Valentine circled around the girl. She was not yet an adult, but she acted years older. Her fighting was on point, her actions were proper, her words were never messy. She was the perfect version of Valentine Morgenstern.
Not just with her actions, but her looks as well. She had his white blonde hair, his triangular face, his pointed chin and black as night eyes. She was very beautiful in a way not many other women were, and she was deadly.
Taking pride in his creation, Valentine raised her himself, teaching her everything he knew. She had never known a mother, though she did not need one. She was raised to take care of herself and not to let anybody stand in her way.
The man stopped in front of his daughter. Taking in her beauty one more time. Men would kill to be with her, as women killed to be with him.
He reached out and stroked her cheek, lovingly, though not smiling at her. "You are ready, my dear." He said, his voice rough and croaking from not speaking for many days. He had been locked up in this room, coming up with his master plan, barely coming out for anything. His daughter had to bring him food and remind him that he needed sleep every now and then.
The girl nodded her head once and looked into her father's eyes. They both had the same smile, an evil smile, a smile that gave away no secrets. "I am, father."
"Go, my child. Make me proud." Valentine pulled his daughter in for one last hug, kissing the top of her head. His best creation.
"I will make you proud, I will." She pulled away and looked up at the man. He stood six feet tall, towering over most. She had been tall for a girl her age, but never would she catch up with him.
Grabbing her bags, the girl glided over to the door, where the last bit of sunshine shone through. It was nearing dark, the sun resting for the night so the moon could come out and play. It was her favourite time of day.
There was movement in the corner of the room. The girl looked back and saw another girl, tied up with ropes at the wrists and ankles. She was trying to speak, but her speech was muffled by the tape across her mouth.
"Ah, Skylar. It shall be fun to see our cousin again, won't it?" Valentine's daughter laughed.
Valentine pulled up a seraph blade from the table, speaking a name. Valentine's daughter walked out of the door and let it shut behind her as the screams filled the night.
Without looking back, she walked away from the house, down the pathway to Alicante, where her new life would begin.
The Penhallow's were a nice family, though they were never home. Jia and Patrick Penhallow always seemed to never be home, leaving their daughter, Aline, alone most of the time. Not that this bothered Aline in the slightest, in fact, Skylar was sure she loved being home alone. It gave her more time to read those books she was always locked in her room with.
Aline had let Skylar borrow some of her books, letting her read whatever she wanted. Skylar had always enjoyed reading, but never had the time anymore. It was satisfying to finish some series she had started months and months ago, or start new ones, or read a book of interesting history facts. It was all there in the library.
"Tea?" Skylar asked, fixing a small cup and sliding it to Isabelle Lightwood, another guest in the house. She and her brothers arrived last night with a Nightwalker, a vampire. Though they called him something different—Daylighter.
Isabelle nodded her head, taking the cup and taking a tiny sip. She made a face as if it were too hot and set it back down in the saucer. "Thanks," She said sleepily. None of them had gotten much sleep, not with the Daylighter upstairs.
The two girls walked out of the kitchen together, carrying trays of tea for the rest of the room; Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood, Max Lightwood, and Aline. Skylar made an extra one for the Daylighter, Simon, but knew he most likely wouldn't drink it. Blood was his poison.
Skylar went over to Jace, the blonde, golden eyed boy, and handed him a cup on a saucer. "Tea?" She smiled sweetly.
Jace had been standing by the window, staring outside towards the demon towers. His attention was broken when Skylar spoke, quickly turning his head as if he expected her to be attacking him. "Please," He took it and took a huge gulp, having to spit it back out into the cup. "Blech!"
"Let it cool a bit next time." Isabelle rolled her eyes and sat next to her brother. They were both dark haired, though their eyes were totally different. Alec's was a bright blue, almost electric, and Isabelle's were dark, matching their hair.
Jace muttered something that was obviously quite rude. He went back to watching out the window as if he were waiting.
Max walked over, being the youngest in the room, he was also the shortest. Skylar almost tripped over him as she turned to set the tray down, catching herself as gracefully as her father taught her to do.
"Whoa, buddy." She chuckled and handed him some tea as well.
They sat quietly for a while, drinking tea, muttering something every now and then, all wishing they had a TV or something to pass the time. In the Penhallow house there were no TVs, just books, books, and more books.
Isabelle left the room a while ago, saying something about checking in on the vampire, but Skylar felt something going on between them. Perhaps it was nothing, just wishful thinking, but something lingered.
Skylar cleaned up the empty cups, taking them into the kitchen and cleaning them. When she walked back, there was a new member in the room. The Daylighter. He was sitting in an armchair with his feet propped up on the table, his hands folded in his lap awkwardly.
"He needs to go, Izzy!" Alec glared at his little sister.
"Not yet!" Isabelle was pacing in front of the fire, her long hair was now out of the braid it was in earlier and spread out over her strong shoulders.
"He needs this," Jace started pulling off his jacket, taking out a silver flask with a star design on the front.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. "He doesn't need a drink, but I do."
Jace held the flask away from her reaching hands and nodded to the Daylighter. "Simon needs his energy." He handed it to Simon, who tried to refuse.
Aline was gone, and so was Max. Skylar assumed they left because Alec told them to. He tended to go off when the smallest things happened. Stress, maybe.
"The Clave needs to know there is a Downworlder in Alicante." Alec was saying. Isabelle was no longer pacing, but standing in front of Simon, her arms crossed. "He needs to portal back and they have the only portal we have access to."
"The Clave needs to know nothing!" Isabelle hissed.
