Silver Threads ↠ Matthew Fairchild [1]

ONE

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B E T T E R   A N G E L S

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London, 1903

Willa Herondale had been in the middle of a conversation with Thomas and Christopher Lightwood about how unusually quiet it had been in London lately when she heard Matthew Fairchild's yell echo down an alleyway. She had stopped mid-sentence, ignoring the look Thomas gave her as she pushed herself up from her crouching position and jumped into the alley below.

They had been waiting for a demon to show up for what felt like hours now and it seemed that Matthew had been the first to find it. Her heart was beating quicker than normal as she surveyed the area and she convinced herself that her need to protect the blonde was merely because he was her twin's parabatai. She would lay down her life to keep the boy safe and prevent the pain her brother would feel if Matthew was lost. However, Willa had no intention of losing the blonde tonight.

Thomas and Christopher had landed beside her only seconds after her feet had touched the ground, the three Shadowhunters' eyes flickering over the scene around them. Thomas was gripping onto his bolas—a contraption of weights and ropes—while Christopher had his bow and arrow and Willa had her hand on the hilt of her seraph blade.

It took but a second before Willa had caught sight of a deumas demon—a demon with a ribbed gray body, a sharp beak with hooked teeth, and paw-like feet with ragged claws. To her surprise, the person the demon seemed to be fighting wasn't Matthew, but her twin brother James instead.

The Deumas was in midair, claws extending towards the boy and Willa went to pull her seraph blade out but Thomas was quicker and used his bolas which wrapped around the demon's leg. He promptly pulled the demon to the ground and it was only then that someone rushed up to Willa's side, the young Herondale's eyes flickering to her left to acknowledge the presence of Matthew Fairchild, his green eyes shimmering with the thrill of an adventure while his blonde hair glowed under the moonlight.

Matthew's eyes flickered over to the girl at his side and they gave each other a short nod before looking back to the demon, both of them raising their seraph blades and whispering the name of an angel as they prepared for battle. However, James was quick to act and threw two knives at the demon—one plunging into the demon's throat while the other found its home in the demon's forehead.

"Matthew-" Willa heard James begin to say, but he was cut short when the Deumas demon suddenly exploded before their very eyes, ichor and some goo substance raining down on Willa, Thomas, Christopher, and Matthew before they could even blink.