Archive of Our Own

Lucie blinked.

She was fairly certain she was dead. At least, she had been dead a moment ago. And a moment before that, she’d been old. Old and tired, with crinkly skin and aching bones and grandchildren.

And now she wasn’t.

She turned her hand over and squinted at it, unsure whether to be more surprised about the smooth skin or her clear vision. Her skirt rustled as she moved, and the fact that she could hear the swish of fabric made her jump. She had been so, so old. Was this heaven, then?

A few paces to her left, there was a groan, and then a young man hauling himself up onto his feet. He moved slowly, like he was afraid standing up too fast would pop his hip, and he looked far too familiar.

“What in Raziel’s name?” He was blinking around in the same manner she was, and for a moment her heart rose into her throat. Her grandson was dead, too? When did that happen?

“Lucie?”

Wait. She knew that voice. And those gold eyes. Not her grandson. This was her brother, restored to exactly how he had looked at the age her grandson was now.

“Jamie!” She couldn’t help her sob, launching herself at her brother and wrapping him into her arms. They hadn’t hugged like this in a very long time, and he smelled like the cologne he used to steal from their father. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“Well,” James squeezed her once, and then pulled back to peer into her face. “Being dead does tend to make it hard to pop round for tea.”

Definitely not heaven, then, if Jamie was still annoying.

“Did you do this?” He asked, releasing her and squinting around into the night. “With your death powers?”

He wiggled his fingers as he said it, the way Magnus did when he was casting a spell.

“I don’t think so?” It wasn’t meant to be a question, but her voice pulled up at the end all the same.

If it was her, if she had died and then immediately resurrected and brought Jamie with her, then where was Jesse? She’d brought him back once, so why wasn’t he here, too?

“It was me,” a voice cut through the conversation, and for the first time, Lucie turned to take in her surroundings.

They were by the edge of a lake, bordered with shaggy grass and concealed on all sides by towering trees. Runes and circles overlapped in intricate patterns, marking the grass with some kind of coloured powder, illuminated by the moon. A big, heavy book lay open near the edge of the water.

The boy who had spoken was about her grandchildren’s age – about her age, now – and he had scruffy blonde hair that fell into his face. He was holding a dagger, and his eyes were sort of sunken, like he hadn’t been sleeping.

“Who are you?”

Immediately, James was on his guard. He pushed his way in front of Lucie, nudging her back with his shoulder, and she scowled. An entire lifetime and he still thought he had to protect his baby sister.

“I need your help,” the boy told them, as though James hadn’t spoken. “My little sister is missing, and my parents went to faerie to find her but they haven’t come back either. So I asked the angels for help, and then you two appeared.”

“The angels?” Lucie gaped, at the same time as Jamie asked:

“And you couldn’t find someone alive to help you?”

This made the boy scowl.

“There’s nobody I can trust right now.

He was wearing gear, but it was different than the gear Lucie was used to. It was tighter, more fitted, allowing the lines of the body to show through instead of covering them. It was strange.

She expected James to protest more, but instead he rolled his shoulders and gave a nod.

“If the angels sent us, then we’ll help.”

..

He told them as they walked that his name was Kit, and his little sister Mina was still only a baby.

“She can walk around if she holds onto the walls, and she can talk a little. She says my name sometimes.”

He sounded so deeply worried that Lucie’s heart went out to him. She remembered how Cordelia had been when her baby brother was born. She would have burned the world to ashes if anything happened to him. She knew Jamie was thinking the same thing, because his jaw tightened.

“Who would take a baby?”

“The fae.” Kit paused, the edge of the forest giving way to a rolling lawn.

A big house sat on the hill there, all warm brick and tall windows spilling light, and Lucie blinked hard.

“Is this… Cirenworth?” It looked different, somehow, even though Lucie had seen it a mere month ago.

“You know it?”

“I… yes. I know it.” What she didn’t know was what was happening. How could everything change so much in a month?

The boy had an accent that sounded American, but he spoke the way her mother did, like he was letting the sounds of England creep into his voice. She hadn’t realised they were in the same part of the country that she’d died in.

“So, the fae?” James prompted, squinting up at the house. How many thousands of times had they wandered up this exact driveway, and why were the stones so different beneath their feet?

“They’ve been looking for me most of my life, and almost gotten me a few times. I guess they’re trying a new strategy.” The strange boy’s tone was flat, and both of the Herondale siblings took the hint, asking no more questions.

“Listen, you two stay here. I’ll grab some extra gear and weapons, and then we can go. The closest entrance to Faerie isn’t far from here.”

..

While they waited, Lucie settled on the grass, picking at the hem of her heavy skirt. It wasn’t her best dress, but it had been her favourite for many years, and she had worn it completely to rags. It was Anna that convinced her to finally part with it, and as odd as this day was, she was glad to see it again. The familiar material was a much needed comfort.

James, on the other hand, was brimming with nervous energy, pacing back and forth at the tree line.

“It’s weird here,” he told her suddenly, coming to a stop. “The air feels different.”

“Or maybe you just aren’t used to being alive anymore. You died nine years ago, you know.” It hurt to think about. He had been so sick.

“Nine?” Jamie looked stunned. “It felt like I closed my eyes and then opened them by the lake. Like I just blinked.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t.” For a moment, the grief filled her, the memory of his death and the knowledge of the empty years that lay ahead, an only child for the first time in her life. Then, she sniggered. “Alistair cried at your funeral, you know.”

“He did?”

“Yup. Bawled like a baby. Although, he was kind of just like that, in the end.”

“So, he’s gone, too?” Despite their antagonism as teenagers, Alistair and James had become close friends.

“Yeah. About a year after you. Thomas is still around, though. His great-nephew moved him to one of those fancy nursing homes.”

Neither of them mentioned Matthew. They’d had thirty years to process his passing.

“And what about…” Lucie watched her brother’s throat bob as he swallowed.

“Yeah,” she told him softly. “Cordelia is still alive.”

The tears that gathered in his eyes were so immediate and so deeply emotional that Lucie turned away.

“Maybe…” James trailed off. His voice was thick. “Maybe when we’re done finding this kid we could go and see her?”

“I think you would give her a heart attack,” Lucie heaved a sigh, swallowing the ache of sadness. “She’s gone deaf, in the last few years. And she keeps thinking she still has her sword. Keeps fretting like she’s lost it, even though she gave it to your daughter decades ago.”

And she keeps thinking that you are going to bring it back. She didn’t tell him that last part, though. James was already heartbroken enough. Getting old really, really sucked.

“You guys alright?”

Kit had returned, holding two large bags, and he was watching them with concern. Lucie supposed they must look a mess, wiping their eyes on their sleeves.

“Yeah, just reminiscing like old people.”

“I can imagine that’s weird for you. Sorry.” For his part, Kit did look contrite. “I don’t like bringing people back, but it was an emergency.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Lucie stood and brushed off the grass. “I’ve done it before.”

“You have?”

“Yup!” James took one of the offered bags, rifling through it and exclaiming over the selection of weapons. “And, she didn’t even need to ask an angel!”

“Hush!” Appalled, Lucie whacked her brother in the back of the head. Their powers weren’t usually something they advertised, and they had no real idea who this kid was.

Lucie had agreed to help because she felt sorry for him, but that didn’t mean she trusted him. Mostly, she just wanted to know what in the nine hells was happening.

Kit looked only vaguely interested, handing Lucie her bag of gear.

“You can tell me about it after we find Mina, okay?”

Lucie nodded, with absolutely no intention of actually explaining.

“Okay, I’m going to go and find somewhere to get changed.”

..

The entrance to Faerie wasn’t far away, only a short walk through the small patch of woods to a space between two trees that had grown together, branches tangling into an arch. Lucie lit the way with the witchstone in the bag Kit had given her, and tried not to think about how unfamiliar the stone felt in her hand, or how strange this different gear felt on her body. She missed the witchlight Jesse had given her for their tenth anniversary. It had been one of the last things she looked at before she went to sleep that final time.

