Jace and Alec walked back down the hallway, and Jace felt that maybe, after talking with Magnus, there was reason to hope.
In his study, before marking him, his father had walked back to the bookcase but Jace, being distracted with Jonathan, hadn't seen what book he had looked at. He felt certain that it was still there; why would his father have a reason to remove it?
His mind still on his next impossible task, Jace nearly missed Clary and Isabelle, who were lounging on the couch in the living room.
He accidentally did a double take as he saw Clary pop a raspberry into her mouth from the tray on the coffee table. She looked up and met his eyes, smiling as she chewed slowly, the hot amused look in her eyes letting him know she hadn't missed his reaction.
Jace groaned inwardly. That was smooth… Isabelle smirked as she looked between them.
"So Jace, Alec told me you've never been to Alicante before. This must be your first time here." Jace sat down on the arm of a comfortable looking armchair as Alec leaned a shoulder against the wall nearby.
"That's right." Jace replied. Clary sipped her lemonade and looked at him curiously.
"I thought you lived in Idris your whole life though? Why are you just now coming to the city?"
Alec and Isabelle met eyes across the room briefly before quickly looking away. Jace, who hadn't missed this exchange, smiled before reaching down and taking a strawberry off the plate sitting on the table.
"I just uh…never got around to it I guess." he said before eating the strawberry. Knowing that more curious questions were bubbling up inside Clary, Isabelle intervened.
"So what do you think of it? Of Alicante?"
Jace leaned down and took Clary's glass of lemonade off the table, throwing her a simmering look before taking a drink.
"It definitely has its perks." he said with his eyes still on the redhead, his small grin making Clary's skin feel warm.
Isabelle laughed and hastily turned it into a cough, reaching for her lemonade. She smacked her lips together and looked next to her at Clary, her eyes brightening mischievously.
"Well, Clary here has been given the tour already, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind uh," her eyes sparkled, "Giving it to you, Jace." Alec rolled his eyes.
"Why can't you give him the tour?" he asked curiously. Isabelle looked over at him, her eyebrow raising ever so slightly.
"Because I'm tired. And so are you." She gave him a subtle 'back off' stare before smiling sweetly. Alec felt a flicker of annoyance but shrugged it off after a second.
"Yeah, thanks for letting me know." he said with slight exasperation.
Isabelle glanced back to Clary and Jace.
"So why don't the two of you go for a walk and Clary can show you some of the city? And Alec," she looked over at him again, "You can help me clear out some of the crap in the attic for the Penhallows." Alec scowled as he looked at Jace and Clary who had gotten up and started to walk to the front door, smiles on their faces.
"Oh goody." Alec said tonelessly. Jace looked back.
"See you later." he said as he closed the front door behind him.
Jace and Clary walked down the street side by side, the cool breeze brushing against their faces and leaving a lingering smell of Alicante on their clothes. Jace turned to look down at the redhead at his side, a small smile curving his mouth.
"So. Are you really gunna give me Isabelle's tour?" Clary looked up at him, her eyes lighting with the same playful iniquity she saw in his.
"No. I am gunna take you somewhere though." Jace smiled wider, liking this expression on her.
"Oh yeah? And where are you gunna take me?" Clary shook her head, making her fiery hair bounce.
"You'll see when we get there." Jace chuckled.
"You know, I've only just met you. It might be dangerous for me to just go following you off to some place I don't know. Who knows…you might try to have your way with me."
Clary turned her head slowly and gave him a narrow look. Jace laughed again. Clary shook her head, fighting the smile.
"It would be your own fault you know. Just walking blindly into what could be a dangerous situation." she said with an edge of sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah, you're right," he glanced at her again, heat making his eyes smolder in the near dark. "But I'll take my chances." Clary blushed, and couldn't find a response to this.
Soon, they had approached a wooden bridge that arched over a stream that ran through the town. Instead of crossing the bridge, Clary led Jace down the worn steps to the bank of the stream just beneath the bridge.
Then she sat down on a stone bench that overlooked the water, her eyes peaceful with the calm that this area brought her. Jace sat down next to her, their legs touching due to the small size of the bench.
Jace watched the water flow by for awhile, knowing why she had decided to show him this spot.
Before long though, he could no longer keep his mind on the serenity of the nature in front of him, as the place where their hips innocently touched seemed to feel like it was getting hotter.
He wondered if his skin was getting warmer because he kept thinking about the pressure against his hip, and how he knew he wanted Clary to be even closer. Maybe they were both thinking about it.
"So what's your story?" he asked her in a voice that rumbled when it left his throat. She turned to look at him and he barely stopped himself from biting his lip and groaning. She was so close but not close enough; it was torture.
"My story?" he nodded.
"Yeah. You know," Jace smiled and gestured grandly. "About your life."
"Oh." she laughed before looking back out at the water. "Well, I live with my mom in New York."
"Where's your dad?" She paused.
"I don't have one." Jace told himself he must have imagined the slight hardening in her voice.
