Prepare yourself. Kit is in the training room of the Institute stealing daggers to sell at the Shadow Market when he meets Jace Herondale. Jace figures that Kit is preparing to run away, but he and Clary have come to get to know Kit. Everyone thought Jace was the last Herondale, only Tessa and Jem believed Kit existed. A few weeks later, Emma, Julian, Mark, and Cristina are supposed to be acting inconspicuously at the boardwalk as they hunt a demon. Mark sees the demon heading toward the crowded amusement park. Emma runs, Julian right behind her, and jumps into a Ferris wheel cart. It’s been two weeks since Emma told Julian she was dating Mark and they haven’t been this close to each other since. Julian asks her if she’s happy. She says she is (a lie, but this is best for everyone) just as the demon rises behind Julian. Emma stabs the demon, which flees to the ocean. Mark tracks the demon to the shallows where he finishes it off. They receive a message from Diana that Jace and Clary need to talk to them. When they walk into the library, Cristina moves to stand next to Perfect Diego. They’ve rekindled their relationship, Mark doesn’t like it. The Council has ruled that Mark can stay but refused to hear arguments about Helen returning from Wrangel Island. There’s been an increase in sea demons coming to shore. Potentially because neither Malcolm’s body nor the Black Volume of the Dead have been located, or because of spells Malcolm cast before he died. They’re sending more Centurions to come search for the Black Volume, they’ll be staying at the L.A. Institute. But Jace and Clary aren’t. They’ve been given a top-secret mission. Jace and Clary speak to Mark alone. They explain that their mission is in Faerie and ask Mark a few questions. He tells them that Kieran is one of the Unseelie King’s fifty sons. The princes are constantly trying to kill each other for better chances of inheriting. Jace gives Mark a little more (confidential) information. Sebastian left some sort of weapon in the Faerie courts. They don’t know what it is but it’s Jace and Clary’s job to find out. Mark thinks that Kieran would be willing to help them and he gives Jace a few more names as well. Diana and Julian speak to Arthur about the Centurions. Unfortunately, Julian is out of Arthur’s elixir, and they don’t know how to recreate it. Diana tells Julian that he will have to go to the Shadow Market to try to find a warlock that can make more. He should be able to find a warlock who will stay silent for a price. Or a faerie may have ideas on how to reverse Arthur’s damage – after all, it was caused by the faeries. Diana tells Julian to take Kit with him. Once at the Market, Kit leads Julian to Hyacinth, but she tells them to find a warlock instead. A warlock named Barnabas Hale is approaching them. He tells them that all of Downworld knows what happened to Malcolm. Kit is a Shadowhunter, Nightshade is in prison, Malcolm is dead. Hale doesn’t care what Malcolm was doing. All he sees is yet another Downworlder dead at the hands of the Shadowhunters. He kicks them both out of the Shadow Market. Hale tells Kit to do what his father did and go into a hiding. A dark time is coming for the Shadowhunters, and the Institutes will not be safe. He pronounces that the Shadow Market will no longer do any business with Shadowhunters. Emma leaves the shower to find Mark curled up at the end of her bed. The night she asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend, he had offered to make it happen for real, but she started crying when he kissed her. After a vague explanation about doing it to protect Julian, Mark agreed as long as Cristina was told the truth. They fell asleep that night as Mark told her about Faerie. They talked every night now, making their relationship seem real in the eyes of everyone else, but really, they both just want the company. Mark started sleeping better with Emma nearby. At least it was helping Mark. Clary comes to speak to Emma, and they talk on the roof. Clary reveals that Jace proposed to her, but she said no. They’re still together, but Clary doesn’t think she can say yes. When the Mortal War started, Clary started having dreams of angels and prophecies. They stopped after the Dark War. She’s scared because they started back up a few months ago. Something bad is coming. The dreams aren’t as clear as they used to be, but Clary knows she’s going to die - soon. She can’t marry Jace and promise the rest of her life to him when that life is going to be so short. She hasn’t told this to anyone but Emma. She wants Emma to tell everybody afterward that Clary knew and wasn’t scared. Kit asks what happens to him now. Julian says he can stay at the Institute. Kit isn’t sure that’s a good idea – what with Julian’s agoraphobic uncle and weird brother. Not Ty - he means Mark. In fact, Kit insists that Ty isn’t weird. He’s probably autistic. Julian doesn’t know what that means. Shadowhunters don’t get involved in mundane medicine. He wants Kit to tell him what he means, but Kit closes up. He didn’t know Shadowhunters couldn’t use mundane medicine – he doesn’t know anything about being a Shadowhunter. Cristina joins Diego, Clary, Emma, Julian, and Mark to investigate Malcolm’s house. Cristina thinks of Jaime. Diego misses Jaime too, but Jaime will no longer speak to him. In fact, he won’t speak to anyone and has blocked Diego’s fire messages. They don’t know where he is right now. Clary finds a glove with a golden crown broken in half – the symbol of the Unseelie King. The King believes he is the true King of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and the crown will not be whole until he rules over both. The glove is one only the gentry would wear. Either a high member of the Unseelie Court or the King himself was here. They also find a tentacle before heading back to the Institute. Clary thinks this is proof that Malcolm’s death is connected to the recent increase in demon attacks. They identify the tentacle as belonging to a Makara demon, which is troublesome because Makara can only survive on land for a couple of days - meaning that this tentacle wasn’t there for long. As for the glove, it indicates that Malcolm was involved in a bargain with a very high member of the Unseelie Court. It is a mark of favor or of a promise made. Worse, the Unseelie King only adopted the broken crown sigil at the beginning of the Cold Peace, so it is a recent bargain. Kit is able to sneak away from the meeting and get a snack from the kitchen, he realizes belatedly that Ty followed him. Ty sees that Kit’s hand is bleeding from punching a sign for the Guardian at the Shadow Market. He had refused an iratze from Julian, but he doesn’t say anything when Ty reaches out for his arm and draws the iratze on Kit’s skin. Kit’s first Mark. Ty asks about Kit’s mom, but Kit doesn’t know anything about her other than she’s dead. When the doorbell rings, Livvy comes to find them. The Centurions have arrived and she wants to spy on them. Ty and Kit join her. The Centurions each wear a leather jacket with their family crest on the back. Cristina is introduced to Diego’s friends Manuel and Rayan before their group is found by Zara Dearborn. Zara kisses Diego on the cheek. Diego is surprised to see her, he thought she was going to Hungary. She tells him she’s already back – it was just a bunch of incompetent Shadowhunters who claimed their seraph blades wouldn’t work. She turns to Cristina and introduces herself as Diego’s fiancée. Emma and Julian left the meeting of the Centurions before Zara’s big reveal. They grab Kit and say goodbye to Clary and Jace. Clary gives Kit a ring that used to belong to James Herondale before they leave. She tells him that James was also close to the Blackthorns when he was alive. Dru comes and tells Emma that Cristina needs her. Kit rejoins Ty and Livvy as a girl begins to yell at Diego. They’re delighted when the girl slaps him. Emma finds Cristina on the roof. Cristina feels so stupid. She forgave Diego and then he lied to her again. Emma tells her that from the way Diego looks at her, it’s clear that he’s in love with her. But sometimes, love is not enough. He keeps lying and disappointing her, Cristina doesn’t deserve that. Emma explains that she and Julian used to come to the roof to wait for the green flash that happens just as the sun goes over the horizon. They used to believe a wish made during the flash would come true. Cristina sees the green flash and they make their wishes. Emma finds Julian and Mark waiting in her room - they are not happy with Perfect Diego. Diego is currently locked in an office with Zara. They help Diana so Cristina doesn’t have to. Emma stops by Julian’s room afterward. Emma is angry that Diego doesn’t seem to care that he hurt Cristina. But Julian saw Diego’s face when Cristina ran out of the room. Diego is definitely hurting. No one can know everything about someone or all their reasons for doing something. A pointed jab at Emma. He closes the door in Emma’s face. Emma finds Mark waiting in her room and assures him that Cristina will be okay. She knows that Mark likes Cristina but doesn’t think he deserves to be with her. Diego tries to speak to Cristina at breakfast, following her outside when she leaves the room. He explains that he broke up with Zara. He wrote her a letter saying that he and Cristina were getting back together. Zara got the letter and ignored it, it’s the reason Zara came to L.A. Cristina asks if Diego broke up with Zara in the office, but he didn’t. He can’t now, there are things that Diego cannot tell Cristina. She will have to trust him. She’s done doing that. Zara comes to find Diego and brings him back inside. Zara seems to have made herself de facto leader of the Centurions. At dinner that night, she goes off on a tirade about the Clave and Downworlders. Most of the Centurions don’t seem to think Downworlders can be trusted. That the Accords are good in theory but do not work. Diana tries to redirect and asks if there’s anything the Institute can do to help the Centurions. Zara surprises her by saying yes – their laundry. Cristina can’t sleep that night and finds Mark outside. He was thinking about her. She admits she was thinking about him too, after all the hateful stuff Zara said at dinner. A law like the Cold Peace allows prejudiced people to be more open about their ignorance. Surely, Zara’s father is one of the people keeping Helen at Wrangel Island. He says that he’s sorry about Diego, but she knows he’s not. He wants to kiss her, but she stops him. They both just got out of actual relationships, and he’s currently in a fake one with Emma that everyone needs to believe is real. They hear a branch crack in the dark. Ty catches Kit as he tries to run away from the Institute. He asks Kit to stay. Kit doesn’t like the Centurions, but Ty needs Kit to stay. He needs someone to help him solve mysteries. And there’s already a mystery that they need to solve: the Centurions are hiding something. They’re lying about why they’ve come to the Institute. The next morning at breakfast, Mark and Cristina tell the others (including the Centurions) about how they scared a demon off the night before (the cause of the stick snapping). Diana, among others, is already exasperated with the Centurions – Zara in particular, who has decided that they need to raise the wards again. They haven’t been used since Sebastian broke them. After hearing that Mark and Cristina were alone last night, Diego storms out of the room. Emma follows him. Diego isn’t really in the mood for Emma’s lecture, and he insists that she doesn’t know everything that’s happening. But she isn’t just mad about Cristina. Diego knows that Julian has to be careful with Arthur. Diego says not to worry, Zara only cares about what benefits her. She only wants to be here to get a pat on the back from the Council for completing her mission. He has reasons for what he’s doing. He is not a bigot like Zara is and he does not think the Downworlders are lesser than Shadowhunters, to be registered or tortured. Emma just wonders how Diego could choose Zara over Cristina. He tells her no one hates him more than himself right now. There’s a storm that day and Julian goes to speak to his uncle, who doesn’t like storms. Emma follows him. Arthur really doesn’t like the Centurions being there, but seeing Cortana distracts him. Arthur tells them that Ogier raised Cortana to slay the son of Charlemagne on the field of battle, but an angel broke the sword and told him that mercy is better than revenge. Emma is confused; Cortana has never been broken. They leave the room, Julian looking angry and storming to the front porch where Emma apologizes. She didn’t mean to make him mad. He laughs. He can’t be mad. Not at her, not at Mark. He knew what they were doing was against the Law. He never should have touched her, but he didn’t think that they could be broken so easily. She tells him that they aren’t broken. She will go to Mexico City with Cristina for a few months when she turns eighteen and they’ll be fine when she comes back. They have to be. They aren’t ruined. Julian tells her that he is ruined. Then he kisses her, and she kisses him back. He wanted her to come to the attic. He wished she was there and then she was. That makes her push him back. She felt that need, it’s why she followed him. This is why they can’t be together. But all she says to him is Mark’s name. Before they can say anything more, the sky opens and Gwyn arrives on his horse. He does not look happy. Diana steps out of the Institute with Mark just behind her. She’s not met Gywn before. Gwyn switches from anger to charm and hits on her a bit before Mark brings him back to the task at hand. Gwyn tells them that Kieran has been taken by the Unseelie King for killing Iarlath. He will be killed the next day at moonrise… unless Mark rescues him – which is what Gwyn wants. When the King came for Kieran, all the members of the Wild Hunt were forced to swear a life oath that they would not attempt to rescue Kieran. But Mark is no longer a member of the Wild Hunt and Gwyn needs someone he can trust who is also brave enough to challenge the Court. Mark has no interest in risking himself to save Kieran and he walks back inside the Institute. Gwyn throws something in front of Diana before riding away. The other Shadowhunters follow Mark inside, and Mark immediately wraps Emma in a hug, which doesn’t help Julian’s mood. He tells them not to be fooled, Gwyn will find someone to rescue Kieran. It doesn’t need to be Mark. But he is surprised that Gwyn threw down an acorn for Diana. He likes her. The acorn is a sign of favor and if she opens it, Gwyn will be summoned to her. Diana hands the acorn to Mark as the Centurions trail in. Ty and Livvy explain to Kit who the Centurions are and why they think there’s something sketchy afoot. Ty saw Zara going through the papers in