Jace and Clary sat beside each other in the kitchen of the institute. Before them stood Clary's mother, awake and well, but her eyes were lined with fatigue and worry.
"So, I'm not related to Clary?" Jace's voice held slight wobble. Clary picked it up easily, and that worried her. Normally he was so quick to cover his emotions, but, she guessed this involved a very fragile relationship. Her stomach felt weird. Was she excited?
"No you're not," Clary's mother continued. "On a very frightful morning, Valentine stole you from your home and brought you back to the house. I was so furious with him that I could have spit. You were such a poor little thing, soaking from head to toe from your tears," she shook her head to dislodge the waterworks that threatened to sprout from her memory. "He wanted a son, he told me, and said that if I could not bear him one then he would find one himself. I now know what he meant. I left that very night with Clary, I'm only sorry that couldn't have taken you with me Jace," her eyes shined with tears of regret. "Your life has been so hard. If Valentine hadn't kept you in the cellar bellow the library I would have taken you with us. I'm so sorry," she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, and then looked straight at both the young people. "We all know that Valentine is an evil man," she looked straight at Jace. "And I would like to atone for his terrible action against you, Jace.
But Jace wasn't paying attention; His eyes were glued on Clary. And now she knew what that wobble in his speech was. It wasn't fear or disappointment, it was excitement and as she studied him now she realized what he truly reminded her of constantly, each day: a proud, golden lion. This one, though, had its pupils dilated, its golden tail twitched back and forth, it was ready to spring. And so it did.
Clary tensed, waiting for the impacts of sharp claws, or the feeling of the beasts maw wrapped around her throat, but when he sprung and wrapped herself around her she felt none of these things. His strong arms held her tightly to him, his lips eagerly playing across hers. Clary felt herself melt into his embrace. The barrier that had existed between them before were gone. There was no fear in touching each other, no fear in creating a future together. No fear. Together.
