Distractions - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Shattered windows and bullet wounds. Deep red blood and pale pasty skin. Those were the things that haunted Everest Fairchild's nightmares. She would dream of the hell she put her characters through—what her friends had gone through—and it would haunt her. She would dream of the things she had seen while she was walking the streets at night, of the things she had had to do to make it home even remotely safe. She didn't dream of those things every night—sometimes it was Raphael being taken—but she was never able to calm her panicking mind down and go back to sleep when she did.
Everest had dreamt of the horrors that night. So, she did what she did every time she had a nightmare; she packed her bag and left.
Everest walked out of the near-silent Institute in dark purple leggings, her hoodie from Dot, and a pair of Converse she had taken from Clary. It was odd to see the place so empty, though Everest assumed that even Shadowhunters needed their sleep. She made her way down the street, her bag on her shoulder and gun on her hip. She had only ever had to use it on someone else three times, but that was three times too many in her opinion.
As Everest walked into the coffee shop at 5 in the morning, Sara hardly raised her gaze. She and the other baristas were far too used to Everest wandering in at odd hours of the day.
"Usual or extra usual?" the brunette asked. She was already pulling out the largest sized cup they had.
Everest shook her head and handed her the large mauve colored travel mug from her messenger bag. Sara's eyes widened and she put the other cup back with a frown.
"Do you think I would die if I had a Red Eye with two shots of espresso instead of one?"
Mark popped his head out from the backroom. "If you die can I have your coffee mug collection?"
"No."
Sara pushed Mark's head back into the backroom and gave Everest a concerned look. "Are you okay?"
Everest let out a puff of air as she sat at the counter. "Well, I just found out my brother figure is alive, my mom's gone, and I hate nightmares. And this all happened on my birthday week."
Sara winced at her blunt words and ignored how Jocelyn was missing. She could tell Everest wasn't up to explaining. "Phae's alive?" Everest nodded. "You bring him around here and I'll smack some sense into him for you."
Everest gave the girl a small smile. "That's alright Sara. I quite like my brother alive." Internally, Everest smiled about how untrue her statement was. Raphael Santiago was a vampire and very much dead.
"I don't know how you drink that. That shit'll kill a horse," Mark commented as he handed Sara a paper.
Everest took a sip of her coffee. "With my face—no. No. That's not right." Everest scowled as she scanned her brain for the right word. She snapped her fingers in realization. "Mouth. That's it. I drink it with my mouth."
The two didn't smile at her blunder like they usually did. They just gave her concerned looks.
"How much did you sleep last night?" Sara asked.
Everest didn't reply. She looked away from her friends and towards the counter. She had only slept 2 hours, too busy writing the next chapter of Shadowed Spotlights to sleep and then she had her nightmare.
"Everest..." Sara sighed.
Everest looked up when she heard the back door open and shut within seconds. Mark handed her two breakfast sandwiches and a granola bar with a small smile.
"Take this and eat it all," he told her sternly. "You're gonna crash if you only drink your death inducing Red Eye. You'll still crash later, but not as hard if you actually eat something."
Everest gave the man a grateful smile and took a bite of one of the sandwiches, placing the other food in her bag after wrapping it in the aluminum foil Sara handed her.
"Thanks Mark." She glanced at the time. "I've got to go. Clary's overprotective and reckless face won't survive much longer with me gone." Everest breathed out in annoyance as she realized she had messed up her words again. She didn't correct herself that time.
She smiled a half smile as she waved goodbye to the duo, not missing the concerned looks they had as they waved back. Nor did she miss the quiet "she will be okay right?" from Sara or the "we can only hope" from Mark.
Everest wasn't even a quarter of the way done with her coffee when she reached the Institute's gates. It wasn't surprising considering her mug was larger than Starbucks' Trenta size. However, she did finish the breakfast sandwich and had even sent Mark a picture of her last bite to prove it to him. His response had been a "now eat the other one" which made her smile.
Everest's phone rang from the depths of her bag and she nearly dropped her coffee in surprise. She swore softly and placed her coffee on one of the benches outside the building, God is a Woman getting louder and louder as she dug further into her bag.
"Hello?"
"Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed softly from the other side. "Where are you?"
"I was getting coffee," Everest frowned. "Why? Did something happen?"
"Clary thinks she knows who the warlock who took your memories," Izzy explained.
