arm. She touched it now, Julian doing the same to the one on his wrist.

"From the Seelie Queen." She answered, the rest of them sharing worried looks, "We made a bargain and she is going to help us. But in order to do that, we can't be separated. These bands are enchanted to delay the progression of the curse. To prevent us from going insane until this is all over."