Emilio
The sudden knock startled Emilio, making him jump and drop the serving spoon onto the floor with a loud clatter. With a muttered apology, he bent down to pick it up while everyone else sat silent, looking at each other in shock. Or perhaps it was fear. He could never tell.
Rose was the first to react. She stood, looked once at Marlow, then briskly walked out, her parabatai on her heels. Nobody seemed to realize they left, except maybe Emilio himself.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just Aspen wanting help settling a territory dispute with the vamps," Lily said, poking at her potatoes anxiously.
"Aspen?" Emilio asked, wracking his brain for anyone by that name. Results: inconclusive.
"The werewolf pack leader? He was here just last week," Mae said, waving her hand as if it was obvious. It wasn't obvious, not one bit.
"The hot blond one?" He asked, earning several eye rolls, but an overall agreement. "I thought his name was Alex."
From the kitchen, the closing of the Institute's doors was clear as day. The heavy thud sent a shiver through all of them. As if on cue, the lights flickered ominously, reminding Emilio of countless American horror films the girls had made him watch. He wished this was only a movie.
"I swear this isn't a regular occurrence," Scarlett said, turning to the new girl. Lena? Layla? He wasn't quite paying attention when Marlow introduced her. He hadn't cared enough to.
Lena-Layla merely shrugged. She did not seem overly pleased to be here. Granted, Emilio was not fond of her arrival either. He liked the people here, his girls. He didn't need anyone else, certainly not someone as sullen as Lena-Layla.
"It's more regular than you might imagine," Emilio said, then paused. "Although, most of Boston knows not to come to the Institute in the evening. Rose gets awfully annoyed when someone interrupts dinner."
"Didn't think she could get annoyed," Lena-Layla muttered, raising her eyebrows.
Before Emilio could respond, Marlow and Rose walked back into the kitchen, both unnaturally pale. Rose was holding a delicate silver box, which she set down hastily on the table, as if scared it would burn her.
"What is it?" Iris asked, reaching out to touch it curiously.
Marlow slapped her hand away. "Faeries," she murmured, glaring at the box.
"And you just picked it up?" Lily said, her voice growing slightly higher. "What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't," Rose said, brushing off her hands on her pants. "And we don't know that is was faeries. It could have been anyone."
"Hold on," Mae interjected, standing up with her eyebrows furrowed. "What's so dangerous about a box?"
Marlow sighed and set her mouth into a thin, strained line, opening the box. Inside sat a flower, a small apple blossom barely bigger than a quarter, wet and dripping with blood. The deep velvet was stained and damp, and yet there was no scent of blood. But, there was a feeling. Crisp wind and evergreens. Twisting vines and poisonous laughter. Faeries.
"Whoever sent this must be dumb as shit," Iris said, bending closer to get a look. "It's illegal to contact any shadowhunters, everyone knows that."
"What if they need help?" The new girl said, her eyes wide with fright. Emilio guessed rogue faerie message protocol wasn't taught at the Academy.
