Angels - Shadowhunters
Isabel had felt the blast wash over her, had known something had gone terribly wrong. The traces of yin fen still in her system had burned like fire. The Sword!
She rushed after her brother to the main hall.
Corpses. So many corpses. Werewolves, vampires… No Seelie… She asked Jace what happened, who had been there. Her heart stopped for a moment when he said Meliorn's name. Meliorn had been here? Where was he? Was he alright?
"I see no Seelie", she said.
"They were supposed to be the rearguard. Pick off any Circle Members that thought to flee. But Meliorn came in with the weres and vamps."
No. Please, Angel, no!
"Where is he?" She looked around. Had she just not seen him among the sea of dead?
Her hands were shaking. Was it withdrawal? Shock? The dread of not knowing Meliorn's fate?
He was not in the room. She rushed into the hallway. Had he made it out?
"Meliorn?" Her voice was shaking like her hands.
No answer. She called his name, again and again, running through the halls of the institute.
"Isabel. We need you in the main hall" her brother's words were soft, gentle. He understood. He, too, worried. There had been no word of Magnus yet and he had no time to search.
She nodded.
Dawn was approaching by the time they were done enough for her to get back to her search. The initial shaking had subsided while she worked to contain the Circle members with the rest of the Institute. But now that she had a moment to breathe, to think, her hands started shaking again. This time she was sure it was withdrawal. Her head was hurting, her entire body ached and the shaking was already progressing up her arms.
She just wanted it to stop. But she really, really shouldn't go on like this. Not after what had happened today.
She gnawed at her lip. If at least she knew Meliorn was alright. But as it looked right now, he must have been closest to the blast, closer than all the others. Because while they were all dead and seemed burned, the bodies were mostly intact. And yet there was no trace of Meliorn.
She made sure to avoid Raphael as she made her way out to the grounds. There were no bodies here. She wanted to get away from everything for a moment. Just to see the sunrise. Just to allow herself to grieve, just one single moment before putting herself back to gather and soldiering on.
A rustle in the leaves behind her made her turn around on her heels. But it was just a mouse, rushing through the underbrush. Isabel sighed. Her heart was heavy with regrets as she watched the colours of the sky blur and dance. It was almost surprising how many of her regrets led her back to Meliorn. Almost.
Her glance passed over the grounds, the bushes, stones, trees. Maybe, he had made it out, but was injured. Maybe he had managed to hide, here, in nature.
One last time , she promised herself, one last effort .
"Meliorn?" her voice was hoarse but it carried.
She had not truly expected a reply so actually receiving one startled her.
"Isabel."
She turned around. Meliorn stood before her, healthy, uninjured. There were traces of blood on his armour but nothing else suggested he had been in battle. He smiled at her. It was that special smile, that rare smile, that she had seen only a handful of times in all the time she had known him. It was genuine. She smiled back.
Suddenly her legs buckled underneath her. Strong arms caught her before she could fall. Isabel looked up into Meliorn's eyes. Worry creased his face. And maybe a bit of anger. Feathers rustled as his wings puffed up and stretched skyward before settling around her like the softest of blankets, filling her with warmth, comfo-
Wait, wings?
Isabel blinked. And stared.
"You have wings" Brilliant Isabel, really, your deductive skills are marvelous.
A soft chuckle rumbled through Meliorn's chest.
"I do. Though they are a rather recent development."
His wings pulled tighter around her, shrouding her from the noise and fuss of a New York morning. A warm glow enveloped her, passing through every part of her. Her body stopped shaking, her headache abated, her muscles relaxed. And the aching need deep inside her that longed for a bite was swept away as her body was cleansed.
There was no burning like the Sword's blast had caused. This was not destruction washing through her but healing.
When the glow vanished, Isabel took a deep breath and felt, for the first time in weeks, free and fully healthy.
"Thank you." Her voice was whisper-soft but clear. No strain, no wavering except that of emotion taking hold of her words.
The shadowhunter looked up at the Seelie. Only he was a Seelie no longer. "Your wings…" She hesitated, unsure if her conclusions were true. From all the Clave had told her it wasn't, couldn't be true, but she had the evidence right before her eyes, wrapped around her, felt the evidence still inside her in her sudden freedom from yin fen. "You are an angel."
Meliorn nodded and so she went on, trying to reconstruct what must have happened.
"You were not before. You were caught in the blast of the Sword." Another nodd. "And it burned away the demon blood." Her eyes widened. "And Seelie are part demon and part angel. So take away the demonic and you're left with… an angel." Meliorn nodded. "But then why didn't the others… The human blood wasn't strong enough" she closed her eyes in defeat.
The feathers moved at her back, puffing up against her hair as if to comfort her. A soft smile stole itself on her lips and she leaned her head against Meliorn's chest.
"I'm sorry. For…" Words eluded her.
"It is all said and done. Tarry not on it." Meliorn knew her meaning anyway, it seemed.
"I… I… There's something I should have told you long ago." She hesitated. Take a breath. You are brave. "I love you. And I understand that you likely do not feel the same. But I had to say it, at least once."
Isabel could feel the rumbling of laughter in his chest.
"Seelie are capable of love, despite popular belief. And love is not demonic in nature."
She stared up, eyes wide. Does he mean…?
Meliorn leaned his head close, his mouth by her ear. His words were so quiet, a small gust of wind would have drowned them out.
" I love you "