"Huh. That's fun." Izzy snorted softly. "I'll be inside in a few minutes."
"Kay. See you in a few."
Everest hung up and placed her phone in her pocket. As she went to grab her coffee mug, she saw a flash of black in her peripheral vision. Her head turned sharply and she relaxed when she saw it was just a couple Magpies.
As she counted the birds the words to a nursery rhyme played themselves in her head.
"One for sorrow, two for joy. Three for a girl, four for a boy. Five for silver, six for gold. Seven for a secret to never be told. Eight for a wish, nine for a kiss. Ten for a surprise you'd be careful not to miss," she sang softly. "Eleven for wealth, twelve for health. Thirteenth beware it's the devil himself."
There were eight Magpies on the stone wall and fleetingly, Everest wondered what she would wish for later. She smiled softly at her thoughts as she made her way to the Ops Center. She had always loved children's rhymes as morbid as they often were. They were usually her inspiration for short stories that she wrote.
"A Downworlder rave, nice Izzy," was the first thing Everest heard as she walked through the Institute.
"And where'd you get that?" a voice she knew belonged to Alec asked, disapproval lacing his words.
"During my surveillance of the Downworlders. From what I hear, Magnus Bane likes to party." Everest could practically hear the smirk that was sure to be on her friend's face.
At the mention of 'Magnus Bane' a memory flashed through her mind.
"My name's Magnus Bane, Cupcake. What's yours?" a man with spiky hair and eyes with slit pupils like a cat asked as he crouched down next to her.
"I'm Everest," a girl with neon pink hair said proudly. "I'm 6, how old're you?"
The man chuckled. "I'm very old."
Little Kid Everest frowned. "No you're not. You're not wrinkly or ugly, so you're not old."
Magnus outright laughed at her declaration. "Thank you Cupcake. Now, how about some Skittles while we wait for your sister to wake up?"
"He'll never go for it. Not with Valentine trying to kill him." Everest blinked out of the memory as she heard Alec's voice.
"Of course he will. He'll blend in," Jace started just as Everest walked in.
"Hide in plain sight," Everest finished for the blonde, perching on the edge of the table.
Jace and Alec looked at her in confusion, Izzy looked terribly pleased about something, and the older man with peppering blonde hair and a circle on his neck gave her an intrigued look. Clary, however, gave her a stern one as she caught sight of the large mauve mug. Already knowing what she wanted, Everest handed her the mug. Clary opened the lid and peered in, shutting it again and handing it back with an approving look when she saw it was mostly full.
"Think about it Ritz. You want to hide from somebody, and you're in your very top secret lair, but then somebody offers you something that you really really want. Of course you're going to go get it, but to do so you have to leave your lair. So, you meet up somewhere you'll blend in. For you, that'd be in a room full of nerdy redheads. For me, that'd be on Wattpad. For Magnus Bane, that place just so happens to be a rave full of interestingly dressed people using magic, drunk on alcohol, and high on pixie dust."
The Shadowhunters looked fairly impressed with her explanation and reasoning and Everest was impressed with her ability to speak that whole explanation without stumbling or messing up any words. Coffee helped with things for sure. However, she did notice that Jace's face became amused when she said 'high on pixie dust.' She'd ask him about it later.
"I don't know. It seems—" Clary was cut off by Izzy.
"Trust me. If Magnus is coming out of hiding, he's going to one of the biggest parties of the year."
"Never underestimate Magnus's hedonism. Or his greed. Come with me." The man led them to the training room.
"Who's that again?" Everest asked Izzy as they walked.
"Hodge. He's our weapons trainer." Everest nodded in acknowledgement.
Hodge ran his stele over a rune on the tile and it glowed red. He pulled out a ruby necklace out from a hidden compartment. Everest frowned. The necklace was familiar, she just couldn't place where.
"Is that real?" Izzy breathed out.
"A four-karat, unheated Burmese ruby. And this necklace has special meaning to Magnus Bane as it was a gift from him to his then lover, Camille Belcourt."
"Magnus and Camille were lovers?" Clary asked incredulously.
"Warlock gets around," Jace chuckled.
Suddenly a memory of a portrait flashed in Everest's mind and her face lit up. She snapped her fingers and the others looked at her in surprise.
"Ms. Kidnapper had a huge painting of that necklace in one of her living rooms," she explained. Jace laughed at her nickname for Camille.
