For those of you who didn't follow, Jonathan is now 18 and Sylvia is 17.


Sylvia was up before Jonathan, a bitter taste in the back of her throat as she left his room. In her own she quickly dressed, wanting out of the hotel suite as soon as possible, she tossed her hair into a bun as she rode the elevator down. She didn't want to sleep with Jonathan again, but the lure of power and strength was just too much, how could she not fall for it. Her blood craved it, her body seemed to search for power with each step and now after last night she felt invincible. No demon or Downworlder could stop her, not even a Shadowhunter would stand a chance.

Shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans she strutted out of the hotel with a sour look plastered on her face to hide the smile that came with the power coursing inside her. She had come to like a small café around the corner of the hotel where they made the sweetest bear claws she had ever had. Just outside the shop a woman bumped into Sylvia, too roughly to be by accident.

"What the hell?" Sylvia snapped at the woman.

"My apologizes." The woman smiled, her lips painted a dark red, hair black like her eyes. Jonathan's eyes were black but not black like these, it was like the woman had no iris only a giant pupil. Sylvia gave her a disgusted look though she was a fairly beautiful woman. "Oh my, late night." She laughed after looking Sylvia over.

"Excuse me?" Sylvia nearly hissed.

"I can see the glow around you." The woman said stepping towards her, a hand raised to touch Sylvia, but the girl slapped it away before that could happen. The woman smirked and lowered her hand. "You should be careful," She said turning around. "Life is a difficult thing to possess and keep." And with that she took off down the sidewalk.

Sylvia glared after the woman, annoyed. Her morning was starting off bad enough waking up next to Jonathan, and now some crazy woman was telling her crappy advice. With a scoff Sylvia entered the café and ordered her breakfast; two bear claws and a large vanilla chai latte with extra sugar. It brightened her mood slightly as she made her way back to the hotel where Jonathan would be waiting, hopefully with a good lead from Valentine. These wild goose chases were getting under Sylvia's skin, why was she doing this bum work when she should have been off killing useless creatures? She had been trained since she was a child to be a fighter a killer, not some stupid flirt searching for information. Even if these were Valentine's orders she was questioning them.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jonathan grumbled from the couch as Sylvia walked through the door.

She dropped the white paper bag on the table and perched herself in one of the wooden chairs facing Jonathan with a sour look, the woman's attitude still annoying her. Pulling the tab on the top of her coffee she replied, "Out."

"Killing?" He inquired with a cocked brow.

"Only pathetic mundane hearts." Sylvia retorted. Taking a sip of her coffee she crossed her legs waiting for some other sarcastic reply from Jonathan, but it didn't come. Staring over the rim of the to-go cup she watched Jonathan who was running a towel over his head, dying his hair. It was such a normal thing to do that Sylvia for a moment remembered that they were part human, not complete monsters. They had hearts that beat, lungs that breathed, emotions. . . But they always seemed to be on the dark side of the spectrum.

Setting her coffee aside she opened the paper bag and retrieved a bear claw that she happily took a bite out of. Another mundane task. Eating breakfast, getting ready for the day, though their day would consist of least than normal mundane activities.

"What, nothing for me?" Jonathan complained getting up from the couch and hovering over her shoulder.

Grabbing the bag Sylvia tossed it at him, he caught it easily with his fast reflexes. "Never say I never did anything for you." She said returning to her own bear claw.

"Oh you've done plenty." He chuckled walking away.

"Morgenstern!" She hissed glaring at him.

Jonathan pulled out the other bear claw, a smirk on his face as he looked at Sylvia. "Nightshade." He said before disappearing into the bathroom.


"I have to do what?" Exclaimed Sylvia into her cellphone.

Valentine had called only a few minutes after they finished eating, and now there was a change in plans. Jonathan was holding back a laugh, the call was on speaker phone and he had heard Sylvia's new task. Not that she wanted to stay in L.A. because she didn't, it was the middle of summer and it was disgustingly hot, but flying across the country to act like a friendly Shadowhunter wasn't something she wanted to do either. Especially when Jonathan was going back to France to carry out his own mission. She didn't find this fair in the slightest.

"Sylvia." Came Valentine's voice, firm and commanding.

"Father, this is ridiculous. Why do I have to go to New York City? I've spent the last year pretending to be Isabelle Lightwood, why become friends with her now?" Sylvia protested.

