Distractions - Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Alec stood on the platform in the Ops Center looking every part the brilliant Head of the Institute that he was, head held high and gaze full of confidence. Everest and Izzy stood by one of the pillars, Sebastian standing behind them like a guard dog. Clary and Jace were standing next to each other on the other side of the crowd, just far enough apart that it was clear they were avoiding any unnecessary closeness but not so far away that they couldn't whisper to each other occasionally.
"We have lost seven of our own, but we can't allow a single radical Seelie to define the entire DownWorld, any more than we can allow Valentine to define all Shadowhunters," Alec said in his 'I'm in charge so you better listen or I will tell your mothers' voice. "So, to restore unity with our allies, I will be hosting regular cabinet meetings here with the DownWorld leaders of New York. These meetings will promote..."
Everest's focus on Alec's speech faded as two Shadowhunters nearby started whispering.
"I'm all for unity, but does he have to bring them here?" a Shadowhunter, one Everest recognized as Lindsay, complained. She was one of the Shadowhunters that constantly complained about anyone under fifty running an Institute. She made Everest want to break something.
"What do you expect? He's dating a Warlock and the other Fairchild-Morgenstern." Duncan, one of the Shadowhunters Mia and Noah had grown up with and hated, rolled his eyes disgustedly.
Everest and Izzy shared an angered, hate filled gaze. Everest wasn't sure what Izzy was more upset about: the fact that Duncan's reasons for not wanting to listen to Alec included prejudice against the DownWorld or the way that he referred to Everest. Everest's hand twitched ominously and Izzy nodded. The other girl's head jerked almost imperceptibly and Everest's first moved up and down, ASL for 'yes'.
Lindsay scoffed. "Still can't believe Alec Lightwood is in charge."
Duncan smirked. "Just wait. In a week, it'll be someone else."
"With the way this Institute is going, it'll be the Fairchild-Morgenstern girl, the one he's dating," Lindsay grumbled. "Especially if Jace Herondale gets any say in it. And we both know he will."
"Hey." Izzy looked at Lindsay and Duncan, who turned with raised eyebrows. They paled slightly upon seeing the soon to be Parabatai glaring darkly at them. "Show some respect."
"And by the way?" The two's gazes shifted to Everest, whose sharp rings glinted in the light, "Next time you're going to trash talk someone, maybe make sure that their sister and girlfriend aren't around to hear you. I hear getting punched by a full hand of rings hurts just as much as being hit with an electrum whip does."
The two tensed at the thinly veiled threat and they turned back to Alec, faces pinched and pale.
"Well done," Sebastian muttered from behind them. Everest glanced back briefly to see him smirking proudly.
"Thanks," she and Izzy said together before tuning back into Alec's speech.
"Security will be tighter, both here and in the sub-cells. Please, let's make the DownWorlders feel welcome." Alec nodded with finality and the crowd dissolved as he walked down the stairs towards Jace and Clary.
Izzy and Everest said goodbye to Sebastain and then joined the other three, arms linked and heads bent together as they continued to discuss what they had been talking about before the announcement without missing a beat. It was almost as if they had never paused their conversation.
"They'd totally be fucking," Everest said emphatically.
"I don't think so," Izzy said just as firmly.
"Dusk, in what world would Jareth and Frank N. Furter not be fucking?"
"They just don't mesh well."
"Babe, their vibes match."
"Their chaos doesn't."
"Well maybe, but that just means that they probably shouldn't date. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't be fucking."
"Sunny, they don't line up in all aspects, which is why I don't think they'd go beyond being chaotic friends if anything."
Everest scoffed, held up a hand, and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be wrong."
"Babe, they don't fit together well enough to fuck."
"Babe yes they do."
Alec and Jace were staring at the two of them like they had each grown six heads and told them that they were willingly being deruned so that they could go live their lives as mundane accountants in Montanna. Clary was staring at them with wide eyes and a wide open mouth, clarity blooming on her face.
"Izzy's who you have that argument with every month?" she all but shrieked.
Everest shrugged. "I have this argument with a lot of people. Thing is, most people end up on my side by the end of it." She shot a sharp, venomless look at Izzy, who just smiled.
"Do I even want to know?" Jace asked.
"No," Clary said. "Not if you want to get anything done for the next week."
Alec shook his head and smiled fondly. "I'll ask questions later. For now, I need Jace, Clary, and Everest for a mission. Going to the Seelie Court."
Excitement coiled up in Everest like a loaded gun, threatening to overwhelm her at any moment. Jace and Izzy exchanged wary looks. Clary looked confused.
"Where is that?"
"The nearest entrance is in Central Park. But it's in another realm. Where the Seelie Queen lives."
Jace shot Everest a look. "To clarify, the nearest entrance that won't get anyone executed for using."
"I didn't know what it was!" she protested. "All I knew was that the butterflies were pretty. And no one I met by that entrance ever tried to kill me, which is more than I can say for most places I've been recently and even more than I can say for my own parents."
"I requested an audience with her to discuss Kaelie's crimes. However, she said she'll only meet with 'Valentine's experiments,'" Alec said regretfully, artfully redirecting the conversation.
"Wow. Charming nickname," Clary said, her grimace matching the ones Jace and Everest wore. Everest saw the exact moment Clary latched onto Alec's careful phrasing. "So you think the Seelie Queen is responsible for Kaelie's attacks?"
"That's what I want you to find out."
"That would make sense," Jace conceded. "Those murders weren't exactly Kaelie's style."
"How did you know Kaelie?" Clary asked, turning to Jace with a genuinely curious expression.
"Book club," Jace said without missing a beat, giving the three of them a warning look.
"You read?"
Alec's eyebrows rose and he visibly bit down on his tongue to prevent his laughter from escaping. Everest covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her laughter. Izzy grinned, all wicked mischief and sharp secrets that only she and Everest knew.
"Yeah. Why does everyone find that so hard to believe?"
"Look, focus," Alec said, though he looked very much like he'd rather be teasing Jace as he waved a hand in front of Jace's face to make him refocus on him. "We need to find out if she's complicit. An entire faction could be turning against us."