Diana’s office. Maybe not all of them are up to something, but they’re going to find out. They decide to follow them the next day. At dinner, the bigoted points of views of the Centurions come back out – particularly of the Larkspear twins and Zara. Even Diego tries to stop them from talking, saying that it does nothing but make the Centurions look bad. Zara insists that Downworlders cannot be trusted. The Accords don’t work, neither does the Cold Peace. Demons and Downworlders alike should fear the Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters were great once. They need to get back to that place. Mark leaves dinner early, after Dane nearly called him a half-breed and insulted the faeries as a whole, but now Julian can’t find him. He, Emma, and Cristina go to his room to find his boots and duffel bag missing, and a note to Cristina explaining that he went to Faerie. He’s going to save Kieran. He knows he can trust her to tell the right people at the right time. Julian plans to go after him but wants to go alone. That’s not going to happen. Cristina shows Julian a pendant. Her family was friendly with faeries once, obviously something they don’t talk about much anymore. The pendant was a gift from the faeries to her family long ago. It will force time to move at the correct pace for the person who wears it and anyone close by. In addition, it will allow them to take the moon’s road, which is usually only available to those with faerie blood. And no, she won’t be taking it off. She will just have to come with Julian, and Emma refuses to be left behind. Julian tells Arthur he will be gone for a few days and only to speak to Diana. He tells Arthur that he’s going to get Mark from Faerie (hopefully). Arthur makes him swear not to listen to anything the faeries tell him. Nothing. Julian promises. He joins Cristina and Emma at the beach, waiting until the moon’s reflection on the ocean looks solid, when they’ll be able to walk on the moon’s road. It works, but that means that Emma is walking over the ocean, which she’s terrified of. Julian tries to help her. She admits that having this fear makes her feel weak, which she hates, but he tells her not to. She has fears because she has things she loves. The second she loses her fear, she has nothing left. Cristina spots Mark. Julian and Mark get into an argument. Mark refuses to return to the Institute but Julian is afraid that if he enters Faerie, Mark won’t be allowed to leave again. Finally, Emma tells him they’re coming with him - end of discussion. A phouka comes out, demanding payment for their entry into Faerie through the Gate of Lir. He calls each of them forward and whispers to each of them their price and they will find in Faerie: Julian gives his father’s watch; Cristina her hair clip; but the phouka wants Emma’s stele. The stele Jace gave her during the Dark War. She won’t give it up. The phouka tells her that if she enters Faerie, she will again see the face of someone she has loved and lost. He can’t tell her whose face, and she can’t tell the others until it’s done. The cost is the stele, and she needs to decide soon – the moon’s road is starting to break apart. She hands the stele over as she starts to fall toward the ocean. Julian grabs her and jumps with her through the gate. Mark and Cristina have already gone through. Emma realizes belatedly that she doesn’t know what Mark’s price was. Arthur thinks of Julian and the moon’s road. His mind remembers broken memories of being forced to walk it himself. Sometimes he dreams of his brother’s children and of something happening to them. He wakes up crying but whether from love or guilt, he can’t tell. He knows they deserve better than him, but they also deserve to stay together. There’s a step outside his door and Zara walks in. Something about her makes him feel terrified. She introduces herself – she believes Arthur knew her father. Once they catch their breath, Mark tells the others they need to travel through the night. He only knows how to find his way by the stars. Emma holds her arm out to Cristina, but the rune Cristina places just disappears into Emma’s skin. Mark never tried to use runes in Faerie, so he doesn’t know if runes normally work. He pulls his seraph blade and names it, but nothing happens. That is not normal. Too late to turn back, they start to walk toward the Unseelie Court - through a land of people who hate them with none of their regular protections. Diana is furious when she realizes where Mark and the others have gone and breaks the news to Livvy, Ty, and Kit. They decide to tell everyone else that the others have gone to Shadowhunter Academy to retrieve something. Livvy assures her siblings and Diana that there is nothing to worry about, the others will be fine, but Kit has been watching the Blackthorns, and he can tell that she is worried. She just doesn’t want anyone else to worry. They take a walk along the beach with Ty. She’s impressed that Kit noticed that about her and when Ty climbs one of the rock faces, she asks Kit to kiss her. She’s never been kissed before and, to be fair, never thought she’d really get the chance. She doesn’t get to meet many new people. At first, Kit says no but he’s surprised to realize that he wants to kiss her – so he does. Then Diana calls them back inside. Mark explains to the others as they walk that the gentry usually like to stay in the Courts, but the wild fey live everywhere. It is through the wild fey’s land they’re currently traveling. Emma notices that all the villages they’ve passed have been shuttered and empty. They walk into a circle of land that looks diseased. The grass dissolves under their feet and everything inside the circle is a sick looking gray. Mark doesn’t know what is causing it, but he doesn’t want to linger inside. He finds them a place to rest and Emma hears a stream, but it isn’t made of water. It’s made of blood. According to Kieran, the blood of those murdered in the human lands flows through Faerie. Livvy wakes Kit up in the middle of the night. Ty just saw Zara sneak out and they’re going to track her. Using a hair clip that Zara had left lying around, they follow her to a cave in the bluffs. Kit can’t see, it’s too dark, but he doesn’t want a rune either. It feels too much like admitting he’s a Shadowhunter. The cave tunnel opens into a chamber where a table, chairs, and runed lights have been placed. Zara is sitting in front of the table going through some papers with a glass of wine. Manuel comes into the room and grabs the second chair. He had to wait until Rayan and Jon went to sleep since he didn’t want to be seen leaving. Zara shows Manuel the papers – a letter from her father, who was disappointed the Council let Mark stay with his siblings. Manuel says Mark (and the rest of the Blackthorns) are just minor annoyances. Getting rid of Mark is not the reason they’re there. Zara continues. Her father says the Cohort in Idris is strong, and they believe it’s time to take the Los Angeles Institute, since the Institute’s judgement is being called into question after what happened with both Malcolm and Nightshade. Plus, Zara has confirmed that Arthur is a lunatic. He thought Zara was someone named Amatis. So, her father will petition to have Arthur removed and to run the Institute with Zara at his side, and then they can propose the Registry. The Registry is the first step. Every Downworlder will have to wear a symbol indicating what they are. If the Downworlders don’t want to register willingly, they can be coerced. Zara and Manuel both seem excited at the prospect of coercion. He points out that she’s going to have to tell Diego her plans at some point, and Diego’s not going to like them. But then, Manuel has never known what Zara sees in Diego. Zara retorts that it’s a family alliance. They decide to go back before anyone notices they’re gone. When Cristina wakes up, she notices that Emma and Julian have crept closer together while they slept and are now holding hands. She calls out for Mark. He’s not sleeping. He can hear the music of a revel nearby, that’s the noise that woke Cristina up. She wants to see the revel, but Mark says they can be dangerous. She wants to go anyway; Mark insists the music is making her reckless. He follows her when she goes anyway. Cristina just wants to feel out of control for a minute, different than the woman who has been repeatedly fooled by Diego. The faeries invite Cristina to come and dance, and she slowly starts to give in, but Mark grabs her. She knows better than this. He asks what made her focus her studies on Faerie and she tells him it was him. She was thirteen when she heard that Mark had been abandoned to the Wild Hunt and Helen exiled. She’d worried about Mark since hearing he’d been taken. She decided then to do everything she could to end the Cold Peace. A faerie approaches them and offers them a drink. Cristina takes the golden colored glass and drinks a swallow before Mark knocks it out of her hand. Cristina starts to back up toward the center of the revel, where the music is louder and more tempting. She asks Mark to dance with her. He holds her tightly and tries to convince her to leave. Another faerie loops a ribbon around the two of their wrists and tells them to dance together. The ribbon won’t break. If Cristina moves, it only stretches like a rubberband. Mark leads her to the side, out of the revel where the music is faint, and slips under a copse of trees. He cuts the ribbon off their wrists. That could have been very bad. Cristina apologizes - but it wasn’t all her. Mark wanted to dance with her. She is one of the kindest people he has ever met. To think that when he was a boy, she worried about him though they hadn’t even met. She leans forward to kiss him. He lays down and she kisses his throat, his chest, she undoes his buttons and he is amazed that she would ever even look at him like this. She laughs, it’s amazing what an enchanted drink will do to a girl. He pulls away. That drink wasn’t enchanted. It was just regular juice. She only kissed him because she thought she was intoxicated. Not because she wants to or because she really likes him. She insists that she has liked him since they met, but then why would she have gotten back together with Diego? Maybe Mark can’t be with a human who lies so easily. She retorts that he’s lying too. Some lies have to be told. Mark and Emma’s relationship is an important lie. If Julian wasn’t in love with Emma, they wouldn’t have to lie at all. Whoops – Mark didn’t know that part. Mark pushes his way out of the trees and Cristina tries to follow him. She can see Julian standing on the hill overlooking the revel when she is clear of the trees. He heard the music and walked up the hill. He feels Emma come up behind him. She comes close and kisses him. When he pulls back, it’s not Emma but a faerie in disguise. Mark comes running at them, followed closely by Cristina. When the real Emma shows up, Julian is just glad the others didn’t see what he did. They saw him kissing a faerie woman. Livvy and Ty need to find out if what Zara said about Arthur is true, so they take Kit up to the attic. Arthur thinks that Kit is Stephen Herondale at first. He asks what sort of Herondale will Kit be? William or Tobias, like Jace or Stephen? Livvy tells him that the Centurions are going to try to take the Institute from him but Arthur laughs. He’s never run the Institute. Diana comes up behind the twins. It’s Julian who has been running the institute. Diana takes the kids to her office and explains that both she and Julian had hoped they’d never learned about Arthur’s true mental state. Both Livvy and Ty are stunned. Julian started covering for Arthur when he was twelve, all while raising his younger siblings. They tell Diana about Zara and Manuel. Diana has heard of the Cohort: a faction of the Clave who believes torture can (and should) be used to interrogate any Downworlders found breaking the Accords. They unwaveringly support the Cold Peace. She didn’t realize that Zara’s father was a member. Maybe they can find something to discredit the Dearborns and stop, or delay, their plan. Livvy suggests they speak to Diego and Diana wants to write to Alec and Magnus - who lead the Downworlder-Shadowhunter Alliance. They may have some ideas on how to stop the Cohort. Emma is hungry and thirsty and it’s not putting her in a good mood. Seeing Julian kiss the faerie woman so enthusiastically didn’t help. It broke her heart. He’s clearly moved past her. Cristina is also pretty grumpy and hangs back to walk next to Emma as the brothers forge ahead. She admits that she kissed Mark and Emma offers to break up with him. Cristina is in the middle of telling Emma that she accidentally told Mark about Julian’s feelings when Mark tells them to be quiet. The Unseelie Court is nearby. They soon find a group of tents and booths. An empty black throne sits in a pavilion, adorned with the broken crown hanging above a moon and sun. Mark points out some of the Unseelie King’s sons. Any girl children are killed when they’re born – the King has no use for them. Julian and Cristina try to find a closer vantage point and Mark takes his chance to tell Emma they have to break up. He knows why Emma wanted to pretend date him. Mark understands why she did it, but he refuses to be the person to cause Julian pain. Julian comes to collect them, but Mark sees something in the distance, and he moves to the edge of a clearing. The Unseelie Faeries have gathered in front of the throne, but Mark is looking at the pavilion. Two Unseelie princes stand with a figure falling down between them – Kieran. The prince with the beard is Prince Erec. He’s the King’s favorite and he likes hurting people. The other, with the raven necklace, is Prince Adaon. Kieran is brought to a tree and Erec, true to his reputation, is more violent than necessary. He binds Kieran to the tree with a rope of thorns. The ropes cut into Kieran’s skin, but he is beyond caring. Cristina looks appalled. The King arrives. When he turns, they can see his face fully. The right side is the face of a beautiful young man with a red eye. The left side consists of tight gray skin covered in scars and an empty eye socket. The King speaks to his Court. Kieran killed one of the King’s knights, Iarlath, on Unseelie Lands. They do not raise hands against one another – the penalty is death. Julian writes a message on Emma’s skin. Julian walks directly into the clearing. Kieran looks shocked as Julian is surrounded by the King’s knights. To kill him would be to incite war with the Shadowhunters. Julian claims he was sent by the Clave. Iarlath plotted with Malcolm Fade to kill members of the Fair Folk, but the King tells them the faeries killed were just Seelie Faeries. Woah, Julian thought the King was supposed to be rightful ruler of both Courts. In addition, Iarlath killed Shadowhunters while Kieran helped prevent further loss of life. The Shadowhunters owe him a debt and will not allow him to die. The King wants to know what Julian is going to do to stop them – but he didn’t come alone. The others enter the clearing. Julian demands a trial by combat but is told that only the Fair Folk can enter a trial by combat in Unseelie Lands. Erec refuses to allow Mark a trial since he is half Shadowhunter and loyal to the Hunt, not the Courts. Julian uses the faeries’ wordplay against them. Children and the mad are said to be faerie. It just so happens, two of the Shadowhunters are not fully grown. The King agrees to the trial, but he will choose who fights using a riddle. ‘You enter a cave. Inside is an egg lit from within and glowing. You know it beats in your dreams but when it splits, what emerges?’ Mark answers a rose with thorns; Cristina an angel with bloodied hands; Emma says a clean knife; and Julian says the bars of a prison cell. The King chooses Emma. For the Court, one of the princes will fight. He wears a helmet with wide eyes and a grinning mouth painted on it. Once the fight starts, no one can help the fighters. Whoever survives wins. The fight starts and the lack of runes is really wearing on Emma. She grabs a handful of dirt and throws it in her opponent’s face. She uses the moment of surprise to cut him on his legs and torso, making him fall onto his back. She’s told to remove his helmet and end the fight, but when she takes the helmet off, her father’s face is looking back at her. At the Institute, Kit leaves dinner as soon as he can. Things are getting even more tense around the Centurions. He’s really struggling with the idea of being a Herondale. Ty finds him sitting outside. He asks if Kit is trying to run away again, but he’s not. Ty wishes they could all run away. He hates having the Centurions around. They hear something break through the wards around the Institute. Ty names a seraph blade and hands it to Kit, who insists he doesn’t know what to do with it. Soon, Diana, Livvy, and the Centurions are on the porch. Diana sees the wave of sea demons coming toward them and tells the Centurions to get behind her. When Zara says they don’t take orders from her, Diana loses her calm. Zara’s family hid in Zurich during the Dark War, cowering while everyone fought around them. Diana has been in battle - shut up and get behind her. As the demons get closer, Kit feels something deep inside him fighting to get out. He’s fought demons before, and he will do it again. Kit throws himself at the demons as Arthur slams through the front door with a sword in his hand. He looks terrified, but ready to fight. He slices at a demon. Weirdly, the demons begin to retreat. Something is wrong. Out of the center of the demons, something that was once a man walks out. One side of his body has been eaten away by sea animals, and his skin is the gray-green of fish. His hair is nearly gone and what’s left is now white, as are his eyes. It’s Malcolm Fade and he’s holding a black bag. As the King and his court laugh at Emma, Julian gives orders. Mark will go to Kieran, Cristina to Emma, and Julian will sneak up on Prince Erec and press a dagger to the Erec’s throat. Malcolm laughs. It’s been so funny watching the Centurions search for his body. He pulls Jon Cartwright’s severed head out of his bag and throws the head into the grass. Killing Jon took only seconds. How long do you think it will take him to get Blackthorn blood so he can get Annabel back? Emma kneels next to her bleeding father. She won’t leave him in Faerie. She concedes the fight and the court roars with laughter. Arthur grabs Livvy and Ty, dragging them inside with him and locking the door. Malcolm just laughs. That’s certainly not going to stop him. Diana declares that they will not give up one of their own, but Malcolm knows the Clave has made sacrifices before. He’s disappointed he doesn’t see Emma, Julian, or Mark. He asks Diana to give Emma a message: he hopes the curse consumes them both. He gives them until the following night. Give up a Blackthorn or the coast will be decimated by his demons. In the meantime, they can fight those he’s brought with him. Then he vanishes. Mark makes his way to Kieran. The rest of the court has been distracted by Emma and Kieran was left unguarded. Kieran thinks that Mark is a vision sent to him as he is dying. Mark uses the elf-bolt Kieran wears to cut away the vines and insists to Kieran that he is not dying, he is escaping. He kisses Kieran, but fire arrows start to fly above them. One of the princes has noticed Mark and shoots an arrow directly at them. Kit fights against the demons with the other Shadowhunters, holding his own until Diana grabs him and shoves him towards the Institute doors. The Blackthorns need them. Diana stalks inside, Kit just behind her. The Unseelie King does not believe that Julian will kill Erec – the Shadowhunters have a code of armor – but Julian killed his own father. He has no problem killing Erec. Julian tells the King the Shadowhunters will leave, letting Erec go after a mile. If the faeries come after them, Julian will kill Erec. Julian tells the King to look him in the eye. Does he look like someone with anything left to lose? Inside the Institute, the Blackthorns are assembled in the atrium. Diana calls Catarina, she needs an emergency Portal opened. Catarina can only get them to London. Dru holds Tavvy and walks through the Portal. Ty double checks that Kit is coming with them (he is) before he and Livvy go through. It’s Arthur’s turn now, but he looks at Kit. He asks Kit to tell Julian thanks before pushing Kit into the Portal. Kieran swings around, covering Mark’s body with his own. The prince’s arrow hits Kieran near the shoulder, luckily it was not on fire. Mark throws a dagger and hits the prince in the thigh, dragging Kieran into the forest as the tents and banners start to catch fire. When they get to the trees, Kieran starts talking. He doesn’t remember anything since he saw Mark and Cristina talking in the kitchen and got jealous. Cristina runs to Emma, who is convinced that she is looking at her actual father. Cristina hands the knight her weapon, which is made of cold iron. When it touches the knight’s skin, the glamour fades and shows his actual face. Emma kills him. Cristina and Emma run toward the trees. They all meet in the trees, with Julian holding Erec just in front of him. Julian demands that Erec lead them to the nearest exit – even if that means going to Seelie lands. On the way, Erec asks where the rest of their friends are. He’s impressed by the fire arrows, he wondered how they would deal without their runes or seraph blades. Not that he’s going to tell them how the courts managed to take away the angel’s powers. Mark asks about the blight, but Erec isn’t giving them any information about that either. Soon Mark hears Kieran say Windspear’s name. Adaon gave him Windspear when he was very young, Kieran left him with the Hunt. He can almost hear Windspear’s hoofbeats. Mark hears it too. Not Windspear, many horses – it’s the King’s cavalry. Mark screams at Julian to run, Julian takes his eyes off Erec for just a moment, allowing Erec to run away. They don’t follow him. They run from the cavalry and vault over several stone walls. Kieran is too weak; Cristina helps Mark push him over the walls. Kieran’s wound has opened and he tells them to leave him behind. They refuse. Julian and Mark carry him between them. The cavalry is getting closer when they hill they are standing in front of suddenly has a hole in it that swings open like a door. A Seelie woman beckons them toward her. She tells them her name is Nene and she will aid them, not harm them. They enter the door, which seals behind them. Nene explains that now they are in the Seelie Court, so their angel powers work again to heal their friend. Kieran is now unconscious and Mark lays him on the ground. Emma interrupts, Kieran is not a Shadowhunter. Nene gives Kieran a potion that she brought. He wakes up after taking a little bit. Nene tells them that she is Lady Nerissa’s sister, otherwise known as Mark and Helen’s aunt. She spoke to Jace and Clary as they came through the Court, and heard what happened with Mark. The phouka on the Moon’s road is an old friend of hers. He recognized Mark and guessed what their plan was. When he told Nene, she and a few others of the Queen’s Guard came to help. They shot the fire arrows and then she ran ahead of them so she could get to one of the doorways first. She leads them to a room, forcing her way past a guard named Fergus. Fergus says they’ll have to meet with the Queen in the morning. She leaves Cristina and Mark with Kieran then shows Julian and Emma to a room. She asks them if they love Mark and Helen. Julian assures her that they do. Only after Nene leaves, reassured, do they realize there is only one bed in their room. Nene returns to Kieran and explains that there was monkshood on the Unseelie Prince’s arrow. Kieran will survive, but only because of the Wild Hunt’s magic. She gives them instructions for helping Kieran through the night and gives Kieran a potion to help him sleep. Mark tells Cristina that Kieran doesn’t remember the whipping or breaking up. He only knows he killed Iarlath because he was told. He still thinks that he and Mark are together. Just because Kieran doesn’t remember what he did, he still did them. Mark thinks it must be difficult for Cristina to be near Mark and Kieran, but Cristina is surprised to find that she doesn’t feel jealous or angry. In fact, she’s no longer mad about Diego either. All that seems so far away now. Besides, Mark shouldn’t be thinking about that now. Does he want Kieran to go back to the Hunt? Does he want to be separated from Mark? Mark isn’t sure what he wants. He’s needed Kieran for so long, he’s never stopped to think about what he wanted. Mark tells her they can’t let the guard down just because they’re in the Seelie Court. The only difference between the Courts is that the Seelie Court hides the evil they do and the Unseelie don’t bother. Mark holds her hand as they sit next to Kieran. Julian prepares himself mentally to share a room, a bed, with Emma. He wonders briefly why the universe hates him so much. When she returns from bathing, he can tell she’s been crying and she tells him she feels so stupid. She knew the faeries were full of tricks, how could she fall for her father’s face. But it did make her realize that so much of her life is not real. Cameron never made her happy, neither did the revenge she chased. Julian is one of the only things in her life that is real and she wants their relationship to go back to normal. It hasn’t been the same since she started dating Mark. Julian tells her that they chose each other when they were kids and when they became parabatai, and they will continue choosing each other. He will always choose her. She curls up next to him and shuts her eyes. She will always choose him too. Cristina wakes up next to Kieran’s bed. Mark is sleeping and they’re supposed to change Kieran’s bandage every two hours. She changes the bandage and the poultice, Kieran wakes as she finishes up and grabs her wrist. She gives him some water, but he doesn’t let her go. He tells her that he was ready to die. He asks her to stay with him as he falls back to sleep. Julian can’t sleep this close to Emma; he keeps thinking things he should not be thinking. He hears someone call to him – Julian, son of thorns. The Seelie Queen is at the foot of the bed, and she wants him to come with her. She has something to show him. The Queen leads Julian to her scrying glass, inviting him to look inside. A Blackthorn is about to put their life in great danger. Julian worries – is it Dru, Tavvy, one of the twins? He does not look until the Queen tells him that the Blackthorn is entering the convergence. Julian peers in and sees that it is Arthur. Arthur yells for Malcolm to come out. Malcolm was supposed to be dead, but you can never be sure a warlock is dead – especially one that dabbles in necromancy. Malcolm leads Arthur somewhere and the bowl goes hazy, showing the doors of the New York Institute, Jem and Tessa in a shadowy place, Jace and Clary sleeping in a green field, before showing Arthur and Malcolm in a new place - inside an old-fashioned church. Something moves on the altar. Arthur agrees to give his blood willingly if Malcolm promises to leave his family alone. Malcolm uncovers the altar and reveals Annabel’s body. She is moving. Arthur wonders if she will still love Malcolm after seeing what he has become. Malcolm slits his throat, holding his body so the blood drips on the altar, then allowing Arthur’s body to crumble to the ground. When Annabel opens her eyes, they are the same color as Julian’s - Blackthorn eyes. Malcolm is so happy, he steps toward her. Annabel picks the knife up from next to Arthur’s body and cries. Malcolm reaches for her, leaning to kiss her. Annabel stabs the knife deep into his heart. She takes the Black Volume of the Dead from next to Malcolm’s body, then leaves the church. The Queen points out that Fade didn’t even try to defend himself. The things we do for love. She explains that she wants to offer his group a bargain, but she wanted him to see this first. She won’t offer the bargain without everyone there, but there is something else Julian needs to know. Something he might not want Emma to hear. The Queen claims to know how to break the parabatai curse. This is what the phouka told him: in Faerie he would find someone that knows how the parabatai bond may be broken. Julian wants to know everything. Emma is woken when Faerie knights come to collect her. Julian isn’t there, but she feels better when she finds Mark and Cristina in the hallway, escorted by knights of their own. They’re brought to the Seelie Queen’s throne room, said to change with the moods of the Queen. Currently, it is empty and full of grayish smoke. The ceiling has small shoots of black lightning. Julian is already there. He calmly tells them that Malcolm had come back from death, killed Arthur, and then was killed by Annabel. Afterward, the Queen comes out to make her bargain. She wants them to find Annabel and bring her the Black Volume. She does not care about Annabel, though she warns the Shadowhunters that after being dead for so long, Annabel is probably mad. Mark asks what she wants with the Volume. The Queen explains that it is dangerous in the wrong hands. The Unseelie King has already blighted his lands with evil. He is also holding someone hostage that the Queen wants back. The Volume has more than just necromantic spells, including ones she can use to retrieve the Unseelie King’s hostage. Cristina politely asks what’s in it for them, and the Queen says they don’t want the Unseelie King to have it either – believe her. She explains that alliances change. The Unseelie King is a much bigger