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Simon and Clary reunite as they witness a Parabatai ceremony…and discuss their own plans to be bonded. One of ten adventures in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

Simon and Clary act as witnesses to the parabatai ceremony of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn…and discuss their own parabatai plans in this precursor to The Dark Artifices.

This standalone e-only short story follows the adventures of Simon Lewis as he trains to become a Shadowhunter.

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy features characters from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, and the upcoming Dark Artifices and Last Hours series.

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

125 people are currently reading
14377 people want to read

About the author

Cassandra Clare

200 books278k followers
Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.

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5 stars
5,854 (43%)
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4,698 (35%)
3 stars
2,304 (17%)
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92 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,283 reviews
Profile Image for Sasha Alsberg.
Author 8 books64.7k followers
March 2, 2016
Sam Heughan narrated the audiobook and it was amazing
Profile Image for Zoë.
328 reviews63.5k followers
March 7, 2016
Ooooh so intrigued by what is to come! I wish there was more Emma and Julian, but I guess that will come in Lady Midnight!

Also, Sam Heughan's narration = WONDERFUL
Profile Image for Maureen.
607 reviews4,138 followers
March 13, 2016
Feeling a lot of Simon and Clary best friend feelings, and I also know that I am definitely going to ship Emma and Julian and it's going to break my HEART.
Profile Image for Snjez.
1,020 reviews1,034 followers
Read
February 18, 2024
No rating, since I've already read this as a part of the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

I just wanted to listen to the audio version of this novella, because it's narrated by Sam Heughan. I loved it! I could listen to a whole book narrated by him. His voice is so soothing and pleasant to listen to. 🥰
Profile Image for Emma Giordano.
278 reviews106k followers
September 22, 2015
My favorite of the TFTSA by FAR! So nice to see so many of my favorite characters from ALL of Cassie's books in one place. The plot of this novella TOTALLY captivated me and was extremely interesting, intense, and entertaining. I started to cry 4 times at different points just because there was so much nostalgia mixed with so many new feelings and I absolutely loved it! x
Profile Image for Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora).
1,009 reviews43.8k followers
January 26, 2019
"It was time to celebrate. It was nice, Simon thought, in the midst of all the terrible things that could happen and sometimes did happen, there was also this. There was a lot of love".

"Era tiempo de celebrar. Estaba bien, pensó Simon, que en medio de todas las cosas terribles que podían pasar y a veces pasaban, también existiera eso. También había muchísimo amor".


[Actualización 2019: ¡SAM HEUGHAN, Jamie Fraser en Outlander, narra el audiolibro y su voz es absolutamente maravillosa!].

Este es un relato que va enteramente sobre Clay y Simon, sobre su amistad y los lazos que los unen, pérdida de memoria o no. The Fiery Trial plasma perfectamente lo cercanos que son estos dos y que pueden pasar cualquier tipo de prueba para demostrarlo. ¡Me encantó ver a Julian y a Emma! Aunque, si soy sincera, algo en toda su ceremonia para volverse parabatai me da muuuuy mala espina. Supongo que descubriré qué se oculta detrás de todo cuando lea Lady Midnight y Lord of Shadows.
Profile Image for Andie .
324 reviews384 followers
March 29, 2016
We always hear about Parabatai's and their bonds but we never knew what really goes into finding yours and the ritual itself. This was great insight to both! Loved these Simon and Clary moments. They've always been true Parabatai. But really Emma and Julian?! I foresee a lot of heart break coming for these two in The Dark Artifices :(
Profile Image for Anastasia.
214 reviews57 followers
March 21, 2016
4.5/5 stars
The Fiery Trial is the eight short story in the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy bind up. This short story is definitely my least favorite. Not because it's not action packed or interesting; because it really is. It's because there was so much action and so interesting that it became too much and very, very confusing. Everything was fuzzy and I found myself lost at least 4 times and that's 3 times too much for a short story that's only 64 pages long. The cast of characters in this short story were great. This story definitely gave me a lot of insight into Lady Midnight and what is in store for Julian and Emma. We were able to learn how shadowhunters become parabatai and what it truly means, what you feel when you are eternally connected to someone for life. The Fiery Trail packed a big punch. But, it would have been stronger with a well thought out plot.
I will write a full review on the bind up once I finish all of the novellas.
Profile Image for Pinky.
637 reviews662 followers
March 25, 2016
I am almost done! I have 2 more to go and I am so excited to finally get my hands on Lady Midnight! I want to catch up with Winter though, because I love the Lunar Chronicle Series and I need to finish the series. Since I have a few days over the 3 day break, I am going to do as much reading as I can! That includes finishing the Shadowhunter Academy, Winter and Lady Midnight. I don't think I will finish all of it because both of those books are huge, but it's worth a shot, right?