"He's right, Izzy." Simon sat up now, his hands still in his lap. "I need to get back to Clary. She'll be miserable that we're all in Idris when she's still suck in New York. It would also help if someone hadn't tried preventing her coming." Simon glanced over at Jace, who was too busy studying the flask in his hands, twirling it between his fingers and opening and closing the lid.
"Clary…" Isabelle sighed. "Of course."
"I'll go to the Gard." Alec said, walking out of the room, putting an end to that conversation.
"Jace?" Skylar poked her head into the library. Isabelle told her he most likely ran in here, finding comfort in all these pages, where it was easy to get lost. She had been right.
Jace was lying on the couch, his feet propped up on one arm whilst his head rested on the other end. His chest rose and fell with each breath, making the book he fell asleep reading slide across his chest. His eyes were open, however.
"Come in." He groaned, shoving the book off his chest and sitting up.
Skylar closed the door behind her and quickly chose the seat next to Jace, crossing her legs and leaning against the back. "Tell me," She said, looking up at him. "Why do you care so much for that Downworlder?"
This caught Jace off guard. He gave her a questioning look, but didn't ask why she brought it up. "I'm totally in love with him, can't you tell?"
Skylar sighed and shook her head. "I want a real answer, none of this beating around the bush." She cocked her head to the side, her eyes wide and watching him carefully, another thing her father had taught her.
"He's… my sister's best friend," His voice cracked. "That's all."
"Clary?" Skylar knew the name well. Too well, but she didn't let it get under her skin. She couldn't, that's not why she was sent here. That's not why her father came up with this flawless plan of his.
The plan, as Skylar went over several times before she fell asleep, was perfect. Nobody would question her because nobody would know. Her first step was to get closer to Jace Wayland, learn his weakness.
Jace was handsome, certainly someone Skylar would want to get close to. She didn't care that Aline had eyes for him, she didn't care if he had a girlfriend back in New York. Now was the time to work her magic.
Nodding, Jace played with a button on his white shirt. It was thin enough to see the runes on his chest. "Clary."
Skylar shrugged her shoulders and sat on her feet. "Want to play a game?" She asked.
Jace glanced sideways at her. "What kind of game?"
Skylar's smile spread across her pale face, showing the pearly white teeth and very sharp canine teeth, almost as if she were a vampire. "Just to let back and have fun, isn't that what we all need? A little fun?"
"And what kind of 'fun' are you talking here?" This made Jace's eyebrow pop up higher than his other.
Skylar found herself climbing over in his lap, straddling his waist. Her lips were inches from his. Jace didn't move, but he didn't object to this kind of behaviour either. "Fun. Like—" She was cut off by her lips crashing into his.
His lips were soft, just as she imagined them. Not that she spent too much time thinking of the matter, she couldn't allow herself to give into the teenage hormones floating around her body. She had a job to do; get close to Jace. What better way than to kiss him in a library—alone?
Finally, he moved his hands to her sides. They gripped her tight, knowing she could bare the roughness. After all, they were both Shadowhunters, both very well trained. She was meant to stand pain. She liked it rough.
Jace parted his lips, allowing her tongue to wander inside, looking around as if making itself at home, and dancing with his own tongue as the final touch.
The door burst open, breaking the two apart to look up and see a girl, a redheaded girl, panting and looking into the room as if she'd just seen a ghost. All colour in her skin faded and she stumbled, reaching for the wall for support.
"Clary." Jace said, but made no move to get up, his hands firmly on Skylar's sides.
Isabelle and Max walked in behind her. Isabelle covered her mouth and Max covered his eyes, looking away from the two as if he just caught them doing something more.
"What's going on here?" Clary's voice croaked as if she had lost it. Some colour came back. She stood up on her own, looking away from the two as they sat there, Skylar still in Jace's lap.
"I told you not to come up here." Isabelle shrugged her shoulders and shooed Max out of the room. "Go outside and play for once. Let the grown-ups talk."
Skylar heard Max whine about always being left out. She felt slightly sorry for the little fellow.
The girl standing before them, Clary, was less than what Skylar expected. Actually, she wasn't sure what she did expect. Taller? Fuller? Prettier? Not to say she wasn't pretty. In Skylar's book, she was average pretty with her flame red hair. Not at all something Valentine would be proud of.
"What's going on here?" Clary repeated, anger replacing her shock.
Jace sat up a little straighter, still keeping his hands on Skylar's hips. "Just having a little fun, right Sky?"
Skylar nodded, her dark hair falling into her face. Jace tucked it back behind her ears and stood up, standing her beside him. "That's right." Skylar beamed.
Alec appeared. His lips parted as if he might say something but then he noticed Clary and he froze. She obviously had some kind of impact on the others, Skylar made a mental note of that. They cared for her too much, or not enough.
"Clary!" Alec barked. "How—why—when—" He couldn't speak. The words left his body completely.
Clary shrugged her shoulders and said, "I made a portal here. Luke came with me. Now, can we please get on with—" Isabelle stopped her by raising her hand.
"Luke is here?!"
"Great, just great. Clary, we already have a Downworlder here. Two does not help us in the least." Alec threw his hands up. "Clary, we need to talk. Downstairs."
Alec took Isabelle by her elbow and led her downstairs. Clary remained, staring at Skylar and Jace, who, even though stood now, had their arms wrapped around each other.
It made Skylar want to rush over and strangle her. The look the redhead had was death ray killing them slowly.
"I didn't believe it, you know." She said, almost too silent for them to hear. "About our father. I thought I could give us a chance." And with that, she turned on her heel and left the room, leaving Jace and Skylar still embraced.