"It's beautiful," Izzy said, taking the jewel. Everest looked over the girl's shoulder and hummed in agreement.
"Magnus has longed to reunite with this necklace. Offer it to him. He might just take the bait."
Jace left the room, saying something about messaging Magnus, but Everest didn't notice. She was too busy going through the vague flashes that kept running through her mind. She obviously knew who Magnus Bane was, but she didn't know how she knew him and it was pissing her off. At least she knew where her Skittles obsession came from.
She shook her head in amusement, her purple hair flying every which way as she did. She made her way back to the Ops Center, grabbed her bag, and made her way back to the room she had claimed as hers.
Flopping on the bed, Everest groaned as a sudden burst of inspiration hit her. She was comfortable. But she knew that if she didn't get up and write just then, she'd lose the inspiration and she had a feeling that it would be a while until she had the chance to write again.
So, Everest sat at her desk, pulled out her computer, and her notebook and pen. She opened the window with everything she needed for Shadowed Spotlights, took a long drink from her coffee, and began to write.
'Only 2 hours,' she promised herself, looking at the time.
The sound of someone opening her door made Everest jump violently. She whirled around and gave the intruder an annoyed look as her heart raced, pounding against her rib cage.
"Ever heard of knocking?" she asked, saving her work and closing the window.
"I did. You didn't notice." Jace smirked at her until he saw the mess that had become her desk. "What happened here in the last seven hours?" he asked, shock coloring his features.
"Seven hours? What are you talking about, it's only been..." Everest trailed off. "Shit it's been seven hours."
Jace chuckled at her expression. "Yeah it has. What were you doing? You didn't even eat lunch."
"I was writing. And I did too eat lunch." She pointed to the granola bar wrapper and half a breakfast sandwich on the corner of her desk.
"That's not lunch." Jace frowned as he shook his head. "Izzy wants to see you, but that can wait." He pulled her off of the poufy beanbag she had dragged over to her desk and put on top of crates, and both of them winced when Everest's entire body seemed to pop at the action.
"And that's why I'm supposed to tell somebody I'm going to be writing. So I don't end up hurt from sitting too still for too long."
Jace pulled her past the training rooms and to what seemed to be the kitchen.
"What're you doing, Dye-Blonde?"
"My hair is naturally blonde, thank you very much. And I'm feeding you so you don't die while we're out."
Everest blinked at him as the boy dug in the fridge. "Why do you care?" The question wasn't accusatory, simply curious.
Jace froze for a moment before he shrugged. "Because believe it or not Purple, you're like that little sister I only kinda wanted. And I wouldn't let Izzy go hungry, so why would I let you?"
"That—that was very kind and caring. Take it back."
Jace laughed as he handed her a small container of leftover pasta once the microwave beeped. "Eat that and I'll take you to Izzy."
Everest followed after the boy as he guided her through the maze that was the Institute. She stabbed at the pasta, nearly dropping the food when she missed the noodle and stabbed the empty part instead. Everest glared at the container as if it were its fault rather than hers. Jace chuckled as he held open the door to Izzy's room.
"Here you go, Iz! Your other victim is here!" he called into the room.
"Shut it Jace!" Izzy called back as Jace pushed Everest into the room, shutting the door.
Izzy took the bowl of pasta from the purple haired girl and replaced it with a pile of clothing. She pointed to the bathroom and Everest pouted but went to change anyway.
As she dressed, Everest was glad that Izzy had remembered not to give her anything that showed her stomach. Izzy had given her a black pleated skirt, a dark green and black plaid button up to tuck into the skirt, a pair of black boots—thankfully without heels—and a black belt that had two silver chains attached to it.
She walked out of the bathroom, an approving look on her face, and she was about to compliment her friend on her style choices, but then she saw her twin. Clary was dressed in a short black dress that showed off her figure and a pair of heels.
Everest whistled lowly. "And that, Ritz, is why you don't fight it when Dusk hands you clothes."
Clary gave her a look that clearly said she wasn't pleased. "I don't know whether to tug it up or pull it down," she grumbled.
"You look good Everest. Now just put in your dragon ear cuff, your silver rings, silver stud, and a silver necklace and you'll be good to go," Izzy told her proudly.
"Thanks Dusk." Everest took the pouch of her jewelry from her friend with a smile. "But how did you get my jewelry?"
