I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ XII ] Before We Go

Ty and Kit were looking at each other, almost like a secret language was being spoken between the two of them. Jaime had turned white, this was something he apparently had not expected. Julian had to admit he was entirely lost on the situation.

"And how did you guys take something from Jaime?" Julian asked, his arms folded across his chest. He was taking note of everyone's reactions; Emma and Cristina and Mark's idle curiosity, Jaime's uneasiness, Kieran's utter disinterest, Dru's blush and avoidance of eye contact, Kit and Ty's calculated looks. Julian had discovered that you learned most about people when they didn't know they were being watched. He had made it a habit to catalog reactions, it often revealed people's true motives.

"Welllll, that's a story. A certainly interesting story that Ty can tell you all about." Kit smirked, sliding his blue gaze toward Tiberius who was standing next to him.

Ty considered it for a moment, watching all the eyes on him and avoiding all of their gazes, "I found it in Dru's room at the London Institute. I went in to go find her – I think she was mad at me for making her look after Tavvy and I wanted to apologize – but she wasn't in her room. There was something glowing faintly by the window, I thought it was a witchlight but when I got closer I saw that it had a symbol on it; a faerie-"

"Wait," Julian shook his head, a curl of rage rising in his core, "What was your stuff doing in my thirteen year old sister's room?" His eyes were locked on Jaime Rosales now, Ty's words fading out.

Jaime's eyes widened momentarily in surprise (at what, Julian wasn't sure) before he raised his hands in defense. Julian was usually good at keeping his anger in check, but when it came to his family he had a tendency to lose his temper. "Listen. I was on the run, I stayed at the London Institute and had stuff there. As soon as you all moved in I got out of there in a hurry, some things may have fallen out of my bag." Dru looked absolutely mortified, her face trained on the floor. Julian's anger wasn't dissipating though, it was as if there was someone burning a coal into his skin, building that anger like a flame. His eyes were burning as if he were on fire himself. A cool hand touched his shoulder and quenched the inferno; Emma's hand. Her brown eyes were worried, she opened her mouth to say something but Julian spoke quickly, his stony mask already back in place.

"I'm fine," He whispered to Emma before facing the rest of them again. Jace was watching him closely, his mind working. "So Ty, what was it you found? Was it the Unseelie sigil?"

Ty shook his head, "No, it wasn't a broken crown. It was a circlet of leaves; the Seelie Court."

"Do you know what it is?" Mark looked intrigued, moving towards his little brother who regarded him coldly.

"Of course I do." He snapped. Mark recoiled, hurt by the anger his little brother held towards him, "A Conveyance Element. It's used to transport to a specific place in Faerie. The Seelie Court to be more precise if it has its sigil. What I don't know is where exactly it transports you to." Jaime's expression was subdued, watching Ty explain with a cold air of superiority.

"Where is it, Ty?" Julian asked.

"It's hidden somewhere." He answered proudly, no indication that he would tell them where. But Julian didn't expect him to, not when Ty didn't trust everyone in the room.

Mark was standing by Julian now, the sting from his little brother's reaction to him masked, "While Conveyance Elements transport you to an area in the realm, you're merely a sort of projection; you can't actually do anything. So going there would be putting us in a position of weakness – they would know we have one of their sacred relics but we would not be able to leave that area or do anything in Faerie. If we are looking to stay subtle, it's best we don't use it right now."