threat now. The Queen will help end the Cold Peace and return Helen to her family. In order to ally with the Queen, the Cold Peace must end. Julian asks for clarification. She will offer use of her lands to the Council, so they may defeat the King together. The Council will not turn her down, it’s the only way for them to bring the King down. She is not looking to take over the Unseelie lands either, but she has someone in mind as the next Shadow Lord – someone that will be much more friendly to the Nephilim. She asks Fergus to bring that person in. It’s Kieran, who immediately says no. The Queen laughs. She didn’t mean Kieran – Adaon. Adaon hates the Cold Peac and though he is loyal to the Unseelie King and abides by his decisions, that is only while the King lives. Kieran will be an envoy to the Clave. Kieran must swear loyalty to one of the Shadowhunters so that the Council will know that they are not being tricked as they were with Meliorn. Kieran doesn’t really have a choice. If he says no, he will be taken back to his father - who will kill him. It cannot be Mark. He is half faerie, but also because Kieran loves him and that complicates things. Kieran chooses to work with them because he wants his father dead, and he swears fealty to Cristina. The Queen tells them that they may speak to the Council and assure them of her help, but she will not move against the Unseelie King until she has the Black Volume. Julian does not want to wait for the Cold Peace to end before Helen is returned to them. He insists that the Queen demand Helen and Aline be her ambassadors. Kieran will give her message to the Council as he has agreed, but he will not go back and forth between the Council and Faerie. That will be for Helen and Aline to do. Again, the Queen has no room to make demands until she has the book. The bargain is made and the Queen encourages them to start looking at the places that meant something to Annabel. Learn about her, they have access to Blackthorn histories that no one else does. She does know that Fade had a house in Cornwall. The Queen calls in someone who has been waiting. Gwyn, escorted by Nene and another Queen’s Guard. He thanks Mark for saving Kieran and offers horses to take them to their family. They’re lead to wear five steeds wait - including Windspear, who both Mark and Kieran will ride. This is what the phouka promised Mark, that he would ride with the Wild Hunt again. Emma looks at the Queen before they takes off on their horses. Emma doesn’t trust her. While they fly, Julian realizes for the first time why Mark’s decision to stay with the Blackthorns may not have been easy. Flying is freedom. Mark must love them an awful lot to stay. At the London Institute, the Blackthorns are ordered to stay inside. They aren’t sure what’s going on with Malcolm, and they can’t be too careful. Diana called the Clave to tell them about Malcolm, but Zara had already called to assure the Clave that the Centurions had it covered. The Clave took her word for it and magically, no demons attacked on this shore – corroborating her story. Livvy worries that this will make it easier than ever for the Cohort to take control but the head of the London Institute, Evelyn Highsmith, tells her not to fret – Arthur has it covered. Not reassuring to those of them in the know. To cheer the twins up, Kit asks if they want to visit Baker Street but Diana shuts that down fast. No Blackthorns are leaving the Institute and actually, Diana didn’t like the way Malcolm was eyeing Kit, so no Herondales either. As the oldest sibling present, Livvy has been trying to emulate Jules, and she’s realizing just how hard he works. As Dru takes Tavvy to bed, there’s an explosion that almost sounds like a crack of thunder - the Wild Hunt. The Blackthorns are incandescent with happiness when they’re reunited. Ty wondered if Mark would return to them, but Mark assures him that he will never leave them like that again. Kit walks off to the side, feeling out of place, and is joined by Kieran. Gwyn, who escorted them, flirts shamelessly with Diana, who looks a bit awkward. She does agree to go to dinner with him. Gwyn leaves, while everyone else goes to the parlor. Mark tells them what happened: saving Kieran, the spots of blight and how the seraph blades didn’t work, the meeting with the Queen, what Julian saw. Kit just tries to keep up, whispering questions to the twins when he doesn’t understand. Diana and the twins disclose Zara’s plans for the Institute. They’ve been told that Arthur hasn’t left his office since the others left for London. Has Zara really not noticed that Arthur is gone or is she using his disappearance to her advantage? The Clave is very impressed with Zara. They need to find the Black Volume and get it to the Queen before the Cohort makes their move or the Clave may not agree to work with the Seelie Queen. Diana also wants to meet with Jia. Jia’s daughter Aline is married to the eldest Blackthorn, Helen, and Jia would understand what it would mean for Helen to be on some registry. She may have let the Cold Peace pass, but she had no other choice and perhaps she can help avoid something worse. At this point Evelyn, who has been in the room and appeared to be napping, snaps that Kieran should not be listening in to Shadowhunter business. She sends Kieran to a guest room. Once Kieran is gone, Julian whispers to Tavvy, who says he needs help finding his room. Evelyn shows him the way. Kit is impressed. He’s pretty sure Julian just used Evelyn to get rid of Kieran and then Tavvy to get rid of Evelyn, without anyone noticing. Julian addresses the rest of them. They need to play this carefully. They almost got in real trouble for speaking to the convoy that brought Mark home. But If they play their hand right, they could unseat the Unseelie King and put a better option of the Unseelie Throne (if Adaon agrees), make the Seelie Queen an ally (in as much as you can trust the tricky Fair Folk), and bring an end to the Cold Peace. It all hinges on Kieran. They need to protect him and not drive him off. He must not be told he and Mark broke up. Emma says not to worry about her, she and Mark didn’t work out. Julian suggests they all just avoid mentioning Kieran and Mark’s break up. Better not to lie if they can help it. Cristina is concerned about how this will affect Mark. Kit wonders who else Julian will lie to in order to get what he needs. Mark feels the pain of losing Emma very distinctly. They may not have actually been dating, but they had grown quite close as friends, and he no longer has an excuse to be near her like he had before. He hopes their friendship will persevere. When Mark enters Kieran’s room, Kieran is angry at how the Shadowhunters have treated him. He’s done nothing to deserve their suspicion. He has actually, but he doesn’t remember. Kieran can tell that something has changed between them, but Mark tells him they had an argument about Mark staying with his family. Now he has responsibilities to his family when before it was just him and Kieran. He’s lived for Kieran, but he never wondered if they were good together and he needs time to figure out his feelings. Mark does not mention how he feels about Cristina. Kieran agrees to give Mark a few days. Mark asks why Kieran chose to swear fealty to Cristina. Was it to upset Mark? Kieran only says that not everything is about Mark. Cristina is in her room when she notices that her wrist hurts. When she looks, she has a red band of skin around her wrist like a burn. Diana is worried about leaving them to speak to Jia. She instructs them to send a fire message to Alec and Magnus if they need help and explains that she would ask to run the Institute herself if she could, but she would never pass the interview. Julian already knows. He doesn’t know what’s stopping Diana, but he knows it’s important. She tells them to take care of themselves and keep in touch while she’s gone. Diana is nervous. She hasn’t been back to Idris since the Dark War. When she leaves, Julian rounds on Emma. He’s angry about how many Blackthorn brothers she’s discarded but he crosses a line when he suggests that Ty might be next. She storms away and neither one of them sleeps that night. Ty decides it’s time for Kit to get his first real rune. A permanent one. He might be able to see the supernatural already, but not as clearly as he could with the Voyance rune. Kit reluctantly goes through with it. Once it’s done, Ty wonders aloud where Malcolm’s house was in Cornwall. A voice behind them mentions that she could tell them exactly where it is. Kit turns. Like many Herondales before him, it appears that he can see ghosts. He can’t help but yell out when he sees Jessamine. Jessamine explains to Kit that she’s been trying to get their attention, but neither Ty nor Livvy can see her. This is why Ty wanted Kit to get the Voyance rune, but he didn’t say so in case it didn’t work. Jessamine can tell them exactly where Malcolm’s house was, he used to talk about it every time he came to the Institute. Ty guesses this is the ghost that protected Arthur and the London Institute from Valentine Morgenstern. Ty suggests they wake up Julian, but Jessie says he’s not sleeping. As they leave to find Jules, Kit asks Jessamine if she’s seen his father, but she hasn’t. Most people don’t become ghost - only those with unfinished business or who feel like they died owing someone something. She can’t say where Johnny has gone since she doesn’t know what comes after death, but he’s likely moved on and found peace. She doesn’t know for sure, but she thinks it’s nice on the other side. As she disappears to rest, she leaves something in Kit’s hand. A note telling him that he will be sorry if he steals any of the books from the library. Livvy tells Julian about Malcolm’s house in Polperro. He will take Emma and Cristina (as a buffer) to find the house the next day. Livvy, Ty, and Kit can go to Blackthorn Manor in London to research Annabel, as long as they take Mark with them. Kieran will just have to entertain himself at the Institute. Livvy has one more thing to tell him. They know he was running the Institute, and they aren’t mad at him for not telling them about that or about Arthur. She has realized that she wants to be like him and take care of people. She wants to run an Institute herself one day. There’s no one she’d rather be like. The thought that his siblings know his secret and don’t hate him for it is a huge weight off Julian’s shoulders. The next morning, Julian, Emma, and Cristina say a reluctant goodbye to the other Blackthorns. Julian reminds them that Mark is in charge (Mark is grateful for the second chance) and gives them all hugs before getting in the car. But the further they go, the more that Cristina acts like she’s in pain. Emma pulls her into a corner to see that Cristina’s arm is bleeding around the wrist. Iratzes do not help. Cristina tells them about the binding the faerie put around her wrist. It must’ve been stronger than Mark thought. It probably gets worse the farther away from Mark she gets. She insists that Julian and Emma go to Cornwall, she will go back to the Institute. As she gets closer to the Institute, Cristina’s pain fades. When they pull up, Mark rushes through the door toward her with blood soaking through the arm of his sweater. He pulls her into his chest and tells her they’ll figure it out and fix it. Cristina notices that the others are staring at them, Kieran included. Emma asks Julian if he’s still mad at her and he apologizes for what he said before. They joke a little bit, almost back to their normal selves. Mark takes Cristina to the infirmary where Kieran asks how they were bound. Mark explains that they didn’t ask for it. Kieran is jealous of whatever is happening between Mark and Cristina, so he kisses Mark in front of her. She doesn’t look away. When they break apart, Cristina points out that it would have been rude not to watch since he did it for her benefit. But if they’re done now, they should figure out how to break the binding. Kieran looks at her confused and storms out. Mark laughs – Cristina really gets under Kieran’s skin. Diana is waiting to see Jia in Idris and goes to her weapons shop, where she picks out new weapons for the Blackthorns. Manuel is sent to bring her to Jia. Diana is surprised to see him, he reveals that he was given an opportunity and took a job at the Gard. Of course, there are plenty of Centurions at the L.A. Institute still. As they walk, Diana is reminded of her sister and how much she misses her. Once they arrive at the Gard, Manuel says that Zara is more popular than ever since she killed Malcolm. He knows it’s not true, but he’d like to see Diana prove it. Cristina says she’s sorry that Kieran is mad at Mark, but Mark doesn’t blame her. Cristina has changed him and Kieran can feel that change, he just doesn’t understand how to deal with it. Cristina points out that Kieran is in a very difficult spot and Mark is his only ally here. It must be hard for him not to know what has changed between him and Mark. Mark leaves soon and Kieran returns. He apologizes for insinuating that Mark and Cristina were bound on purpose and asks to see her wound. He doesn’t know how to undo it, but Adaon might. He’s already sent Adaon a request to speak. Soon, there is the sound of someone Portaling into the parlor and Mark comes to find them. Emma and Julian arrive in Polperro and stop at an inn for lunch. They go over a map together and Emma points at a spot. The waitress says it’s called Chapel Cliff – the start of a coastal path. If they want to walk the path, it starts just above the caves. That sounds promising. The waitress tells them the caves can’t be seen at high tide. They’re old smugglers caves. The tide has gone down enough so they can see the caves now… and the house on the cliff above them. The windows are boarded up as if it’s abandoned, but Emma can see new shingles and white curtains in the windows when she looks past the glamour. And a name on the mailbox: Fade. Jia assumes that Diana has come to apply as the Los Angeles Institute head. She gives her condolences about Arthur, though she believes it was very brave of him to go to the convergence alone. Diana is not here for the job; she is here to request that the Dearborns not get the position. Diana suggests that Aline run the Institute. Helen could return as her wife and help raise her siblings. Jia would bring Aline home if she could. In fact, Jia thought about relinquishing her position as Consul when the Clave made their decision, but Jia did not trust who might succeed her. She continues to be Consul to protect Aline and Helen. She has requested that Helen be returned, the Council continues to vote against her. If Clary and Jace are in Faerie, they must’ve told Jia about the blight. Diana brings the blight up as proof that what she’s about to say is true. The Unseelie King hates