“Here.” Kit drew to a halt, pointing to the natural archway. It looked disappointingly plain and incredibly miss-able, but Lucie knew better than to question the ways of the Fae. “We have to wait until exactly midnight.”

Before she could ask if he had a watch, Kit pulled a flat, rectangular object out of his gear pocket and poked at it with his finger. It lit up his face in a harsh, unnatural blue, and he winced. Jamie recoiled, but Lucie inched closer with interest. It looked like something Uncle Henry might have worked on, some sort of glowing, hand-held portal, but she couldn’t see any runes.

“We have twelve minutes.” 

“Does that thing show you the time?”

“Uh, yeah.” Kit didn’t look up, continuing to poke at the flat, glowing surface, swiping his finger up and down.

“How?”

“Um.” The light flicked off, and Kit turned it over in his hand. It was black and blank on the other side, too. “I dunno. It just does. Satellites, maybe?”

“What-a-whats?” James was at her shoulder, nose crinkling in confusion, exactly the way it did when he asked Uncle Henry a question that would earn him an hour-long rant filled with words neither sibling would ever understand. She wanted to jab him in the side. He never learned.

Kit, though, just shrugged.

“They’re in the sky.”

Like that explained it. Lucie didn’t blame him, even though the creeping sense of unease she had been feeling since she opened her eyes was steadily developing into full-on panic. He was worried about his baby sister. He didn’t have time to explain everything to two strangers who had been dead a couple hours ago. That was fine. But for Lucie, the odd device occupied her entire mind, the latest in a line of things that didn’t make sense: Cirenworth. The smell of the air. The gear that fit so closely to her body that she felt practically naked.

She was beginning to suspect it had been a lot more than one day since she had died.  

..

Faerie was different than Lucie imagined. It was dark, for one thing, and completely silent. There was no glittering court or tinkling music, and she found herself pressing close to her brother’s side.

“Don’t draw your weapons.” Kit instructed, peering around into the gloom. “They’ll take it as a threat.”

“They?” James asked, easing his hand off the hilt of his dagger. Lucie could tell that he wished for his pistol.

“Yeah. If I’ve got it right, we aren’t too far from the Unseelie court. They will have sent someone to greet us. You can’t cross into this part of Faerie without setting off some sort of alert.”

“The Unseelie Court?” Lucie gulped. From what she had heard in stories, the Unseelie were brutal. Bloodthirsty and savage, they killed anyone that strayed into their lands. Suddenly, she was afraid. Was this a trap? Had Kit brought them here as some kind of trade? Were they worth the life of his baby sister?

“I thought you said the Fae were out to get you.” James’s voice was slow, like he was turning the same ideas over in his mind. “Why come here, then, if they’ll know you’ve arrived?”

That was another good point.

“It’s not the Unseelie that have it out for me.” His eyes looked haunted, and as much as she distrusted him, Lucie could sympathise. She knew what it was to have enemies. “Look, just. Follow my lead, okay?”

Not that they had much choice.

They inched their way forwards, gear boots and Quiet runes keeping their footsteps silent on the leaf-covered ground. Lucie revelled in her newfound mobility, cheering internally every time she took a light, pain-free step. Last time she was young, she hadn’t appreciated uninhibited movement nearly enough. It had been decades since she had been able to stalk through a forest without making a sound.

The trees around them were sinister and twisted, gnarled branches reaching up into a wild, star-filled sky. There was a sort of feral energy in the air, and the underbrush rustled with the occasional unseen creature. There was nobody else around, and yet Lucie couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

They walked for an unknown amount of minutes – Lucie would guess close to twenty – and they didn’t stumble across a single soul. The woods stretched on for eternity in every direction, and there could be no way that Kit actually knew where he was going. He was walking so determinedly, though, with a frown on his face and tension in every stride, that Lucie didn’t have the heart to ask.

Eventually, he stumbled to a halt.

“Do you hear that?” His voice was barely a whisper.

Lucie strained her ears, unaccustomed to picking up small sounds. Age had truly done a number on her senses.

“No, I don- oh wait. Yeah.” She could hear it. The cracking of twigs, like someone was stomping towards them.

“I’ll go check it out.” James was a breath at her ear.

“Wait, don’t!” Kit reached out, catching the leathery material of James’s sleeve between his fingers. Lucie drew him back, a hand placed on his wrist. She’d seen the look in James’s eyes.

“Let him.”

He hadn’t done it in decades. There had been no reason, and he’d told Lucie he hated the way it felt. She’d suspected, though, that the simple fact was that age had made it hard. Beside her, Kit sucked in a breath as James melted into nothingness, their grandfather’s demonic power flowing through his veins. Lucie was nowhere near willing enough to test her own abilities in this new world.

It was mesmerising, the way her brother’s untethered shadow moved between the trees. If Lucie hadn’t spent an entire childhood watching for it, she wouldn’t have seen him at all. He slipped away from them, towards the source of the sound, and her heart began racing in her chest the second he was out of sight.

“What the fuck was that?” If she hadn’t already suspected the jump in time, the casual use of the curse in her ear would have made her recoil in horror. Even Matthew and Anna barely used language that vulgar.

“That’s just something he does. Don’t worry about it.”

“Um. Okay.” Kit’s voice was heavy, like he had seen so many insane things in such a short lifetime that a man melting completely into shadow could be excused. For some odd, unexplainable reason, it made Lucie like him just a fragment more. At least an abnormal life was something they had in common.

Before she had time to fully process the thought, shouts rang through the air, splintering the perfectly silent night.

“Fuck. Shit. Uh...” Kit hunched in on himself like he was deliberating whether to fight or run, and Lucie grabbed his wrist.

“We don’t leave without my brother.”

“Of course not.” He didn’t sound sure, but he didn’t pull away. “Okay. Um. I’ll handle this.”

“You’d better.” He had dragged her into this mess, and he could be responsible for getting her out.

Four guards strode into the clearing, armour-clad with weapons at the ready. They seemed human enough, but the steel encasing their bodies was wrought with designs of curling trees and a broken crown. The soldier at the front was holding James by his collar. His face was pale, and there was blood at his temple.

“Oh, I don’t like this,” Lucie murmured, wishing for Cordelia. Beautiful, brave Cordelia, who had walked with her into Hell, and then decades later held her hand as she closed her eyes, brown skin soft and wrinkled, fiery hair bleached bone-white with time. She didn’t think she’d ever stop wishing for Cordelia.

At her side, Kit pressed closer, exactly the way James did every time she was scared.

“It’ll be okay.” He didn’t sound sure.

The Faerie guard holding James took a step towards them.

“You will identify yourselves.”

“My name is Kit. My sister is missing in these lands. She is merely a child, and we are here to bring her home.” He drew himself up to his full height, which was honestly not impressive in the face of four Unseelie guards, but his voice didn’t waver. Lucie tightened her hand around his wrist, offering strength.

“You were utilising demonic powers in our King’s land.” The guard didn’t sound impressed.

“Demonic- what?” Kit’s eyes cut to Lucie, and she held his gaze steadily. She’d gone her whole adult life being judged for her heritage by small-minded Shadowhunters. She knew how to stare them down.

He tugged his wrist out of her grip, and offence began to build in her chest, but the way he stepped in front of her was so reminiscent of James that she couldn’t find the fire to hate him.

“Demonic or not, the powers used were for our protection.” A very diplomatic answer. Her mother would have been proud. The anger at this strange boy dissipated in a puff.

“I demand to see the Unseelie King.” His tone left no room for arguments, and Lucie’s stomach lurched. “Take us to him.”

There was a moment of silence, as the four guards exchanged glances. In the centre of them, James caught Lucie’s eyes with a wild expression. She gave a grim smile, trying to reassure him, but she was unsettled, too. No human could touch James when he was a shadow, and both of them had grown to hate walking into situations unprepared. Perhaps in their youth – their true youth – this journey to Faerie would have seemed exciting, but now in the face of beings that could touch shadow, they were both out of their depth and deeply uncomfortable. They should have done days of research before embarking on this journey.