“There’s always something about true parabatai. They don’t need to speak to communicate. I saw the two of you having entire conversations without saying a word. It was like that with my parabatai Will. I never had to ask Will what he was thinking. In fact, it was usually better not to ask Will what he was thinking…”

If you haven't heard of this series, it takes place after City of Heavenly Fire. It follows Simon, who is haunted by his past, he is confused on where he is going in life and wants to remember everything. He has a blurry memory of his loved ones, who love him so much. He goes to Shadowhunter Academy and goes through so much, and hopes to have fixed as much of his life as possible.

“It’s not that hard to see,” Magnus replied, and finally some of the usual levity was in his voice. “I’m also literally magic.”

We got to see more of the other characters from TID and TMI! I was so happy to read more of Clary, Jem, Magnus, Emma, and Julian. We see a little bit of Alec which I loved too. I really loved reading more of Magnus because he is just so amazingly magical! It was nice to see Jace and he always makes me laugh. Clary is so awesome and Simon is magnificent too! Jem is the best and it is interesting to read more with him.

“Why send a letter when you can send something truly magnificent?”

I loved learning more about Parabatai and how important the bond is. Emma and Julian seem like really interesting characters and I can't wait to read more about them in Lady Midnight! Clary and Jace are so awesome and I love how we see how comfortable they are with each other. Jem talking about his bond with his parabatai brought tears to my eyes! THE FEELS! Magnus is always charming and makes my day.

“That dress is . . .”
He had to clear his throat. Simon enjoyed his discomfiture. Not much ever threw Jace, but Clary had always been able to throw him like a Wiffle ball on a windy day. His eyes were practically cartoon hearts.”

When I read this quote in the book, all I could imagine was Jace like this:


Anyway, I enjoyed the adventure in this nouvella, the pacing was perfect, I kept reading until the very end. I feel like the only reason I take long to read these nouvellas is because of the fact that I am determined to review almost every book I read. So, when I finish a nouvella, I run to the laptop and write a review and then continue on with the nouvellas!

“I’m not going to kiss you,” Simon said. “Ever.”

I highly recommend you read this if you have already read TID and TMI, and want to read Lady Midnight. It shows you a sneak peak of the characters in Lady Midnight and you get to read more about your favorite characters! What more could you want? I highly recommend the TID and TMI series to those who haven't read it yet. Now, I'll be off to read the next nouvella :)
Profile Image for Melanie (meltotheany).
1,196 reviews102k followers
October 21, 2018
“True parabatai are linked long before the ceremony takes place.”

This one I feel really on the fence about. Like, drugging people, even with good intentions, isn’t cool. Basically, this is the parabatai short story! We get to see Julie and Beatriz decide to become parabatai. We get to see Emma and Julian become parabatai. And then we get to see Simon and Clary discuss if they want to be parabatai. And… I thought I would like it more than I did. First off, Maureen is the character in this entire Shadowhunter universe that makes me the saddest. Then, add in the drugging situation. Lastly, the feeling weirdness because you know that Emma and Julian are obviously going to eventually have a forbidden romance (even though they are only fourteen in this… yikes!) I don’t know, I am excited to see Simon and Clary become parabatai, but this story wasn’t that great itself.

