Chapter One
"Blaze Seraphina Herondale!" Blaze's mother could clearly be heard through the entire New York Institute, and she did not sound pleased.
"Mom, I killed two Mantid demons today!" Blaze announced excitingly to her mother.
"I specifically sent you to check the perimeter, not the entire building!" Clary yelled at her daughter, running an angry hand through her blazing hair.
"Mom, it's fine. I'm going to be fifteen in a few weeks, I can handle a few demons." Blaze said disappointingly, upset that her mother wasn't proud of her.
"Blaze, you need to start listening to me! I realize that you're strong, the strongest Shadowhunter of your generation, but that does not make you indestructible." Clary gave Blaze a serious look, "You could've been killed in there. You put your life in danger, along with Greyson and Olivia's lives. You need to stop being so reckless, Blaze."
Blaze looked down at her ichor-covered gear. She hadn't thought it was that dangerous. But that's what always happened; Blaze rushed into danger without thinking straight, and then fought her way through it. She didn't see anything wrong with it, but her mother did.
"I'm sorry. It didn't seem that dangerous when we went inside. Besides, Grey was there, and you know that he always protects me." Blaze looked for her best friend, but didn't see the familiar head of light brown waves.
"Greyson!" Blaze's father called, coming to stand next to her mother.
Suddenly, her best friend appeared. His wavy hair ws flopping in his face as he tried to balance his crossbow in one hand, and his stele in the other. Blaze fought the urge to giggle at the major struggle he seemed to be having.
Wordlessly, Blaze took the crossbow out of his hand, as he finished applying an iratze. He flashed her a grateful smile, which seemed to light up his whole face.
"Greyson Blackthorn, did you at least try to stop Blaze this time?" Jace asked the tall, skinny boy that was now standing directly next to Blaze.
"Yes, I swear I did. But you know how she is, once she's set her mind to something, there's no stopping her. I looked away for one second, and then poof! She was gone." Greyson said warily; he hated getting in trouble.
Blaze felt no shame when thinking back on her actions. She considered it quite a successful trip. Blaze and Greyson talked to each other silently, communicating with facial expressions.
You got us both in trouble! Greyson said to Blaze.
Oh, please. It's me that's in trouble, I won't let anything happen to you.
You need to stop doing this, It's really bad for my stress level.
I'll never stop. Blaze finished with a grin.
Greyson gave her an exasperated look, right as Blaze's parents stopped bickering about what to do.
"Clary, she's just a child. And considering she's got both of our genes, I'd say she's doing pretty well." Jace stuck up for Blaze.
"And I don't need protection! I killed that demon with one slash of my whip! I'm not a child, either; both of you were already kicking ass at my age." Blaze demonstrated the whip action with extreme enthusiasm.
"Language, Blaze." Clary scolded, but she was covering a smile with her hand.
"Did I hear you say that you killed two Mantid demons today?" Blaze's dad asked.
"Sure did. Decapitated the first, sliced the other in half." Blaze grinned with pride.
"That's my fierce little warrior." Jace smiled and ruffled his daughter's golden-blond hair.
Blaze's eyes twinkled as she beamed up at her father. Clary relaxed as she watched her daughter amd husband interact lovingly. Her anger now diminished, she pulled Blaze into a tight hug, Clary hovering a couple inches above Blaze.
"I just worry that you're not going to be able to fight yourself out of a situation, and I won't be there to help you." Clary said.
"I can fight my way through any situation. You don't need to worry about me. I've got Greyson and Liv to watch my back." Blaze smiled adoringly at Greyson.
"Speaking of, where is Olivia? Parabatai should really be together." Jace asked with mild concern.
"Auntie Izzy made her come straight home when she found out about the Mantid demon attack." Blaze said.
"I'll call them and tell them everything is fine." Clary said.
"Both of you go clean up. If you don't get that ichor off of you, your skin's going to burn off." Jace threw a towel at them as they raced up the polished wooden stairs.
Wiping at her face, she tossed the towel to Greyson, and he caught it with ease. Wiping his face, he shot Blaze a determined smirk.
