City of Secrets

Chapter 11: And I Shall Give Her the Morning Star

It was a hot summer day in mid-July. Golden sunlight streamed in through the windows of the Institute and lit up the room. Ember sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair while Alec lectured her about an automaton attack on the London Institute in the late eighteen-hundreds.

Alec had spoken with Maryse after Lilith's attack, and Maryse had agreed that the Institute would be the only safe place for Ember until she had the baby. With the permission of the Clave, and with much persuasion from Jacob, the Clave allowed Ember to remain in the New York Institute and receive her instruction there under the stern eye of Maryse Lightwood, even though it was a discussion that supposedly caused a great amount conflict. Both Jacob and Maryse had to send the Clave weekly reports of Ember's progress, and Maryse had seen to it that her 'instructors' had enough material to teach her to last a week.

Jace was her first teacher of the day, and it was his job to teach her about fighting techniques and weaponry.

The killing arts, he had called them, after Clary and Ember had made a joke about the topic.

After Jace came Clary, and Clary taught her about Marks and helped Ember strengthen her skill with drawing runes. It was her favorite part of her lessons, and in her opinion, it was what she excelled in. After Clary, Alec would come in and teach her history. It was interesting enough, though there were some gruesome portions that made her stomach turn and her blood freeze. She supposed it made sense, though. It was never okay, but it made sense. If ghastly things happened in the mundane history she studied in high school, it only made sense that Nephilim history would have some bad parts as well. They were part human, after all.

After Alec, Isabelle would come in to give her lessons on Downworlders. Jace had said she had experience with the Downworlders, which had earned him a smack from Isabelle. Isabelle and Ember would just talk the whole two hours most of the time, and just in case Maryse walked in, Ember would leave her copy of the Codex wide open to the Downworlder section.

Jacob would give her her last lesson of the day, and he taught her about the Clave, the Accords, and the Shadowhunter's laws. Maryse Lightwood herself occasionally would come in and talk to her about various subjects, subjects she had claimed Ember would have to know in order to Ascend and be 'a proper Shadowhunter'. Jacob would then join her in the kitchen after she and Isabelle made dinner, and he would walk her to her room soon after.

This was the way Ember's days had been for the past three and a half months or so.

Her reflection of the events of the past few months was interrupted as Isabelle burst through the door, with Clary hot on her heels.

"Ember!"

Ember must have jumped at least half a foot high in the air, and Alec glowered at his little sister with crossed arms.

"I was in the middle of something, Izzy," he said. "I hope what you have to say is important."

Isabelle walked over and sat on Ember's desk, crossing her long legs as she did so. 

"Oh Alec, don't you know that everything I say is important?"

"Izzy..." Alec said in a warning tone.

Isabelle sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine. Clary and I just thought that Ember deserved a little break after all these lessons. It has to be exhausting for her, considering the state she's in."

"A bathroom break does sound nice," Ember said.

Alec's dark brows furrowed. Lines appeared on his forehead as if he were deep in thought.

"Fifteen minutes," he said.

"Fifteen minutes?" Isabelle echoed. She took her brother by the elbow and led him away to a corner of the room, where neither Clary or Ember could hear what they said. Ember sent a questioning look in Clary's direction, and Clary shrugged.