Learning to Live

Disclaimer: The Mortal Instruments belongs to Cassandra Clare.

Chapter 13
Bet on Blood

Midnight found Clary and Jace once again in the greenhouse. As the night flowers bloomed, Clary reclined on his chest—lost in thought. She thought about Athena, Adele, and Isaac…but she also thought about Jace.

'Athena is a lot like him,' Clary realized; her hand continued its tracing of Jace's hand. Her fingertip roamed over the veins that she could vaguely make out, and then she traced the rune on his hand. Every once and a while, his hand would flex against her thigh. 'Both have this massive chip on their shoulders and…I bet my art supplies that Athena only softens around Isaac…'

Jace couldn't take his eyes off of the woman that was reclining against him. He could see her hand running small lines over his skin as she thought, but he didn't dare disturb her. In fact, he didn't dare speak at all. Now that the initial high of being together again had died down for him, he was seeing things that he hadn't before.

She hesitated to touch him now; he had missed it earlier this week when she had initiated touch, but now…now it was obvious. She wasn't sure what was okay with him anymore…and he…he was the same way. He felt like…for all their progress, for all her words that day in the training room…they were still dancing around one another. They were both so unsure. Even when they kissed, her lips took a few seconds to relax underneath his own…as if she expected him to rip away from her at any second and hurt her again.

Her words were carefully phrased as if she were afraid if she revealed too much of herself he would find a way to use it against her. She didn't trust him. He knew that, but it still hurt all the same. She wasn't as open with him as she was with Isaac or Simon. He would never admit just how badly it made him burn with jealousy. Even now, knowing that Isaac had a girlfriend, it bothered him. Maybe he felt this way because Isaac was there for her when he couldn't be or maybe it was the way they looked at each other—so openly and fondly; either way, Jace couldn't put his finger on why that ugly jealousy surged back up in him every time they smiled at one another or Clary laughed at something he said.

"Hey," Clary's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He blinked as he looked down into her face. At some point in his poisonous monologue, she had turned to face him. Her green eyes blinked up at him worriedly. "Where'd you go?"

"Somewhere I can bask in the wondrousness of me," Jace returned without really thinking. Clary gave a small, amused smile as she rolled her eyes.

"Must be so lonely in such a blank space," Clary drawled, causing him to smile. "Well, as I was saying, let's make a bet on how long it takes before Athena and Isabelle get into a fight."

"What are the stakes?"

"If I win…you have to eat all of Isabelle's home cooked meals for an entire week." The look of horror on Jace's face was priceless. Any thought she had of laughing was quickly wiped away by the mischievous, victorious look that crossed his face next. Before she could move back, Jace leaned down and whispered:

"If I win," she shivered as his breathe brushed her ear, "you have to wear all of the skimpy underwear Adele packed for you for an entire week. Including the nighties." Just as Clary was thinking that it didn't sound that bad, he added, "And you have to model it for me." Her face burned at the mere thought. Her blush died a little as a thought occurred to her.

"How did you know about that?" The answer came to her just as quickly as she asked, "Isabelle." Jace smiled devilishly.

"Isabelle rarely keeps secrets from me," he teased her. Clary rolled her eyes and planned her own payback on the dark headed beauty. She pursed her lips as she forced herself to agree with his stipulations.

"Okay, fine. I'll agree to that." 'It's not like I plan on losing,' Clary added in her mind.

"Then I have no problem agreeing to yours," Jace consented easily. "I say they fight tomorrow around noon." Clary shook her head with a small hissing noise as she dismissed his idea.

"Since I don't think Athena would start something so soon, I'm going to say they tie up in three days." It amused Clary that they both gave Isabelle and Athena a fairly short time limit. Isabelle was a bit of a hothead; and Athena seemed to know all of the buttons to push to really make someone want to claw her eyes out.

"At least this is going to be interesting either way," Jace commented. Clary nodded as she eased herself back into the position she was in originally. She brought a hand up and massaged the side of her neck. Jace stared at the back of her head; a salacious grin spread across his lips as he leaned forward and ran his lips on the side of her neck not occupied by her hand. "Naturally," he whispered against the skin, "I'm rooting for myself to win."

Clary's breathe caught as she said, "Well, I certainly hope you wouldn't want to lose."

Jace forced himself to pull away. He tried to ignore the way his lips tingled from her skin. 'Things are still shaky,' he reminded himself. 'No need to push her any more today. After all,' his grin returned, 'I got her to agree to wear lingerie around me. Just have her in my arms right now…is enough.'