"Race you to our rooms?" He challenged.
"You are so on!" Blaze said with a wicked grin and took off running without warning Greyson.
Greyson made a noise of surprise and annoyance, and hurried after her. Blaze's speed was twice as fast as a normal Shadowhunter's due to her abnormal amount of angel blood. She could also create runes stronger than her mother's, jump from alarming heights, and was the best warrior the Nephilim had ever seen. Saying that Blaze was famous in the Shadow World would be a huge understatement. People praised her, she was the golden child of the Clave.
Blaze beat Greyson, of course. She hadn't even broke a sweat from the race. Greyson, on the other hand, came in panting as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Blaze giggled at him, and he shot her a glare.
"Beat you again, Grey. I think you're getting slower." Blaze said with a teasing smile.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the fastest Shadowhunter alive." Greyson said in a mocking tone, but not a mean one.
Blaze stuck her tongue out at him and he gave her the look of death as he made his way to his room. Sighing, Blaze shucked her gear onto her dresser and quickly pulled out some black leggings and a sweatshirt that she had stolen from her older brother, Steel.
Stepping into the shower, Blaze scrubs all the blood and dirt and sweat off her body and hair. That was the one thing she hated about being a Shadowhunter; she was practically always filthy. Especially when you were a warrior like Blaze. She always found the best strategies, but not necessarily the cleanest ones.
Slipping into her clothes and towel-drying her damp hair, Blaze walked back out into her room and shoved her feet in socks. Humming a sweet tune, she combed out her long, golden hair and stared at herself in the mirror. She had brilliant gold eyes like her father, but freckles dusted her nose and cheekbones like her mother. They were also on her shoulders and arms. Her skin was a pale gold, and she had a petite build like her mother. Being a great 5'1 didn't make her very intimidating, but intimidation isn't based just on looks. Lots of people compared her looks to her father; she truly looked like an angel, but she didn't act like one. Not always, at least.
Sighing deeply, she looked away from herself in the mirror, and promptly decided that she was bored. Sliding down the smooth wooden railings of the stairs, Blaze made it to the music room. Plopping down at her favorite instrument, the piano, she plucked a simple melody at first. Slowly, she added more bass and soon enough, her fingers were moving faster than her head. Playing a song that had been her favorite for a long time, memories rose through the notes.
Closing her eyes, Blaze let the music carry her, rather than her eyes. As she hit the climax of the song, Blaze's breath hitched, and a small smile appeared on her face. Slowing down the tempo, the music faded with a single note, a note that lasted and slowly melted away.
Taking her hands off the keys, Blaze heard a quiet applause coming from the other end of the room. Startled, she turned to see her best friend standing there, his light brown wave were damp, and his blue-green eyes shone in the dim light. Blaze had a small smile on her face.
"You're the best pianist I've ever heard. I will always stand by that." He said with a gentle voice, coming near her.
"You're just saying that." Blaze dismissed the compliment, knowing that it wasn't true.
"I'm not. If you weren't destined to be a warrior, you could make serious money as a pianist." Greyson sat down next to her on the bench.
Blaze just smiled, and played another piece that was forever printed in her mind. She played it without even thinking, and though it was a mournful piece, Blaze never thought of it that way. In some ways, the mourning notes were the saviors of the piece. They were what made it so moving, so beautiful. Blaze played and played, never hesitating, and never looking at anything other than the keys.
Finishing, she let her foot off the pedal beneath the piano, and her and Greyson just sat there in silence. What could you say after that?
But Greyson just took Blaze's hand in his, and held on tightly.
The dinner table at the Institute was usually calm. Blaze and Greyson sat next to each other on the long bench, and Clary and Jace sat across from them. It wasn't unusual for Olivia, Simon and Izzy to join them occasionally. But it was just the usual members for that night, and they all ate, speaking to each other calmly.
"You know, you're birthday is in a couple weeks." Greyson wiggled his weirdly perfect eyebrows.
Blaze chuckled at him, sipping her water.