“Very well,” the guard holding James said at last. “We will take you to the Unseelie King.”  

 ..

The throne room was far more cave-like than Lucie expected. The walls were stone, polished to shining and inlaid with glittering jewels, and her boots echoed on the rocky floor. The cavernous ceiling hung high overhead, illuminated by strings of hanging stars, and towards the back of the room a great throne towered, carved of dark stone. In it sat a boy far younger-looking than a King had any right to be. He couldn’t have been older than Lucie’s grandson, maybe twenty-five at the most.

“Party here to see you, sire. Their leader goes by the name of Kit.” The faerie guard bowed low before the throne, and then spread his arm to indicate to Lucie and the others.

Lucie didn’t know what to do. She had never met a King before. Her first instinct was to bow, but her pride got the better of her. This was not her king, after all.

“Kit Herondale?” The King sat up straighter, his hair shifting from blue to a deep teal. It was long and tousled, held back from falling over his forehead by a silver circlet. He waved a hand, almost casually, and the party of guards slipped soundlessly from the room.

Herondale? Lucie clamped her hand down on James’s arm.

“Yes. Long time no see. I am here to request your help.” Kit sounded so formal, so different to the worried boy leading them into the forest. Lucie looked at him more closely, and although he looked nothing like either of them, she could see the Herondale set of his jaw. “I know I am probably the last person any of you want to see, but Mina, my baby sister, was taken by the Fae, and my parents never returned from their search.”

“Your parents came here?” This seemed to get the King’s attention. Lucie was lost. She had the distinct feeling that there was some personal-and/or-political-relationship-type drama going on here, and she didn’t like being in the middle of it without an explanation. “I wasn’t informed.”

“Maybe they went to the Seelie court.”

“Perhaps.” The King shifted in his seat, hair darkening briefly to the colour of midnight, before brightening again. “Your brother-in-law is here.”

“He’s not my brother-in-law.” Kit was mumbling now, looking distinctly upset.

“Well, I would be!” A voice from behind them startled Lucie into spinning around, irritated when James once again jumped in front of her. She really didn’t need his misplaced older-brother protection. The newcomer was tall and blonde, with pointed ears and a lithe frame. His feet were bare. “If you’d call him.”

“It’s not that simple.” Kit sounded defeated, and not at all surprised by the stranger’s presence, and Lucie wondered whom exactly Kit was neglecting to call. “Hi, Mark.”

“Hullo, Kit.” He ambled over, and rustled Kit’s hair in a way that spoke of fond familiarity. Then, he turned to Lucie and James, bowing deep. “Greetings, and welcome to the realm. Mark Blackthorn, consort to the King, at your service.”  

“Uh, hey nice to- wait.” Suddenly, Lucie’s head was spinning. Mark’s cheekbones were achingly familiar, and she could see her grandson in the set of his shoulders. “Did you say ‘Blackthorn’?”

“Indeed! My father was Andrew Blackthorn, head of the Los Angeles Institute. I am, however, half Fae.” His eyes glittered. Blue-green, like someone had taken Jesse’s eyes and mixed them with the exact colour Lucie saw in her own mirror. Her head was spinning.

“Lucie!” James tugged her elbow insistently. “Do you see-”

“I see it.” Exactly how long had it been since her death? Jamie had been gone nine years, and he’d told her it only felt like a second.

“Stop calling yourself my consort!” came a tired voice from the throne. “You are my husband.”

“Ah, but your lovely advisors don’t see it that way.” For all the joking in his tone, Mark looked genuinely saddened by the fact. Lucie couldn’t tear her eyes from him.

“Would you call our dear wife a ‘consort’?” The King challenged.

“Of course not! She would have my head in a second!” The confusing young Blackthorn man seemed genuinely pleased by this fact.

“I hate to interrupt this lovers’ spat,” Kit raised a hand, causing all heads to swivel towards him. “But, uh, my sister?” 

“Ah, yes. The child.” The King stood, descending the steep, polished steps from his throne with all the elegance of a tired university student. At the bottom, Mark Blackthorn raced to his side, pressing a kiss to his temple that was so soft Lucie had to turn away, missing Jesse like a punch to the heart.

“I have had no reports of a Shadowhunter infant on my lands, but that doesn’t mean she is not here. Uniting this kingdom will be a long process, and as such there are still entire regions out of my control.” He sounded exhausted. He looked so young. Lucie’s heart went out to him.

The Fae aged in a way that was incomprehensible to the mortal mind, but as someone with an immortal mother, Lucie figured she was qualified to form an opinion, and her opinion was as follows: the Unseelie King was exactly the age that he appeared. Mark Blackthorn – the King’s husband and very possibly Lucie’s descendant – had an arm wrapped around his waist like he was holding him up.

“You can send someone, though, right?”

“Of course.” The King nodded. “Eldrian! You are needed!”

There was a scuffling of feet, and one of the guards from before appeared from behind a large pillar of stone.

“You will assemble a party to accompany these mortals, and scour both the lands for the lost Shadowhunter child. And,” the King lowered his voice, cutting his eyes to Kit like he knew a lot more than what had been said. “You will keep out of the Riders’ path at all costs.”

“Yes, your highness.”

This settled, the King allowed his husband to sweep him from the room.

Before Lucie could open her mouth to let the questions tumble out, Kit flicked his eyes to the high, curved ceiling.

“Don’t ask. They’re always like that. At least they aren’t trying to destroy each other’s lives anymore.”

“They-what?”

“Long story.”

..

Eldrian was nice, if a little boring. He led them into the forest surrounding the Unseelie Court with barked instructions to stay behind him, and his soldiers fanned out in a protective formation around the Shadowhunters. It was odd. Lucie was used to being the one doing the protecting.

Kit walked beside her, tense and tight-lipped, and it was a source of both amusement and annoyance that it had been hours, and he still hadn’t so much as asked their names. As far as he was concerned, James and Lucie weren’t real people; they were given to him to help find his sister, and that was all. That was fine, though. Lucie was simply relishing the chance to have her young, healthy body back. And her brother. Raziel, she had missed him these last years.

James was striding ahead, conversing with one of the guards, and Lucie watched as they drew their sword to show him. That was James, she thought fondly, always making friends in any situation. She didn’t know what would happen after this mission. Would they simply vanish? Return to their own time? To their deaths? For surely they didn’t belong in this modern world.

She hoped not. She was nowhere near done being alive again.

“Halt!” Eldrian held up a hand, and the party came to a stumbling stop behind him. Lucie craned her neck, and found that they were at the edge of a small village.

Faerie villages, she noted, to her disappointment, were no different to ordinary ones. There were fields, an orchid, and a handful of houses littered around a central square.

“Wait here.” Eldrian instructed, nodding to another of his guards, who obediently followed him into the town.

Lucie ached to ignore him, but she didn’t actually want to endanger their mission to find the missing child, so she stayed put. On either side of her, both Kit and Jamie twitched with different kinds of impatience.

“Nothing unusual in this area.” Eldrian reported, when he rejoined them, and with a huff, Kit led the stride ahead.

..

The second village proved no more fruitful, and Lucie’s feet hurt from walking. Faerie was huge. Beside her, the lines of Kit’s body grew tenser with every passing minute.

“How are you doing?” Lucie asked, when it seemed like Kit’s jaw would snap right off from how tight he was clenching it.

“I’m fine,” was the curt reply.

“You’re lying.”

“Yeah, well, you try having your baby sister get kidnapped, knowing it was probably your fault.”

“Your fault?” Here was a new tidbit of information, and Lucie couldn’t help but latch on. “How is it your fault? You said earlier that the Fae have been looking for you, but the ones we’ve met have seemed friendly so far.”

Kit closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Look, it’s complicated, okay?”

“Isn’t everything?”

