Theymay not have known exactlywhat was going on with the Clave, but they knew enough to beconcerned. The problems in the city weren’t getting any better. Ifanything they seemed to be getting worse and while they were morethan capable of handling it, they all knew something else was goingon, something that their parents didn’t want them to know. Whichmeant at some point they were going to need to find out. Especiallygiven just how quickly rumours tended to spread in the Institute.Maybe it was time to reach out to their friends in Alicante. Jacedidn’t think anyone would hesitate helping them out if they asked.Then again given that a lot of people still thought he wasValentine’s son they might not want to help. Which meant Alec or Izzywould need to ask.
Eitherway they needed to find out and soon. There was a reason that theywere recalled to Alicante and most of the time those reasons weren’tanything good. It had him wondering just what it was they wanted tospeak with Maryse about. The Institute was running smoothly, theproblems with the downworld were slowly starting to get fixed andthere weren’t any problems that should be concerning to the Clave.And yet Maryse had been recalled for a reason. Jace knew she couldhandle it. They could all handle it. But it wouldn’t stop him frombeing worried. Hopefully it was nothing more than them needing anupdate.
“You’dthink with everything going on they would be focusing on that,”he told her, wondering if the rumours they were hearing aboutValentine’s plan were behind their restlessness. It wasn’t somethinghe liked to think about. They had enough problems trying to track himdown without worrying about the Clave, too. “Or maybe theirrestlessness is their way of being concerned,” he added,shrugging his shoulders. It wasn’t something he could easily figureout. The Clave was something that no one really understood and now itwas as if things were getting worse. Adding in Maryse being recalledit had him worried they were going to change things in the Institute.The Lightwoods had been in charge ever since he arrived and whileJace knew that leaders came and went, he’d thought that theLightwoods would be in charge of the New York Institute for a longtime coming. Maybe the Clave thought it was time for a change.
Unfortunately,there wasn’t much he could do about it. They would accept whateverhappened. A part of him just hoped it wouldn’t be anything extreme.With everything else going on the last thing they needed was someonenew, someone more strict, someone who didn’t know how things weredone. “I know and hopefully we won’t have to twist Alec’s armtoo much should something come up.” Jace had known for a longtime that Alec had a weakness for him. He hadn’t said anythingbecause they were parabatai, but he knew something was there. Atleast know Alec seemed to have found someone. Just like he had. Itwas how things needed to be. And in that moment they needed to focuson Valentine and not on their feelings.
Oncethey were in the ops centre he knew it was only a matter of timebefore the portal to Alicante would open up. He was worried forMaryse. They all were. But none of them wanted to put those wordsinto the open. Admitting they were afraid of what could happen wouldonly make things worse. And everyone in the Institute needed them tobe strong, they needed a strong leader so they could keep pushingforward with their lives. “You didn’t need to do that. We’ll befine until you get back,” was the last thing he said before theportal opened. All he could offer was a simple smile as he watchedMaryse step through the portal. Once it had closed he returned tofinishing the paperwork he’d left when he escorted Maryse to the opscentre.
Hedidn’t know how much time had passed. In all honesty, he figured whenshe returned that she would come look for him and his siblings. Izzywas training and Alec was — he thought he was with Magnus but hedidn’t know. It wasn’t his job to keep up with his parabatai. Iftrouble happened to find either one of them they would be there butuntil then they each had their own lives to lead. He’d just beenwalking back to ops to see about patrol routes when he heard thenoise. Had Maryse returned already? Jace didn’t know but he knewsomething was going on. Running to ops he saw everyone looking ateach other in shock as a blur ran off towards the doors. Confusionetched into his features as he had no idea what was going on. Thosein the ops centre said something about Maryse and no runes. But thatcouldn’t right could it?
It wasn’t something he wanted to think about and instead ran afterthe blur. If he was going to find out before his siblings he neededto get to Maryse before anyone else.
𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐅 the Institute, cerulean eyes blurring with tears, Maryse felt as if she was sixteen again. Sixteen and terrified of the consequences of her actions. Only this time, she hadn't done anything to deserve punishment and instead, had been used as an example. With Valentine on the loose, there were rumours in Alicante of Shadowhunters wanting to join him ― old Circle members itching to go back to their master. And the Clave could not have another scandal like that, the Downworld simply would not stand for it, thus they decided to show those who were considering deserting, the consequences for those actions.
She was to lose her runes, to lose everything that made her whom she was; her runes, her children, her purpose. And that thought was so terrifying that Maryse gasped, letting the tears finally flow down her cheeks as she ran, and ran faster, as if she tried to escape something that there was no escaping from. They had given her three days. Three days to say goodbye to thirty-five years of living as a Shadowhunter, living as a mother. After that, one of the brothers would come get her and take her to the City of Bones, where they'd strip her of her runes and ban her from the Clave.
After three days, she would no longer be allowed to see her family.
That thought alone caused her legs to falter and Maryse Lightwood crumbled to the floor. Shaking like a green leaf in a hurricane, sobs wrecking her body as she curled into a tiny ball, back pressed tightly to the closest wall. She tried very hard to control her breath, inhaling in painful hisses as she failed, a panic attack on the rise as she continued to think about her children. Alexander, who'd be appointed as her replacement, was still so young to officially take over. Isabelle, whom she might have been a bit harsh to, but loved with all her heart, would be subjected to the pain of losing her mother, of losing the one person she could count on to be direct and not coddle her. Maxwell, who was still a literal child, her baby was only ten and he would be forced to live without her. And then there was Jace.
Jace who had never really needed her as much, Jace who had always been so independent, who Maryse was sure didn't see her as anything but someone who took care of him as a child. He reminded her of herself ― one of Valentine's weapons, locked away by the Clave. She had been every bit as reckless as he was in her youth, if not more, for where Jace was a 'do first, think later' type of person ― in contrast with his Parabatai ― Maryse could do both at the same time. And had done so, many times. Which in her opinion, was much worst than not thinking things through. He would have to watch another caretaker, another person get ripped from his life.
Her nails dug painfully into her scalp, using the pain to try to pull herself together, but it was useless. Useless for her mind kept sending her back to her brother's deruning ceremony. The screams, the way he hadn't been strong enough to leave the vicinity, how the Silent Brothers had to drag him away as he screamed that he loved her. That would be her. In three days, that would be her fate too. And just the thought of it made her sick.
When she heard footsteps, Maryse looked up and finally took in where her legs had taken her. It had been years since she had stepped into the greenhouse. Her children were incredibly allergic to pollen, thus Maryse had avoided it ever since Alexander a toddler, and after Hodge, well, she would rather not go back there. Not when it had been a place were she and the other shadowhunter could go to be themselves ― two ridiculously young people, forced to take up gigantic responsibilities.
As soon as she caught sight of blond hair, Maryse attempted to wipe the tears off her face, but it was no use. She was too exhausted to pretend. Too terrified to pretend to be strong. ❛ I take it you heard the news by now... ❜ She muttered, her voice so soft, so incredibly hurt it was almost painful for her to hear. Such was the contrast between how she normally sounded.
❛ They gave me three days, three days to say goodbye. ❜ More tears fell from her ocean eyes, and she bit her lip, desperate to hold back the sobs crawling up her throat. ❛ Three days to say goodbye to thirty-five years of life, to say goodbye to my family. ❜ Slowly she lifted her head, impossibly blue eyes shining with heartbreak as she met his unique ones.
❛ Jace I―I don't know what to do now. How am I supposed to live through this? ❜
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