Clary grinned. "She went through your bag."
"Dusk!"
Before Everest could say more, Jace walked in. "Someone's looking badass," he told Clary.
"What about me?" Everest asked, a mock pout on her face at being forgotten.
Jace gave her outfit a once over. "Not bad, Purple. Skirt's a little too short and your shirt's not buttoned enough, but not bad."
Izzy's jaw dropped at his words. "Too short? Not buttoned enough? The hell Jace?" Everest truly didn't know if her friend was angry with the boy for his criticism or if she was shocked that he was acting like an overprotective brother. "Since when are you so protective?" Guess it was the second one.
Jace shrugged and his gaze landed on the half-full bowl of pasta. He placed it in Everest's hands once more and gave her a stern look that clearly told her to eat it.
"You know what? Sunny and I are going to go help Alec. He never knows what to wear to these things either." Izzy pulled Everest out of the room, almost causing her to spill her food for the umpteenth time that day.
"Why is Jace acting like such a big brother?" Izzy asked as they neared Alec's room.
"I dunno," Everest shrugged. "Just started when he learned I ate a granola bar and half a sandwich for lunch. Said it wasn't lunch and now he's making me eat this."
"That's weird. He's normally not so protective of people he's just met."
"Who?" Alec asked as they barged into his room.
"Jace. He's acting like he's Everest's big brother or something."
"What do you mean?" he frowned.
"He said her skirt's too short and her shirt's not buttoned enough. And—'' Izzy gestured to the purple haired girl who was now sitting on the floor eating her pasta. "—he lectured her about eating and now he's making her eat pasta!"
Alec looked back and forth between the sight of his confused sister and Everest calmly looking between the siblings as she ate pasta while sitting on his floor.
"Okay..." he said, not fully understanding what he was supposed to say.
"Here," Izzy said, handing him a dark denim colored shirt. "Put this on and you'll be fine."
Everest looked at Alec, her head tilted. "Wear your leather jacket with the ribbing on the elbows too."
Izzy gasped in excitement. "I've rubbed off on you!" she gushed.
Everest's eyes widened and she groaned quietly. "What have I done?" she murmured.
Alec chuckled. "No idea. But it'll be entertaining," he murmured back as his sister gushed about "finally having someone in the Institute who understands fashion."
"Maybe for you."
...
Everest stood with Jace and Clary outside of the club, her sister staring at the crowd of people. Everest leaned against the wall, watching as the line moved slowly.
"Alec and Izzy are securing the perimeter," Jace told the twins.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? The last time we were here, this place was crawling with vampires."
Everest's head shot over to her older sister. "And why didn't you tell me this?"
Clary gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Ev, forgot. I was a little busy finding out who took my memories and being Izzy's personal Barbie doll."
Her purple hair flew as she shook her head in amusement. "Ritz, you haven't seen anything yet."
"Purple's right, Clary. And relax. All Downworlders come here, we just came on vampire night," Jace assured the redhead.
"Right. And when will this all sound normal to us?" Clary mistook the look on Everest's face for one of confusion rather than disbelief.
"I don't know."
"Speak for yourself Ritz. This all makes perfect sense to me," Everest said, straightening from her spot on the wall to stand by her friends as they approached.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. This is just one big real life worldbuilding research trip for you, isn't it?" Clary smiled ruefully.
"Basically."
"All clear," Alec told them.
Izzy hooked her arms through the twins. "Do you think red's my color?"
"Iz, with a body like yours, everything's your color," Clary told her.
"Besides. Even if it wasn't, you'd still pull it off just fine." Everest nudged her friend with her elbow, causing the girl to smile.
"Good point." Izzy looked down at the necklace. "Damn, I make this necklace look so good."
"Will you take it off?" Alec asked, only seeming a little annoyed. "I'm certain Magnus Bane doesn't want drool on his ruby when we make the exchange."
Izzy smirked. "You know, I wouldn't be so sure. Most men like it when I admire their jewels." Everest and Jace exchanged a look as they snorted softly. You could always count on Izzy to say something like that when given the opportunity.
"Can you just give it to Jace?"
Izzy pouted. "You're such a buzzkill," she said as she handed the necklace to the blonde boy.
Everest smiled at the affronted look on Alec's face.
"Don't worry," she told him as they walked forward. "I'm sure you're not a full buzzkill." Alec gave her a small smile but said nothing.