“The Fae that are looking for me… They’re called the Riders of Mannan. They don’t answer to either of the Faerie courts, and they have their own rules. Nobody knows where they came from, but he stories go back as far as anyone can find. They’re ruthless.”

“And they’re searching for you?”

“Yes.” He sounded pained.

“Why?”

“Guess I’m just that special.” It was a dismissal if Lucie had ever heard one, and she couldn’t help but pick at it, like a scab.

“You don’t look that special to me.”

“Yeah, well, neither do you.” He said it in a huff that almost made her laugh, but there was nothing funny in the way his shadowed eyes searched every passing tree for signs of his sister.

Keeping her eyes on the road, Lucie resolved to leave it. For now.

..

In the third village, a Fae woman had heard a child scream in the night, just shy of the last full moon. Everyone stood up straighter, and all the Fae guards dispersed to question the townsfolk. A man walking home late had seen a band of hooded strangers, and was sure that they had headed west.

The group set out with renewed vigour, despite the fact that the sun was high and hot overhead, and it had been night when they had arrived. Lucie was hungry and her mouth was painfully dry, but she didn’t dare to mention it for fear of upsetting the focus of the guards. She wished she knew why the angels had chosen her to help. She was barely doing anything.

James, too, seemed wary. He had fallen back from his post beside the guard, wandering next to Lucie with a hand hovering over his sword. It was odd to see him with one; it had never been his preferred weapon.

There was nothing to be done, though, but to put their best efforts into finding the child. Taking strength from her brother’s earlier actions, Lucie closed her eyes, calling on her powers to reach out to spirits nearby. She hadn’t done it in decades; there had been no reason to, and besides, enough of her friends had died that she was a little to scared to encounter their spirits. She had learned to block out the dead, and she didn’t want to see any of her loved ones trapped in the in-between.

Her power came to her easily, like muscle-memory, and her senses expanded beyond the physical. There were spirits here, so many spirits, and for a moment she was overwhelmed.

“He killed me!”

“I never got to tell her…”

“The fight isn’t over!”

The voices of dead Fae mingled together in her mind as their translucent hands reached for her. She hadn’t been sure that she could see the spirits of those who had never been human, but it turned out to not be a problem. The real problem was remembering how to block enough of them out that she could talk to a few.

“Luce, are you alright?” James’ voice was low in her ear.

“Yeah. I just need to talk to-” she waved her hands to encompass the situation, and James seemed to understand.

“Hey Kit,” he slung his arm across the boy’s shoulders, distracting him, and the party walked ahead, leaving Lucie to stand in the circle of spirits.

“Has anyone here seen a small human child pass by?” she asked, not expecting a response. The spirits were loud, clamouring over one another for her attention. Faerie was an ancient land, and so many had died here.

“I saw a child!” a spirit pushed to the front, shoving the other souls aside with a determination that was surprising. “She was carried over a shoulder, screaming for her parents!”

Lucie eyed the spirit, contemplating the truth of the words. It was a common misconception that the dead cannot lie. They did sometimes, if they thought it could serve their purpose. But then, these dead were Fey, and if the stories were to be believed, the Fey couldn’t lie. Did that change when they died?

This spirit was ragged, her hair pulled into a low bun behind sharply pointed ears, her long dress stained in blood from the waistline down.

“Who are you?” Lucie asked, hand flittering toward her dagger, even though it couldn’t help.

“I was supposed to be a mother.” The spirit seemed to solidify before Lucie’s eyes. “I was supposed to be. But I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t save myself.”

As Lucie watched, the bloodstain in her gown grew wider, spreading down her legs like she was bleeding to death all over again.

“Hey, hey.” Lucie held up her hands, trying to appear as non-threating as possible. With her mind, she pushed all the other spirits back. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. But you can help me save this child, can’t you?”

“Save the child!” The ghost groaned, reaching for Lucie. Incorporeal hands grabbed at her shirt. “Save the child!”

“We can save her,” Lucie resisted the urge to pull away. The spirit’s face was desperate, and it was clear what tethered her to this world. “You and me. If you help me, you can save the child.”

“Save the child,” the spirit agreed. “She had black hair. Black as midnight. She cried for her mother but they didn’t listen. They took her. They hid her.”

Lucie’s heart was pounding. She had no idea if this was Kit’s sister, but even if it wasn’t, she was determined to find this child.

“Can you tell me where they took her?”

“I can show you!” The spirit was almost solid. The stain on her dress had stopped spreading, like something had stemmed the flow of blood. She took off running, feet skimming over the top of the grass, which didn’t so much as bend under her weight.

“Slow down!” called Lucie, and the spirit turned, grimacing, as though there could be nothing as important as sprinting to the location of the baby. Lucie agreed, but she couldn’t run as fast as the ghost, who was not slowed by the terrain or the branches slapping at Lucie’s face.

“Wait!” The cry came from up ahead, and it took a moment for her to blink Kit and the Faerie guards back into view.

“Are you okay?” James was at her side in an instant, and Lucie nodded.

“I think I know where to go.”

“How?” Kit had joined them now, eyes wider than Lucie had ever seen them. She had no idea how to answer. The spirit floated ahead, face twisted in agony as she turned from Lucie to the tree-covered horizon, and back again.

“Does your sister have black hair?” It seemed like an important.

“Yeah, she does. Why?”

That was enough confirmation for Lucie. How many other babies could have been kidnapped through this stretch of woods at this exact point in time?

“Well-”

“You remember my ‘demon-powers’ from earlier?” James answered, cutting Lucie off before she could reveal too much.

“Um. Yeah?” Raziel, Kit looked wrecked.

“Okay, well it’s like that, except you just have to trust her.” James’ gaze was fixed on Kit, not even sparing a second to glance at Lucie for confirmation. In her chest, she felt her heart expanding.

She had missed this. This complete, absolute trust. It had been hard won, through fights and wars and what they thought would be the end of the world. She thought she had lost this feeling, when her brother had died and her parabatai had started to lose her mind. She had never expected to have it again.

She and James fought amongst themselves, obviously. They were siblings, and as far as she knew, it came with the territory. But through everything, she trusted him, and he would not let her down.

Kit deliberated for a moment, and then nodded.

“Okay. Lead the way.”

The spirit pulled west, and Lucie followed, the rest of the party trailing in her wake. 

 ..

“Don’t eat that.” Kit slapped the strange fruit out of Lucie’s hand, and she spun around to glare up into his face. He didn’t seem like the type of person that should be taller than her, and she found that she quite hated it.

“I wasn’t going to. I’m not stupid.”

She absolutely had been going to eat it. It looked like some sort of glittery apple, and it smelled like a fruit salad dipped in honey. Lucie’s last meal had been some kind of tasteless porridge because it was all she could swallow, and that had been in a completely different lifetime. It’s not her fault she was starving.

“Could have fooled me.” He said it with a raised eyebrow, like it was a challenge, and Lucie drew herself up to her full height.

“Well, you-”

“Children, children.” James pushed in between them, brandishing the long stick he had been using as a cane. They had been walking for hours now, following the spirit and Lucie’s direction, barely talking due to the worried set of Kit’s mouth. “Settle down. We aren’t going to find Mina if all you two can do is argue.”

Lucie stomped her foot.

“He’s infuriating.”

“He’s a Herondale.”

Well, yeah. Lucie couldn’t argue with that. Kit, on the other hand, glowered.

“And what about it?”

“I just mean that-” Before he could finish his thought, an arrow whipped past him, missing his face by half an inch and lodging itself deep into a tree.

“Oh, fuck.” Kit breathed.

Instantly, Lucie had a blade in her hand. It had been years since her last fight, but the muscle memory was as strong as ever.  

“James!” Like he knew what she was thinking, her brother immediately melted into the shadows. He had been caught before, but that was when his shadow was the only movement in a still night. Now, there was chaos.

The spirit wavered, caught between staring at the attackers and pointing to a small, easily miss-able path.

