Clary and Jace held hands as they strolled along the streets of bustling New York. The air was crisp and cool, not too hot but not too cold either. Perfect.

Just like Jace, Cary couldn't help but think.

She didn't know exactly where they were headed; Jace had given her nothing to go by except that it was a "surprise." That, for whatever reason, made her extremely nervous.

"So," she began for the third time that night, "where are you taking me?"

"You'll see," was all he said, cutting her a mischevious smile as he continued to lead her down the overly inhabited streets, to where, Cary couldn't guess.

She glanced over at him, but he was already staring intently back at her. She'd caught him doing that a few other times and by this point, Clary was beginning to feel very self-concious. "Stop looking at me," she said, her voice ringing with accusation.

Bu he kept staring. "Sorry. It's just you in that dress . . . It just makes me want-" Immediately, he cut himself off, suddenly very intruiged by the craftsmnship of a nearby, run-down caf'e.

Clary tried to supress a smile. "Makes you want to do what?"

He stopped and turned fully to her. "This," he said, yanking her down a small alleyway they faced, backing her up against the wall until her back gently slammed against it. Then he was kissing her, every part of her. His hands caressed her shoulders, callused but featherike. His lips crushed against hers, melting them into one being. Clary's heart fluttered like a hummingbird's wings in her chest, threatening to break her. She curled her fingers into his soft, golden hair, chershing the feel of him being hers again.

Then, suddenly, an electric shock seemed to run up her arm and they sprang apart. Clary looked at the dull flames flickering beneath Jace's skin.

True, the Fire seemed to have disspiated a bit, weaker than it had been a few weeks ago, but that didn't mean it no longer hurt to get shocked by it.

"Sorry," Jace said, his breath ragged as he looked at her longingly, "I've just been needing to do that for a - really long time."

Clary smiled, ignoring the tingles that the Fire had caused dancing up her shoulder. "Me too."

Then he took her hand and led her out of the alleyway, crossing the street that opened up to . . .

"An art museum?" she asked, momentarily confused. Clary knew she was a good artist but she had difficulty trying to conjure the image of Jace marveling at an impressionist's work. She glanced at him with a vexed expression plastered to her face. "What"-?

"C'mon," he said, interrupting her. He grabbed Clary by the hand, hushing her up the small stairs and into the white stucture, lined with painting upon painting, abstract and concrete images clashing alongside eachother. Jace hurried her through the surrealism exhibit and the modern art, turning into the small cubicle-like area that Clary hadn't caught the title of. "Jace wha-"

Then she saw it.

Hung on one side of the wall where a couple people marveled at the image, was one of Clary's drawings.

It was a picture of her, Isabelle, Alec, and Jace, sitting around a table. She'd drawn Jace's back to the viewer because she could never fully get his profile the way she wanted to. Isabelle was smiling at Alec who had his eyes raised at Jace. Drawn Clary's eyes seemed to be looking at each of the other Shadowhunter's, a look of love and adoration sparking them to life.

Clary's breath seemed to stutter to a halt. "You-turned one of my paintings in?" she asked, still looking at the detailed picture adorned in a golden frame.

"Yeah. I thought your drawings deserved to be in an art museum where other people could see them. I don't think you realize just how amazing of an artist you are. And this one with us in it was my favorite," he said.

Clary couldn't turn around. She felt a sudden warmth seep into her skin, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. "I can' believe you did this," she replied, her voice small.

"I thought you'd like it," he said, his hand wrapping around hers, finally making her look at him.

"It's . . ." she couldn't find the right word. "Incredible," was what she decided on.

He smiled in triumph. "You're incredible."

And, standing there with a few other people because they'd decided not to use glamours, she kissed him, pouring out her emotions in that single moment. "I love you," she whispered, so low that the mundanes couldn't hear.

Jace smiled. "I kinda love you, too," he said, kissing her once more.

Clary was still a bundle of nerves, still glowing after receiving her amazing gift from Jace and stopping at some fancy restaurant to eat as they made their way back to the Institute. She felt happier then than she had in weeks, after finally movng on after the whole Sebastian/possession horror feast.

But for some untold reason, deep down inside her, she knew it wouldn't last.

She tried to shove away the feeling, wanting to stay in the present without worrying about what might happen. She continued to tug Jace along, shooting him smile after smile as they neared the Institute.

But then, after the passing of a few minutes when she felt the eerie sensation that they were being watched, the feeling that her happiness wouldn't last, sparked into reality.

Shadows descended upon them and, Jace already hyper-alert, retrieved his Seraph blade hidden . . . Clary didn't know where.

She was too busy unsheathing her own, strapped high against her leg. They immediately went back to back, eyes sifting from place to place, seeking the owners of the shadows.

"Well, well, well," a cold, evil voice murmured from the depths of sudden darkness. No one was around them. No mundanes were passing by. They were completely alone. "Which one did he say he wanted?" the voice asked, the sound of padding feet entering Clary's ears.

"The girl," another answered, except this voice was high pitched and jagged. "He wants the girl."

"Over my dead body," Jace said, his voice as sharp as crushed shards of glass.

"That can be arranged," the pitchy one said and he lunged at him.

Jace was quick, the light eminating off of his blade allowing Clary to glimpse the face of one of the creatures. Big, black, and snakelike. She hadn't seen ones like these before.

Clary sprang forward to the other one, swiping her blade this way and that, feeling it scrape along the side of one of the beasts. It howled in momentary pain before turning on her, slashing its long claws at her feet.

"Don't kill her!" the pitchy one still fighting with Jace suddenly shrieked.

"He said dead or alive!" the larger one yelled back, still slashing at Clary. One claw caught her by her hip and a blazing pain suddenly shot up her side, making her cry out.

"Clary!" Jace yelled, trying to sidestep the smaller creature, attempting to impale it in the back, trying to get to her.

Clary clutched at her side where blood was seeping through at an alarming rate, still keeping her blade steady as she lunged again for the creature. She felt the beast race by her and she whirled around, digging the tip inside the beasts shoulder. It screetched and swiped its leg, sending her slamming against the far side of a wall.

Jace called out to her again, but she couldn't answer. The beast loomed from overhead, red eyes staring intently into her own. It launched forward and, in a moment, Clary had directed her blade upwards, where it sunk into the creature's stomach as it landed on her.

She heard Jace scream out her name before everything went black.