the Shadowhunters and has found a way to make the angel’s gifts impotent. Kieran, a messenger from the Seelie Court and a son of the Unseelie King, is willing to testify of this in front of the Council. The Queen is willing to ally with the Shadowhunters to get rid of the Unseelie King and reverse the blight, in exchange for ending the Cold Peace. Everyone except the most bigoted of the Shadowhunters is sick of the Cold Peace. The Dearborns are some of the most prejudiced and should not be in a place of power. Jia knows about the Cohort and agrees that they can’t let the registry happen, but Zara is gaining admiration – especially since she killed Malcolm. Diana tells Jia the truth about Malcolm but cannot be questioned by the Mortal Sword. It would come out that the others went to Faerie. Jia believes Diana. She gives Diana Zara’s report about Malcolm’s death and the attacks on the Institute, hoping that Diana can find something to discredit Zara. Livvy, Ty, and Kit arrive at Blackthorn Manor. They find a ballroom that’s surprisingly clean, covered furniture, boarded up windows, boxes of clothes. They find the library. There’s nothing inside, but Ty has a feeling that something is here. They find a small piece of paper sticking out of the edge of the desk. It’s just the name Herondale and Blackthorn written over and over again, entwined together. Ty points out the only piece of art in the room, the bust of Homer. Ty pulls a dagger out and jabs it into the statue’s eye. He reminds them that Homer was blind, but this statue’s eyes were open. On further inspection, the eyes were made of plaster while the rest was marble. Inside Homer’s eye socket, Ty finds a large alatheia crystal. It’s a way of capturing memories. Inside, they can see a woman’s face that they believe is Annabel. They don’t know how to access what’s stored inside but they need to find out – it could help Julian. Kit suggests they take the crystal to the Shadow Market. He may be able to find someone to help them. They delay for a second, but they decide to go. Julian and Emma get supplies and make their way to Fade’s house. There is a visual glamour, but also a glamour that makes them feel like they should stay away - an emotional glamour. They have to hold hands and work together to get through. Inside, the house is not a wreck at all, it appears to have been tenderly cared for and renovated. As Julian puts their things away, Emma searches the desk in the office. She hears a floorboard that creaks and finds a trapdoor. Upon opening it, she finds a bunch of books. A large one is actually Annabel’s portfolio, displaying sketched scenes from around the island. She was a good artist. There’s also sketches of Malcolm. The smaller books are Malcolm’s diaries. They learn that Malcolm was taken in as a ward to the Blackthorns around eight. In it, he says that he chose the name Malcolm Fade for himself. He references Annabel several times. It’s clear he loved her even at that young age. They decide to go through the diaries and see if they can spot any other places important to Malcolm and Annabel. Kit tells Ty and Livvy to hide their Marks and keep their hoods up inside the Shadow Market. Ty keeps his headphones around his neck; he needs to stay alert. Kit notices that there are no faeries around, the Markets are usually full of them. Ty points out that’s not strictly true. There are small faeries (pixies, nixies, brownies) kept in cold iron cages that cause them pain. Ty can’t leave them like that, they’re probably being sold for blood and body parts. A warlock named Hypatia Vex steps forward and tells them to leave – she clocks Livvy and Ty as Shadowhunters. Kit insists that he was sent by Barnabas Hale to speak to a warlock about a magical item that Livvy and Ty have in their possession. Someone speaks up from inside a tent nearby and claims he is the warlock they were sent to see. Before she leaves, Hypatia tells them if it weren’t for the Cold Peace, those faeries wouldn’t be in cages at all. When they enter the tent, the warlock introduces himself as Shade, though he admits it’s not his actual name. They’ve piqued his interest by mentioning Barnabas Hale’s name and he recognizes Kit as the Lost Herondale. They give him the alatheia crystal, and he murmurs over it In Latin. The crystal begins to project images against the tent’s wall. Annabel Blackthorn bound to a chair in the center of an auditorium. The Inquisitor at the time (who Shade says was a Centurion) accuses Annabel of consorting with her family’s ward Malcolm Fade, who she helped to steal the Black Volume of the Dead from the Cornwall Institute. He reveals that Malcolm has disappeared from his cell in the Silent City and abandoned Annabel. He used her for the book. Annabel doesn’t believe them. Malcolm only wanted the book to protect them from the Clave. They refuse to question her with the Mortal Sword, claiming that she would taint it with her filth now that she has consorted with a warlock, instead choosing to torture her until she tells them what they want to know. The scene ends just as Annabel begins to scream, but there is another scene afterward. It is the same auditorium, but it shows only the Inquisitor with a group of men. The Inquisitor asks Felix Blackthorn where Annabel is. She was supposed to be sent to the Iron Citadel, but she never arrived after being allowed to tell her family goodbye. Annabel’s father, Felix, insists that Annabel is dead to them. Her family isn’t hiding her. Another man, a Herondale, says that Malcolm Fade has become an indispensable ally to the Nephilim since Annabel went to join the Iron Sisters. That will likely end if Malcolm believes that Annabel was harmed. The Inquisitor, a Dearborn, does not like it but they cannot risk losing Malcolm’s help. He believes Felix killed Annabel but will not do anything about it. Kit is astonished to see that Herondales helped to cover up Annabel’s murder, but he can’t dwell on it for long. Barnabas Hale is there asking what business Kit has throwing his name around. Barnabas could have sworn he told Kit not to come back to the Shadow Market, but Kit points out that this is a different Shadow Market and not under Hale’s jurisdiction. However, Hypatia is in charge of this Market, and she doesn’t want them there either. Hale accuses Kit not only of bringing Shadowhunters to the Market with him, but of being one himself. Kit insists that he is Johnny Rook’s son, not a Shadowhunter! They didn’t come to spy. None of their group are in favor of the Cold Peace, they just needed a warlock’s help. Hale tells them to use the Shadowhunter’s pet warlocks for what they need, those that have sold out and betrayed the rest of Downworld. The rest of the Shadow Market begins to inch closer. Tensions are getting high and Shade tries to calm everyone down. A war like this will help no one. No one cares. Barnabas tells the Shadow Market to finish them. Emma reads aloud to Julian from Malcolm’s diary, which recounts how the Blackthorns were unkind to him and only took him as a ward because it would be useful to have a warlock in their pocket. Only Annabel was different. Emma eventually falls asleep and just before Julian decides to lay down as well, he hears a thumping coming from outside. When he goes to investigate, he finds Annabel standing in front of the porch in a cloak. She calls him by his name. Kit throws a knife at Barnabas, hitting him in the shoulder as the Shadow Market explodes. Not all the denizens of the Market are fighting against the Shadowhunters, but most of them are. Kit thinks they’re doing pretty well, they might even fight their way out, but then Livvy is hit by something and starts bleeding copiously from her side. Suddenly, Magnus Bane is there. He tells everyone to stop. Barnabas is not happy to see him. Magnus has made a lot of enemies fighting with the Shadowhunters, but he’s stronger than everyone there (possibly combined) and he’s furious. They went against Shadowhunters who are children when they hadn’t even broken the Accords. He gives the Market two choices. 1) Fight him and lose, and when Magnus is done beating them, he will call the Council. 2) Walk away and let him and the Shadowhunters leave, and the Council will not hear of it. They choose option two. Ty is panicking at the sight of Livvy. Magnus ensures Ty that she will be alright if they can get her back to the Institute where Magnus can help her. Ty asks Kit to carry Livvy but right before Ty goes through Magnus’ Portal, Ty opens the faerie cages, releasing them all. Annabel explains that the nearby piskies were friends of Malcolm’s a long time ago and told her that Julian was there. She can no longer come inside the cabin since she killed Malcolm. She tells Julian that she doesn’t remember her death or what happened after. She’s only recently discovered how much time Malcolm spent trying to bring her back. How the Unseelie King told Malcolm about the Black Volume and the means to steal it, how the King had Malcolm create spells that would weaken the Nephilim in return. It is because of Malcolm that the runes and seraph blades do not work in Unseelie lands. The King wants to extend that to the whole world and rule over everything himself. To turn the Shadowhunters into those that are hunted. Five years ago, when Malcolm killed Emma’s parents, it woke Annabel’s mind – if not her body. She was trapped in her tomb, screaming silently, but able to hear Malcolm when he spoke to her. He betrayed her by bringing her back. And now, she has come to stop Julian from trying to get the Black Volume. He insists that he will not give it to the King, that he will keep the book safe, but Annabel insists it has no use except for evil. Julian’s family may be destroyed if he doesn’t get the book, but so much more will be destroyed If he has it. Suddenly Emma appears in the doorway, Cortana in her hand. Annabel races to the cliff’s edge and throws herself off, vanishing before she hits the water. Magnus Portals right to the Institute library where Alec is waiting. He’s astonished by how much Kit looks like Jace. Mark bursts in, worried about Livvy, but Magnus explains that she is going to be okay. She was cut with glass that had poison on it, but he can treat her for the poison. Once Magnus clears the poison from her system, he moves her to her room to deal with the cut and the blood loss. She shouldn’t have an iratze right now. Iratzes draw a small amount of strength from the recipient, and she can’t afford to lose any right now. If she had a parabatai, she could use the parabatai to draw strength from, but she doesn’t. He sends Alec and Kit to the infirmary for supplies. Alec makes small talk, mentioning how Jace came to see Kit before leaving on his mission. Jace was nervous to meet Kit. He’s never had any family of his own and he wanted Kit to like him. Kit’s surprised – he’s nobody. Alec says that’s not true. He’s a Herondale. He matters to the Shadowhunters. Cristina was with Alec and the kids when she heard the commotion in the library and Alec ran out, but Cristina decided to stay with the children unless she was needed. When Alec and Magnus come back in, they explain that Livvy had been hurt and Cristina runs to Mark’s side. Mark believes he cannot take care of his siblings. This wouldn’t have happened if Julian were there. Cristina tells him not to be too hard on himself. Most Shadowhunters are running missions at their age. They knew they weren’t supposed to go to the Shadow Market and they went anyway. There’s nothing Mark could have done. Their faces are close enough to kiss, and he asks Cristina to stay with him that night, but she insists that she can’t and leaves the room. Julian fills Emma in on what Annabel said before they fall asleep. When Julian wakes up, Emma is pressed up against his side. When Kit first came to the Institute, Ty used to sit outside of his room. He didn’t want to invade Kit’s space but was curious. Now, Kit is sleeping on the floor outside of Livvy’s room as Ty keeps watch beside her bed. Worried, but not wanting to intrude. He’s woken up when Ty barges out of Livvy’s room and takes off running. Kit follows. Ty wanted to go to the Scholomance, so he wouldn’t become Livvy’s parabatai. If he had, he could have helped her the night before but because they aren’t bonded, he had to sit by and watch and worry and do nothing. Because he was selfish. Kit asks how he can help and Ty asks Kit to hold him. Not softly, tightly so that Ty can really feel it. Kit wraps his arms around Ty and can feel Ty close his hands in Kit’s sweater, his head on Kit’s shoulder. He holds Ty tightly, tighter than he’s ever held anyone, as Ty relaxes in his arms. Diana goes back to her room and flips through Zara’s file. Zara claims that the Centurions chased Malcolm away when he attacked but that she found him as she patrolled that night and beat him in a swordfight. Malcolm was a warlock; he had no need to fight with a sword. Her report is seconded by Dane and Samantha. There are more reports and Diana starts to see a pattern. Zara’s accomplishments happen when no one but her closest comrades, Samantha, Dane, or Manuel, are there to see it. Yet somehow, she’s never been hurt in battle. Then Diana reaches Marisol’s report. Marisol claimed to have stopped a Druj demon from attacking a group of mundanes but was knocked unconscious in the process. Zara claimed Marisol’s victory and was backed by Jessica, Samantha, Dane, and Manuel. They claimed that Marisol was imagining things. Diana realizes that Zara is claiming other people’s victories just as she hears a knock at her second story window. Gwyn is hovering on the other side. He asks her to come for a ride with him, and she climbs out the window. Kit is the last person to arrive at breakfast the next morning. Everyone is there except Evelyn, who Magnus says has gone to stay with Great-Aunt Marjorie. The London Institute has been temporarily placed in Alec’s care. Kieran joins them all in the library where Magnus gives the lay of the land. Malcolm, who was dead, then not, but is now very dead again, used the Black Volume to bring back Annabel Blackthorn, who was also dead but now is not. Annabel now has the Volume, but the Seelie Queen wants it. The deal was: if they give the Seelie Queen the Black Volume, she will use it against the Unseelie King. She has sworn not to hurt the Shadowhunters, but to help them, and has made Kieran her messenger. He can attest to the Unseelie King’s plans to go to war with the Shadowhunters. Once the Queen has the Volume, she will allow her soldiers to fight with the Shadowhunters against the Unseelie King, which will require the Clave to end the Cold Peace. They hope to bring the Cohort down in the process. Magnus agrees that they cannot be allowed to control an Institute, but he also doesn’t like giving the Volume to the Queen. Julian already told his siblings what he