Beside Lucie, Kit had drawn a dagger. It glinted silver in the dying moonlight, and it was sure in his grip. Their shoulders brushed one another, and she turned instinctively to guard his back.

“You okay?” he asked, as a dozen figured melted from the trees.

“Yep.” She knew it sounded sarcastic, but it wasn’t meant to be. Her blood was singing in her veins, adrenaline making her feel more alive than she had in recent memory.

One of the figures lunged forwards, and Lucie parried the blow, spinning and plucking another knife from her belt to slam into a chest. There was a wheeze, and then a spray of blood as the attacker swayed, blinking stupidly before hitting the ground.

Another replaced him, sword slashing through the air. Lucie dodged, but her knives were at the wrong angle, not long enough to reach the attacker’s throat before his sword reached her. She lunged desperately, wondering if she could at least take him out with her.

His blade came down, aimed right for her chest and then fell, hitting the ground a second before he did, throat opened and pumping blood in time with his heart.

“You okay?” The shadow in front of her shifted, and she saw James’ outline between the trees.

“I had him,” she huffed, trying to steady her pulse. She didn’t, and James knew it, but she would never admit it.

“Sure!” the sarcasm was evident in his voice, and he slipped away to slash through the bandit holding the guard Eldrian at swordpoint.

“Holy shit!” Kit’s shoulder pressed against hers again. “Your brother is cool!”

“Never tell him that!” Lucie repositioned her knives, eyeing off another figure that was drawing their sword. “You’ll never hear the end of it.”

The fight didn’t last long; a gaggle of two dozen bandits was nothing against four trained Fey royal guards and three Shadowhunters. The final bandit was on his knees, his collar gripped firmly in Eldrian’s gloved hand, and his gaze was darting around, flinching at every shadow.

Lucie would never admit it, but without James and his shadow-power, they might have been in very real trouble.

“Give him here.” Kit was furious, his thunderous expression twisting his features enough to make even Lucie shy away. He advanced on the last remaining Faerie, crouching down to press his blade to his throat. There was a gash on his cheek, and his blonde hair was matted brown with blood on one side.

“Where is my sister? Where did the Riders take her?”

“The Riders? The Riders of Mannan?” The Faerie’s brow furrowed in confusion, looking genuinely perplexed. “They sleep beneath the Mountain, and do not concern themselves with the plight of mortals.”

Kit, clearly unhappy with this answer, pressed his blade harder against the man’s neck.

“Then why did you take her?”

“A changeling.” It came out more as a cough than words. Lucie’s blood chilled.

She had heard the stories. Healthy babies snatched from their beds, replaced with identical infants that would eventually grow into sickly children. The Fair Folk considered it a fair trade, even if the replacement child usually died. It had happened to her grandmother.

“Bullshit.” Kit glared. The Faerie looked terrified. “Changelings are infants. Mina is almost two, and you didn’t even bother trying to replace her.”

“We messed it up.” He sounded desperate. “Time runs differently here. We misjudged the dates. The baby we were supposed to give you didn’t survive.”

The Faerie’s eyed were huge, welled with tears like he expected sympathy. Kit just shook his head.

“You thought you could steal the baby of one of the most powerful Shadowhunter families to ever exist? Why?”

“We were paid to do it! We never even got their names. One quarter of the money up front, and the rest once it was done!” The Faerie was speaking fast, words tumbling over one another like they couldn’t escape his mouth fast enough. “When we realised we messed up we hid her. We didn’t know what to do. She isn’t hurt. I swear, she isn’t hurt.”

“She better not be.”

With that, Kit stood, not bothering to brush the dirt from his knees. He nodded to Eldrian, who dragged the Faerie bandit to his feet.

The ghost woman was still floating by the path, staring at Lucie with wide, distressed eyes.

“We’re coming,” she murmured, moving towards her.

The boys followed, guards hanging back as they approached a small door, built into the side of a tree-covered hill. Cautiously, Kit pulled at the door. Locked. He let out a pained cry and threw himself against it. He drew his steele and drew rune after rune around the handle, but they all sunk into the wood, useless against the Faerie locks.

“Eldrian!” He called, tugging at the handle. The door was smooth and grey, almost the exact colour of the rocks surrounding it. Without the spirit, Lucie would have walked right past.

Before the Faerie guard could reach them, James dropped a hand to Kit’s shoulder. He gave a wordless squeeze and slipped into shadow once more, disappearing right through the grey wood. A moment later the handle gave a click and then the door opened inwards, unlocked from the inside. On instinct, Lucie took Kit’s hand in hers, reassuring, and they crossed the threshold together.  

The space inside was dimly lit, roughly the size of a bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, with a bench running across one wall and a battered couch pushed into a corner, and across the back wall, wooden bars separated the main room from a small sleeping area. There was a bed there, and in that bed was a small, quivering lump of toddler-sized blankets.

“Mina?” The trepidation in Kit’s voice almost broke Lucie’s heart.

“Kitty?” The blankets moved. A small, dark head poked its way out. “Kitty?”

“Mina!” In an instant, Kit was at the bars, tugging at them as though he could rip them from their moorings with his bare hands.

“Hold on,” James murmured, hands running lightly across the bars. “There has to be a door.”

He found it in seconds, deft fingers making short work of the lock. An image of Matthew, laughing as he showed James how to pick any lock in seconds drifted across Lucie’s vision, and she had to close her eyes against the stinging tears.

“Kitty?” The toddler’s voice was closer now, and Lucie forced herself back to the present. For the first time, she took a good look at the child.

Barely knee-height, the little girl was dressed in a pink jumpsuit, torn and filthy, and there were leaves tangled in her wild black curls. There was something unsettlingly familiar about the curve of her eyes and the slant of her nose, and Lucie felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise, the same way it did when she encountered a ghost.

The only ghost here was the young woman, though, and Lucie had gotten used to her presence. She watched from the corner, eyes filled with tears, and there was nothing unsettling about her now. She was just a young woman who had died in childbirth, unable to save her baby. The only unsettling thing in the room was only this grubby little girl, bearing a stark resemblance to someone that hovered just out of Lucie’s mind.

“Here, I’ve got it.” The latch gave way under James’s hands, and the second the door was open, the tiny girl launched herself into Kit’s arms.

“Kitty-kitty!” 

He caught her easily, swinging her over his head before settling her on his hip.

“Mina-Moo! Are you okay?” He twisted her this way and that, examining her for any signs of injury.

“Kitty,” she burbled, eyes welling with tears. Lucie felt her own eyes grow damp.

“Is she safe?” If she wasn’t so in tune to spirits, Lucie would have missed the quiet voice at her ear.

“Yes,” she breathed, watching Kit cradling his sister. “She is safe. You saved her.”

“The child is safe.” The sigh the spirit woman released was strong enough to make Lucie sway on her feet. “I saved the child.”

“You saved the child,” she agreed, watching the bloodstain on the woman’s dress shrink until it disappeared. She couldn’t even begin to guess at the trauma this spirit had been through, but she was grateful for her help. And, it seemed, saving this toddler was enough for her to feel that she fulfilled her purpose.

“I saved the child.” With a last, relieved breath, the spirit wavered, and then disappeared, leaving a feeling of warmth blooming in Lucie’s chest. She had forgotten how that felt.

On the other side of the room, James was watching her with a small smile. She returned it, remembering when their powers had been something they hid from, ashamed. Kit, on the other hand, hadn’t even noticed the interaction. She didn’t blame him; he was so engrossed in his reunion that she doubted if he would notice the apocalypse.

“Hey, hey, I got you.” He crooned, smoothing his tiny sister’s hair back from her face. She stared up at him with those wide, familiar eyes, so full of love that Lucie’s heart began to hurt all over again.

“You’re safe, all thanks to these two. Mina, this is…” Kit turned to them, mouth half-open, blinking helplessly, like he had just noticed that he wasn’t alone in the room. “Holy shit. I literally didn’t even ask who you guys are.”

Took him long enough to notice.