"There's rarely just one individual with a particular mindset," her mom told a ten year old Everest. She bandaged the wounds on Everest's knees, which she had gotten from being shoved to the ground by a group of older boys on her way home from school, with such precise care that she wondered how she had never questioned her mom's expansive medical knowledge. "People are naturally inclined to be around others who think like they do. Bigots and bullies and those trying to start a war or uprising are no different in that way."
Everest faintly felt Izzy tap her upper arm four times. Everest's grip on her arms broke out when she startled out of the memory.
"That shouldn't be too hard, right? Seelies can't lie," Clary said.
"Technically, yes. But after hundreds of years of practice, they can expertly manipulate the truth, and the queen's the master," Jace said.
"She's very dangerous. The whole realm is. More than one Shadowhunter hasn't made it back," Izzy said, voice quiet with seriousness.
"Think of the garden in the Greek Underworld," Everest said, having had many conversations with Gino about his world since they had learned the truth about each other's heritage, "but with even hotter people who can convince you better than any millenia old rule or prostitute can."
"What could go wrong?" Clary said on a sarcastic exhale. "But, uh, we're 'Valentine's experiments' right? Don't mess with us."
Everest made an exasperated noise somewhere between a sigh and a laugh that made Izzy bury her head in Everest's shoulder.
...
Everest glared down at the water, not without some petulance. It had finally gotten cold in New York, the trees bare and skies grey from something other than pollution. It was cold enough that she had to wear a hoodie under her thickest leather jacket and gloves—she hated wearing a winter coat with a passion much to the frustration of all of the parental figures in her life.
"Hey Purple?"
Everest glanced over at Jace, who looked oddly at peace in the barren park. "Yeah?"
"Would you actually tell me if you and Izzy went through with the Parabatai ceremony already?"
She tilted her head. "Of course I would. Why do you think I wouldn't?"
Jace sighed, tucking his chin into his scarf slightly. "You and Izzy act like you're already Parabatai and went through with the ceremony years ago. You're just as in sync as Alec and I are, sometimes more, and you two fight like you've been training together since you were little kids. Which shouldn't be possible with how you were raised, but you never know with you."
Everest wanted to laugh. The idea that she and Izzy had already gone through an entire ceremony that involved literal rings of fire and witnesses without anyone knowing was comical. And not because that wasn't something they would do, but because they very much would do something like that.
"We've known each other since we were seven, Dye-Blonde, we're bound to be really in sync." He opened his mouth to protest but she shook her head. "We did train together in the most basic sense of the words. She taught me some basic self defense that was furthered by various people, and I taught her the basics of shooting and how to make people underestimate you just by the way you talk to them. And as far as I know, I've never been enclosed in a ring of fire while reciting an oath."
Jace relaxed, his scarf separating from his chin once more. "Do you know when you're having the ceremony?"
"As soon as possible."
He smiled in that way that only Jace could, the kind of smile that lit up his face and reminded her that he was still the chaotic dumbass that she loved so much underneath all of the pressure and expectations. She smiled back and for a moment they weren't Everest Fairchild-Morgenstern and Jace Herondale. For a moment they were just Purple and Dye Blonde, two kids that grew up too fast who were just enjoying each other's company. And then they weren't.
"What is he doing here?" Jace demanded, his gaze sharpening on someone behind her.
Everest turned, spotted Simon approaching alongside Clary, and hopped up onto the cold railing. This would take forever.
"Hello to you. I'm joining the mission," Simon chirped. "Nice to see you, my fangirl buddy."
"Fanboy bud," Everest returned, tapping her thigh, shivering when the wind picked up. She hated winter.
"No you're not. You weren't invited," Jace said sternly.
"I already told him that," Clary said, shaking her head in a way Everest knew was to hide her smile.
"But then I pointed out that you can never have too much backup. And you've seen my fighting skills firsthand."
"There will be no fighting." Jace sounded like an exhausted parent. It was amazing. "If you hurt anyone in the queen's realm, she has every right to hurt you. This is a sensitive political mission. It takes a certain charm."
Everest shivered again. Jace immediately turned, expression softening as he looked at her, and wrapped his scarf around her securely before turning back to the other two.
"Well, I'll have you know, I was voted president in Eighth Grade. And you do not win an election without charm. So..."
Everest bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. She had switched schools that year and even she knew why Simon had won that election.
"Simon, this isn't middle school." Everest wasn't entirely sure about that. The ShadowWorld was about as petty as middle school. "This is life or death."
"Remind me to bring you to a middle school," Everest muttered. Clary giggled.
"Have you been to middle school?" Simon deadpanned.
"Look, Seelies have the beauty of angels and the viciousness of demons, and those opposing qualities make them unpredictable. A vampire or a werewolf, they prefer to attack head on, but Seelies, they want to trick you into your own self destruction." Jace's voice and posture were tense, serious, in a way that Everest wasn't sure Simon had seen before.
"That's a little dramatic, don't you think? I mean, aren't Seelies, like, woodland hippies who eat berries and dance?" Simon's joke fell flat.
"I dare you to say that while face to face with Gino and Meliorn," Everest said, fiddling with the scarf.
"You thought the same about Kaelie," Jace said, voice dead.
"And who saved Clary from her?" Simon rebutted.
Who saved a preteen from her? Everest so desperately wanted to say, but she stayed silent.
"Jace, you're not going to get him to change his mind. We have to go. Where's the entrance?" Clary asked. Everest's eye twitched. Clary wanted Simon to go along to the Seelie realm, and hadn't tried at all to convince him that it was a bad idea. Everest loved Simon, she really did—by the Angel, he was her brother—but she really didn't think this was the mission for him. Especially when the Seelie Queen specifically asked only for her, Jace, and Clary to go.
Jace sighed, looked at Everest who just shrugged helplessly, then nodded at the creek. "There."
Everest glanced down at the water and as she watched, the water shone golden and revealed a winter wonderland forest. She smiled. It reminded her of the bedtime stories Luke told her growing up.
