Seraphine warily looked over Liam as they slowly circled each other. He was tall and slender, with muscles like wires rather than bunches. His pale skin held a hint of gold to it, but was lighter than hers. She noted long slender fingers, calloused in many places, more so on the left hand. He was leggy and gangly, putting her at a disadvantage. He would be able to reach her better than she could.

At the other side, Liam also looked over Seraphine. She was quite petite, with long blonde hair streaked with brown. He would have to watch out, she could definitely whip him with hair that length. Experience had taught him well. Isabelle and Simon's daughter, Lilah, had hair down to her waist and was not against using it. She took a few steps and he could easily see her inexperience. It figured, normally thirteen was when sparring training began. She could have only been at it a few months. He, on the other hand, had been sparring with Kai since they first met. This will be a piece of cake. Liam didn't really enjoy fighting, and rather preferred his violin, but he and Kai felt obligated to retain their reputation as the best trainees. So he always made his fights quick, to prevent either of them from getting injured while still upholding his reputation. This one didn't look like it would be any different.

She jabbed out with a punch, but he easily dodged it.

Oh, so you're fast, are you? Seraphine was dismayed.

Another jab, another miss. Yes, he was very quick, and could anticipate her moves better than anyone she had ever fought before. She noted Kai out of the corner of her eyes. He was watching intensely, calculating their every move. As Liam lunged for her, she saw the faded mark of a yet to be made parabatai rune near his collarbones.

He must be in Alicante for the parabatai ceremony. Looks like he and Kai are about to undergo it. No wonder, he's been sparring for longer than I have. Kai must be good at sparring.

Just one look at Kai's calculating face and Seraphine knew he was a strategist. Together the two of them must have been the best in their institute. Vaguely she recalled hearing about a soon to be parabatai pair, excellent sparring partners. What had she gotten herself into?

"What institute are you from?" She grunted, hoping to distract him from beating her quickly.

"Los Angeles." He responded without missing a beat. Talking didn't faze him. She sighed inwardly.

Seraphine did not have much experience sparring with those older than her. She had just begun sparring training, unlike her learning to throw. But she had to try and get an advantage over Liam. It wasn't over just yet.

She feinted right, then kicked out roughly with her left foot. But instead of making harsh contact like she had expected, she found her other leg taken out from under her. She was abruptly dumped on the floor, and none too gently. She scampered away from Liam, who leapt at her and pinned her to the ground.

"You're not as good as you say, little girl." He grinned roughly, pushing her wrists into the floor, legs straddling hers. Seraphine's breathing increased rapidly, a feeling of electricity clashing with her disappointment of losing. She had never been so close to a boy before, as Jace was fiercely protective.

"Called my bluff, did you?" Seraphine knew she wasn't as good with hand to hand combat as she was with throwing knives, but she wasn't half bad, either. She opened her mouth to make another scathing retort, when a shout tore the air.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Jace's voice thundered throughout the practice room. "I LEAVE YOU FOR TEN MINUTES AND COME BACK TO FIND YOU UNDER THE LEGS OF A BOY?"

"Jace, I'm sure you're overreacting." Clary tugged gently at his sleeve, but to no avail. Jace had lost it, as usual. He shook off Clary's hand and ran over to Seraphine, tugging her to her feet and pushing her behind him. Clary rolled her eyes. Sometimes Jace's protective streak ran too deep.

"Your name." It wasn't a request. Liam, at least had the decency to look slightly abashed, if not incredibly amused.

"Liam Carstairs. And nothing's happened. We were just sparring." Jace grinned maniacally, smirking a bit.

"The Carstairs owe the Herondales." He whispered. He took a slow, deep breath, calming himself.

The world seemed to stop as Jace seemed to be deciding how to go about channeling his anger. But then he composed his features as Liam spoke.

"We. Were. Sparring." Liam punctuated each word with a sharp breath. Looking at Jace's slowly calming expression, then added a tentative, "…Sir?"

At that, Jace burst out laughing.

"Just sparring? Seraphine's not had much practice with sparring yet." He mused. "But rest assured, should I ever find you more than sparring with my daughter, things will go quite differently than today."

As far as threats went, this was pretty serious. But then again, Jace was ever the drama king. He scowled slightly at Liam as he beckoned Seraphine to go stand with Clary.

"Jem is your father, is he not?" Liam nodded, slowly.

"Tell him to come to dinner tomorrow, Tessa too. It's been a while since we've last met."

Liam's eyebrows nearly hit the roof. He was apparently uninformed of Jace and his relation to Tessa.

"We can't. Tomorrow, Kai and I are undergoing the parabatai ceremony tomorrow." At that, Jace absentmindedly traced his own parabatai rune.

"The next night then." Again, it wasn't a request. Clary stifled a giggle. She had a feeling Jace was going to try and match-make them, because he then would be able to keep eyes on Seraphine. The Carstairs owe the Herondales. That wasn't exactly what Clary had in mind, but she couldn't say the same thing about Jace.

Oh, Jace. Clary shook her head internally.

"Seraphine?" You might as well start getting ready for the dinner tonight." He smirked. "You could actually be ready on time, for once."

For once in her life, Seraphine went quietly away, but not before she shot daggers of hatred at Liam.

"Don't go getting smug." She hissed at him as she passed by.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He murmured softly, a look of slight amusement and wonder as she strode away.

Jace scowled as he watched Liam look over his daughters retreating figure. He won't be the only one looking at her, either. I should send her to a convent.