"I have an informant there who has a lead on the cup. I want you to look into it." He said, and there was a way he spoke that kept Sylvia from challenging him again. Jonathan was smirking at her while she throw him several dirty looks and mouthed plenty of curses. "You leave in an hour. Get to the airport, and get to the New York Institute. I don't have to remind you how to act."

Sylvia took a deep breath before saying, "And what name am I going by?"

"You may use your name. The Lightwoods, they are smart, but they know nothing about you. Tread carefully, and get close to them." He said then he hung up. Valentine's order's were given, and now all that was left was to carry them out.

"Make one comment and it will be your last." Sylvia warned Jonathan as she snatched up her phone and made her way to pack up her room.

"Like, "Sweet fate has pulled us apart. I shall miss you with ever moment we are separated." Don't be ridiculous, I've been looking forward to this. Getting away from you, it's like a dream come true." Jonathan's words practically dripped with sarcasm.

"I hope you fall over dead on your mission!" Sylvia called out to him annoyed.

"It's too late for sweet words." Jonathan chuckled back.


The only thing on Sylvia's mind as her flight took off was Jonathan. He would soon be in France again, with a real mission not the pointless searching for the Mortal Cup that had fallen off the face of the Earth, basically. Half way through her flight it sunk in, they were apart. An entire ocean apart. They had barely had a city between them while following leads for Valentine now they were completely and totally apart. At first it was the only thing making her mission worth it. They both couldn't stand each other and had been forced to be together day after day until their motions were completely in sync, but not any more. Sylvia was on her own, she was alone and didn't have to worry about keeping an eye out for Jonathan.

As soon as that thought settled into her brain and just as she was getting comfortable in her seat almost asleep is when the bomb fell. It exploded through out her brain jarring her awake like the plane had hit turbulence. If she didn't have to watch Jonathan's back, then that meant there was no one to watch hers. There was no one to give her signals about what was happening behind her, she had to fight on her own. Now that was something Valentine hadn't taught them, sure it was implied in all the training they had learned, but the center of their training was moving as one. Now their one was halved. They had to focus mainly on themselves -easy enough they both had arrogant personalities- but when it came to fighting it was a completely different story.

For the rest of the flight Sylvia hated to admit it but she was regretting separating from Jonathan. They may dislike each other, can't stand each other, but they did need each other. To fight perfectly, to kill with ease. Now they were both exposed if a true battle arose in front of either of them. No matter how big their egos were nothing could stop the fact that they depended on the other for hints, clues, suggestions while in battle. Valentine had just pulled his perfect warrior apart and sent the parts to different sides of the world. Sylvia wondered if he truly knew what he was doing, or if he was just going with the flow of his informants.

Landing in New York City just as the sun was setting, Sylvia mentally cursed Valentine for not sending her directions to the Institute. Now she would have to either hunt on her own or find a Downworlder bar and see if any of them knew where it is. Most of them are bound to know so they can avoid it as much as possible.

She had just stepped out of the airport, her duffelbag slung over her shoulder when her phone went off. "Aren't you suppose to be on a plane?" She answered.

"My flight got laid over in Cleveland." Jonathan replied. His usual humor in his voice. "So I thought I'd bug you."

"An entire state lays between us and you still find a way to annoy me." She muttered marching down the busy sidewalk.

"Just another charming quality." He laughed. Sylvia would have hit him if they were in the same room, but they weren't. They were separated.

"I wouldn't use charming."

"Then what would you use?" Jonathan inquired.

Sylvia had several quips at the tip of her tongue but she didn't say any of them. She sighed and hurried through a streetlight with the foot traffic. "Be careful." She said instead.

Jonathan's end of the call was silent for a while. Sylvia double check twice if their call had been dropped but it hadn't.

"Where the hell did that come from Nightshade?" He suddenly demanded loudly.

"I can't watch your back in France, and you can't watch mine." She said stopping off in a mostly empty alley. "I'm just saying don't die."

"Are you going soft?" He accused.

"Don't get me wrong Morgenstern, I still want you dead, but I want it done by my own hands." Sylvia said as something twisted in the pit of her stomach. It rose the taste of bile in the back of her throat while her heart pounded in her chest. The blood in her veins burned with a craving she denied immediately as she recognized the feeling.

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Nightshade." Jonathan said.

There was a long pause that was much unlike them.

"You were thinking of me weren't you?" He chuckled.

"Goodbye Morgenstern." Sylvia said ending the call.

Shoving her phone into her pocket she began down the street again in search of the NYC Institute. Mentally ignoring the fact that Jonathan could have been correct with his smug comment. Sylvia was in complete denial, that she was denying.


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