"The Seelie Court is in a creek?" Simon asked, skeptically.
"Not in it. Through it."
Jace, with a running start, leapt over the railing and into the water, disappearing with a flash of golden light. Everest grinned at the other two, who were staring with wide eyes and shock lining every inch of them.
"See you on the flip side," she said before falling backwards off the bridge.
She landed on her ass beside Jace, who had managed to stay standing. Luckily, the snow cushioned her fall.
"Love the landing, Purple, very graceful," Jace teased, pulling her to her feet.
"It's unique," she said in a mock posh voice.
Jace grinned and she couldn't help but grin too as she looked around. The trees were bare but sparkled with snow, the sunlight shining even from behind the clouds, catching the falling snowflakes like they were tiny disco balls. It was absolutely stunning.
Clary and Simon landed with a thud, managing to stay upright.
"Woah," Clary breathed out.
"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Everest said, her smile softening the stress that hadn't left her jaw for weeks.
"No shit, Dorothy," Clary muttered, and they shared a mirth filled look as they reversed their conversation from the last time they were both in the Seelie Realm.
"After you, Mr. Vice President," Jace said with a smirk, gesturing to a partially cleared path.
Simon opened his mouth, closed it, then flipped off Jace as he and Clary led the way down the path. Jace watched them go with no small amount of jealousy and regret in his eyes. Everest bumped his shoulder and hooked her arm with his. He looked at her, eyebrow raised.
"Come on, Dye Blonde. We're a better pair than the two of them. We've got Lightwoods as Parabatai and far more DownWorld connections than the both of them combined. Plus, we're hotter than them by far," she said, forcing him to start walking instead of spitefully leaving the others to wander alone.
Jace's lips quirked slightly. "We are, aren't we?"
"Hell yeah."
...
"You know, for a dangerous mission, the Seelie Court is strangely romantic," Simon mused.
"It's like being dropped inside a fairy tale. Which makes sense. Fairies do live here," Clary agreed.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of blood, discussion of potential death, discussion of potential injury/maiming
"Yeah but it's like Nerium Oleander," Everest butted in before the two could get too romantic. "It's stunning and gorgeous, but it can and will kill you. It's only this pretty to draw you in and make you lower your guard so it's easier to kill you."
"You're so dramatic," her sister said, rolling her eyes.
Simon stopped without warning, causing the rest of them to stumble to a stop, stepping off the path ever so slightly to walk towards a tree surrounded by insects swarming around a dark, oozing substance. A bug landed on his hand and without thinking, Simon had smashed it, still staring at the tree. "Is that blood?"
"Simon, get away from the tree!"
Simon ignored Jace and stepped closer, resting a hand on a branch.
"Get away from the tree!"
Jace shoved Simon away from the tree and onto the ground. Clary gaped and Everst tapped rapidly on her thigh.
"What the hell are you doing?" Simon shouted, getting off the ground.
Jace scoffed. "Saving you. As usual."
"From a tree?"
"It's called a kill tree. It would have wrapped its vines around you and torn you limb from limb."
"Jace, what the hell are you talking about?" Clary asked. The hand she had in her pocket was too close to a hand on her hip for Everest not to compare her to the meaner, more bitter version of herself that Clary had been when they were thirteen. Everest spun her fidget ring round as fast as she could make it spin and looked away from Clary.
"That tree almost tore Simon's pretty face off," Jace deadpanned.
Simon grinned widely. "You think I'm pretty?"
Jace shot Everest a look that clearly said 'Save me or I will let the trees kill them'. She contained her teasing. For now.
Everest stepped forward to link arms with Jace again and took over the warning speech, having been given many speeches on the Seelie Realm in the past two months. "Look, in the Seelie Realm, it's not just the Seelies or creatures who are deadly. Everything is. So if you want to get home to coffee and tv and watching Izzy beat the shit out of misogynistic assholes, don't touch, eat, or smell anything. No matter what."
Trigger Warnings Over
With that, the two of them were off again, leaving Clary and Simon to scramble behind them.
"Dye Blonde, your queer is showing," Everest teased lightly now that they were out of earshot of the other two.
"Purple, your queer is showing," Jace shot back mockingly, rolling his eyes and tapping her mismatched earrings.
"Thank you," she said smugly, doing a singular jazz hand since her other hand was in her pocket.
They reached the path that led directly to the palace twenty minutes later. Everest gaped at the large castle covered in ivy and other colorful plants that looked like someone had splashed paint on the stone. It was stunning.
She whistled appreciatively as she removed her gloves and tucked them in her pocket.
"It's so beautiful," Clary said on an exhale.
"Don't let it blind you. Let's go."
They walked carefully through a gate of vines and flowers and entered a courtroom with statues and a throne and all sorts of elegance that was too stunning for Everest's mind to properly process just then.
"Welcome," a Seelie said, petting Clary's curls.
"Welcome," another echoed, tracing Jace's jaw.
Seelies surrounded them, petting them and running their hands through their hair and down their arms, cooing welcomes and platitudes. Everest almost cried. Why did they have to be so gorgeous? When they disappeared, Everest felt considerably lighter than she should.
"Jace, my stele. Our weapons," Clary said, panicked. Everest faintly noticed that her coat and the scarf Jace had wrapped around her were also gone.
Jace nodded, not without some bitterness. "Yeah."
"You'll get them back when you leave the court," a new voice said, louder and more commanding than the calming voices of the other Seelies.
The Seelie Queen, or who Everest assumed was the Seelie Queen, rose from the throne, far younger and shorter than she had expected. The Seelie Queen was a young child of about twelve dressed in a rose red dress with a tulle skirt and a large flower crown adorning her vibrant red hair.
"Your Majesty," Jace said, bowing. Everest quickly followed his lead. The other two bowed a moment later. "What a rare honor."
"Wait, that's the queen?" Everest didn't completely disagree with Simon's muttering.
"Why is the vampire here? He was not invited."
The four stood up straight once more and Clary said hurriedly, "He's with me."