As Jace walked her to her door that night, Clary juggled with the idea of asking him to stay with her. Not for anything sexual, she just wanted him to hold her until she fell asleep. Maybe his presence would keep the nightmares at bay. Maybe if he was there she wouldn't dream of Sebastian beating people to death or of Valentine killing him. A shiver stole down her back at the memory of the nightmares that had haunted her for so long.

"Cold?" She heard Jace ask. She shook her head, barely coming out of her thoughts long enough to give him an answer. Jace raised his eyebrows, but accepted it. Maybe she would eventually tell him the thoughts circling around in her pretty head, but tonight was not the night.

On one hand, his staying sounded really nice, but on the other hand…she didn't want him to get false hopes. To ask him to stay would be a big step either way and Clary didn't know if she was ready for that. She didn't want to hurt him by allowing him to stay a night in her bed only for her to chase him off the next night. She sighed sadly. 'I suppose I'll just…deal with the nightmares for another night. Wouldn't it be brilliant if there was a rune for sound sleep?'

Now, it would have been ironic if her gift kicked in just then; but that would have also been predictable and her gift was anything but that. All she got now was a tiny tickle, an impression of a rune that wouldn't fully form.

She heard a quiet chuckle and then felt Jace catch her arm. He swung her around gently to face him as he amusedly informed her, "You can keep on walking if you want to spend the night with Alec, but I think maybe you don't want to do that." Clary raised her eyebrows.

"Nah," Clary dismissed teasingly, "I bet Alec hogs the bed."

"You have no idea," Jace snorted. Clary's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh?" Clary smirked. A look of horror and embarrassment passed over Jace's face. Her smirk widened. "Something I need to know, Jace?"

"What? No! We were young. I was having nightmares. Nothing happened." Clary giggled at the curt answers and the look on his face as he said them. Jace glared at her then. "Then should I worry about Simon and you?" He half-teased back as he recalled all of the home videos that showed seven year old Clary and Simon curled up in bed beside one another. He wondered, poisonously, if they still did that now.

"Oh! What?! He's like a brother to me!"

"I seem to recall that didn't mean much," Jace teased with a small smirk, recalling the fiery kiss she had planted on him in the Seelie Court and all of the moments after that. Clary rolled her eyes.

"Shut up," she grumbled back. "That was just you."

"Oh, so you're saying I'm irresistible?" Jace was a roll tonight.

"To hear you talk, you already knew that."

"Yes, but hearing someone acknowledge it is another thing entirely. Especially when it is the one woman in all the world I want to be irresistible too." Okay, Clary had to admit that last line made her heart give a little skip.

"Goodnight, Jace," she dismissed him as she stepped back to the door. Jace's mouth fell open in mock offense.

"What, no goodnight kiss?" He asked. Clary smirked as she grabbed the edge of her door.

"Watch me resist," Clary said as she closed the door in his face. She couldn't help but laugh to herself as she moved to get ready for bed.

Jace stood outside her door with a small smile of amusement tugging at his lips. One thing that always delighted him about Clary was that she gave as good as she got. He gave a quiet chuckle before he turned and walked down the hall to his own room. 'Someday,' he thought, 'I'm going to marry that woman.' There was no embarrassment in him; he didn't mourn of the loss of his bachelorhood. The moment he had met Clary, he was practically off the market; he just hadn't figured that out until she kissed him. He knew they weren't out of this rough patch; he knew that now wouldn't be the time to ask or any time in the next few years, but he knew what he wanted and what he didn't. He never wanted to be without Clarissa Fray ever again; and he didn't want anyone to ever find out just how soft she had made him. (It was possibly too late on that last one.)

X

Isabelle rolled over and eyed the clock. The hands declared it seven a.m. She had been trying since six-thirty to go back to sleep, but no matter what methods she used her body declared her awake. She sighed and climbed from bed. She went about her morning routine: brushing her teeth, hair, and washing her face; then she dressed in her workout clothes—a simple tank top, a pair of leggings, and her only pair of tennis shoes. A thought stopped her before she could leave the hall. 'I need to be training with Clary.' It was a passing thought, but she immediately latched onto it and turned in the direction of Clary's bedroom. She knocked on the door.

A few minutes after her second knock, Clary opened it. Her red curls were falling everywhere and sticking up in multiple places. She looked horrible, as if a night's sleep had evaded her as well. Isabelle suddenly felt guilty as she recalled her friend's horrible nightmares.

"I…was wondering if you wanted to train with me…" Isabelle asked quietly. Clary blinked a few times.