and Emma learned from the diaries, so they know that Malcolm stole the Black Volume from the Cornwall Institute originally to trade for protection for himself and Annabel, and then from the Los Angeles Institute centuries later with the Unseelie King’s help. Why Malcolm would write his traitorous plans with the Unseelie King in a diary? How did he disappear from his cell in the Silent City when Annabel was being tortured and killed? Who was he going to trade the Volume to when he first stole it? Magnus brings them to attention, enough hypothesizing. They need to free Mark and Cristina from their binding spell – it could be a danger to them both. Kit, Ty, and Livvy can go to a shop in London to get Magnus supplies to break the binding. While they do that, the others will do research in the library on the Black Volume. Plus, Julian and Emma asked them to find out how to catch piskies. Emma wakes up with Julian wrapped around her and tries delicately to separate herself, succeeding only in falling off the bed and waking Julian up. By the time she showers and he makes them breakfast, Mark has texted them instruction on finding piskies. Dru is hiding under a desk thinking about how much her life sucks because everyone thinks she’s too young to do anything when Jaime Rocio Rosales drops into the room. She recognizes him by his family ring. He flirts with her and calls her pretty. Dru is curvier than most Shadowhunters and though her body is strong and capable, her Great-aunt Marjorie and others like to call her fat. It’s nice to be called pretty. Jaime explains that he’s there to speak to Cristina, but she can’t know he’s there yet. No one can. He thinks he knows of someone who committed a crime and he’s on the run. But before he speaks to Cristina, he needs to speak to Diego. Dru, charmed, agrees to help him. Emma and Julian set out their bait of milk, bread, and honey and wait for the piskies to come. As expected, they fall right into Julian and Emma’s trap. Gwyn sets out a picnic and Diana finds him surprisingly easy to talk to. She asks why women do not ride with the Hunt. He tells her that Rhiannon’s Ladies did once ride with them, but they were too savage. They left the Hunt and became Adar Rhiannon instead, or the Birds of Rhiannon. They’re called Valkyrie by some. He asks how Mark is doing and she admits that he misses the Hunt. Gwyn explains that his heart was never with the Hunt. Mark misses the freedom and the open sky, and maybe Kieran. He does not believe that a love ever fully dies, there are always the signs it existed. She wouldn’t know, she has never loved like that. He comments that he thinks it would be an honor to be loved by her. She scoffs, he barely knows her. She is so discombobulated that she starts to pace and then she sees it – a circle of land turned gray, everything inside the perimeter dead. The blight has broken free from Faerie. Mark falls asleep while researching and Kieran sends him a dream; he has done it before when they were in the Wild Hunt. In the dream, Kieran wishes that Mark would not be so distance - he doesn’t understand what has come between them. When Mark wakes up, he insists that this is where he wants to be. He can’t help but wonder, if they had not both been forced into the Hunt, would they have found their way together? Would they have chosen each other if they’d had any other choice? Mark says they will find a way to release Kieran from the Wild Hunt if that’s what he wants. Maybe if they were both free, they could decide if they wanted to be with each other. Ty, Livvy, and Kit are sent to the shop of F. Sallows to get ingredients for Magnus. On their way, Kit asks if he’s required to attend the academy to become a Shadowhunter. Ty offers to tutor him. Kit has a decent base of knowledge since he always had the sight, but he will have some subjects to catch up on. When they arrive at the shop, they find that Sallows has been dead for years. It’s now run by Hypatia, who is less than delighted to see them but does agree to sell them what they need. Ty stays to ask Hypatia a question as Kit and Livvy wait outside. Neither Livvy nor Kit has asked for a repeat performance of their kiss. Livvy is very pretty and he likes her, but not like that. Livvy has noticed that Ty wears his headphones less when Kit is around as if he wants to be sure to hear what Kit has to say. Livvy wants to make sure Kit has good intentions. In the past, people that Ty thought were his friends have treated him needlessly cruel, and she warns Kit not to lie to Ty or lead him on. The piskies are suspicious of Julian and Emma but do eventually relent and tell them that Annabel is staying at Porthallow Church - where she feels safe. The church has been empty for years, but today is Sunday so people will come visit graves. The piskies say it is close by, one of the piskies says its ‘killing close’, whatever that means. Dru takes Jaime to her room so he can shower, and she gets him food from the kitchen. He flirts with her when she gets back. She has always looked older than her age and she does not inform him that she is only thirteen. It feels good to have his attention. He notices the horror movie memorabilia she has, and she admits that she likes scary movies. They don’t scare her. She lived through the Dark War and was in the Gard when it was breached. In movies, unlike in real life, the horrors will end. Jaime wonders what the world would look like if the scary things didn’t exist. Emma and Julian spend the afternoon reading Malcolm’s diaries – learning how Malcolm built the cottage in Polperro, how he and Annabel spoke by sending messages with her raven, how Felix discovered their relationship and threw Annabel out, how Malcolm found her the next day crying on the beach. They occasionally take pictures of the diary and text them to the Institute. Julian understands Malcolm better. Being in this cottage with Emma, just the two of them living life together, is what Julian dreams of. He’d have everything he wanted if he had this and his family close to him. But that will never happen, that would require Helen and Aline too. And even if his family made it intact through whatever danger is coming and Helen and Aline were free to come home, Julian would never have Emma. She will have her own life, her own family. Not with him. He thought they would argue, but they haven’t. This is so much worse. It’s perfect, and it shows him how his life could be. Mark wakes up to pain in his wrist and goes to find Cristina. She’s in the ballroom, which her mother once said was the most beautiful room she’d ever seen. Now it’s lonely and empty. Mark invites Cristina to dance. With her phone, she plays a song, but it isn’t slow. Cristina dances like a fire around him, forcing Mark to chase her. When he catches her, he kisses her deeply, but she dances away again - teasing. He prowls toward her, his need for her is palpable. She giggles as if she knows. But when she looks up, she sees Kieran behind Mark. Kieran offers to show Mark how a dance should really be danced. He and Cristina dance this time and when they’re done, Kieran is smiling. He kisses Cristina on the cheek before leaving. Kit is startled out of sleep by Ty. He’s had an idea about the raven that Malcolm and Annabel used to send messages. An actual raven seems unreliable, but what if they had something magical. When Ty spoke to Hypatia Vex, she had told him that there is a secret, unregulated Portal in the London Institute that goes to the Cornwall Institute. It’s been there for ages - it may be the first Portal ever made. Ty doesn’t want Livvy to come (it could be dangerous, and she’s already been hurt because of him), but he asks Kit to join him. The Portal isn’t behind any of the tapestries, but then Ty finds a tapestry that shimmers when he touches it. Not a tapestry at all. When Ty holds his hand out to Kit, Kit takes it and follows Ty through. They arrive outside the abandoned Cornwall Institute. There aren’t enough Shadowhunters to man all of the Institutes after so many were killed in the Dark War, this is one of the unfortunate Institutes that has been put aside. In the garden, they find a statue of a boy holding a raven. Ty puts a note inside the raven’s mouth, just to see what happens. He asks Kit to keep it a secret. It doesn’t bother him if Kit knows, but he doesn’t want everyone to know if he is wrong. Kit notices that Ty murmurs to himself and Ty explains that he repeats words that he likes to help his mind quiet. He gives Kit some examples. Kit has a couple favorite words himself. Whisper is one for them both. And just like that, Kit knows that he is not running away ever again. Wherever the Blackthorns are - that is where his home is now. The next morning, Julian and Emma prepare to go to Porthallow Church. Julian finds out that it is on a cliff-top, built on a junction of ley lines. A junction is a crossing of two lines, so they are powerful, but not as powerful as a convergence where all the ley lines in an area converge. When Julian breaks the lock and opens the church’s door, he recognizes it as the place where Malcolm raised Annabel. Where Arthur died. Julian spots a folded piece of paper pinned down with a knife near the altar. It has Julian’s name on it. In the note, Annabel explains that Julian has failed a test. She’s not actually living in the church, but she knew that Julian would look for her even though she had asked him not to. Now she’s going to show him what the Black Volume can do, it’s better that he know. Cristina is in the library when she sees Kieran sneak out of the Institute and decides to follow him. He meets with Adaon. Adaon asks what Kieran is up to. Their father assumed he had fled to be with the Shadowhunters to avoid further punishment and Adaon assumed that was true. Kieran wants to know how to undo a binding spell. Love should be freely given and not forced. It’s too bad Kieran was sent to the Wild Hunt. Adaon always thought he’d have made a good king – and the Court loved him. Kieran didn’t ever want to be king, but he thinks that Adaon would be a good choice. Before Adaon can respond, someone grabs Cristina from behind and puts a knife to her throat. Julian and Emma look around, but all they see are shadows. One shadow in particular introduces itself as Sabnock of Thule. It smiles and Emma can see blood red teeth but otherwise, it’s only shadows. She fights with Cortana but only manages to get scratched by the demon’s teeth. Julian climbs to the rafters and opens a space to let in the light, destroying the shadow demon. Afterward, he marches outside and catches a piskie. The little piskie insists that they were told that the Shadowhunters would hurt them and kill them, so they locked the doors to the church like they were supposed to. They need to go to the cabin and clean Emma’s wound before healing it, but before that, Julian wants to burn the church down. It is Erec who grabbed Cristina, he must have followed Adaon. Kieran tries to get Erec to let Cristina go, but Erec loves hurting people. He tells Kieran to prove his loyalty. If Kieran kills Cristina, Erec himself will petition the King to let him come back. He can’t stay with the Shadowhunters for much longer anyway – the King has sent Mannan’s Seven to find the Black Volume. Kieran lashes out with a blade but kills Erec. Adaon tells Kieran to get back to the Institute where he will be safe… at least for now. They must hurry, the wind is blowing forebodingly, but Cristina can’t move quickly. So, Kieran picks her up and carries her to the Institute. Kieran knows he has hurt Mark somehow, but he doesn’t know how. He also knows that Mark has feelings for Cristina, but it doesn’t bother him. He likes Cristina. She is kind and good, and that seems to make all the difference. Mark meets them at the door of the Institute, quickly followed by Magnus. Kieran demands to know if Magnus’ children are at the Institute. They are in grave danger; there’s no time to explain. The King has sent his hunters – but the Institute should keep them safe. They aren’t all at the Institute. Ty, Livvy, and Kit are still getting supplies. Livvy, Ty, and Kit decide to walk back to the Institute and Ty points out Traitor’s Gate. Livvy comments that Dru would like to see that, but she barely comes out of her room anymore. Livvy feels like Dru is hiding something. She notices three riders in the sky. Kit wonders why the Wild Hunt is there, but it can’t be the Hunt. The Hunt only rides at night. Ty gets a bad feeling, it feels like these riders are coming straight for them. The three riders land in a circle around the Shadowhunters and one of them, Eochaid, says they have come for the Black Volume. When Ty says they don’t know where it is, Karn explains. They have never failed to do the Unseelie King’s bidding – they spare no one, regardless of age or infirmity. Either the three of them will tell the Riders where the Black Volume is or they will become the Riders’ prisoners and bargaining chip. Dru feels like hiding Jaime, an important mission she’s been given. As if she’s not too young to be useful. Jaime explains that he can’t stay much longer but he does hope they will remain friends. Emma points out a problem: how do you burn a stone building? Julian has faith that their runes are strong enough to destroy this building. He recommends that she put her hands on his shoulders, just in case it helps. Emma does so. She knows that Julian doesn’t love her. She saw that in the way he kissed the faerie woman. But it’s really going to hurt when they can’t make a rune powerful enough to burn the church. The first two tries fail, but then Emma wraps her arms around Julian and pushes herself against his back in a tight hug. This time when Julian draws the rune, the building catches fire. Mark is very worried. The Riders of Mannan are the assassins of the Unseelie Court who sleep beneath a hill until they are called upon. They’re terrifying and they will stop at nothing to follow orders. The kids haven’t answered any messages or calls, nor are the tracking runes working. They have nothing to track them with since all their possessions are either on them or in L.A. Mark panics and breaks the acorn, calling Gwyn. Gwyn is not happy – that acorn was for Diana, and unmoved by their predicament. Kieran insists that everyone will believe the Wild Hunt has thrown in their lot with the Unseelie Court if Gwyn doesn’t help. Gwyn agrees to try to find the kids. In the meantime, Magnus needs to get Julian and Emma from Cornwall. Diana tells Jia and Robert that she saw the blight in Idris and Robert goes out to investigate. He takes samples. He took Jia’s husband Patrick, plus a couple of Centurions (including Manuel) with him, this way they can’t lie about what they saw. When Robert leaves, Diana confronts the papers that Jia gave her about Zara Dearborn. Jia knows that Zara lies, but she can’t prove