Jace glanced at Clary out of the corner of his eye but was quick to placate the queen. "My Lady, Simon has proven himself a worthy warrior and a loyal friend. We insisted he be here with us. Anything you have to say to us, you can say to him."
It took most of Everest's self control not to burst out laughing at the confusion on Clary and Simon's faces.
"Very well. The vampire can stay," the queen said with a long suffering sigh.
"You're as generous as you are lovely," Jace said with an elegant dip of his head worthy of the most prestigious of royalty. Everest wasn't sure why she hadn't thought it possible for Jace to be so elegant.
The queen approached them, hardly pausing as she said, "Set an extra place at the table for our latest guest."
A blonde Seelie in a soft pink dress nodded and all but floated away.
The Seelie Queen reached forward and took Everest's hand, her grip soft but firm and her pinky ring glinting in the sunlight. "This is going to be fun," the queen said as she led Everest away from the others.
Everest barely managed to look back enough to see the panic on Simon and Clary's faces and the familiar realization induced horrified dread on Jace's before she was led to a table covered in fruits and desserts.
The Seelie Queen gently guided Everest to sit on a stack of cushions before unlacing their hands. "I shall return momentarily, little larkspur," she cooed in Everest's ear before gliding away to speak with her attendants.
Everest's mind swam briefly. The prepubescent voice and stature of the queen was really throwing her off, especially when she said things in a tone that no one underage should use. It really only made everything about the situation worse that she resembled a younger version of one of her last 'mini partners', as Simon liked to call Nettie and the others Everest had similar relationships with, before she fell into the ShadowWorld. None of it was okay.
"You okay?" Simon asked as he sat next to Jace. Everest was sitting on one of two pillows on the opposite side of the table. Jace and Clary sat on the other side with Simon.
She nodded mutely.
"I thought you said she was ancient," Clary said accusingly, though she was angled towards Everest. "She hasn't even hit puberty."
"She is ancient," Jace said pointedly, still watching Everest. "She uses Seelie magic to manipulate her age."
Simon's face lit up like it always did when discussing magic related strategy. "Genius. She tries to seem all innocent and cute, but really she's just—"
"Hungry?" the queen offered, suddenly there beside Everest as if she had never left. Everest did her best to suppress her startled wince but considering Clary raised her eyebrows at her, she was pretty sure she hadn't succeeded.
"That's very kind, but we really should discuss business," Jace politely declined.
"Business is boring. That's why I sent a proxy to your Downworlder cabinet meeting." She glanced at Jace, Clary, and Everest, her gaze sharper when she looked at Clary and Jace than when she looked at Everest. What was happening? "I'd like to know more about Valentine's children."
"Valentine's daughters," Clary corrected and Everest nodded at her sister's raised eyebrow. "It's just Everest and I."
The queen glanced at Everest then at Jace. "Are you sure?"
Jace nodded. "I'm not Valentine's son."
"Yet the same blood runs through your veins. The blood of the Angel. Please, show me what it can do." The three of them looked at each other, all unsure of what to do. "Don't be shy."
Everest wondered what the Seelie Queen thought she could do. There wasn't really any way to demonstrate what few abilities the angel and demon blood had given her. How was she supposed to show that she could essentially wish things into existence if she was freaked out enough? Or that she could kick Jace's ass if she had enough adrenaline going? (Though, she was pretty sure her being able to beat Jace in the occasional fight was because she watched action movies near religiously while growing up and had convinced Luke to teach her how to fight like her favorite superheroes.)
"We're still learning how it works," Jace said placatingly, and once more Everest was reminded that he was one of the best Shadowhunters of their generation for more than just his fighting skills.
"Are you?" The queen hummed and turned to Simon. "And you, vampire? Are you still learning to walk in the sun?"
If Everest wasn't trying, and somewhat failing, to keep her mind in order, she would have grinned at the passive aggressive comment.
Simon chuckled nervously. "Wow, news travels fast down here."
"It does. I hear whispers from the birds, the bees, and the bugs. They are all in my service."
Trigger Warning: Mentions of death (off page)
Jace took his chance without hesitation. "So was Kaelie. Were you surprised to hear one of your knights was killing Shadowhunters?"
"Were you?" the queen shot back. "Kaelie was your lover."
"Book club, huh?" Clary smirked at Jace.
"I was surprised," Jace conceded. "Kaelie didn't seem capable of such brutality."
"Precisely why she made such an effective killer. The sweeter the honey, the deadlier the trap." She looked at Everest through her lashes, a smile tugging at her lips just enough to be noticed, exactly how Nettie used to. It was unsettling. "Even royalty can seem to be an innocent mundane high schooler. A knight seeming to be gentle is not that much of a stretch."
Everest wondered if the Seelie Queen knew something about Everest's past she didn't. Actually, she knew the queen knew something about her past she didn't. She just didn't know what it was. But she really, really wanted to know.
"Did Kaelie kill on her own or was she working with someone else?" Clary asked.
The queen took the hand of her attendant and stood gracefully. She tossed an apple up and caught it with a smile far too knowing for a face that young. "Another knight helped. But I took care of him."
Simon's lips thinned. "By 'took care of' you mean..."
"Dead, dead, dead." The Seelie Queen took a harsh bite from the apple, revealing sharp pointed teeth.
Simon and Clary blinked in surprise and Jace looked at the table unfazed by the action. Everest was too focused on remembering where she had heard that sentence in that same syntax to pay much attention to the display of the less picture perfect side of the queen.
The queen tossed the apple back onto the table. "I'd like a moment alone with Everest Fairchild-Morgenstern," she said as if those words didn't have the other three on even higher alert than before.
Did they really have that little faith in Everest's ability to handle herself that they thought that the moment she was alone with the Seelie Queen she would do something that would end up with her trapped in the Seelie Realm forever? Or were they just worried on principle? Everest really didn't like either option.
"Alone?" Simon watched Everest carefully, eyes visibly cataloging her every movement for a sign that he needed to get her out of there.
"With Everest?" Clary was clearly appalled by the idea, which would have been hilarious if Everest wasn't so perplexed.