"Um, sure. You want to come in?" Clary asked as she stepped back to allow the girl entry.

"Sure," Isabelle answered as she stepped into the room. As Clary opened her bag, Isabelle walked to the bed and sat down. "Are you ever going to unpack?" She asked as she looked at Clary's back. Clary shrugged.

"I don't think my mom is quite ready for me to choose a room at the Institute, you know? She already doesn't like me being gone for this long." Isabelle fought off a snort. That was a major understatement. Since Clary had arrived in the Institute, they had been to see her mother every day for an hour before hanging out with Simon.

"What's she going to do when you move out?" Isabelle followed up Clary's statement with a question. Clary gave a quiet chuckle.

"Honestly, right now? I think she's hoping that day never comes."

"Well, you're back now and eventually you and Jace are going to move forward in your relationship. So, marriage is kind of a give…" Isabelle trailed off at the sudden tension in Clary's shoulders. Isabelle pursed her lips and looked toward the floor. "Right…not the time to be mentioning marriage, huh?" Clary gave a quiet sigh.

"It's not that I don't want to marry him…one day. It's just...we aren't really in that kind of spot yet…"

"What do you mean? The two of you seem to be doing so well. Unless you guys are fighting and I don't know about it."

"No. It's nothing like that. It's just…" Clary gave a long sigh and flopped down onto the bed beside her. "For two years, I was left to stew in my memories. All of my memories, both bad and good. Some days, I want to hold on to him and never let go; other days, I want to throw him away from me and run just to save myself the pain."

"You know Jace would never…" Isabelle started.

"Yeah," Clary interrupted, "that's what my heart says. But my brain? My brain screams that he did it once, he can do it again." Clary met Isabelle's eyes and flinched. Her friend's brown eyes were filled with a deep sadness and even deeper sympathy.

"Where are you today?" Isabelle asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I haven't seen him yet." Clary gave a small smile as Isabelle laughed. Truthfully, it wasn't that funny; it was actually sad, but Isabelle couldn't help but find amusement in the way Clary had said it.

"Well, how do you feel about him right now?" Isabelle asked.

"I love him. I have always and will always love him. I just don't know if I can trust him. I mean…I gave him so much power the first time and I trusted him not to hurt me with all of the things he knew. And then…that day, he used my insecurities against me. He took the things he knew I felt and used them to tear me apart. But it wasn't just the words. It was….Aline. I knew, especially at the time, that I should have expected him to move on from me. After all, we thought we were siblings. Not really making with the relationship, but I still felt like he had betrayed me."

"And then you were left to stew in those feelings of betrayal and hurt for two years…" Isabelle sighed. Clary thinned her lips and nodded. "So, why did you forgive him so fast?" Clary raised her eyebrows at him.

"Did that sound like the speech of a woman of has truly forgiven him?" She asked. Isabelle tilted her head to the side slightly. Clary sighed. "I forgave him for the way he talked to me, but I haven't forgiven him just yet for Aline. I've tried…but I don't think I fully will until I see—really see—that he won't do it again."

"Maybe we should go to a club tonight," Isabelle said. Clary furrowed her brows.

"What?"

"Well, you're so worried about him choosing another girl over you," Isabelle said. "So, we're going to a club tonight so I can prove to you differently. Tonight, I want you to pay attention to him even when you aren't talking to him. Pay attention to the way he acts when other women approach him or other men approach you. Don't give me that look. Men will approach you. Especially by the time I'm finished with you tonight."

"And I'm assuming I don't get a say in this?"

"Not really." Clary shook her head; a fond smile curved her lips. Isabelle grinned and nudged her with her shoulder, "Now, go change into your workout clothes." At the command, Clary rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed. As she moved to the bathroom to change into the clothes she had picked out, she heard Isabelle said, "I want to get this started before the boys show up in the training room."

The walk down to the training room was filled with conversation. They talked about Athena and Isaac mostly.

"I just think he's too good, too nice for her," Isabelle grumbled. She was thoroughly saddened that such a nice man would be trapped into a relationship with such a bitchy woman.

"I don't know…I feel like he's good for her. He softens those hard edges."

"How do you know?"

"Did you not see the way she looked at him? If there's anything on this Earth she loves, it's him." Isabelle made a quiet disbelieving noise.

"Maybe," she reluctantly agreed, "but if she talks to me or you like that again, I'm going to make her eat the matt in the training room."