“That’s all right. You were distracted worrying about your sister.” Lucie gave a shrug, trying to come off as nonchalant but failing. Really, she didn’t care. If James went missing she would have burned the world down, and he wasn’t even a baby. “This is my brother, James Herondale. I’m Lucie Blackthorn, now that I’m married.”

Kit blinked.

“James and Lucie.”

“Uh, yes?”

“James and Lucie Herondale.” Kit looked like his head was about to explode. He adjusted Mina in his arms. “Children of Tessa Gray and William Herondale?”

“That’s us.” Squinting at him, James took a step closer. “Are you… okay?”

“Um. I think so.” He was blinking incredibly fast. When he spoke again, it was a frenzied mumble, like he was talking more to himself than the others. “I didn’t ask the angels for anyone specific. I didn’t even really ask them to resurrect a person. I just begged them for help. When you arrived I didn’t even really think about where you might have come from. I didn’t think you would be anybody I knew of.”

“You know of us?” Lucie was intrigued. What had she done in her life that was worthy of remembering?

Kit looked down at Mina, who was dribbling on his gear shirt, and back up to Lucie and James. Then, without warning, he shoved the baby unceremoniously forward, holding her underneath the arms.

“I would like to introduce you to Wilhelmina Carstairs, daughter of James Carstairs and Tessa Gray. Your half-sister.”

..

“Our… what?” Lucie heard the thump rather than felt it as she sat hard on the ground. Above her, the child – her sister – cooed.

“Mum had another kid?” James reached out a finger, offering it to Mina, and smiling softly when she seized it, waving it in the air like a prize. “With Jem?”

“Yeah,” Kit pushed Mina towards him, and Lucie watched as James pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, gurgling happily and trying to snatch at his hair. “They’re married.”

“But isn’t Jem a Silent Brother?”

“Not anymore. Long story, and when we find them, he can tell you himself.”

That was right. Kit had said his parents had come to Faerie looking for Mina, too. Wait… Kit’s parents…

“Uh, Kit… does that make you…”

“I’m adopted.” Kit grinned. “Mom and Jem signed the papers officially a few years ago. But yeah, I guess that does make me your brother, too.”

“Woah.” Lucie had been considering standing up, but this new revelation made her glad she was still on the ground. “I have a new brother and a new sister.”

Once again, she wished desperately for Cordelia. This was the type of plot twist Lucie would have written into one of her novels, and Cordelia would have laughed fondly as she read the big reveal. In her mind’s eye, she could see her parabatai curled by the fire, Lucie’s latest hand-written tome spread across her lap and a soft smile curving across her face. She would have loved being here to witness this.

“Kit.” The wooden door of the little cave creaked open, and the guard called Eldrian poked his head in. “We have received word that King Kieran has located your parents. They were being held in the Seelie Court as you suggested, and a trade deal has been arranged to bring them back. They will be waiting for you by the time we reach the Unseelie Court once again.”

“Thank you, Eldrian.” Kit was grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s go, then.”

“Lucie!” Her brother’s eyes were shining as he helped Lucie up from the ground, Mina still clutched firmly in his other arm. “We’re going to see Mum!” 

..

Now that they had located Mina and were no longer turning over every leaf and rock for clues, the walk back felt like it took no time at all. Lucie’s stomach was still groaning from hunger, but she couldn’t keep the little skip out of her step at the thought of seeing her mother.

For a long time, Lucie had been angry. When her father died, Tessa had simply vanished, leaving behind everyone who cared about her, and upending Lucie’s entire world.

“It’s not that she doesn’t want to see you, Lucie,” Magnus had told her, taking her hand across the small, tea-stained table. “She is simply drowning in grief, made worse by knowing that she will live through it again for every mortal that she loves. She simply cannot bear to watch her children die, too.”

Lucie did understand, but even still, it had taken years for the anger to truly fade. Now, there was not even the barest hint of it, and the only emotion she could feel was overwhelming joy. She was going to see her mother again. Nothing in the world could be a better feeling.

James walked beside her, trading off holding Mina every now and then, because the little muffin couldn’t decide who she wanted to carry her. When it was Lucie’s turn, she laughed as her sister chewed on her hair, heart so full it might burst.

They talked as they walked, about Kit and his life and the world, and Lucie’s head spun when she found she had been dead close to a century. It made sense, though, and she was interested in this new world and all that it had to offer.

“Hey, Kit.” James’s grin turned wicked, and Lucie was immediately on guard. She knew that expression. It was one she had barely seen in the last thirty years, like it had died right alongside Matthew Fairchild.

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel about pranks?”

Lucie groaned when Kit’s eyes lit up, hauling Mina out of her brother’s arms.

“You and I are going to be the sensible ones in this family,” she told the little girl seriously. “You’ll learn pretty quickly that boys are the worst. We do not like their silly pranks.”

“Pranks!” Mina echoed, with far too much enthusiasm for Lucie’s liking.

“No, we don’t like pranks.”

“Pranks!” Insisted the toddler.

Kit elbowed Lucie in the ribs.

“Sorry to tell you, dear sister, but Mina loves pranks. And, we are going to need her for this one.”

“Oh, whatever.” Lucie wasn’t truly annoyed – how could she be when James was grinning at Kit so hard he was practically glowing? “Tell me what we’re doing, then.”

..

It wasn’t much of a prank, but Lucie had to admit it would be sort of fun. Far better than simply walking up to their mother and Jem and announcing their existence. Eldrian and the other guards walked a polite distance away, letting the four siblings run wild with their planning, but staying close enough to defend against another attack.

By the time the Unseelie Court came into view, their plan was solid.

“Here you go!” Lucie handed Mina off to Kit, excitement bubbling despite herself. “Remember the word?”

Mina nodded solemnly, and Lucie had to hope she understood.

“We’ll wait outside,” she told Eldrian in a whisper, watching Kit disappear into the throne room. She couldn’t see his face, but she got the distinct feeling that beneath his helmet, the Faerie guard was rolling his eyes.

“Can you see anything?” James pressed close, crowding her against the open doorway, and Lucie shoved him off, shaking her head.

“Nope, can’t hear them either.” That was frustrating. They would have to wait for Kit’s signal, and miss the initial confusion.

A puff of air that sounded like a resigned sigh came from Lucie’s left, and once again she could feel Eldrian’s invisible eye roll. He waved his hand in a clear ‘follow me’ motion, and turned on his heel to stalk away from the door.

Confused, Lucie did as she was told, and was delighted when she was led to a set of rough stairs on the outside of the building that led to a little window. There was no glass, and she could see down into the throne room perfectly. They wouldn’t even need to use runes to create a spy-hole.

Once again James crowded into her side, and this time she moved over to allow him some room. The Faerie King was there again, but this time he was pacing back and forth in front of the throne instead of lounging on it. Shoulder to shoulder, watching him, stood two very familiar figures that sent all of the air punching out of Lucie’s lungs.

Jem. And her mother.

Tessa looked exactly as she had the day she had left. Her clothes were different, dirty and stained and body-hugging like the new Shadowhunter gear – nothing she would have been caught dead in a lifetime ago – but her hair still fell over her shoulders the same way. Lucie could just make out the circles under her eyes; clearly her daughter’s disappearance was weighing on her. Beside her, Jem took her hands, running comforting circles over her knuckles with his thumb.

Lucie stared. She had seen Jem Carstairs yesterday. He had come into her room, still the Silent Brother her family summoned by reflex even though her mother and father were gone, and he had sat with her for a long time, before her eyelids got so heavy that she couldn’t help but close them. She hadn’t quite understood at the time that she was dying, but Jem had been a comfort, as he always was. He had given Cordelia a handkerchief, even as the old woman forgot why she was crying in the first place, and he had placed a cool, soothing hand on Lucie’s brow.

“Your life has been full, and full of love,” he had told her, voice echoing in her mind. “You can sleep now, and know that those you have lost will be waiting.”

His words had been truer than he realised.

