I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XXVIII ] History of the Rose

Aline had just arrived with Jace and Clary and –

"Jem? Tess?" Emma smiled, seeing her kind-of Uncle and Tessa standing in the foyer of the townhouse. Aline immediately went to Helen, planting a kiss on her lips. Jace was already in gear and for some reason, it terrified her. That meant they were intending to go soon. Her gaze flicked to Jem who was smiling softly with Tessa's arm in his.

"We were working with Jace and Clary on their mission. Although we cannot go into the Unseelie Lands, we want to help with any preparation." Although Tessa was smiling, you could see the paleness of her skin, dark rings under her eyes. She was a Shadowhunter which helped, but it was obvious her travelling to the Faerie Lands with Jace and Clary and being near he blight had taken a toll on her. When Emma looked to Clary though, she looked fine. She wasn't shaking or frail like the last time they had seen her when she passed out after making a portal.

"We appreciate it greatly, thank you." Julian nodded politely. Jace, never one for formal greetings, clapped a hand over Julian's shoulder.

"I'm convinced Tessa is here because she just couldn't stand to not be with her favorite descendent as he goes on his way." Tessa chuckled and rolled her eyes while Jace flashed his characteristic smile, chipped incisor and all.

With a smirk, Tessa walked past him, "Oh, of course, I am just so excited to see Kit."

"Ouch, he's not even technically your descendent." Jace chided and Clary just smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Alright, I believe we do have more pressing matters to attend to." Clary chimed in, her voice strong, no evidence of her weak state only a few weeks ago. "Aline Penhallow, it is so nice to see you as always. Do you have the ring in question?"

Aline nodded, sitting on a blue couch at the far side of the room. She pulled a gold ring off of her finger, the metal thin and glinting with an iridescent color along the edges of the band. It was beautiful and very obviously crafted by Faeries. Everyone's eyes went wide, especially Jaime's. They had tried so hard to find this, this final piece to the puzzle and here it was right in front of them. Emma almost couldn't believe it, but rather than excitement, it was fear that filled her mind. She was never afraid at the idea of getting further on a mission, but this time, this one task, terrified her. Her gaze raked over everyone in the room, all these people that she cared about. The last time they tried to take on the King and the and the trouble he caused, Livvy died. Her breath caught in her throat as the memory of Livia's lifeless eyes painted her mind. Suddenly, all she could see was her blood covering every surface – covering Julian. Then her mind tortured her further, that blood became Julian's and his blue-green eyes were staring lifelessly at the sky. A hand rested on her shoulder and snapped her back into reality.

"Em? You alright? This is good. We have the ring, we can finally end this." Julian's voice was calming, but his touch sent chills through her body. She touched the band on her arm for comfort, reminding herself this is normal – they are okay.

She cleared her throat and looked back to the giant group of people standing in the foyer. "Right. Well, I have no idea how this ring works, but something tells me all 16 of us are not going to be able to get into Faerie undetected with this ring."

"That's what we're counting on!" Jace smiled and looked to Clary to explain.

"We've come up with a plan. We studied this ring at the Labyrinth before we could even find it. It was crafted by Seelies so anyone with Faerie blood can use it. However, if you look closely at it, you can see it is edged by a familiar shimmering substance." They all inspected the ring.

"Is that adamas?" Ty asked, running the ring through his fingers.

Jem nodded this time, taking the ring into his hand and continuing the explanation. "Cristina Rosales, do you know how closely your family is tied to the Fae?"