"Better than your cooking," Clary teased before she could stop it. Isabelle's eyes widened; her mouth fell open. Clary immediately began tittering. Isabelle leveled the redhead with an annoyed look. Instead of discouraging her laughter, it only spurred it on. Isabelle shoved her and rolled her eyes. Clary tried to smother her laughter as she stepped back next to her. Isabelle smiled and shook her head.

By the time they reached the training room, all the teasing nature of their conversation had shifted into tips about sparring and fighting. They flowed into the training room, never missing a beat in their conversation. Isabelle pulled a wooden staff from the rack on the wall and tossed it to Clary. With another hand, she pulled her own and spun it lightly so that it fit better in her hand.

Isabelle put most of her weight on her front knee; her back leg was straight and her heel was off the floor. Clary settled into a different stance; one that was comfortable for her. She shifted back onto her back leg with her front foot laying lightly on the floor. Just hardly a second after, they were moving. Isabelle lunged forward, sweeping the staff so that it aimed at Clary's ribs. She shot back, avoiding the strike, and swept the staff upward in a strong uppercut. Isabelle bend back; her body arching backward almost a full ninety degrees. Before Clary could prepare to bring the staff downward, Isabelle flipped. Her left foot caught the staff and sent it from Clary's hands. Isabelle landed with a small smirk; she quirked an eyebrow at her friend. Her staff landed at the opposite end of the matt. Isabelle moved in front of her line of view. The game they had been playing turned from a simple spar to cat and mouse. Clary dodged and sidestepped the attacks Isabelle launched at her.

After many bruises and close calls, Clary finally found her opening. She delivered a sharp, smarting hook to Isabelle's side and then delivered a strong uppercut into her stomach. Clary took advantage of Isabelle's doubled over state to steal the staff from her hands. Her flush of victory did not last long as Isabelle surged up and tackled her back onto the matt. Clary kept her hands wrapped tightly around the staff, pressing upward despite the heavy weight of Isabelle's upper body baring down on her.

"What are you going to do, Clary?" Isabelle gritted smugly through her teeth. The redhead gave a quiet grunt in answer. She pressed up with one hand while rolling her body as powerfully as she could. Isabelle gave a quiet shout as her body slammed the floor. Clary was on top of her now, pressing her down into the matt. Her legs were locked tightly around her hips, holding her to the floor.

"Reverse positions," Clary puffed.

"Are you two trying to kill one another or are you flirting?" Both girls' froze at the deep male voice. Both Clary and Isabelle look over to see Alec and Jace standing off to the side. Both boys were staring at them. Jace was the one who had spoken. Both boys' eyebrows were raised; their arms were crossed.

"I certainly hope it's the first," Alec commented as he watched Clary scrambled off of his sister. "Mother and father will be so disappointed if their chance of grandkids lies solely on little Max." Isabelle sat up and level him with a glare.

"Well, I would be pretty put-out if they were trying to kill one another," Jace commented. "So, naturally," he gave the girls a dirty, playful smirk, "I'm rooting for the latter." The girls rolled their eyes as Clary helped Isabelle up.

"Why would you be rooting for that?" Isabelle teased. "I could probably steal her from you." She added with a hair flip as she wrapped a hand around Clary's waist. "Isn't that right, babe?"

"Oh, you know it," Clary couldn't get it out without chuckling a little. Isabelle grinned and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Please," Jace snorted disbelievingly as he stepped up onto the matt and gently detangled her from Izzy. Isabelle let her go with a cheeky smile. "As if she would leave all this for you." He teased his adoptive sister.

Clary drown the sounds of the family picking at one another in favor of looking up at Jace. She thought of her conversation with Isabelle earlier that morning. Where was she today? Her fingers flexed around his T-shirt as she figured out her answer. Today, she could feel the need to be around him; she wanted nothing more than to lock him into her room and hog his attention all day. She was certain that this longing, this need would fade away when she was certain that he wouldn't disappear. If it weren't for the pain in her sides, she would think none of this was real…that she was still trapped in her coma and all of this was a dream.

"Clary?" Jace called her attention gently. He didn't tease her about her attention on him; the muted fear and worry in her eyes stilled any playfulness within him. "You okay?"

"What?" She blinked a few times before she just nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." She asked as she tore her eyes away from him. To her surprise, neither Alec nor Isabelle teased her for her staring at Jace. Isabelle just smiled sadly while Alec passed it off as if he hadn't seen it.