He looked different now, and if he weren’t at her mother’s side, Lucie may not have recognised him at first glance. His parchment-coloured robes were gone, replaced by the same kind of strange, futuristic clothing that Tessa was wearing, and his movements, while smooth, were entirely human, devoid of that eerie Silent Brother quality that marked them apart.

And then, to Lucie’s greatest shock yet, he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Don’t worry, the messenger said they’re on the way. Kit will take care of her.”

Not once in Lucie’s entire life had she ever heard his voice. She knew the story, of course: Uncle Jem was a Shadowhunter with a fatal disease, and he became a Silent Brother to save his life. She had always only half-believed, because there was nothing about the monks betraying their former humanity. Now, though, she was convinced.

Her mother nodded, the movement jerky.

“I know he will. I’m just upset that he had to. We should have done better.”

From their little spy window, Lucie could perfectly hear the entire conversation. She wondered if the King knew this window was here.

A commotion in the hall sent both their heads snapping up, and even from this distance, the relief was clear on their faces when Kit burst into the room, Mina tucked firmly against his side. He had cleaned himself up, Lucie noticed; the wound on his cheek was healed, and there was no longer blood in his hair.

“Mom!” He stumbled towards her, and Lucie’s chest tightened at the way the four of them fell into each other, Mina surrounded at the centre. While Kit had agreed to a certain amount of theatrics, there was no way that reaction was anything short of real.

“You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay,” Tessa’s chant sounded like a prayer as she ran her hands over Kit’s face and arms, much the same way he had done to Mina, in the cave.

“Yeah, Mom. We’re okay. Mina is okay.”

Jem clapped him on the shoulder, and then pulled him in for a hug. Kit went willingly, careful not to squish Mina between them. When they pulled away, Jem bent to take Mina gently from Kit’s hands.

“How did you find her?”

“Oh, you know.” He waved his hands, and Lucie grinned. This was where it started. “I met these two random Shadowhunters that offered to help.”

“Who?” Tessa gripped his arm. “Where are they? I need to thank them.”

“Oh, nobody special.” Kit’s dismissive tone was convincing, but if there was one thing Lucie knew about her mother, its that she could smell mischief a mile away. She had to, or she never would have survived raising the leader of the Merry Thieves. Her eyes narrowed.

“What aren’t you telling me.” She sounded suspicious, like she expected Kit to announce that he’d been working with their worst enemies.

“It’s fine, I trust them, Mom. They said they were family, so I let them hold Mina.”

“You let them hold Mina.” Her voice was flat now, and it wasn’t a question. If Lucie didn’t know about the surprise he was building up to, she would have been worried for him. “Because they told you they were family. Even though you said you have never met them.”

“Yup!”

“Sister!” Burbled Mina, choosing her moment to shine.

“What was that, Moo?” Jem asked her, brushing a dirt-stained curl from her cheek.

“Sister!”

Lucie’s heart sang. It had taken half of the walk to get Mina to repeat the word.

“Sister,” Kit agreed, squishing Mina’s cheek. He turned back to Tessa. “Mina met her sister, and she helped us escape.”

If Tessa’s eyes narrowed any further, they were going to close.

“Kit,” her voice was low. Worried. “Mina doesn’t have a sister. Who helped you? And how can you be sure that they weren’t working for the Fair Folk that kidnapped her?”

“I told you, it was Mina’s sister.”

“Are you okay, Kit?” Jem stepped forward, now, pressing the back of his hand to Kit’s forehead. “Did you eat any Faerie food?”

“Nope! Perfectly healthy. It was an awesome day, really, meeting my new siblings. They should be around here somewhere.”

Lucie was watching the back and forth like it was a play, and when a hand gripped her wrist she let out a squeak of surprise.

“James! You scared me!”

“Shh!” He slapped a hand over her mouth. “We’ve gotta go in soon!”

Oh, that was right. If this was a play, Lucie had a starring role, and she was about to make her entrance.

“Look,” she heard Kit saying loudly, as they inched their way towards the throne room door. “I promise you that Mina has a sister.”

That wasn’t the cue, but Lucie was impatient. It was a perfect opening.

“And a brother!” She strolled casually into the room, watching as all faces swivelled towards her. “Well, two brothers, if you’re counting Kit. Which I would, honestly. He was great in the rescue.”

She came to a halt before her mother, just out of arms’ reach in case Tessa drew a weapon. They were in Faerie, and it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. James stood beside her, grin plastered on his face.

“Hi, Mum.”

..

The reaction was immediate. Jem took several steps back, placing his body between the siblings and Mina, hand going to the empty sheath at his waist. The Seelie Court must have taken their weapons. Tessa straightened, so much pain in her face that Lucie immediately knew their “fun” entrance had been a terrible idea. Magic gathered in her hands, and when she spoke, her voice was strained.

“Whoever you are, I demand that you reveal yourselves.”

“Mum, I promise it’s us. I don’t know how we’re here, but we’re real.”

“My children died a century ago.” Tessa drew herself up to her full height, eyes shining with tears. “I will not be fooled by Faerie magic. Kieran, what is this?”

“Their form is true.” Lucie had forgotten the King was in the room. He pushed in between them, hands raised on both sides, holding off a fight. “They came to me hours ago, begging permission to search for the child. I tested them, and then had my guards test them again. All three of them are Shadowhunters, although these two have been touched by death.”

“You’re sure?” Tessa still held her hands at the ready, stiffness etched into every line of her body. She must truly trust the Unseelie King, to take his word on something so important.

“I’m sure,” he confirmed, inclining his head. His hair stayed a steady sky-blue. “I did not know their identity before, and I cannot confirm it now, but I can tell you with confidence that this is no glamour or magic trick. They are standing before you in their true form. Do with that what you will.”

With that, he stepped back, keenly watching to see how the scene played out. Lucie was eternally grateful, and made a mental note to thank him personally later. As much as she hated the thought of being ‘tested’ against her will by Fey magic, she had to admit it was helpful.

With no Unseelie King between them, Tessa’s hard expression crumbled. Her hands fell to the side, wisps of unused magic escaping into the air.

“Lucie?” She asked, voice breaking. “James?”

“It’s us, mum,” James breathed. “I don’t know how, but we’re back.”

“Kit did some kind of ritual with the angels,” Lucie added, wincing when she saw the way Kit flinched. She guessed he was going to get in trouble for that.

If there was going to be a punishment, though, it was going to come later. Much, much later. Tessa’s hands spasmed once, opening and closing at her sides, and then she cried out, wordless, and launched herself forwards.

James and Lucie caught her at the same time, arms going up to wrap her in the tightest possible embrace, shoving decades worth of love into this one moment. She sobbed against them, body shaking, and Lucie had the distant realisation that she smelled the same.  

“My children!” The words came out thickly, and Lucie tried to reply only to find her own voice blocked by tears. Suddenly, the years of anger seemed ridiculous. This was what mattered. Her mother was here, and she and her brother held on with all the strength they had.

It took a long time for the tears to stop, and when they did, Lucie lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder to see her Uncle Jem watching them with wide, wet eyes.

“Jem!” she called, a desperate laugh bubbling in her throat as she raised a hand.

That was all it took, and Jem was passing Mina to Kit, folding himself around his family, fingers catching in the material of Lucie’s sleeve and holding on.

It wasn’t a perfect reunion, with one person notably missing, but it was more than Lucie had ever even hoped to have, and if she thought her heart was full before she had been a fool.

“Kit, Mina!” James’ voice sounded as choked as hers, and Kit hesitated for a long moment before crossing the floor to join the huddle.

Something in Lucie’s chest clicked into place when Kit’s hand stretched across her back, awkward and unsure, and Mina burbled in the middle of them, oblivious and just happy to be included.

When they finally parted, hands still hovering close, unwilling to truly let go, they realised that the King had excused himself, silently leaving to let them have their reunion in peace.

..