Almost immediately Everest knew that that night was gonna be a long one. The strobing lights and loud music made her head hurt and her senses go haywire. She grasped at her upper arm and forced herself to take deep breaths. This wasn't going to be like Pandemonium where there was at least a chance Gino would be there, this was a rave full of Downworlders she didn't know. And that was even more of a reason not to let herself get overwhelmed.
Everest ignored her friends' concerned looks when they saw her wide eyes and tense posture.
"Blend in, keep your weapons ready," Jace told them, leading Clary into the crowd.
Everest saw the duo go towards a man with dark hair and glittery makeup and another memory flashed through her mind.
"Why do you wear sparkles on your face, Magnus?" a girl around 8 with pastel blue and purple hair asked.
She was sitting on a stack of pillows as she watched a man dressed in leather pants and a purple shirt put glittery makeup on his face.
"Because I like the way it looks." He turned to her, a smile on his face. "Why do you dye your hair crazy colors?"
"Because I like it and it makes my teachers frustrated."
Magnus gave her a curious look. "Why does it make your teachers frustrated, Cupcake?"
"Because they say it's distracting others, but if my hair is distracting, so is their stupid phones going off all day and their loud gum chewing!" Everest glared at the floor in frustration.
Magnus laughed and it echoed around the room, causing the girl's glare to lessen. "I've taught you well, young Padawan." Everest grinned at the man in pride.
"Can I put glitter on my face?"
"If you want to. You're staying at my place for a few days anyway, might as well have fun," Magnus shrugged.
"Yay!!" Everest cheered, Magnus joining in as he laughed.
Everest followed the Shadowhunters into the crowd, shaking off the memory, though she went to the bar rather than the dance floor. She leaned against the bar, watching as the Lightwoods disappeared into the crowd. She looked for her sister, but just as she caught sight of her, her view was blocked by a boy who looked to be around her age.
She glanced up and nearly fell in surprise.
"Shots?" the boy exclaimed, his dark green eyes widening with surprise.
"Gino?"
"What are you doing here?" the two asked at the same time.
"Ritz dragged me along. What are you doing here?" Everest answered first.
The dark haired boy gave her a calculating look before he sighed and pulled her over to a quieter area.
"What do you know about the Shadow World?" he asked her.
"Enough?" She said it like a question, not knowing if her knowledge was truly enough. She didn't question how her friend knew of the Shadow World, figuring it'd be explained in time.
"Good enough. What do you know about Seelies?"
Everest tilted her head. "Like Pixies and Nixies?"
Gino shook his head in amusement at her very specific examples. "Yeah, kind of like that. I'm a Seelie."
Everest blinked at his blunt words. "That's—" she cut herself off. "That's fun."
"Isn't it?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you didn't know about this world, even with you being best friends with a Shadowhunter and calling a vampire your brother." Gino gave her a small smile. "Forgive me?"
Everest smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Always, G."
Suddenly someone shouted "watch out" and Everest heard an arrow flying past her head. She whirled around and saw Alec running through the crowd, an arrow nocked and ready to fly. She followed his path to Clary, Jace, and Magnus and gave Gino a panicked look.
"Go," he waved her off. "Go help your stupid sister."
She ran towards her friends and she arrived just after the Lightwood siblings.
"Who are you?" she heard Magnus ask as Alec went past him.
Everest followed him to the body and kicked it, ignoring the disapproving look from the blue eyed boy. She nudged it with her foot and when it didn't move, she frowned.
"I'm not allowed to stomp on it, am I?" Alec turned to her with a deadpan expression.
"No."
Everest shrugged and walked back over to her sister. Clary looked her over, checking for any injuries, and Magnus turned to her with a curious expression.
"Who are you?"
"Everest," she said simply. "Are you Magnus?"
The man's eyes flooded with recognition and disbelief. Magnus's mouth opened as if to say something, but he just nodded, a rueful smile on his face. He turned towards the swirling mass of glittering purple, and Everest resisted the urge to go poke it. She had a feeling her action wouldn't be very well received.
"Magnus wait!" Clary called, grabbing onto the man's sleeve. "You're my only hope!"
"Valentine found us. I warned your mother this might happen," Magnus said, glancing around and his gaze landed on Everest. He looked away quickly and Everest fought off the grin that threatened to make its way onto her face. Magnus always avoided eye contact when he was hiding something, and it seemed like that part of him hadn't changed all that much.