"Now that the matt is vacated, you want to spar, Jace?" Alec asked, reminding his parabatai of why they were here. Jace pulled his arm away from Clary's shoulders; Clary forced herself to unclench her fingers from his shirt as he did so. She watched him strip his shirt off of his head and found her eyes locked on the planes of his back. Isabelle tittered quietly beside her; Clary's attention shifted when movement beside Jace caught her attention. Her mouth dropped. Alec had shed his shirt as well; Alec, who wore baggy sweaters and hid his frame, had willingly taken his shirt off and there was no ounce of self-consciousness to be seen in his stance or countenance. Alec simply faced Jace with a relaxed, almost unconcerned posture.

"Well then," Clary muttered. Isabelle hid a smirk behind her hand at the completely dumbfounded look on her friend's face. She understood Clary's surprise. Years ago, getting Alec to take his shirt off around more than Jace or herself was nearly impossible. Even when he was marked, Alec would only allow them to roll his shirt or sleeves up. Now, he was proud of himself, more at home in his own skin; and Isabelle knew just who she had to thank for that: Magnus. She forced those thoughts away and divulged a bit of information to the confused girl at her side:

"Jace plays dirty," Isabelle departed as the two boys began to circle one another. "He's ripped a lot of Alec's shirts by using the bagginess of them to his advantage."

"Oh," Clary muttered, trying not to stare as Jace lunged out, throwing a punch toward Alec's jaw. Alec dropped back and drove his knee toward Jace's ribs; Jace blocked it by lowering his arm down. He threw Alec off balance, but only slightly. Alec was able to regain his equilibrium before Jace could advance on him. She tilted her head. Each time Jace or Alec would strike out, the other had some way of blocking or evading it. Clary could see that the Lightwoods and Jace had always trained together. It spoke in the way they moved. She rolled her lips together and studied Alec's style of fighting a little more closely. Jace moved with sharp, quick precision; the power behind his strikes were evident; but Alec…Alec weighed the strength he put into each hit. Despite being on close if not equal strength as Jace, Alec focused on the places that would cause problems later. He seemed to be aiming for the ribs and the upper legs. It made sense, Clary reasoned. If someone's ribs were sore, they wouldn't want to extend the body enough to throw a powerful punch. If their legs were sore, kicking would be uncomfortable. Alec focused on wearing Jace out. While Clary understood the tactic and had used it once herself, she didn't understand why Alec was employing it. She had complete faith that Alec could overpower Jace if he were vicious and unrelenting, if he got in one good hit and ran with it…never giving him time to recover—not that Clary wanted her boyfriend to get his ass kicked by his parabatai…

"There you are," a voice tore her from the fight—no, spar, she reminded herself—in front of her. She and Isabelle both looked toward the door to see Isaac walking toward him with his hands in his pockets. Athena followed behind him; her arms crossed over her chest. "You up next?" Isaac teased, motioning toward the matt. "Does the victor fight you?" Clary rolled her eyes.

"Isabelle and I have already sparred," Clary said.

"Who won?" Isaac asked, but before Clary could answer, Athena spoke:

"You're awfully active for someone who was in a coma for two years—sparring, walking around without any aid..." The woman's mocking, curious tones stopped the spar between Jace and Alec. Both men shared a look before stepping down off the matt and approaching the small group. "How is it you aren't completely emaciated?" Clary tried not to tense, to become defensive. Honestly, these were thing she had wondered until her first shower after being back. There was a rune—fading but still there—for nourishment hidden underneath the sleeve of her sleep shirt. She opened her mouth to tell Athena as much, but once again she was cut off. This time by Isaac.

"That was me. Every time I would visit her, I would draw a nourishment rune onto her arm. Just to give her the nutrients that the IV bags couldn't like protein and all of that."

"You must have visited her often," Carly tensed even further at the way Athena's eyes flicked her up and down. There was a look to her face, a curl to her upper lip, which said that she found Clary to be lacking in some manner. Clary raised her eyebrows at her.

"I…" Isaac wasn't all that certain he wanted to answer. The tone Athena used…the way she was looking at Clary…anything he said right now would make it worse. "Yeah," Isaac sighed, resigning himself to whatever would happen. Athena, he knew, was aching for a fight; and not just with anyone, she wanted to pick a fight with Clary. The ultimate test…and he wishes she would stop, but Athena listened to no one. Not even him. It disappointed him deeply. He had thought last night that she would try to turn over a new leaf, try to be nicer…but it seemed she had one last test in store for this small group.