Cirenworth was different, and yet still exactly the same. Lucie hesitated on the threshold, the house that she knew and the house as it was now overlaying themselves in her brain. It made her dizzy. The journey back from Faerie had been quick, the head guard Eldrian showing them to a portal which spat them out right on Cirenworth’s front lawn, and Lucie wished she had more time to prepare.

Mina had been whisked away instantly, and the sounds of her giggling in the bath floated down from the second floor, where James and Lucie were seated side-by-side on a couch that was both comfortable and startlingly unfamiliar.

There was food on the low table, set out in little clear, square bowls the likes of which Lucie had never seen. It was delicious, though, and she almost inhaled three portions before she slowed down enough to remember to chew. Tessa watched her fondly, knees tucked beneath her and a soft blanket folded over her shoulders.

They talked for a long time about their lives and their time apart, what had happened with their families, and how Jem had come back as a mortal man. The story was almost unbelievable, but Lucie herself was sitting in her mother’s kitchen in the twenty-first century, so she wasn’t in any position to question it. None of them mentioned Tessa leaving, or James and Lucie dying, but it hung in the air between them all the same.

Kit hovered at the edge of the scene, unsure, until Tessa extended an arm and James gave him the warmest smile Lucie had seen since Matthew, and Lucie shifted on the couch so that he could tuck himself into the space beside her.

“So, the ritual…” Tessa began, and Kit ducked his head.

“I’m sorry, Mom.” It was still strange to hear him calling her that, but Lucie found she didn’t mind it. “I didn’t know what else to do. You and Jem and Mina were gone for weeks.”

“I’m sorry, too Kit.” Tessa leaned across the coffee table to rest her hand on his. “We should have done a better job at finding her. I have people who will help get to the bottom of it all, but I don’t think you should go telling many people about the ritual, okay?”

“Mum…” James started, and then trailed off. He frowned, and then looked to Kit. “Do you know how long we’re back for?”

Oh. Lucie remembered her thought from earlier. She didn’t want to leave but the danger was passed, they had fulfilled their mission, and there was no reason for the angels to allow them to stay. Suddenly she was deeply, desperately sad.

“I don’t know.” Kit gripped his hands in his lap. “I didn’t ask. I’m sorry.”

“Well,” with a light smile that was very clearly forced, Tessa gave her hands a little clap. “We’ll just have to enjoy having you here while you’re here.”

“Sounds good!” Lucie fought to match her mother’s bright tone. She ached at the thought of vanishing, of leaving her mother to mourn her loss once again, but there was nothing to be done.  

There was a moment of silence, and then Tessa changed the conversation so abruptly that Lucie got whiplash.

“You know, Kit,” Tessa tapped her chin thoughtfully, the glint in her eye one that Lucie recognised instantly as mischief. “I’ve kept tabs on my children’s families over the years, and you might find it interesting to know that Lucie here had a son.”

“Andrew,” Lucie wondered how he was coping with her passing, and then remembered that he would be dead by now. Was this how it felt for her mother all those years, or did being yanked out of time make it worse?

“Um. Okay?” Kit’s brow crinkled in confusion.

“He was a Blackthorn.” Tessa’s Cheshire grin grew, and Lucie had no idea where this was going. “And Andrew had children, who had their own children, and then somewhere in that line of children was another Andrew Blackthorn.”

Kit’s eyes grew impossibly wide, and Lucie watched a barrage of expressions fluttering over his face. She understood exactly none of what was happening right now, but it clearly meant something to Kit, and it was a good distraction from the heartache of losing her family. Well, her other family.

The way Tessa teased Kit was fond and familiar, and it reminded Lucie that the family she created with Jesse might be buried by now, but she was still part of this family, and there was absolutely no doubt that Kit was, too.

“And, as you know, before he died, this new Andrew Blackthorn had six children. Two of which were twins. And one of which-”

“Mom!” Kit launched over the table to clap a hand over her mouth. “I do not want to think about him right now, or ever-” Tessa rolled her eyes at this “-and I definitely don’t want to think about how his great-great-whatever-grandmother is now my sister.”

Tessa was roaring with laughter now, head tipped back and mouth wide open. Lucie wished she had her journal with her to capture the moment, if not in a sketch, then at least with words. The last few years that her mother had been in her life had been fraught with sadness, and seeing her like this, openly happy and overflowing with love, made Lucie’s heart ache. In a good way, this time. Definitely in a good way.

This must be the brother that Mark Blackthorn had mentioned at the Unseelie Court, which meant that they were right; Mark Blackthorn was indeed her descendant. She could tell James was thinking it, too, because his eyes were wide with disbelief. Did he have any long-lost family to surprise him? If the angels allowed them the time, they would have to find out.  

From there, the conversation flowed easily. Jem joined them, and while it was strange to see his eyes open and hear his voice, he still radiated the same comfort Lucie had felt from him her entire life. She wished her father were here, too. He would have loved seeing the life his two favourite people had created. She didn’t even think he would be jealous that Tessa married someone else after he died, because that someone else was Jem. It fit, and it worked, and Lucie felt blessed to see it.

When Lucie tuned back into the conversation, Kit was explaining his heritage (he was not directly descended from any of them), and his history with the Riders of Mannan. It sounded like something out of a story, and once again Lucie itched for her journal. Cordelia would love to read about- oh. Cordelia would never read anything she wrote ever again. Suddenly, Lucie was exhausted.

Time worked differently in Faerie, and it was late evening when they sat down to talk, and by the time they all agreed on getting some sleep, the sun was rising. Tessa must have been watching her, because she gave a soft smile, and stood.

“We really should get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning, okay?”

Comfy clothes given out, beds made up, and Tessa pressed a kiss to each of her children’s foreheads.

“You two can stay here as long as you are able. I don’t know what is going to happen, and I’m not getting my hopes up that this is permanent, but this is your home, too.”

In her mind’s eye, Lucie watched little Zachary Carstairs tear across the room, cake smeared on his face as Cordelia chased after him and Alistair and Thomas laughed from their seat at the hearth. She traced a finger over the brick of the fireplace, smiling at Sona’s grumbling that the colours didn’t match the brick of the front path. She raised a hand, smoothing it across the time-worn wood of the display shelf that used to hold Cortana.

There were so many good memories here, and now it was filled with her family, too.

The sun was well and truly risen by the time goodnights were finished being said, and Lucie wandered up to her room – Zachary’s room – in peaceful silence, exhausted but happy. She peeled off the strange modern gear and stepped into the soft fabric of the clothes she had been given, and settled down at the window seat to stare out over the gardens. She had read bedtime stories to a grumpy toddler here when she had visited. It made her head spin to think that it was over a hundred years ago.

A movement outside caught her eye, and she looked down to find her mother and Jem making their way out into the garden. They stopped under a small tree, and Lucie watched them from her seat at the open window, arm in arm and haloed by the mid-morning sun.

“I just wish…” Her mother’s voice carried through the warm air, and Lucie could feel the heartache in every syllable.

“Me too.” Jem leaned in close, tucking an arm around her. Lucie had thought it would feel strange to see her mother like that with Jem, all cuddled up the way she used to do with Lucie’s father, but it didn’t. It felt right, like jigsaw pieces slipping into place. The three of them always loved each other in a way nobody else could understand. “But he’s here. Somewhere, he’s here. He sent them back to us.”

“I missed them so much.” Tessa was sniffling now, sleeve held to her nose. Jem bent to kiss her hair.

“And now you have them again. It won’t be forever, but it will be worth it, right?”

“Of course it will! It would be worth it even if they vanished right now. Getting to see them again-” she choked, voice thick with emotion. “I just wish he was here to see them, too.”

They stood in silence for a long moment, taking comfort from each other’s strength. Lucie knew that she should look away, should let them have this, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Eventually, without another word, they turned as one, walking around the side of the house and out of sight.

Behind them, a small wind stirred, kicking up leaves and bits of grass, strange in the way it hovered only in one place. Jem and Tessa didn’t turn, but for a moment, from her seat at the second-floor window, Lucie could swear she saw the outline of her father.