"My Lady, perhaps you could discuss here," Jace proposed. "We prefer not to be separated."
"It's a private matter," the queen said with a fond smile. "Don't worry. I'll bring her back with all her limbs attached."
"Everest..." Simon and Clary said simultaneously, just like they did whenever she was being partially pressured to do a new thing.
She shrugged, somewhat helplessly and somewhat wanting to prove that whatever doubts they might have about her being unable to handle herself were wrong, as the Seelie in the soft pink dress from earlier helped her up. "It'll be fine," she said, only partially believing herself.
As the Seelie Queen grabbed her hand once more, smiled even brighter at Everest than before, and guided her away from her siblings—both biological and in name only—Everest could feel eyes on her. She could feel the worry and suspicion from her siblings. She could feel other gazes too, far too familiar for her comfort but not able to be named quite yet. She was led behind iridescent curtains just out of sight and hearing of her siblings and the queen gestured for her to sit on one of the pillows. The queen took the other.
"I have never known anyone quite like you," the queen said, smiling a little. "And I've lived a very long time."
"What do you mean?" Everest asked, tugging a curl that had fallen in front of her eyes.
"I have never known anyone who was so close to the DownWorld yet had no idea it existed. You have had a place with the werewolves since you were a toddler, a place with the vampires since you were seven. You have had several warlock's protection since you were very young. You have gained the attention of countless Seelies over the years. Very few have managed to do that." The queen smirked ever so slightly at Everest's visible confusion. "You have been known by my court since you were six and befriended Gino and Meliorn, upon which you were given a sense of protection from my court as well. And when you were seventeen and started dating Amir, you were granted the respect of the UnSeelie Court as well."
"What? Why?" Everest couldn't help but interrupt. Amir? What did ve have to do with this?
The queen chuckled lightly. "Amir is UnSeelie royalty and you gained vis love and respect. Of course the UnSeelie Court respected you to a degree."
Everest knew she was gaping, and that it was unattractive, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Amir was an UnSeelie? Amir was UnSeelie royalty? And no one thought to tell her? No one thought it would be a good idea to mention that little fact to her before a stranger—the Seelie Queen at that—did? The urge to just start screeching was very strong.
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself even slightly before she managed to look back at the Seelie Queen, who looked highly amused by her reaction.
"What?" she managed at last, though it took quite a bit of self control to keep her voice at a normal volume.
The Seelie Queen chuckled, high and airy with an edge that Everest couldn't quite place. "Would you like to talk to vim?"
Yes, Everest's mind screamed. Yes, of course she wanted to talk to Amir. It had been months since they had talked. But all of the warnings and cautions that had been drilled into her by Gino and Jace and even Meliorn flared red hot in warning.
"What's the catch?" she asked instead of blurting out 'yes'.
The Seelie Queen smiled again, this time sharper but something akin to pride gleamed in her sparkling cerulean blue eyes. "No catch. I simply wish to see what happens."
"Okay," Everest said, despite the voice, which sounded suspiciously like Jay, very sternly chanting "No" in the back of her mind.
The queen gestured to a set of shadows that shifted unnaturally before Amir stepped out from a fold in the fabric. Everest couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face as she saw one of her close friends for the first time in months. Amir's dark skin was practically glowing, vis dark eyes sparkling with the laughter that never seemed to leave vim. Vis hair was dark fuchsia instead of forest green but it was just as stunning. Ve wore dark brown leather pants, a cream tank top with straps that covered the entirety of vis shoulders, and gold jewelry that glinted in the light.
"Amir," she said quietly, standing.
"Everest," ve said with a smile painted poppy red, opening vis arms for a hug.
She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around vim, vis embrace warm as ve skillfully twirled her hair around vis fingers and she rubbed circles into the back of vis neck with her thumb. The tension and stress that had tightened muscles and forced her into harsh posture melted away to the recesses of her mind—at least temporarily—as she allowed the hug to sooth her negative emotions. The hug was full of comfort and care as it always had been, the smell of nature and leather and the air of love that constantly radiated off of Amir wrapping around Everest like a fuzzy blanket. Angel, she had missed Amir.
"It's been too long, my rainbow," Amir muttered into her hair.
"Far too long, rolly polly," she muttered back. She looked up at vim, jaw noticeably unclenched for the first time in a while. "What happened to texting every once in a while?" she asked, tone teasing but desperately wanting to know why ve had stopped texting her.
Amir sighed. The hand that wasn't twirling her hair tucked a stray strand of fuschia behind vis ear before returning to her waist. "My home became chaotic once it was revealed that Valentine was alive. I got caught up in politics and business and forgot that I have connections to others outside the court." Amir's head dipped and ve cast vis gaze downward. "I am sorry, my rainbow. I should not have gotten so caught up in court life that I forgot to text you. I cannot undo any pain I might have caused you, but I can promise to do better in the future so that this does not happen again."
Everest's heart melted at the apology, so sincere and heartfelt that it was obvious ve meant it. She tilted her head up so that their foreheads were pressed against each other gently. "Thank you for apologizing," she said softly, conscious of how close they were. "I'm not mad or upset with you, rolly polly. I was hurt at first, and it will take time for my brain to fully process that I won't be left on delivered anymore, but I forgive you."
Even with the odd angle, Everest could see the smile on Amir's face. It was a smile that had stunned their classmates time and time again when they were in school, a smile that had gotten Amir out of countless detentions. It was what had caught Everest's attention in the first place, a smile that had made Everest's day every time she saw it. It was a smile full of love and brightness and genuine kindness, a smile that had the power to make anyone's day even just a little better, a smile that lit up whatever room it graced with its presence. It was one of Everest's favorite things about Amir.
"Thank you, my rainbow," ve said gently. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Even though they had broken up a long time ago and no longer harbored any romantic feelings for one another, Amir was still one of Everest's closest friends and she would always love vim.
"Well, that was more heartwarming than I had expected," the Seelie Queen mused, breaking the moment.
Everest jolted. She had forgotten the queen was still there. Amir just chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"I should be getting back, but I will see you soon, my rainbow," Amir said, twirling one last piece of hair around vis fingers.
