Turn Back Time

BREAKING NECKS

I know the last chapter had Malec but... this one was just so beautiful that I had to share it.

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The habits of a lifetime were not broken quickly, and though Cecily was no longer lonely she had made the Institute's inhabitants the subject of her close study.

She examined them down as she walked into the drawing room beside Will. First was Charlotte, sitting behind her desk. Cecily had not known Charlotte for very long, yet she knew Charlotte was the sort of woman who kept her calm even under pressure. She was tiny but strong.

Then there was Henry. He might have been the first to convince Cecily that Shadowhunters were not dangerously alien. There was nothing frightening about Henry, all lanky legs and angles as he leaned against Charlotte's desk.

Her eyes slid over Gideon Lightwood next, shorter and stockier than his brother—Gideon, whose eyes usually followed Sophie like a hopeful puppy's.

And then there was Gabriel. Cecily's thoughts where he was concerned were jumbled and confused. His eyes were bright, his body tense as a coiled spring as he leaned against his brother's armchair. On the velvet sofa across the Lightwoods sat Jem, with Tessa beside him. He seemed to glow a little brighter when he saw Will entering the room. It was a quality peculiar of both of them, and Cecily wondered if it was that way for all parabatai.

As she watched, Tessa laid her hand over Jem's and said something quiet to him that made him smile. Tessa looked quickly to Will, but he only crossed the room to lean against the fireplace mantel. Cecily had never been able to decide if he did this because he was perpetually cold or because he thought he looked dashing standing before the leaping flames.

Cecily looked across the room until her eyes eventually found Charlotte. She was distracted as if waiting for someone else.

"I hope we are not late," Clary Fairchild apologized entering the room while leaving the door open for the rest to enter.

Cecily didn't know what to make of them. Clary was almost as short as Charlotte and radiated the same vibe that you could tell she was used to being under pressure.

The one that followed her was Jace Herondale—her long distant cousin as he introduced himself. He displayed the sort of carefree attitude where he didn't care what type of demon he was facing as long as it didn't mess with his hair.

Isabelle Lightwood was the last one to enter and closed the door behind her. By her appearance, she reminded her more of herself than of the Lightwood brothers. She prefered to be in gear most of the time even if she was not training, saying that it was more comfortable than layers and layers of clothing.

Her brother, Alec Lightwood, was missing—probably tending his son. Cecily didn't know him well but if she had to guess, the man would break his and anyone else's neck before letting someone harm the child.

Cecily was intrigued by them. She didn't fully believe what they told them, it wouldn't explain Simon Lovelace's mysterious condition. Cecily knew they had secrets, a lot of them, by the way they often looked at each other before answering a question of relevance.

Cecily wanted to what that was, for all she knew they could be spies from Mortmain.

"I'm sorry but Alec couldn't come, Max didn't want to let him go," Isabelle excused her brother.

"What are they doing here?" Gabriel spat. Apparently, Cecily wasn't the only one that didn't trust these newcomers.

"Sophie told us Charlotte wanted to see us," Clary said, a little offended by Gabriel's tone.