I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XXXXIV ] Promise of a Better Tomorrow

Emma and Julian walked into the kitchen, clean and in fresh clothes. They were famished and Tavvy had decided they should have pancakes for dinner since it had been so long since they had a family breakfast. No one protested, the thought of fluffy golden pancakes making Emma's stomach grumble. It was a full house today; nearly everyone still here. Jem and Tessa had said farewell already and headed home, they had an apartment not far away in Calabasas. But everyone else was surrounding the table; Jace and Clary hand in hand on the window seat, Dru talking to Jaime and Aline at the kitchen island, Kit and Ty were leaning close together on a bench at the table while Cristina, Kieran, and Mark were playing with Tavvy across from them. Helen, however, was helping Julian and Emma make the massive stacks of pancakes. Well, Emma was more there for moral support. Julian didn't trust her since the molten lava cake incident and she couldn't say she blamed him.

"Oh come on, Julian, it happened one time!" Emma protested, sitting on the kitchen counter with her legs swinging below her.

He shook his head with a laugh, "Emma, it's called a molten lava cake because it has melted chocolate on the inside, not because it is supposed to explode like a volcano."

She shrugged, "Eh, I think my dessert was cooler."

"And also painted the kitchen in chocolate."

Mark came striding over, Tavvy on his shoulders, "We can band together and form a club, Emma – Those who have been banned from Julian's kitchen."

Emma hopped down with a smile, tickling Tavvy and pulling him down off of Mark. The seven year old was giggling, he was turning 8 in a few weeks and Emma was already planning on what they should do for his birthday. He was just a kid and even though Shadowhunters did not usually get much of a childhood, Tavvy had gotten even less. The little boy had been through so much, but he was still smiling – surrounded by people who loved him just like Emma was. Julian took a break from flipping pancakes to plant a kiss to his forehead. He leaned forward to kiss Emma on the cheek afterwards and got a concerned look from Mark beside them.

"Julian-" Mark began and Emma couldn't help but laugh.

"Mark, brother," Julian smirked, planting his hand on his older brother's shoulder as he flashed the scar above his collarbone. Mark's eyes went wide. "Don't worry, we'll explain soon."

They had finished making the pancakes and made a plate for each person. Although the table at the Institute was large, it wasn't big enough to fit everyone and so there were people eating throughout the kitchen. They had a large formal dining room that could hold over 30 people, but it was rarely ever used. Usually for official Clave business and they wanted to keep this dinner casual. Although it was full of people, it was comfortable, not too crowded. There was one person noticeably missing though – the boy who had helped them in the faerie courts. Julian realized he actually had no idea where he was, or if he was even still there. A spark of guilt shot through him; he hoped Ash didn't leave before he had a chance to thank him. They would not have been able to win this war without him. There was happy chatter filling the room as everyone ate, conversation ranging from how things are back in New York to funny stories from years past. The conversation halted when Ash entered the room. He was still in his faerie clothes from the Seelie Court and they were stained with dirt and blood. Everyone looked at him at him but Julian smiled and went to greet him.

"Ash, I'm glad you are still here. I wanted to thank you. For everything. We truly would not have been able to end this war without you, and we will be sure to tell the Clave everything the Seelie Court has done for us."

Ash nodded with a small smile, "The pleasure is mine, Julian Blackthorn. If a problem arises, feel free to come to me. I will have to be returning to my realm shortly, I just wanted to thank you all before I left."