"See you soon, rolly polly," she said, pressing a kiss to vis cheek, rubbing one last circle into the back of vis neck.
They released each other and, with a smile and a wink, Amir melted back into the shadows of the curtains. It took Everest several tries to tear her eyes away from the spot ve had disappeared, and even more tries to repress the fear that ve had just disappeared on her permanently.
"Come, little larkspur. It's time to return to your friends and show them that I didn't harm you," the Seelie Queen said, words soft and loving.
"Thank you," she said quietly, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for letting me talk to Amir."
The queen smiled. It was all kindness and fondness rather than cunning trickery and sharp teeth. She held out her hand, the silver pinky ring glinting. "It was my pleasure, little larkspur."
Everest smiled slightly as she took the outstretched hand and allowed herself to be guided back to the table where the other three sat. The others' gazes shot to her as soon as she was within eyesight, obviously scanning her for injury or distress. Jace's eyes narrowed pointedly at her and the queen's hands. She ignored it. Simon stared at her face and hair, at the faint lipstick kiss she was sure was on her cheek and the strands that were twirled in perfect ringlets. She ignored it. Clary's brows furrowed as she looked Everest up and down, gaze clearly catching on her posture and how her free hand was no longer obsessively tapping on her thigh. She ignored it.
The queen guided her back to her stack of cushions and gently unlaced their hands once more. Her fond smile sharpened as she looked at Simon. "I'd like a moment with the Daylighter," she said. The queen's new airy tone was so far from the soft way she had spoken to Everest that it almost gave her whiplash. "He'll be returned with all his limbs, do not worry."
Jace, Clary, and Simon shared nervous glances but when Jace shrugged, Simon stood. "Okay?" he said, though it was more of a question than anything.
The Seelie Queen's sharp smile grew as she gestured for Simon to follow her. With one last helpless glance back, Simon followed.
As soon as the queen and Simon were out of sight, Jace and Clary rounded on Everest.
"What happened?"
"What did she want?"
"Why did she say it was private?"
"Why were you holding hands?"
"What's on your face?"
"What is going on?"
"Take a fucking chill pill," Everest finally burst out when the questions started to swim in her head.
Clary snorted and Jace rolled his eyes but they fell silent.
"I kid you not, all she wanted to do was talk to me about how she's never met anyone like me and how I have the protection and or respect of every DownWorld species," Everest said.
"Then why do you look like you just got to shatter and rebuild in a healthy, not at all destructive way?" Clary demanded, starting to pace slightly.
"Because apparently one of my exes is UnSeelie royalty," she deadpanned.
"Who?"
"By the Angel, you are the definition of absurd," Jace grumbled. He sat in one fluid motion and leaned against a fallen tree with his arms crossed.
"I know right? It's almost like my father's insane," Everest quipped. She looked at Clary. "Amir."
Clary groaned. "Why does it make sense?"
Jace went ramrod straight in an instant. "Amir? As in the UnSeelie prince who changes vis hair color every month and is known for staying in the mundane world for long periods of time? That Amir?"
Everest nodded. "The very one."
Jace buried his face in his hands and his shoulders shook like he was trying not to cry.
"Is that why there's a lipstick kiss on your cheek?" Clary asked, leaning close to get a better look but not so close as to invade Everest's space.
"Yeah."
"Why were you and the Seelie Queen holding hands?" Jace asked, rather despairingly.
"I don't know." Everest shrugged. "She just did that and I went along with it."
Clary's eyes widened. She pulled her phone from her bra and started frantically scrolling through it. Everest watched her warily.
"I swear, if you're looking for embarrassing pictures of me and Amir..."
She trailed off as Clary pulled up a photo of Nettie and Everest at a party. "Am I crazy or does the Seelie Queen look like a younger Nettie?"
"Who?" Jace asked, sounding like he was only asking because he knew the twins wouldn't explain what they were talking about otherwise, finally unburying his face and coming over to look at the picture. His face crumbled and shoulders slumped further. "This is not okay."
"Me at a party or the fact that the person with me looks like the Seelie Queen?" Everest asked, already knowing the answer.
"The second one." Jace zoomed in on the partially visible flower tattoo curling up and down the side of Nettie's face. It was nearly identical to the one on the Seelie Queen's. "Could they be the same person?"
"Are we sure it's not just a coincidence?" Everest asked, sighing.
"There's no such thing as a coincidence," Jace said, brows furrowing. "How did you know her?"
Everest shrugged, not really wanting to discuss her history with Jace.
Clary, it seemed, had no such qualms. "Nettie was one of Everest's friends with benefits right before we found out about this world. They met at a school dance a little while after she and Amir started dating. They officially ended things at the beginning of the summer."
"And that's enough," Everest said, slapping a hand over Clary's mouth. "Love that you pay attention to my partners and all, but you don't need to traumatize Dye Blonde with the details."
Clary's nose wrinkled mockingly at her but she nodded. Everest removed her hand and wiped the saliva on Clary's arm. "Next time, don't lick me. It doesn't work on me and I'm not into incest."
Clary choked on her laughter and shoved Everest lightly.
Jace, rather than paying attention to the twin's antics, was pacing and muttering to himself. Everest couldn't quite catch what he was saying, but she had a feeling that she wasn't going to find out until they left the Seelie Realm.
"Simon?" Everest looked up at Clary's startled words. Jace halted immediately. Simon was hurrying over to them, shoulders stiff and face slightly panicked. Behind him the queen and the Seelie in the soft pink dress approached slowly. "Is everything okay?"
"Great," he said, too intense and too loud for it to be believable. He grabbed Clary and Everest's arms and started to drag them away as he said softer, "We need to go now."
Jace grabbed Simon's arm to stop him. "Hey, hey wait," he whispered harshly. He turned to the queen with a neutral expression. "Your Majesty, with your permission, we should get going."
"But you've only just arrived," the queen said airily.