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(I read this in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy!) ✨
Profile Image for Laura.
471 reviews581 followers
November 23, 2015
description

|2.7 stars|

This one will be very short because I have zero motivation at the moment

A Maureen and Cassandra collaboration can go really good or just meh.
AFT was on the meh side, to be honest.

They’re so going to say that Simon had some sort of Sight before he actually met the Shadowhunters because what was all that crap about hallucination!Jace telling Simon to remember the first time he saw him? Is Cassandra really going to say he could saw the Shadow world before shit hit the fan? This is just too bizarre for me.

description

And I needed more of Emma and Julian. There will be plenty of time for us to read how the parabatai ceremony were for Clary and Simon. Hell, Cassie could write a whole story about it and we’ll read it so let’s not waste our time on this and focus on the most relevant thing at the moment.

And what’s with the no Isabelle in this story?

description

It was good but nah.
Profile Image for Souma BookAddict.
213 reviews101 followers
July 15, 2016

It was good, I loved that Magnus was in it. It was great to see Clary and Simon's friendship again.

"It was like that with my parabatai, Will. I never had to ask Will what he was thinking. In fact, it was usually better not to ask Will what he was thinking..."

My heart breaks everytime Jem talks about Will.

It was also great to see an actual parabatai ceremony with Emma and Julian. Although he clearly does not want to become parabatai with her but he has no choice.
Profile Image for Giulia.
212 reviews258 followers
April 17, 2016
Meh, this one was pretty boring, and also really confusing. I spent half of the time wondering what on earth was going on! I don't really care for the relationship between Clary and Simon, the whole parabatai ceremony for Emma and Julian was over way too soon - and the atmosphere was so weird I'm still not sure what to think. I don't know. This novella was really odd. I loved seeing Magnus again though and oh, Jem! *heart-eyes* Hearing him talk about his parabatai bond with Will warmed my heart (and also broke it a little bit.)
Profile Image for Alexa ❤️.
253 reviews138 followers
March 9, 2017
5 Stars



Can't wait to see the ceremony after Simon ascends.

Profile Image for leenahreads.
210 reviews
October 6, 2015
i swear when they mentioned will i had to stop reading for a second and catch my breath I MISS HIM SO MUCH I WANT LIKE 10 EXTRA BOOKS ABOUT WILL OKAY!! also emma and julian are so in love i cant believe we're gonna suffer 3 books of them wanting each other but not being able to have each other rip
Profile Image for Alaina.
7,347 reviews203 followers
November 7, 2017
“I’m not going to kiss you,” Simon said. “Ever.”

“I’ve never heard anyone say that before,” Jace mused. “It was a unique experience.”




WOW! So a lot of shit went down in this book. A whole lot of parabati shit.



But then The Fiery Trial had to take me on an emotional roller coaster ride that I did not sign up for, like:



I honestly have no idea how I even got through this book on my own. I feel like I need a hug and some chocolate.
Profile Image for Martina Gjomemo.
274 reviews
February 21, 2016
Emma and Jules........... Parabatai!
NOOOOO! Damn it!
By the Angel Emma, don't you see that Juls is in love with you?
My poor baby! :(
Profile Image for Joana.
602 reviews54 followers
December 9, 2018
4.5 Stars!

I don't know what to say.

I cried. A lot. My heart hurts. Like hell.

I'm probably dying from Parabatai feels.

* Jalec feels. ❤️

* Heronstairs feels. ❤️

* Malec feels. ❤️

* Climon feels. ❤️


This is all to much for me to handle. Seeing Jem talking about Will... breaks me. And the way Jace and Alec look at each other is just so heartbreaking beautiful that hurts.

And although I don't like Simon I've always loved and admired his friendship with Clary, so I'm beyond happy that they're becoming Parabatai.

To be honest I'm upset about Emma and Jules. I really am. I still haven't forgotten about the circumstances that lead to Emma and Jules becoming Parabatai and Julian is clearly hurting and it just kills me seeing him like that.

***

Next month... MALEC STORY!!!! I've been waiting for this story since the very beginning.

We can never have enough Malec.

