chapter twelve

"𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔤𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔡;

ℌ𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔡, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔞 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔡:

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔭 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔠𝔨, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔠𝔨, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢,

𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔢𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔞𝔡𝔶'𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔢.

"𝔅𝔶 𝔊𝔬𝔡!" 𝔰𝔞𝔦𝔡 𝔉𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔦𝔰, "𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔩𝔶 ����𝔬𝔫𝔢!" 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔱:

"𝔑𝔬𝔱 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢," 𝔮𝔲𝔬𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔢, "𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔳𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔱𝔶, 𝔰𝔢𝔱𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔞 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝔨 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱."

~ Leigh Hunt, "The Glove and the Lions"

---

Anna and Estelle dropped by Cordelia's house at exactly nine that night. They were in a dark carriage. Cordelia was hurrying out of the house, covered in her coat and climbed into the carriage. The inside of the carriage had brass fittings and red velvet seats.

Estelle was sat beside her sister, dressed in a gown that matched her eyes and complimented her dark hair, outlining her figure at the same time. Her sister was dressed in elegant black menswear, her shirtfront starched and white. She had an amethyst pin, the colour of Estelle and Christopher's eyes, winking in her cravat and her coat fit perfectly on her narrow shoulders.

"Thank you." Was Cordelia's breathless response as the carriage began moving. "The dresses are absolutely lovely – you didn't have to – "

Anna waved her off. "It cost me nothing. A werewolf seamstress owed me a favour, and Estelle helped me pick out fabric. So, which one did you decide to wear?"

Cordelia slipped her coat off and Estelle's eyes twinkled when she saw the simmering bronze gown under. "Deep colours suit you well, Cordelia. Claret red, kingfisher blue, emerald green." She commented with a gentle smile.

"Sleek lines and simplicity, none of this silly frou-frou everyone's wearing." Anna nodded.

"Do we have plan?" Cordelia asked, looking out of the window. "What we're going to do when we get there?"

"I will seduce." The corners of Anna's lips turned up.

"You will distract." Estelle winked at the younger girl. "Or, well, stay out of Anna's way."

Cordelia smiled, leaning against the window and listening to Anna pointing the landmarks out. Estelle piped in when her sister mentioned the statue of Eros to tell a bit about the mythological man's story. Soon enough, they were in Soho, surrounded by fog.

When the carriage came to a stop, Estelle smiled, reaching up to fix her hair and pat her lips with more lipstick. She smoothed her top out and looked out to see James and Matthew leaned against the walls. Both of them were dressed in black evening coats, Matthew with a green tie and velvet trousers. James with his collar turned against the wind, face pale between the blackness of his hair and the material of his suit.

Anna was the first one out, leaving the door open behind her. The older girl had no trouble getting out, not being dressed in a dress, but trousers. Estelle stood after her and made her way to the door. Matthew was the one who stepped forward, holding a hand out for her. She gave him a beam and took it happily, letting him help her out.

She stepped down and let her dress fall down after her. "You look mesmerizing." Matthew breathed out.

Estelle's eyes widened slightly and her cheeks turned a pale red. Her lips quirked up and she reached up to kiss his cheek. "And you look as handsome as ever."

It was his turn to blush. He wasn't able to stutter out a thank you, instead simply running a hand through his gold curls nervously. He tried to look anywhere but Estelle, and instead met Anna's eyes, and she winked, causing him to scowl.

While Matthew was in awe of Estelle, Cordelia was stepping out of the carriage, well, more like tumbling. James quickly caught her and set her on her feet. Estelle turned to see the pair, and his hands were still on her hips. The younger girl had left her coat in the carriage and James was staring at her.

"Cordelia. You look different." Matthew commented.

Estelle rolled her eyes, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm. "Different? Matthew, she's stunning."

James then stepped back. "We had better go in."

As they walked behind Anna, Estelle leaned up to whisper to Matthew. "Did you see his face?"

"Whipped." Matthew teased and the brunette giggled. The faerie at the door recognised the trio that was always here and let them pass in. they followed Anna into the central chamber, where Hypatia was stood. The décor of the room was changed.

The walls now hung with paintings of bacchanals: naked dancers encircled the streaming ribbons, demons with eyes painted red and forehead garlanded with flowers, their bodies lacquered gold. Behind Hypatia hung a massive triptych of a dark-haired woman holding a black owl with golden eyes.

The stage in the middle of the room was empty, but chairs and couches were arranged around it. They were occupied by Downworlders. Anna turned her focus to Hypatia, who was sat on a carved oak settee, upholstered in red and green jacquard fabric. She was wearing a gown of shimmering black silk that clung to her curves.

She wasn't alone. There was a handsome werewolf beside her with green-gold eyes and he was focused on Hypatia, his fingers playing with a strap on her gown.

"Anna, you may have your work cut out for you." James said.

"That's Claude Kellington." Matthew said. "He's the master of entertainment here. In charge of the stage."

Anna turned around. "Estelle. Distract him."

"Of course." The girl winked before brushing her hair over her shoulder and gently detaching her arm from Matthew. She walked over to the settee and spoke a few words. Claude followed her back towards them.

"Please tell me you have some sort of act." He said. Anna was gone, quietly slipped away. Estelle made sure she stood beside both Claude and Matthew, her hand brushing against her best friends. "No one wants to see singing and dancing Shadowhunters."

"Well, if my brother were here, I might have recited some poetry. But alas." Estelle sighed dramatically.

"I recall the poetry you recited to me once." Claude said. "However, we are looking for new performers tonight." He turned to James. "Do you have any talents, besides standing there looking good and saying nothing."

"I'm quite skilled at throwing knives." James said. Estelle let her eyes drift to the side, seeing her sister surprise Hypatia with a kiss on her knuckles as she slid onto the settee beside her.

"If a Shadowhunter gets up and starts waving knives around, we're going to have a riot. Hypatia wants to entertain her guests, not kill them." He turns to Cordelia slowly. "What about you?"

"I suppose I could perform." The redhead said, sounding breathless. Estelle's eyes widened in surprise and she saw James touch Cordelia's arm.

"Cordelia, you don't need to – "

"I can do it." Cordelia persisted. She nodded to James and turned to Claude. "I am ready." The werewolf lead her to the stage.