Even though Ty had been kind of a softy as my brother, as a trainer he was nothing but a tough Shadowhunter. Before I knew Shadowhunters existed, I had thought I was a pretty damn good fighter. And I probably was, compared to normal people. I mean, ahem, mundanes. But seeing Ty practically fly through the room at "mundanely" impossible speed blocking every one of my blows and eventually pinning me to the ground in a stranglehold, I felt incredibly inexperienced and clumsy. He kept me at it for hours before suddenly announcing that we were done for the day. We ate at the big dinner table in the kitchen together with the others. Isabelle, Ty and me were talking about my first day in training, while Jace and Alec were furiously whispering on the other side of the table. The rest of their family was chatting casually. To prevent having to talk to Jace, I went to my room straight after dinner and didn't come out until Ty came to my door to ask me if I wanted him to train me again the next morning.

We had only been at it for an hour or two when Ty said he had to go and get something, and told me to wait. I slumped against the boxing cushions that were stacked against the wall.

After maybe 10 or 15 minutes, I heard the cracking sound of the door opening and I turned to greet Ty again. Only, the figure in the doorway had sleek blond hair instead of my brother's dark, curly do. "What are you doing here" I said. Okay, it might have come out a bit more snappy than was completely necessary, but I was pissed off at Ty who was clearly setting me up.

"Chill" Jace said. "Ty told me you wanted to learn some jumps, so here I am."

I didn't respond to that, and Jace continued talking.

"Look." All warmth had disappeared from his voice. "You were clear enough last night. I know it's not because of my kissing, because girls seem to think I'm pretty awesome at that, but you are obviously not interested. You don't have to be such a bitch about it." He shrugged while turning away from me to grab a high plateau- thing from behind him. "Besides" He continued "It's not like it was any more than having a bit of fun either." After that, his expression turned softer again. "Anyway, I'm the best you can get when it gets to jumps. So if you want to learn properly, you'll have to put up with me for a few hours a day."

I had a real hard time recomposing myself after that little speech, but I did. I just nodded. It was just a bit of fun. Nothing more. Definitely not something that involved feelings or, even worse, being in love. Damn it, I was turning in to some sad little schoolgirl who was feeling sorry for herself! Well, no more of it. And I really did try to keep all my focus on the moves Jace was teaching me. But somehow I kept on getting distracted. He moved very gracefully, leaping from one end of the room to the other without having to jump more than once. Through the white shirt he was wearing, a big change from the Shadowhuntergear I had seem him in the days before, I could see the swirling black Marks on his back and arms. They were beautiful. I could only hope that they would let me have them too very soon.

Appearently I had been staring at the runes for too long, because Jace's voice snapped me back to reality. "Are you going to jump or what? What were you staring at anyway? My banging body?" I could feel my face turn red, so I quickly leaped myself off of the narrow beam I was standing on, 6 feet above the ground. I did two flips and landed perfectly.

"Your Marks, actually. I was looking at your Marks. I wish I had some"

He seemed to think about that, because we were silent for about a minute before he answered me. "Maybe you're right. You are learning to be a Shadowhunter. Runes are a big part of that. And you did get your first one about a decade ago, so it's not like you won't be able to handle it. He thought again.

"Give me your arm."

A tickling of excitement went through me, and I held out my right arm without hesitation. On my wrist was still the old faded Mark that resembled the fire my family so admired. Only something had changed. I could see it now; see the meaning of the rune. Now that I could see, it was hard to believe that there ever was a time when I couldn't.

Jace then pulled something from the black belt he was wearing. "What's that?" I asked. I recognized the adamis material, but it wasn't shaped like the blades I had seen in the weapon room.

"It's a stele. It's what we use to Mark ourself. You'll get your own soon enough" He looked at me. "Now, stay still. It may burn a bit but that's part of the process" He warned me, before pressing the stele to my arm. It lit up and then it indeed did started burning. I gritted my teeth together, determined not to let it show. It was over sooner than I expected it to. I looked at the dark rune that was now decorating the skin above the old Mark. "Agility" I said, knowing the meaning of the rune immediately.

"Yes" Jace said. "It will help you process everything you learn faster. It'll help you in your training". I kept on admiring the Mark. It made me feel like a real Shadowhunter and I loved it.

"Thanks" I said to Jace, smiling brightly. Maybe, I thought, Jace and I could just be friends. If only I could shut off the nagging feeling deep inside of me….