Taste of ecstasy

The Epilogue

A prince's heart is strongest when it learns to hold others gently by sixteen, Nicholas Asmodeus Lightwood-Bane had become the quiet axis around which the hopes of Idris turned. He walked the palace halls with the composure of a prince twice his age, and when he addressed the court, even seasoned advisors leaned forward, sensing the gravity of a future ruler already forming in the boy's voice he carried the weight of destiny with an ease that did not smother him because beneath the steel discipline, beneath the honed instincts, Nicholas remained astonishingly kind and for two young princesses in the palace, that kindness was their sun.

Arabella Morgenstern-Lightwood thirteen years old, daughter of Jace and Clarissa was everything her lineage promised. She possessed Clarissa's eye for beauty, her graceful hands already skilled with paint and embroidery. But her wit, her clever tongue, her reckless smile that made tutors sweat those belonged entirely to Jace.

Arabella adored Nicholas with the fierce affection only younger sisters could muster, looking to him as though every answer she would ever need was tucked somewhere in his measured stride or gentle counsel. She trailed him through the palace like a crimson-shadowed comet, her auburn hair tied with silver ribbons, notebooks tucked under her arms, peppering him with questions he always answered with patient amusement.

"Nicholas, how do you braid a horse's mane correctly?"
"Nicholas, is leadership lonelier than it looks?"
"Nicholas, do you think stories matter as much as swords?"
"Nicholas, do you think I'm old enough for a dagger?"

(That last one earned a horrified "Absolutely not!" from both Nicholas and Clarissa.)

To Arabella, Nicholas was the ideal elder brother: steady, brilliant, unfailingly gentle. He listened even when he disagreed. He guided without ever belittling. And he protected her without caging her flame Arabella often said he was "too good for the crown, but exactly right for it." Nicholas would flush every time.

Then there was Lilibet Lightwood ten years old, daughter of Princess Isabel and Chief Commander Raphael if Arabella was a comet, then Lilibet was a storm a beautiful, regal, glittering hurricane wrapped in silk and starlight. She had Isabel's grace, Raphael's intensity, and a talent for finding trouble that surpassed all Lightwoods before her Lilibet wore her hair in long black waves, a small silver circlet often perched crookedly on her head because she refused to walk slowly enough for it to remain straight. She adored climbing trees, interrogating guards about battle formations, sneaking sweets with alarming precision, and declaring herself "the future terror of Idris's enemies."

To Nicholas, Lilibet was equal parts chaos and enchantment tiny feet pattering behind him as she demanded piggyback rides, sword lessons, bedtime stories, or treaties to be explained "Nico," she would proclaim boldly, "one day I will command your armies." Nicholas would smile, tapping her nose. "Only if you promise not to terrify them."

"No promises," she said every time and Nicholas loved her all the more for it.

Together Arabella the keen-eyed dreamer, Lilibet the spirited tempest they became Nicholas's sweetest weaknesses. His quiet, warm center in a world that demanded too much too soon he walked into rooms with authority, but around these two girls, he softened. Arabella's gentle questions and Lilibet's wild schemes drew out a laughter that only Magnus and Alec had ever truly witnessed in him and the palace adored them for it.

People whispered often,

"He is so careful with them."
"He treats them as if they are made of glass."
"No...he treats them as if they are made of stardust."
"He will be a king of gentle hands."

One afternoon, after council meetings and training, Nicholas found Arabella and Lilibet sprawled on the grass of the Sun Garden. Arabella was sketching the blooming irises while Lilibet attempted to catch dragonflies with her bare hands, diving and leaping with warrior-like focus when Nicholas approached, both girls lit up instantly.