redamancy | jace herondale

52

"Champagne." I plopped down into a seat at the apartment, letting my back hit the chair. I watched Jonathan pour it into two glasses and hand me one. "That's fancy."

Jonathan smiled at me while he carefully handed me one. "Well, it is a special occasion."

"Special?" I repeated and reached for the bottle, filling it to the rim instead. "Why special?"

Jonathan let out a laugh at me filling the alcohol the rim. "You saved me, Zee."

"Don't be silly." I watched as he carefully clinked his glass against mine so that my drink doesn't spill. "You would do the same for me."

"I would die for you." Jonathan said to me. "I've spent so long dreaming of the day that we'd finally be together."

I simply smiled and sipped my champagne, taking down practically half of my glass in one gulp. Jonathan notices right away because he only takes a sip of his. "Something's troubling you— what's wrong?"

"A lot of things, don't you think?" I downed the rest of the champagne and set it down. "I abandoned my boyfriend and my friends, whom— are working on a stronger serum to break us apart."

Jonathan chuckles. "Of course they are."

"Why doesn't that concern you?" I got up and grabbed the bottle again. I poured more into my glass. "You've done everything to get me to finally align with you and now you're not threatened that we could potentially be broken apart?"

"No one can hurt us if we get the Morning Star first." Jonathan made a fair point. "And once we have that sword, the entire world will be terrified of us— and they will finally leave us in peace."

I brought my glass to my mouth and sipped my drink slowly this time. "Right, and that would be a wonderful plan if the Seelie Queen hasn't said she would only give you our family sword if you bring her Lilith's head."

"Well, those were her terms." Jonathan smiled wickedly. "You up for a trip to Prague, little sister?"

"Only if you stop calling me that." I leaned back against the wall. "I'm barely younger than you."

"You still are." Jonathan points out and then a fire message soaring through the air catches our attention. I caught it and my eyes skimmed the words— once, twice, three times. "From your Shadowhunter friends?"

"It's from Jace." My voice was quiet as I kept rereading the note. "He wants to meet."

Jonathan's tone dropped. "What?"

"He says his love for me matters more than his loyalty to the New York Institute." I looked up at him. "And to prove it, he'll help us get back our family sword— I guess he's not mad I hit him in the head with a metal pipe."

"No— it's a trap." Jonathan shook his head at me. "He just wants to come between us like he did before."

"He obviously no longer has that power— I'm with you because I want to be with you, not because this rune is forcing me to." I argued. "And he can't convince me otherwise."

Jonathan sets down his glass of champagne. "Well, then why do you even need him?"

"Because I'm in love with him." I told him sincerely. "I can't live without him."

Jonathan stared. "He wants me dead, Zee."

"Not if I tell him that I need you too." I set down my glass. "You need to understand, Jace and I would do anything for each other. To be with me, Jace would accept you just fine— he loves me more than anything in this world."