Trigger Warnings: Potential death, imagined suffocation, imagined injury, mentions of death, manipulation, anger
Everest opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but her attention was drawn away from the queen by Jace and Simon grunting and moving harshly in her periferal. Sharp, thorny vines were wrapping their way up Jace and Simon's legs and no matter what the two did, they kept growing up and up and up.
"It's futile to struggle. Vitis veritas. Enchanted vines that only obey me," the queen said.
Everest frantically looked down at her legs, but there was nothing there. Despite that, phantom vines inched their way up her legs and dug into her skin. She squirmed, air trapped in her lungs and fighting against her as the phantom vines wrapped around her chest. It was only as she started to get dizzy that she managed to force out a breath. The queen's gaze was heavy and knowing, even after it left her.
"What are you doing? Let them go," Clary demanded.
"But they killed several of my kind," the queen said as if it was as simple as saying the sky was blue.
Simon protested, "What? We didn't kill anyone."
"She can't lie." Jace's voice was calm, calculating. "Your Majesty, you must be mistaken."
"I told you, the birds, bees, bugs, they're all in my service."
The gnat. The fucking gnat Simon smashed before almost dying. Everest would have sighed if she could have taken in the air needed to do so.
Clary's eyes lit up. "The gnats at the kill tree."
"What, that bug I killed?"
"But you can't seriously mean..."
I think she's dead serious, Clary, Everest mind screamed. She couldn't force the words out. There wasn't enough oxygen in her lungs to do so.
"Their deaths require justice." The queen smirked, all cunning trickery and sharp teeth. "Unless, of course, you'd rather play a game."
"What kind of game?" Jace asked, ever cautious.
"Game sounds better," Simon said hurriedly.
The two shot annoyed looks at the other.
"It's simple, really. All I ask is a kiss."
Alarms blared red hot in Everest's head. It was never that simple.
"You want one of us to kiss you?" Clary's eyebrows rose harshly and she glanced between Everest and the queen, not at all covertly.
The queen looked amused. "The game isn't for me. It's for you Clary. The kiss that will set them free is the kiss you most desire."
A long, violent string of curse words flooded Everest's mind. This was going to end terribly. There was no way this would end without at least one person getting hurt. Someone was going to cry because of this. Someone might get punched because of this. At least one person would end up storming away.
"I suggest you move quickly. Once the vines reach their necks, the boys will be dead, dead, dead," the queen added.
Clary scoffed. "Jace was wrong. This is exactly like middle school."
Except Everest didn't have exes or younger versions of exes to deal with in middle school, so it wasn't exactly like middle school.
"Clary, just kiss me so we can go home," Simon all but pleaded.
Clary rolled her eyes, hopefully at the manipulative game, then kissed Simon gently. The vines only tightened around Jace and Simon. Everest's nails dug into her upper arm as the phantom vines itched and wrapped around her shoulders.
"Why are the vines still there?" Clary asked desperately, angrily.
"Why do you think?" The Seelie Queen spoke like she was scolding a child. Clary's hair all but flying around her face while she raged did not help the image.
"I did what you asked!"
The queen smiled, patiently and with ever so slightly raised eyebrows. Clary's face fell and horror and realization filled her entire being. Her shoulders slumped and her breathing deepened as her fists clenched around nothing.
"Clary?" Simon choked out.
"You can fool yourself, but not the vitis veritas."
"Clary!" Jace choked desperately, face turning red from lack of oxygen.
Clary stormed over to Jace, the fury rolling beneath her skin evident in the way her cheeks flushed pink and nostrils flared. "This means nothing."
Jace barely managed to nod before Clary was kissing him far more passionately than she had kissed Simon. Everest winced in sympathy for her friend—her brother, her Rat Boy—as the vines unwrapped from Simon and Jace. The phantom vines stayed tightly wound around Everest, but she managed to move her arm despite it so she counted it as a win.
Clary shoved herself away from Jace only as the vines receded into the ground and Simon made a wounded noise, his eyes glistening with tears.
The Seelie Queen chuckled smugly. "I told you, Daylighter. They always choose their own kind."
Clary whirled on the queen with more venom in her gaze than Everest had seen in a long time. "Why the hell would you do that? It's our lives, not a story game!"
She's only mad because the queen's so-called game might have ruined her relationship with Simon, even though it was already failing, Everest thought, bitter on behalf of Simon and Jace. Neither one deserved what had just happened. Simon didn't deserve for his relationship with Clary to be put on the line or for the trust between them to be destroyed simply because the queen decided to force Clary to confront her feelings. Jace didn't deserve to be put in the middle of Simon and Clary's problems or for the couple to inevitably blame him for what happened. Clary didn't deserve to have her happiness ripped away from her in ten minutes or for the anger that would inevitably fill her relationship with both Simon and Jace.
"Best to be completely honest, don't you think?" the Seelie Queen said, adopting a faux innocence that was tied together with a tilt of her head and looking up through her lashes in a way that was entirely Nettie.
"There's nothing honest about that," Clary spat.
Trigger Warnings over
"Your highness, are we free to go?" Jace asked diplomatically before Clary could ruin the hesitant alliance between Shadowhunters and Seelies.
"Oh yes. It seems one of you already has."
Everest's head whipped around to where Simon had been standing only to find her friend nowhere in sight.
"Simon..." Clary said on an exhale, more of a whimper than much else.
...
"You may visit anytime you wish, little larkspur." Voice quiet and sweet and airy. Hands gentle and soft against hers. A kiss pressed to her hand, light and feathery and barely there yet so intense she could barely focus. A smile full of fondness and care. Eyes shining with something akin to pride. "Until the glade unites us again."
The Seelie Queen's goodbye played on loop in her head as she searched for something so hyper specific she was almost surprised she had remembered it existed. She dug through boxes of memories, went through dozens of hard drives and cameras, reread old texts she had long since left buried, and scrolled through her camera roll at least five times before she found it in a password protected photo album. She turned the volume all the way up so she could hear the video as clearly as possible.