it. She also knows that Diana and Julian are hiding things, but she’s also tired of the Cold Peace and willing to work to tear it down. Jia tells Diana something confidential: Aline and Helen monitor the wards from Wrangel Island. They reported seeing dark spots of evil magic in the area of Brocelind where the blight is not, but when Jia investigated, she saw nothing. Maybe the blight wasn’t visible yet. Diana gets an acorn message from Gwyn telling her to meet him outside the city - the Blackthorn children are in danger. Emma doesn’t say anything until they get back to the cottage. When Julian asks why she’s so quiet, she reveals that she knows he is still in love with her. He doesn’t understand what that has to do with anything after she left him and then dropped Mark too, both of them discarded like nothing. Maybe none of this was ever real for her. That hurts and she gets angry. He has no idea what she has given up, or why, or what she’s trying to do. He could have a good life without her. She thought he was over her when he kissed that faerie girl, that makes him laugh. That faerie girl was a shape changer. He thought he was kissing Emma that whole time. He’s wrecked. He wishes it wasn’t Emma, but it is and he doesn’t get to fall in love with someone else. He wants her to know what it feels like to desperately want someone with every ounce of who you are, every moment of your day. To know that they’re the only person to make you truly happy. To dream about them in the daytime and at night… like he does with Emma. He thought she loved him too, but he was so wrong. She turns and leaves the cottage before she says something she shouldn’t. Emma is outside when she hears a horn, but she knows instinctively that it isn’t the Wild Hunt. The faeries introduce themselves – Emma has never heard of Mannon’s Riders. Fal explains that they are the sons (and one daughter) of the god Mannan. They have come for the Black Volume, which Emma insists she does not have. Soon, Julian is there for backup. If they don’t have the Black Volume, the Riders will accept Fade’s documents instead. Julian realizes they can’t get into the cottage to retrieve the documents themselves. When one of the Riders threatens the Blackthorns, Emma attacks. Julian tries to use a seraph blade on one of the Riders, but the blade splinters like ice on the rider’s armor. Fal has Julian backed up to the edge of the cliff, Emma attacks him from behind. She is able to push Cortana into his back and kill him. The other riders feel his loss. They retreat, riding away on their horses, but Ethna (the lone sister) glares at Emma with an unsaid promise – she will pay for killing Fal. Meanwhile, Livvy tells the other two to run and then throws herself over the railing separating the walk from the river. Ty and Kit follow, landing not in the river, but on a small cement platform. Ty is trying to text as he readies himself for a fight. When the Riders follow them, Eochaid grabs Kit and looks at his face. He says he recognizes Kit. Theyn Eochaid is flung into the river as Gwyn and Diana appear. Gwyn declares that the children are under his protection. The Riders call him a traitor just as they feel Fal die. They leave to ride to their siblings’ sides. Emma and Julian go inside. Emma is stunned by what she did. She says she thought that Fal was going to kill Julian and she couldn’t let that happen. Because of what he feels for her, what she feels for him. She tried to make him not love her anymore. But she’ll never have another boyfriend, it will only ever be him. He kisses her and it’s like they’re starving for each other. He tells her not to say anything else right now. He’s been broken for weeks and just for a moment he wants to feel whole again. As Gwyn tries to find Livvy, Ty, and Kit, the others search the Institute for Dru. They split up and search in quadrants. Dru comes out when Cristina is alone and asks her to come see something important. She takes Cristina to Jaime, who has been waiting to see her. She slaps him. How dare he go missing and scare everyone like that! He tells her she has every reason to hate him, but he came to give Cristina a letter from Diego. Zara is watching Diego’s mail. Jaime explains that he only wanted to take over the Institute to get his own family out of trouble, and that Diego’s engagement is a façade. The Rosales family has always had a relationship with Fair Folk, but when the Cold Peace started, they were directed to turn any faerie relics over to the Clave. Jaime’s family did not. They have an heirloom, the Dearborns know they have it and they want to use it. They said that only a Rosales can make the object work and agreed to an engagement to keep the Dearborns placated, they would wait until Zara became a Rosales and could use the heirloom herself. Then when no one was paying attention, Jaime took the heirloom and disappeared with it. He’s been hiding for months. Diego has been trying to find the Cohort’s weaknesses while Jaime tries to figure out how the heirloom works. He knows it allows you to enter Faerie undetected, but no one knows how it works. Jaime can’t tell Cristina where he is going next, but word on the street is that the Blackthorns are going up against the Cohort. If there’s a fight, send him a fire message. Jaime wants to be a part of it. Jaime hugs Cristina hard before disappearing through the window. Gwyn drops Kit, Ty, Livvy, and Diana off to the Institute roof, but he can’t stay – there’s too much to do. Alec says that Magnus has gone for Julian and Emma. When he’s back, they will take Max, Rafe, Tavvy, and Dru to Alicante for their safety. Diana invites them to stay with her instead of with Robert, harder for the Cohort to notice they’re there. Kit hit his head in the fight and he passes out. Alec carries him to a bed. Julian and Emma cuddle on the bed and Emma finally tells Julian everything. About her fake relationship with Mark and about what happens when two parabatai fall in love with each other. Julian tells her that the Seelie Queen says she knows of how to break the parabatai bond, but she didn’t tell him. She did say the Black Volume holds the key to the parabatai bond, and that the ritual can break their bond - but every other parabatai bond as well. With a crack, Magnus is in the cottage. He definitely notices that they’re clothed but in questionable circumstances. He doesn’t say anything about it but tells them they need to get back to the Institute. He’s going to ward it again and it will be the safest place, apart from Alicante. He has never heard of anyone killing a Rider before. He looks at the two of them sympathetically as he Portals them back to the Institute. When Dru sees Cristina next, Cristina thanks Dru for helping Jaime. Dru goes to her room to have a second to think and finds Jaime’s duffel bag still there. She sees something gold at the bottom and reaches for it; the moment she touches it she is no longer in her room. She is underground and a boy about her own age is yelling at her. He wants to know who she is and why she’s there. He grabs a dagger. Dru doesn’t know how to go back. Then she can hear someone calling her name and the room starts to melt away. She falls into darkness and lands in her own room. It almost felt like Portaling. Mark opens her door, he was calling for her. Jules and Emma are back. Diana tells Gwyn to go to her apartment above the weapons shop in Alicante and she meets him there. Gwyn has questions. He wonders why Diana doesn’t become head of the L. A. Institute since she would do a good job, or why she pulls away from him when he would like to kiss her, or why she hides her heart. He wouldn’t bother her if she didn’t like him. She gives him a book detailing how a Shadowhunter becomes head of an Institute. As the applicant, she would hold the Mortal Sword and the Inquisitor would ask her the questions detailed in the book. Is she a Shadowhunter – yes; was she born a Shadowhunter – yes; what is her family name – Wrayburn; what name was she given at birth – David. She always knew that her body was wrong. Her sister, Aria, and her parents understood and allowed her to live as she was at home, but Diana had to be David in public. Diana and Aria went to Bangkok when Diana turned eighteen and she met Catarina Loss. In Thailand, Diana was introduced as Aria’s sister, dressed how she wanted, and used the name Diana. She and Aria went to an island inhabited by ghosts and were both badly injured. Catarina rescued them. Aria died. Diana woke up to find her sister dead and aware that Catarina knew her secret. Instead of spurning her, Catarina explained to her what it is to be transgender. She helped Diana receive mundane treatment and Diana was able to transition and have the body she always felt like she should have. But Shadowhunters are not allowed to use mundane medical treatments, so Diana had to live as a mundane for years. Her parents told the Clave that David had died instead of Aria. That never sat right with Diana. She told her parents of her transition. They wanted to come see her, but she was scared that the Clave would find out and continued to delay until it was too late – they died in a demon attack. It wasn’t until the Mortal War that Diana decided she couldn’t not fight to defend Alicante. She returned to Idris and used the name Diana Wrayburn. In all the chaos, no one remembered that her sister’s name was Aria. She still has to take medicine to help with her hormones, which Catarina helps her to get. Malcolm also helped once. The fact that he knew and could use it against her always hung over Diana’s head. She’s hidden this from those she loves - like the Blackthorns. She is not ashamed, but she is afraid that if the Clave knew they would force her to stop tutoring the Blackthorns. She can’t risk abandoning them like that. Gwyn does not turn from Diana, instead he asks if he can hold her. When Jules and Emma return, Jules tells Mark that he did a good job taking care of the kids, and that he knows the truth about Mark and Emma. They don’t get a chance to talk before Julian is accosted by the rest of his family. After a debrief from both sides, Kieran says that no one has ever killed one of Mannan’s Seven - there must be something very special about Emma. They don’t know where Annabel is, but they’ve gleaned from Malcolm’s journals and Annabel’s drawings that she was very attached to Blackthorn Manor in Idris. If there was something that threatened the manor, perhaps it would draw her out. Magnus intends on sending the younger kids to Alicante where Diana is waiting for them, but Dru tells Julian she doesn’t want to go. She’s older than he was during the Dark War and when they treat her like a baby, they make her feel like she’s not a Blackthorn. Like she’s not really a part of this family. He wraps her in his arms and tells her she can stay if she really wants to. Not only is she a part of this family, she’s their heart. They sit down to dinner and continue discussing what they know. Two hundred years ago, Malcolm and Annabel stole the Black Volume from the Cornwall Institute because they wanted to use it to trade for protection from the Clave, since their relationship would have been a death sentence for them both. They were caught and thrown into the Silent City. Malcolm disappeared from his cell, leaving Annabel to receive punishment on her own, which seems unlike him. She was tortured and sent back to her family, who killed her and hid it by telling everyone she had become an Iron Sister. A century later, Malcolm finds out the truth and goes to the Unseelie King to find out how to raise Annabel – he needs the Black Volume to do it. It’s still in the Cornwall Institute at the time, which he dares not break into again. He is forced to bide his time until the Blackthorns move from the Cornwall Institute to the Los Angeles Institute and take the Black Volume with them. When Sebastian attacks the Institute, Malcolm steals the book and raises Annabel, who then kills him. Kieran believes it was his father who promised protection to Annabel and Malcolm and who wanted the Black Volume. He has wanted the book since the First Heir, the Unseelie King’s first child, was stolen. The First Heir is said to have been murdered, perhaps the King wanted to raise him again. Maybe Annabel didn’t know Malcolm was working with the King. Malcolm didn’t even put the person’s name in his own diaries. If she didn’t know, the King wouldn’t have felt the need to rescue her from the Silent City prisons. It is more important than ever that they convince the Clave that the Unseelie Court is an immediate threat, but this will give the Cohort a stronger argument for their registry and the Cold Peace. According to Diana, Jia doesn’t want the Dearborns in charge either but convincing the rest of the Council to trust the Seelie Queen is going to be difficult. Dru asks if the King may want to raise an army of the dead. Magnus thinks about this. Magic needs fuel and necromancy requires the energy of death. It’s very destructive, it’s probably what’s causing the blight. But what is the King working towards? Later, Cristina and Emma sit in Cristina’s room and talk about everything else. Cristina still has the bond with Mark. She recounts how she and Mark danced and kissed and how she danced with Kieran, while Emma dishes on her and Julian. They’re interrupted by Kieran, who wants to speak to Cristina alone. As Emma leaves, she tells Kieran that she loves Cristina and not to mess with her - or else. Kieran agrees that Cristina is easy to love. Kieran asks for Cristina’s help. He tells Cristina that he wants to use one of the acorns to speak to his Adaon’s projection. It would be easier to do so with the help of someone he’s bonded to. He doesn’t want to ask more from Mark, but he swore an oath to Cristina, which also gives them a bond. Cristina doesn’t think that’s the whole truth but still agrees. Kieran throws an acorn and waits as someone appears, but it’s not Adaon. It’s the Unseelie King. Mark and Julian help Tavvy as Magnus calls a Portal to take the kids to Alicante. Tavvy doesn’t want to be separated again, but he eventually agrees to go. Mark feels a pain in his binding and runs to Cristina, where he sees the Unseelie King’s projection looming over Cristina and Kieran. The King is furious. He knows Kieran killed Erec, and he knows that Kieran plans to testify to the Council. Siding with the Shadowhunters above his own family is even worse than being a traitor. The King reveals that he took some of Kieran’s memories away. He returns them now and Kieran realizes that Mark broke up with him but has been lying to him this whole time. Mark must’ve done it because he wanted Kieran to testify to the Council. Mark tries to explain. Cristina asks Kieran to listen to Mark, who smashes the acorn and causes the King to disappear. Kieran won’t listen to either of them, he leaves the