"What is your problem with me?" She demanded as she stepped toward Athena. "Ever since you got here you've been treating me with open hostility. What is it, huh? Do you think Isaac and I had some torrid love affair? That while my friends and my family were out of their mind with worry, I was off in some love shack being plowed into a mattress by your boyfriend? That's funny, because I didn't peg him as the type to like 'em limp and unresponsive;" she made a purposeful show of looking Athena up and down—just the way Athena had her, "Granted, by the way you act, he must." Athena's mouth fell open at that.

"Oohh," she heard Isabelle breathe quietly behind her. Clary didn't smirk; she just stared Athena down. She saw the movement only just before Athena's fist smashed into her face. Before Clary could regain her balance, Isabelle was across the small space on top of Athena. Alec and Isaac immediately moved to try and break the girls up while Jace stepped in front of her. Clary could vaguely hear Isabelle hissing something to Athena; whatever it was she was saying, Clary was certain it wasn't friendly.

"Let me see," he demanded softly; Clary dropped her hand from her sore cheek. Immediately, his fingers slid over her cheek. Gently, he ran his thumb over the developing bruise. Clary kept her eyes on his face; his golden eyes burned with rage. She smiled and put her hand over his.

"It will heal. Besides," Clary shrugged, "I've had worse." Jace gave a small smile.

"Yeah," he drawled, "I prefer not to remember that." Whatever comment she had in return for his statement died out as Alec gritted out:

"Jace, a little help here!" Both Jace and Clary turned to see Alec with his arms wrapped around Isabelle's waist as he tried to pull her off of Athena. Isaac, for his part, was trying to pull his girlfriend out from underneath his enraged fellow Shadowhunter. Jace and Clary both rushed over. In the fight, Isabelle and Athena had somehow managed to roll halfway to the door of the training room. Jace wrapped his hands around his adoptive sister's arms and together Alec and he pulled Isabelle off. Isaac pulled his girlfriend to her feet and held her arms tightly. Clary put herself between the two women.

"Both of you need to calm down," Clary said. "Yes, she hit me, but I did provoke her."

"She's been bitchy and nasty to you ever since she arrived!" Isabelle shouted over whatever Clary was going to say next, lurching forward in her rage. Alec and Jace scrambled slightly to keep hold on her. "She deserves a thorough ass kicking!"

"I actually agree," Isaac said as he held his girlfriend strongly. "The way you have been acting leaves a lot to be desired. It seems you reverted back to old ways when I left. Tell me, Athena, did you not think me serious when I threatened that I would leave you if you started testing people in this manner again?"

"I can't fight my nature!" She excused. Isaac barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the familiar argument.

"Yes, you can. Mark and Helen Blackthorn control that side of them remarkably well," Isaac reminded her. Clary didn't catch the reference. She didn't know who those people were, but Isabelle and the others tensed. She looked over her shoulder curiously.

"Later," Jace mouthed. She shrugged and looked back toward Isaac and Athena.

"Athena and I will be returning to Idris today; I had intended to stay longer, but I see that is not possible now." He looked toward Isabelle and bowed his head in apology. "I did not mean to bring conflict into your home. I truly thought she would behave." Athena flushed darkly; she was both ashamed of herself and angry with him for making apologies for her.

"We do not blame you, Isaac," Isabelle dismissed his apology. "She is the only that can be held accountable for her actions. I would suggest that you take her to the Silent Brothers for an attitude adjustment, but I feel like even they could not help her." Athena snarled her mouth up at Isabelle's words.

"You will apologize to my sister for me?" Isaac asked. Clary nodded.

"But…you're coming back, aren't you?" She asked. Isaac gave her a warm smile and nodded.

"Eventually. But until then, I think Athena still needs me to calm her more…violate side," Isaac sighed. He looked so apologetic that Clary wanted to feel awful for antagonizing Athena. She wanted to, but she wasn't. Isaac gave a final nod to them before he turned, released one of Athena's arms, and walked away with her. Clary and the others could hear Athena hissing possibly hurtful things to the man. Clary looked at the ground and frowned. Once Athena and Isaac were out of sight, Jace and Alec released Isabelle.

Once the Lightwood siblings were involved with other things—mainly sparring with one another, Jace approached Clary. She faced the training matt, thoroughly engrossed in the sparring match going on in front of her. Her attention was immediately pulled from the action when she felt his hands touch her wrist; her heart jumped as his fingers traced up her arms. She looked over as his hands came to a stop on top of her shoulders. He leaned forward and whispered:

"Does this mean I won?" It took Clary a moment to recall what he was speaking of. Immediately, she flushed.

"Damn," she muttered. Jace chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek.