1. Chapter 1: Change (1/1)

*ping**ping**ping*clary looked over from her sketchbook to her phone to find 3 new frantic texts from isabelle. simon would be arriving in less than an hour with 5 of the newest members of the new york institute and isabelle had been a whirlwind of energy and excitement all week, cleaning and preparing the spare bedrooms of the institute for the arrival of the new nephilim children.there had been a request from the clave sent to every single institute worldwide asking them to take in orphaned children from idris who had lost their parents in the dark war, as well as the newly ascended shadowhunter children from the academy in need of homes. most of them had been orphans in their previous mundane lives. the decision to take in the children was met with some disapproval from jace and alec, who weren't keen on the extra responsibility or thought of strangers taking over their home. clary had been quick to remind jace that he wasn't the only one in charge; they ran the institute together now. she had simply looked at alec and asked, "aren't you basically living with magnus now anyway?" to which he had turned a deep shade of red and said nothing more.sighing, clary picked up the phone and opened izzy's texts.11:01 amless than an hour

11:03 amthat li

ary better be clean11:10 amyou cleaned it right?...oops. she had totally forgotten about isabelle's chore list and had spent the past couple of hours sketching instead.she tapped on the text box to reply and, as if isabelle had read her thoughts, a new message popped up.11:15 amoh by the angel, i'll do it myself!quite frankly, clary didn't see how the li

ary could get much cleaner. it was already immaculate. jace never let anything fall out of place. she sensed it was just izzy's excitement getting her all worked up.when she had shared the clave's request with everyone else, she'd expected some animosity towards the idea of opening up their home to strangers. the new york institute had taken in other shadowhunters in the past, but only on a temporary basis. this was, as far as clary could tell, going to be a very permanent situation – so she had been stunned when isabelle stepped forward in full support of the idea. clary noted she wasn't the only surprised one in the room as alec, simon and jace's jaws had all dropped simultaneously at izzy's enthusiasm. after all, isabelle lightwood didn't exactly have a good track record when it came to being friendly or accommodating to strangers. last time she had tried to do so, simon had been turned into a rat and kidnapped by vampires. clary sensed this change in attitude had something to do with max.there was a knock at the door and jace entered looking vexed."why simon wants to marry that woman is beyond me." he took a seat beside clary on the bed, grumbling under his

eath. she caught the words lunatic and compulsive as he pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it to her. it was a list the clave had sent them a few weeks back with the names and information of the children they'd be taking in.vivienne bellefleur, 14date of birth: september 21birthplace: annecy, francedominic alderwell, 13date of birth: june 30birthplace: alicante, idrisnathaniel fairweather, 15date of birth: may 16birthplace: alicante, idrispenelope fairweather, 11date of birth: march 6birthplace: alicante, idriseleanor arkwright, 15date of birth: january 4birthplace: london, englandclary knew the nephilim didn't recognize the term 'teenagers', though she'd wished they did upon opening the letter when it had first arrived at the institute. she had agreed to what she had thought were 5 small innocent children, not 5 angst-ridden teenagers. how would she be able to handle them when some days she still felt like one herself?the doorbell of institute sounded and the sound of isabelle's footsteps came rushing towards them from down the hallway. she didn't bother knocking and threw the door open, looking

eathless with her black hair in disarray."they're here."