Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
MIGHT BE A LAST KISS

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     A few hours later, Adrian walked to the Accords Hall with Jocelyn Fairchild on one side of him and Amatis Graymark on the other. Jocelyn had answered as many of his questions as she could, but she hadn't known much to begin with. Adrian's mother had kept a lot of secrets, he had realized, and Jocelyn knew very few of them. When Amatis had arrived home, she had seen Adrian upset in her kitchen and she had sat down and tried to help as well. Adrian had learned a few things, despite still not knowing why she had been exiled and who his real father was. He had learned that Alice Rosewell was kind and friendly. He had learned that her choice weapon had been a staff, much like Adrian's was, and that little fact had actually served to make him feel better.

He was still upset, but at least he shared something with her aside from a similar smile and a hair color.

The bells attached to the Accords Hall had started going off while Jocelyn and Amatis were sharing their childhood stories with him, signaling that a meeting was being called. The three of them had fallen silent at the sound, having forgotten for a brief moment that they were currently at war with Valentine Morgenstern. They had been quiet ever since. Adrian didn't mind. His mind was racing, thoughts all jumbled together. He dreaded the thought of seeing Malachi at the meeting, and he hoped that he could avoid any and all conversation with him. He wasn't sure he would be able to keep his mouth shut if Malachi spoke to him, wasn't sure he would be able to control the anger slowly building inside of his chest.

Once they reached the Accords Hall and slipped inside, Adrian broke away from Jocelyn and Amatis and decided to skirt along the edges of the crowd gathered instead. The last thing he wanted was attention, and that was precisely what he would get if he was seen standing beside Jocelyn Fairchild. His eyes flickered over the crowd, trying to find familiar faces. It wasn't long before he saw Isabelle, Maryse, and Alec leaning against the back wall. They were clearly trying to keep a low profile as well. As Adrian pushed through the crowd to get to them, he finally noticed how loud it was. Usually the people collected inside the Accords Hall for a meeting were at least semi-civil. Now, everyone was arguing with everyone else. Frowning, he finally reached the back hall and breathed a sigh of relief, resting against the wall and closing his eyes. He had stopped beside Isabelle, but when he made it clear he was there to stay, Alec murmured something to his sister. A moment later, they were switching places, and Alec's fingers were linking with Adrian's.

Things inside the Accords Hall were so hectic and chaotic that he doubted anyone would notice, but Adrian slid closer and slid their linked hands slightly behind them regardless.

"Where were you?" Alec murmured quietly. Adrian glanced at him, but Alec's eyes were trained on the dais at the head of the large room. No one was there, but that hardly mattered. Alec was only focusing on it because he didn't want to look at Adrian. He had always avoided eye contact when he was upset. Adrian knew why he was. Instead of going with them to visit Max, Adrian had gone to see Clary instead. Before, he hadn't known why he chose to do that. Now he understood. He had remembered his mother, remembered that he didn't actually have a sibling like Max or a mother like Maryse, and hadn't felt like he deserved to be there for such a touching, familial moment. He'd gone to Clary because he couldn't find Jace, and if there were two people who knew anything about a family crisis, it was Clary and Jace.

"I was talking to Jocelyn about my parents," Adrian replied. "Turns out Malachi isn't actually my dad." He was relieved when Alec blinked a few times, then turned to look at him with an astonished expression. Adrian hadn't really meant to let the last part slip, especially since they were on the brink of war and it was a distracting topic, but it came out regardless. He needed to tell someone. Otherwise he would explode. "I'll tell you more about it later. What's going on?" He glanced around at all the adults still arguing. "Why is everyone yelling at each other?" At the question, Alec's face darkened.