Not your Mundane

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

Antony's POV

I walk with Raleigh around, and we see the similar design of our compass near the study door. 

"There it is," She says. "Our way home."
I smile.

I stand on my tiptoes, grabbing the device before shoving the compass into my pocket. 
Raleigh claps.

"Good job Antony," She says. 
"Thank you, thank you," I reply. 
I offer my arm and she takes it.

The party is still going on as we walk out, and a slow-ish song begins to play.

"May I offer?" I ask. 
Raleigh nods, and I take her hand, pulling her closer so we're in the proper poses.
I start to lead, swaying to the beat, and she follows in my footsteps.

We dance for a good while, trying not to look at the demons that had been climbing all over Benedict Lightwood.
One demon passes behind her, accidentally pushing her into my chest.

"I'm sorry-" She starts to say, but my eyes ran over her lips, and I start kissing her.

As I kiss her, she actually starts to kiss me back, pulling myself closer to her.
Her lips are so soft against mine, and I kiss her hungrily.
She wraps her arms around my neck, and I lift her slightly so I don't have to bend over.

A clearing of someone's throat makes us break apart, and we both blush.

"Why is everyone making out with each other when I come to find them?" Magnus asks, groaning as he throws his hands up in the air.

I blush more.

"Come on lovebirds," He continues. "Will and Tessa are waiting for us."
Magnus leads the way out, and I take Raleigh's hand, following.

We reach Will and Tessa, who looks just as flushed as Raleigh and I do.
The four of us wave goodbye to Magnus, and he waves bye with his fingers sparkling blue.
The carriage ride was quiet, and Will and Tessa are seeming awkward.
I think Raleigh might know what happened to them during the party.

I take her glove off of her hand when she's not paying attention, and twine my fingers with hers. 
I realise then that I am in love with her. But how could the clave see that?
I'm already a half shadowhunter, I'm not even full. The other half is faerie.

And Raleigh is a Mundane. Yet something about her seems similar to Will, Jace and Uncle Kit that's kinda creepy. 
I sigh to myself. This is hard.

We reach the Institute, and Will runs off again.
Tessa leads the way inside and disappears into her bedroom.

"What is she doing?" I whisper.
"She is getting ready to confront Jessamine," Raleigh replies. 
She waves bye to Cyril and we walk down the hall together.

"Jessamine?" I ask. "What will they do to her?"
"Brother Enoch will come. Charlotte, Sophie and Tessa will question her."
"Oh."
Raleigh nods.
"She'll be headed to the Silent City in a couple of hours."

I nod.
"You know a lot more of this than I do."
She chuckles.

We reach her room, and I open the door, and we both take our shoes off and sit on her bed.
I pull the compass out of my jacket and set it between us.

"How will we get home with this?" Raleigh asks.
Her blonde hair is falling into her face.
I tuck the strand behind her ear and shrug.

"Aren't you supposed to know, my time-travelling future predicter?" I reply.
I blush as her face turns red.
"I don't know, Kier, this hasn't been written before. Or Cassie hasn't written it yet."

I smile at the use of my middle name.
"It's alright. We'll figure it out, and get home."
She nods.

Raleigh stands, going to grab her nightclothes and change.
She freezes as if remembering something.

"Ral?" I ask. "You good?" 

She nods and starts to remove the blue fabric part of her dress, her back showing a flimsy white undergarment and a very tightly laced corset.
I avert my eyes to give her privacy. She turns and laughs.

"You idiot. I need your help to get this stupid thing untied."

I blush slightly, looking up to see her smiling face.
She turns again, moving her hair so I can untie it.

I untie it, struggling at some places, and finally get it off, handing it to her as she lays it next to the blue dress.
Raleigh makes an exaggerated breathing noise, before going and locking herself in the bathroom, changing into her nightclothes.

"Can you even breathe in that thing?" I call.
"Nope," She yells back. "You can always borrow it and try it out yourself sometime."

I burst out laughing.
She walks back out of the bathroom, brushing her hair with a soft hairbrush, before setting it on the nightstand.

I watch as she giggles and lays on the bed, getting under the covers.
I put the compass next to her hairbrush and stand, getting ready to leave.

"Don't go," She mumbles. "I'd enjoy your company tonight."

I chuckle.
I take off my jacket, unbutton my shirt slightly, and crawl under the covers next to her.

She wraps her arms around my waist, resting her head on my chest in content.
I smile, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, wrapping my arms around her shoulder and waist, and we both fall asleep holding each other.

***

"Our Jessamine?" Henry asks the next morning, bewildered.
"Yes," All of us reply for the fourth or fifth time since he's asked.

I look at Raleigh, who's chuckling in her chair, sporting a new black and blue suit today.

Last night something happened.
It was good. And I hope Raleigh feels the same way I do.

As the topic shifted, Charlotte looked around.
"Speaking of which, where is Will?"

"Having a lie-in, no doubt," Jem replies. "And as for him being a witness, well, everyone thinks Will is a lunatic as it is-"
"Ah," Will says, appearing in the doorway. "Having your annual everyone-thinks-Will-is-a-lunatic meeting are you?"
"It's biannual," Jem says. "And no, not today."

Will glances around the room.
"Does everyone know about Jessamine?"

"Yes," Tessa replies hastily. "They all know about what she did.

He nods, satisfied.
Will goes to talk to the main group, leaving our group alone to our methods.

"Guess what," Raleigh says to Adele, Rosalie and Ashton. "Antony and I found a clue."
Ashton's eyes widen.
"How?"
"Will invited the two of us to look for clues at Benedict's house last night."

Rosalie makes a move to say something but I glare at her to shut up.

"Will, Tessa and Sophie all know about our home and where we came from," Raleigh adds, making Adele's eyes flare up. 
"What did you find?" Ashton asks.

I pull out the compass from my jacket, and they all look at it in awe.

"Whoa-" Adele says. "How does it work?"
"We're not sure yet," I reply. 

"To the library!" Ashton calls, and the five of us quickly finish eating, excuse ourselves away, and run off.