room. Julian asks why Magnus is helping them. He can’t like them that much. Magnus tells Julian that he used to dream of towers made of bone and a city drowned in blood. He believed the dreams were about the Dark War, and they ended when the war did. But the dreams have started again. Plus, Julian reminds him of someone. Magnus knows about Emma and Julian. Julian explains that they know they have to separate but they can’t right now with everything that’s going on. He asks if there’s any way, any spell, to make you stop loving someone. Maybe an angel or Greater demon could manage it, but Magnus doesn’t know of any way to stop love. Magnus expounds on what they already know. The parabatai curse will make them go mad, then they will become unrecognizable as a human. They’ll become a monster instead, unable to tell who their friends or family are. Their loved ones will run toward them to try to help, and they will kill their friends and family without even realizing they’ve done it. Julian asks what options they have available to them. Not being a Shadowhunter would kill Emma, but if they were exiled, Julian would not be able to see his family. Magnus says that Exile strips some of their magic, including the parabatai bond. Exile would slow the curse down dramatically. The terms of exile are up to the Inquisitor; Magnus recommends that Julian go to Alicante and tell Robert everything. Robert will want to help. When Kit wakes up, Ty is close by. Ty saw Kit and Livvy arguing outside of the shop and has guessed that it was about him. Everyone is always trying to protect him but he’s not a child anymore. Like how they don’t want him to go to the Scholomance. Kit points out that maybe they don’t want him to go to the Scholomance because they’d miss him. So would Kit. But he wouldn’t want to stop Ty if Ty decided to go. Ty seems surprised but tells Kit that he doesn’t want to go anymore. The Scholomance appears to be full of assholes. Magnus comes into the room and tells them that he has a way to end the binding spell on Mark and Cristina. Mark worries about Kieran. The King is going to kill Kieran and it’s all his fault. Kieran agreed to help them but only because he thought Mark loved him. Cristina believes that Mark does love Kieran. He needs to find Kieran and speak to him. Magnus comes in and gives them a drink to break the binding. They’ll need to stay separated for the next few hours for the spell to really take effect. Mark leaves the room and Cristina asks Magnus to send a fire message for her. Julian goes to see Emma and tell her what Magnus recommended. No parabatai has ever tried to get help from the Clave. If they explain to Robert, he could exile Emma but give her terms that only keep her away from Julian. It would be difficult for them, but it would give them time to find a way to break the bond that wouldn’t break the bond of every parabatai pair. And Emma would remain a Shadowhunter. Diana takes Jia to see the blight in Brocelind. They’re in the same spots that Helen and Aline saw on their map. Helen and Aline will need to testify to the Council, Diana says she can get them to the Council meeting. Dru dreams of underground tunnels and the boy that she saw. When she wakes up, there’s a note pinned waiting for her from Jaime thanking her for her help. Kit wakes up again (he has a concussion) and Ty is asleep on the next hospital bed. He’s never had any friends who would stay by his side like this before. Cristina speaks to Kieran. What he and Mark had was never fake, though it is probably easier for Kieran to believe it was. Like it was easier for Cristina to think that Diego had never loved her than to believe he’d hurt her. Mark didn’t lie to Kieran for the Clave but to protect his family, to bring Helen home. Kieran asks what the phoukka told Cristina. She was told that in Faerie, she would be given a chance to end the Cold Peace. Kieran only swore allegiance to her to annoy Mark but now he thinks he made the best choice. Cristina is good and kind. She tells him that Mark came to Faerie to save him right away, with no care for what it would cost him. Mark shows up, he wants to speak with Kieran. Kieran invites Cristina to stay, but she can’t be near Mark right now, so she leaves. Kieran explains that it was mostly, but not entirely jealousy, that made him tattle on Mark. Iarlath had insinuated that Mark would not be safe with the Shadowhunters and Kieran got worried. Mark has already forgiven Kieran for what he did. He forgave him when Kieran helped save Tavvy when he didn’t have to. Mark does love Kieran, but it is not a calm, easy love like what he feels for Cristina. He has been distant because he couldn’t stand lying to Kieran. And he would have told him the truth after Kieran testified no matter what. Kieran believes him. He understands that Mark was trying to save his family. He has decided that he will still testify and afterward, his debt to Emma and Julian will be paid. After the testimony, he and Mark will be done. Kieran hears a sound outside of the Institute that he recognizes as the Riders of Mannan. Emma hears it too and looks out the window to see five Riders standing outside. The residents of the Institute meet in the library and try to scramble to figure out what to do. The wards will keep the Riders outside, but Magnus cannot create a Portal right now. He’s been drained from healing Kit and Portaling Alec and the children already. They’ll need to stay here until Magnus can recoup some of his power. Emma watches out the window as Eathna comes through the Institute gates, a little girl in front of her on her horse. Eathna’s dagger is at the girl’s neck. Emma has killed one Rider, she’s pretty sure she can kill another one. As the others try to talk her out of it, Emma grabs Cortana and runs outside, locking the doors of the Institute behind her. Emma makes the Riders an agreement. If they let the girl go, she will stay and fight them. If they do not, she will simply walk back inside the Institute, and they will not get the chance to kill her today. Ethna lets the girl go. Emma fights the six of them, knowing that it’s suicide. One of the Riders gets Emma in the shoulder, then the Institute doors swing open and she is joined by Cristina, Kieran, Kit, and all the Blackthorns except Dru. Emma and Ethna go head-to-head and Cortana breaks Ethna’s blades. She calls another blade out of the air. Ethna turns to fight Julian and Emma sees Kit is pinned on the ground by Delan, who demands to know who Kit is. As Delan brings his sword down, Emma blocks it. She cuts Delan’s hand off. She and Kit surround Delan, who laughs. He may die, but the rest of the Shadowhunters are done for. Emma looks around. Airmed has the twins backed against a wall, Ethna’s weapon is at Julian’s throat, Cristina is on her knees in front of Etarlam, and Mark has Eochaid’s sword at his back. Karn says if they give him the Black Volume, they will let the Shadowhunters go but Kieran cries out – the Riders are not prohibited by Faerie rules and can lie. Not that it matters, they don’t have the Black Volume. The Riders decide to kill them all and send a message to the Unseelie Queen but just before they can, the gates of the Institute are flung open. Annabel Blackthorn steps inside holding the Black Volume. The book is hers and she will not give it up. She gives the Riders a message for their King. She knows his true name, she learned it from Malcolm, and she will make sure that every Shadowhunter knows it too if the Riders do not leave. When one of the Riders attacks, Annabel flings him away effortlessly. When Magnus comes out, the Riders decide to leave. Annabel tells the others that she received a message from Ty that made her come to speak to Julian. She refuses to speak to anyone but Julian. Emma warns Julian not to promise anything they can’t deliver. Annabel has been lied to too many times already. Julian will do whatever he has to. Magnus tells the others to pack up; he will Portal them to Alicante in a few hours. Ty goes off to get his things together and Kit helps Livvy. Their faces are very close together, but Livvy says they shouldn’t kiss any more. He hasn’t done anything wrong at all, and she hopes he will always be her friend. Only later does he realize she said her friend, not their friend. Annabel shows Julian the note that Ty wrote to her. It tells her about the Blackthorns and Emma, and it tells her how Julian has taken care of them since their parents died. Julian could help her if she let him. They need the Black Volume to save their family. Julian makes her an offer. If she came and testified about what the Clave did to her, Julian would make sure that she was acknowledged, reinstated as a Shadowhunter, and given Blackthorn Manor as recompense. But he would need her to testify that she killed Malcolm Fade. Zara Dearborn, a descendant of the Inquisitor that tortured Annabel, is trying to take credit for it. Annabel believes him. Thanks to Ty’s letter, she trusts him. She agrees to do as he asks and even agrees to give him the Black Volume if the Clave acknowledges her. When Magnus created the Portal to take them to Idris, it was so taxing he had to be helped to stand afterward. Jia and a crowd of Council members were waiting for them. The wards are raised again as soon as they enter. Julian and Emma go to find Robert before the Council meeting. Robert is surprised to hear that Emma wants to be exiled, no one has ever asked for that before. He decides to help them, but it will take a few days. Until then, they need to stay apart. Annabel and Kieran are taken to wait in a private room with Magnus. The Centurions arrive in full uniform. Diego comes in last and speaks to Cristina. He got her message. Zara interrupts them before they can speak further. The Cohort enters the room holding signs demanding a Downworlder Registry. Ty goes rigid and says Livvy’s name. He’s looking at a group walking through the crowd. Diana, followed by Aline and Helen. Livvy screams at throws herself at her sister. Emma and Julian are not allowed to leave Robert’s office together, so Manuel escorts Emma to the meeting. He invites her to join the Cohort - they could use someone like her. She trips him. Julian goes to sit with Annabel and Kieran as Jia and Robert speak with them. While they’re talking, Magnus crumples to the floor. Robert instructs Julian to run to the Council Hall and get Alec. By the time Emma gets to the Council Hall, the room is in an uproar. She didn’t realize just how much hatred some of the Shadowhunters were holding until she saw their screaming faces. Cristina speaks to Diago while Zara is distracted, Emma watches Helen greet her siblings. She’s looking for Julian as Mark speaks to Helen. Emma sees Samatha Larkspear pull out a blade. When Julian gets to the Council Hall, he asks Kit to find Alec. Tell him where to find Magnus, but don’t arouse anyone’s curiosity. Julian sits in one of the front rows. Emma quietly stops Samantha before anything terrible happens and pulls Helen to sit. Julian is waiting and Emma can tell something is very wrong. Alec tells his father that Magnus hasn’t been feeling well for a while. His magic has been depleting so quickly, but there hasn’t been time to go to the Spiral Labyrinth for help yet. Annabel starts to panic. She was told either Julian or Magnus would stay with her. When Zara comes to ask if the meeting needs to be delayed, Robert and Jia both say no and enter the Hall. Zara tells Alec that he’s perverted his life, lineage, and the entire Clave by marrying Magnus. Alec retorts that Magnus is a better human than Zara ever will be. She leaves the room, insulted. Kieran says not to underestimate the Cohort. Hate like that can break the world apart. Diego is glad that Jaime told Cristina the truth about him and Zara. He couldn’t stand that Cristina despised him. It’s bad enough that she doesn’t love him like she used to. She says she’s worried about what the Cohort will do to Kieran once he’s done testifying. The doors to the Hall open. Jia brings the meeting to order and begins to tell the backstory of Annabel and Malcolm. Some of the members (the Cohort) demand that Jia get to the point, forcing Jia to remind them that they should shut up and listen. Annabel is brought out. She is very nervous without Magnus or Julian’s support. Many of the Shadowhunters think she is an abomination that should not be in their Hall, but both Jia and Robert insist that she is not mad, Endarkened, or revenant. Annabel confirms she was Malcolm’s lover and that she killed Malcolm when she was raised from the dead. Zara insists that she is lying. They demand Annabel be questioned. Julian asks that they not use the Mortal Sword, but Annabel nods to him that it’s okay. She is questioned by the Sword she was once tortured with it. She confirms that she killed Malcolm but instead of being quieted, the Cohort starts to throw things at the dais. Julian tries to protect Annabel but is stopped by the guards. Robert rushes toward Annabel and tries to escort her out but Annabel panics. She is still holding the Sword, and she stabs it through Robert’s chest. Diego runs to the room where Kieran waits with Kit, Magnus, and Alec. He tells them that Robert has been hurt and Alec leaves. Cristina asked Diego to get Kieran to safety after the meeting. Diego wants to go to the Scholomance, the Cohort will be in Alicante trying to take control. It takes a moment to convince Kieran but soon, he asks Kit to tell Mark where he went and tell Cristina thank you. Diego grabs Kieran’s arm and presses his other hand to the pin he wears – the two of them disappear in a swirl of light. Julian still tries to reach Annabel as Jia kneels next to Robert and screams for everyone to stay back. Annabel calls Julian a liar. He said the Shadowhunters would accept her. Now Robert is dead. Something inside Annabel breaks and she truly does go mad. Emma pushes Julian to the side as Annabel swings the Mortal Sword at him. Livvy climbs up the side of the dais. As Annabel swings again, Emma raises Cortana, shattering the Mortal Sword. Livvy tosses Julian her sword. He catches it and looks at Annabel. But Annabel jumps to the edge of the dais and stabs Livvy in the chest with the jagged end of the Mortal Sword. Livvy falls to the ground. Julian falls next to her and draws an iratze, but it doesn’t sink in, it vanishes. That only happens when the person is already dead. Julian murmurs to her, telling Livvy he will always be there for her and begging her to open her eyes. Emma stalks toward Annabel. As she swings Cortana, smoke erupts from the window and an explosion knocks Emma backward. Emma sees a broken crown inside the smoke. When the smoke disappears, Annabel is gone. Emma sees Mark crying over Ty, who is lying on the floor; Helen desperately trying to get through the crowd; Dru sobbing on the ground. Julian cradles Livvy’s dead body.