"I'm quite aware, Greyson." She said, laughter in her stunning golden eyes.
"Yes, well, I was thinking that we could have a mundane day." He said with an excited expression.
"A 'mundane day'? What does that mean?" Blaze asked with true curiosity.
"Exactly what it sounds like. We take the day off of being Shadowhunters, and just pretend to be mundanes for the day. Go shopping, see a movie. Do all the things the mundies do." Greyson said.
Blaze pretended to really think about it. Setting her chin in her palm, she made an exaggerated thinking face, and switched her eyes to Greyson.
"It's a plan." She said.
Greyson smiled his gorgeous smile. He didn't smile at anyone else like that, and Blaze didn't know why. He looked like a true angel when he flashed his adorable smile and naturally straight teeth. Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Blaze looked away, and continued eating.
Her parents seemed to be discussing boring Clave duties, and Blaze was done with her dinner. Picking up her dishes, she walked into the big kitchen. Greyson followed her, and they washed their dishes together, in a comfortable silence.
"Mine or yours tonight?" Blaze asked after they'd finished.
"Mine. I'm sure yours is just messy. You probably shoved your gear on your dresser again, didn't you?" Greyson asked with a knowing smile.
"It's like you can read minds." Blaze said, walking out of the kitchen, towards the wide wooden staircase.
Greyson just chuckled as they walked up the stairs together, side by side. Blaze thought about Greyson's parents, Emma and Julian Blackthorn. They were in Idris, both working on the Council to fight for Downworlder rights. Due to both of them working constantly, they decided to have Greyson live here with Clary, Jace, and Blaze when Greyson was eight. Now, he was sixteen, and practically identical to his father.
Blaze studied him as they walked to his room. He had a tendency of looking down due to his shyness, and just from being extremely tall. He was almost about 5'10, which made him almost a foot taller than Blaze, but it never seemed like it. Greyson had his mother's delicate facial features, but his father's coloring. His hair was lighter than Julian's, but he had the same Blackthorn waves. And his eyes were identical to Julian's as well. Blaze thought it was incredible to how much he looked like his father.
"Blaze, I know that I'm extremely attractive, but you needn't stare at me." Greyson said with a joking smile.
Despite herself, Blaze blushed. It was a true curse, but Blaze couldn't help it. She blushed way more than the average person should. Greyson just chuckled, and pulled her to his side.
They reached Greyson's room, which was down the hall from Blaze's. Blaze's parents room was the level above them, so she didn't usually see them after dinner. They used to tuck her into bed when she was little, but that was a long time ago.
Blaze ran to Greyson's huge bed and jumped onto it, curling herself into the warm comforter. Greyson just chuckled at her and pushed her gently to the right side of the bed. Much like Greyson's parents, Blaze and Greyson had been sleeping in the same bed since they were toddlers. Before Greyson had even moved to the Institute.
They used to put pillows down the center of the bed so each person would stay on their side, but they've grown out of that habit. Blaze slipped under the comforter and layer of sheets, and stared as Greyson climbed in next to her. She rolled onto her back, staring at Greyson's ceiling, which was covered in a huge mural that he'd painted himself.
It had taken him a month to finish it, and he couldn't sleep in it for a week, so he'd slept on the floor of Blaze's room in a sleeping bag, because he didn't like sleeping in the extra rooms. (He might've also been afraid of the dark, and Blaze had an awesome night light). That was when he was eleven, and Blaze was ten.
Staring at herself in the mural, Blaze tilted her head, seeing it at different angles. He was so talented, maybe more talented than his father. And he'd painted the mural when he was eleven.
Greyson lay next to her, their feet tangled together. Blaze put her cold feet underneath his, and Greyson jumped at the temperature of them.
"Your feet are cold." He said.
"Why do you think I'm putting them underneath yours?" She asked witha grin.
He just rolled his eyes and turned on his side to face her, closing his eyes. His eyelashes were so long that they touched his cheekbones when he closed his eyes. Blaze faced him and did the same, and they fell asleep like that.