Malec is life. Male is everything. ❤️


I need a book just about Malec but full of Alec and Jace Parabatai moments. ❤
Profile Image for Angigames.
1,413 reviews
February 15, 2016
3 stelle e mezzo
Era proprio ora che la Clare definisse precisamente il rapporto tra Simon e Clary!
Per tutta la serie precedente infatti, si assiste ad un continuo oscillare del rapporto tra i due. Due ragazzi legatissimi, che però non potranno mai essere solo amici, ne qualcosa di più, eppure il loro legame è profondo, stretto e sincero, così palpabile da essere percepito da tutti. Sono contenta che la Clare, finalmente, si sia decisa a mettere un punto definitivo sul questo sentimento che li accomuna. Da ora Simon e Clary saranno Parabatai e io ne sono molto felice, anche se ho trovato lo stratagemma dell’età molto infantile, così come ho trovato inutile la presenza di Jem… (ma va bene… sono opinioni personali viscerali, non prendetemi troppo sul serio!).
Ora. Ho già detto che voglio LM, ho già accennato che ne vedremo delle belle, ho già preparato i fazzoletti, certo, mi aspettavo una cerimonia Parabatai più complessa e formale (la Clare l’ha un po’ liquidata troppo velocemente per i miei gusti). Come al solito, però, il più acuto di tutti risulta essere sempre Simon! Sarà ancora un semplice Mondano, diventato poi Nascosto e pronto a diventare Cacciatore ma, a Simon basta dare un’occhiata ad Emma e Julian per intuire, che forse, il loro giuramento non è stato pronunciato in maniera convinta. Vedremo cosa ci riserverà il futuro…
PS: in questa novella la mancanza di Izzy (che ho trovato strana) si sente e come! Clare devi lavorare bene con i Sizzy, ricordatelo! E si… potrebbe essere una minaccia!
XD
Profile Image for Trina.
930 reviews3,865 followers
February 23, 2016
I have a hard time giving any novella 5 stars, but this is one NOT to miss. It added some essential things to the series!
Profile Image for Mikee (ReadWithMikee).
203 reviews1,360 followers
February 9, 2017
I have a feeling that Emma and Julian's decision to be parabatai will prove to be potentially problematic in The Dark Artifices series.

Hmm, I wonder... I might be sensing forbidden romance?
Profile Image for bec..
142 reviews89 followers
March 1, 2016
❝ I saw the two of you having entire conversations without saying a word. It was like that with my parabatai, Will. I never had to ask Will what he was thinking. In fact, it was usually better not to ask Will what he was thinking. . . . ❞

Soo amazing. Clary and Simon's relationship has grown so much :D

And Emma and Jules parabatai ceremony?!?? I am so alive :)))
Profile Image for Paola.
915 reviews40 followers
June 15, 2019
So this was read by Sam Heughan, and it was so enjoyable, it's a short story about the ceremony to become parabatai in the Shadowhunter's world, this story has particular relevance when you think about Julian and Emma and what happens next in lady midnight, because parabatais depend on one another but can't fall in love.
Profile Image for Alina Lizzy.
653 reviews14 followers
September 27, 2015
"The ritual goes unexpectedly..." = unexpectedly what? ...WELL?

O>O

This is Cassie Clare writing. When trouble comes, it ain't unexpected to me anymore. Everything will probably hit the fan. And that's okay.

(But I think we should get some Magnus Bane in this novella. Just in case.)
Profile Image for katia.
351 reviews582 followers
May 20, 2022
i'm reviewing this after having read lady midnight and i hate my life 😭 i feel so bad for jules and emma

simon and clary were honestly meant to become parabatai from the start. despite his feelings for her in the beginning of tmi, their platonic relationship was always so perfect
Profile Image for Dulce Espinosa.
180 reviews42 followers
January 23, 2016
read by Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser en Outlander)
Qué más le pido a la vida? Bueno, aparte de escuchar el hermoso acento escocés de Sam, disfruté mucho la historia! <3 Simon es uno de mis personajes favoritos de The Mortal Instruments así que sí, me gustan estas historias de shadowhunters :P
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,283 reviews

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