"Wait!" Clary cried as the man disappeared into the swirling mass.
'Maybe it's a good thing I didn't poke it,' Everest thought, her face grim as she looked at her twin.
Izzy walked up to the group. "Area's secure. Looks like he was the only assassin."
"He has a circle rune on the base of his neck," Alec told them and Everest blinked in surprise.
"Really? I didn't notice." Alec rolled his eyes.
"You were too busy kicking and poking at the corpse to notice."
"They found us. It's not safe here. Clary, we have to go," the three Shadowhunters started to walk off, but Jace turned back when he realized the twins weren't following. "Clary...Everest..."
Clary gave him a solemn look as she grabbed Everest's hand and pulled her away from the wall where she was poking at it, trying to figure out if there was any of the magic, glittery purple stuff leftover.
Everest jumped slightly when she felt a spark run up her arm just before Clary pulled her away. Her face twisted and she gave the wall a weird look before she followed the others outside.
...
Clary swayed slightly and Everest put a hand out to steady her.
"Jace!" Izzy called out, also steadying the redhead.
"Clary, we have to go."
"I'm catching my breath," Clary snapped back.
"You know, this is great. And not only did Magnus not get the girl her memories back, he took the necklace. This is fantastic—" Alec exclaimed, an angry look on his face.
Everest tuned out the argument, instead sitting against a wall and watching as the smoke from a nearby building drifted in the wind.
She had never understood why she couldn't remember certain days before she was 12, why she would have weird dreams about playing with a sparkle covered man and eating Skittles as the man brewed something in a pot. She never knew why she would sometimes see a man with yellow eyes watching her from an apartment building as she walked to school with Clary, why seeing blue sparks always brought the image of someone's hand snapping and blue sparks appearing to the forefront of her mind.
Now she did. She knew it was Magnus Bane that she had caught watching her, that it was Magnus Bane who she was with in the dreams. It was Magnus Bane that snapped and conjured blue sparks. It was Magnus Bane who took her memories. But the flashes she saw made her question whether he actually took them or if he just hid them well.
Thinking of the warlock made her think about Gino too. The boy she had known since she was four, he was the one who had never once left her side. She loved him dearly, but him keeping his Seelie side a secret for 14 years hurt. They had told each other everything—or so she thought.
'Apparently not,' she thought bitterly. But then she stopped herself. 'No. Don't think of Gino badly. It makes sense why he hid it, and it's not like he lied. You never asked if he was fully human, there's no need to be angry with him.'
Everest sighed quietly. She really needed to stop thinking badly of people. It wasn't nice and would only hurt people and relationships, whether or not the thoughts were intended to.
"Everest!" someone called.
She looked up to see Jace and Alec looking at her while the girls walked ahead.
"You coming? Or are you just gonna sit in a dirty alleyway forever?" Jace smirked. "Let's go Purple."
Everest hauled herself up and winced when her gun dug into her thigh. She was really glad she had the safety on when her hand knocked against the trigger. She grimaced at the idea of her gun going off and shooting her in the foot.
"What's wrong?" Alec asked as the three of them started walking.
"Nothing. I'm just gonna need a lot more Red Eyes if I'm expected to keep up with my twin sister."
"Twin sister?"
"Red Eyes?"
Jace and Alec asked at the same time, both turning to look at her in surprise.
"Yes, Clary's my twin sister. I'm not sure how you didn't figure it out earlier." Everest smirked a little at Jace's shocked expression. "And a Red Eye is a cup of coffee but it has an espresso shot in it. Usually. I tend to order it with 2 shots of espresso and it made my friends literally make a tally board of how many days I've lived since I started drinking it."
The two seemed speechless for a moment before Alec spoke again.
"You know what? We'll come back to this. Let's just focus on one thing at a time."
Jace nodded. "We can discuss how Clary and Everest kept the fact that they're twins a secret later. Let's just focus on getting to Magnus before Valentine."
"And figure out how Everest could possibly still be alive."
"I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that, Alec."
Everest laughed for the first time since her nightmare. "That's fair Dye-Blonde."
She ignored Jace's sputtering protests as she caught up with her sister and best friend.
"My hair is naturally blonde!" Jace shouted.
Everest just laughed.