“No,” Grace said, “at least—I had not intended to learn anything. I was trying to help Jesse.”

“Trying to bring him back from the dead, you mean,” said Tatiana, “with your silly little spells. Activated moth powder indeed.” She chuckled. “That’s correct, chit—I know it all. How foolish you have been. You couldn’t trust that your mother knew best, could you? It is my alliances, my patron, who will return Jesse to us, not your miserable fumblings.”

“What Belial tells you cannot be trusted,” Grace said breathlessly. “He is a Prince of Hell. A demon.”

Tatiana snorted. “It is not demons who have betrayed me. My patron has kept every promise to me that he ever made. His word is more reliable than yours, as far as I am concerned. If it were not for you, Jesse would not now be in the hands of a Shadowhunter. And not just a Shadowhunter, a Herondale. How could you have done such a thing?”

Grace wanted to scream. She wanted to run out of the room, run to the Institute, to Malcolm and Lucie. But it would do no good. Tatiana would follow. “You have to be careful, Mother,” she said, as steadily as she could. “The Inquisitor is on his way to the Citadel. He is going to question you.”

“Fiddlesticks,” said Tatiana, with a dismissive wave. “Question me about what? I am an innocent old woman.”

“About Jesse,” said Grace. “About his protection spells. About whether you knew that Belial had left a piece of himself inside Jesse, so he could possess him. I know, of course, that you must not have been aware of what your ‘patron’ did. I know you would never have put Jesse in danger.”

Tatiana’s voice sharpened. “It was Jesse’s fault,” she said, startling Grace. “If he hadn’t been so insistent on wanting runes, it would never have happened. How could Belial have guessed? He assumed I would raise my child properly—to despise the Nephilim and everything that is theirs. Though I did not know what would happen, it was my fault and my boy’s fault. That is why I have worked so very hard, Grace. So very hard to bring him back properly. With the right loyalties. The right desires. The right commitments.”

Grace shuddered. “You want Jesse back, but only obedient to you.”

“You can’t understand,” said Tatiana. “You’re only a girl—stupid and foolish. Don’t you see what will happen? The Herondale girl will bring him back, and turn him against us. They’ll teach him to hate us, to hate everything he came from. Don’t you understand? This is what they were always going to do. Take Jesse away from his family. That is why you must go and get him back.”