Red so dark it was almost black tangled with icy blue as two girls laid in a field. They laughed at something that had been said before the recording, clearly held by the redhead, started, their eyes dancing with love and laughter. The redhead's flower tattoo shone brilliantly in the sunlight and her pinky ring gleamed. The other girl traced the tattoo with gentle fingers, her other hand tracing invisible designs on the redhead's collar bones. The redhead smiled and turned so that the girls were facing each other.
"My lovely larkspur," the girl said in a low, sultry voice, "if you keep that up the whole park will get a view that will have us arrested. I don't think you want your uncle or your other adults to see you in such a state, now do you?"
The girl with icy blue hair laughed again, tilting her head to press a kiss to the other's jaw. "We're good at not getting caught, Nettie. Don't you remember the last time you were at my house?"
Nettie's smile turned smug. "I do indeed, my lovely larkspur." Nettie buried her face in the other girl's shoulder, her smile still visible to the camera. The other girl shot the camera a victorious grin when Nettie pressed a gentle kiss to the spot where her neck and shoulder met. "I'm going to miss you when you're at the farm."
"I'll text you every day," the girl assured Nettie. "It'll only be for a week or two. I think you can manage that long."
Nettie sighed dramatically. "But I'll be bored!"
The other girl laughed. "No you won't. You'll just go hang out in the woods or the glade or whatever you call it."
"But that gets boring after a while."
"Then you can call me."
Nettie's smile grew and the other girl grinned too.
Their grins slipped slightly when a voice belonging to someone out of frame called, "Everest! Mom called and said she wants us home!"
The two sighed and shared a sweet kiss before the girl with icy blue hair turned away from Nettie so she could yell, "Just a minute!" without shouting in the other's ear.
She and Nettie stood up as one unit, Nettie still holding the camera so both of them were in frame. "I'll see you later," Everest said, pressing another kiss to Nettie's lips and another on either side of her mouth.
"Until the glade unites us again," Nettie said, leaving trailing kisses across the other girl's face.
The two smiled at each other smugly as their eyes danced and the video ended.
Everest took a deep breath and swallowed back the tightness in her throat. Why hadn't she realized it before Clary had said something, before she had left the Seelie Realm? Why hadn't she realized that the Seelie Queen's pinky ring was the same one that Nettie wore? Or that the queen's smile and mannerisms were the exact same as Nettie's? Angel, how hadn't she realized that the queen called her the same thing that Nettie did until she watched the video? How hadn't she pieced any of it together? Why had had she second guessed herself when she had started to put it together?
Was it because she was scared of being right? Because she didn't know what she was going to do if they were the same person? Or was it because she was scared of being wrong? Because she wasn't at all sure what she would do if she was wrong about them being the same person, if she had subconsciously projected Nettie onto the Seelie Queen just because they looked alike?
Everest shook out her hands, hating the loss of control she felt when she did so, and rolled her shoulders desperately as phantom vines crawled up her back.
How was she supposed to deal with this? How was she supposed to deal with the fact that she was right, that Jace and Clary were right too? She was right about the Seelie Queen and Nettie being too similar to be different people, right about them being one and the same. How was she supposed to handle the fact that her ex was the Seelie Queen? What was she supposed to do with that information? It wasn't like she was going to text Nettie's old number or go back to the Seelie Court to confront the queen. There were at least three people who would outright murder her if she went back, simply because of what had happened not even two hours ago.
She took another deep breath, this one calmer than the last. She might not be ready to text Nettie's number or be able to go back to the Seelie Realm to confront the queen just yet, but she could tell someone about what she had just confirmed to the best of her abilities. (She was distinctly ignoring the fact that she would probably be murdered if she didn't tell someone and the others found out later. Especially because knowing her luck, the others would find out in a very unfortunate way if she didn't tell them herself.)
Everest left her room in a mad flurry of chaos. If she slowed down at all she would lose momentum. If she lost momentum she wouldn't find someone to tell. If she didn't tell someone in the next five minutes she'd either explode or it would come back to bite her in the ass later. Ideally she would find Izzy first since Alec was handling politics and paperwork if she was remembering correctly. Magnus was probably back at his apartment by then and she would definitely lose momentum if she had to wait the amount of time it would take to get to his house to tell someone. Jace and Clary were out of the question for now, Simon too. Gino, Luke, and Raphael, and even Meliorn if she was desperate enough and managed to find him, had just dealt with politics and were likely still on the verge of strangling someone. Besides, Meliorn and maybe even Gino were probably in the Seelie Realm. Roslyn was even further out of the picture than Jace, Clary, and Simon. So Izzy it was.
Trigger Warning: Breakdown, grief
Loud, angry sobbing cut through her flurry of chaos. Everest skid to a stop in front of Clary's door. Her knock off Uggs—the real ones were too hot—had no grips or traction and she almost skid right past. She only managed to stop in the right spot because she grabbed onto the door frame. Everest's momentum disappeared, replaced by worry and fear for her sister even before the desperate momentum had fully left. She peeked through the crack in the door to see Clary sobbing on her bed, Izzy's arms around her. Izzy met her gaze and nodded, almost pleadingly.
Everest closed the door behind her so that no one else could hear Clary's sobs. She didn't want anyone to grow curious enough to gain ammunition against the redhead. People already disliked her enough for who her parents were, she didn't need them thinking she was emotionally unstable too. She sat on Clary's other side, wrapping her arms around her sister tightly. Clary buried her face in Everest's hoodie and within seconds she could feel her sister's tears.
"We're here, Ritz, Izzy and I are here," she whispered soothingly. "You're not alone, you have people in your corner. I promise you. We won't let anything get you. You can let the paint thinner run over you. We'll be here with you. We'll be here as you repaint too."
Clary's sobs grew louder and gained an extra broken edge to them. She curled further in on herself, but Everest and Izzy just held tighter. Despite how their eyes glistened with tears for Clary and how neither of them were in a very comfortable position, they held onto Clary as tight as they could and didn't let go, even hours after they all fell asleep. They both knew how crucial it was to know for a fact that you had people there for you as you shattered into a million tiny, sharp pieces. Especially when you weren't sure that those pieces could be picked back up again.