"I'm sorry." Clary smiled a little.
"It's okay. My mom and I have Luke. He's all we'll ever need in that department."
"Is Luke a Shadowhunter too?" Clary shook her head.
"Um no. Not anymore. Neither is my mom."
"So you're the only one? How does that work out?" Clary smiled grimly.
"It's a little rough at times."
"So how did that happen? Why did your mom decide to give up the life?" It was a minute before she answered him.
"Her husband, my father, broke her heart. So she didn't want anything more to do with him or any of the other Shadowhunters."
"Wow. That's rough."
"Yeah. She tried to keep me out of the life too but I guess she didn't count on me being as stubborn as I am. I'm not quite as well trained as other Shadowhunters my age since I had a late start, but I can definitely kick ass."
Jace turned to look at her, his laugh coming out quiet like a quick exhale of breath. She turned to look at him, her green eyes lighting up.
He tried to hide his smile, but seeing her incredulous and slightly angry expression killed his desire to.
"Oh what, you don't believe me?"
"I didn't say that." Jace smirked, his eyes drawn to the angry set of her mouth.
"Why are you laughing then?"
"I'm just uh…trying to imagine someone your size fighting…anything." he laughed again and her bright eyes narrowed. She suddenly stood up and turned to face him.
"Well let me help out your weak imagination then." she said as her slight body settled into an elegant fighting stance, her green eyes becoming fiery with challenge. Jace could only stare.
"You're kidding right?" She cocked her head to the side and a smirk pulled at her full lips.
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Jace bit his lip, still grinning.
"You want to fight me?" she nodded and Jace laughed again, loving how her mouth pursed with indignant anger and how her eyes flamed with the desire to prove him wrong.
He couldn't help but provoke her more, not when it was so easy and she made it so unintentionally worth it. Jace leaned his hands back on the bench behind him and fixed her with a wicked stare.
"Oh please. You're about as threatening as a hamster. Now if I was a tiny piece of carrot, then I might find you formidable."
She shook her head slowly like she couldn't believe his audacity, and Jace looked back at her, tempting her with his eyes to go ahead and shut him up if she could manage it, his mouth quirking because he knew that she knew he wanted it.
And then Clary smiled. Jace's breath caught as she flicked her eyes down his body before turning away from him.
"Chicken shit." she said over her shoulder, her hips swaying as she started to walk back to the stairs. Jace was suddenly in front of her and she gasped at how fast he was. His eyes lingered on her mouth.
"You were saying?" Clary's pulse quickened at his closeness.
"It's okay to be afraid. But I promise I won't kick your butt too hard."
Jace lowered his eye lashes, no longer able to keep staring at her tempting lips when such cocky words passed through them.
He settled back on his heels, slipping into a neutral fighting position.
Clary felt the change in his body language more than she could see it, and for some reason, this only heightened the attraction she felt towards him. Jace looked back up and met her eyes.
"Do your worst, hamster." he taunted.
An annoyed sound grumbled from Clary's throat as she raised her loosely clenched fists like a kick boxer and glared at him.
Jace suppressed the groan of unadulterated attraction he felt. This is going to be a very short fight… he predicted.
Clary suddenly swung at him and he side stepped her, catching her wrist and spinning her body so that she twirled like a dancer. He laughed and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Pretty. But I was kind of looking forward to watching you attempt to show me those ass kicking moves you were bragging about."
Without saying anything, Clary whirled at him, her fists flying at his face, chest and stomach. He blocked every hit, laughing as he stepped back away from her.
Clary spun on her heel and swung her leg up in a graceful kick to his head.
Jace ducked her foot completely, dropping down to the bank and scooping up a handful of sand before lightly throwing it at her side with a playful grin.
"Stop it now before I scream rape." he said. Her face broke into a smile that made his chest hurt.
"No one could hear you from down here." she panted, still throwing punches.
She continued trying to get past his defenses with determination and Jace idly wondered what would happen when she had him backed against the wooden posts of the bridge.
Soon enough, he got his answer. His back pressed up against a thick wooden beam and she didn't stop attacking him.
"Why are you laughing?" she asked furiously.
The girl was so attractively stubborn. Jace could take no more.
He grabbed her wrists and brought his arms down and back towards the beam behind him so that she was pulled up against him.
"You win; I forfeit." he said before leaning down and capturing her mouth with his.
Clary made a surprised sound against his mouth before her body leaned into his without another second of resistance, her hips pushing him back even harder.
A groan rumbled in Jace's throat; this was the taste of closeness that he had wanted.
Their kiss deepened when suddenly Clary bit his lip, hard. He winced, a surprised breath hissing through his teeth as he pulled away to look at her.
"That was for calling me a hamster."
His smile dazzled her. She pulled her wrists free and went for that gorgeous gold hair, her excitement not letting her only run her fingers through its silkiness like she had intended.
Clary's fingers tightened and she used the grip she had on his hair to pull his mouth back down to hers.
He responded to her enthusiasm by running his hands down the length of her back, by forcing her lips to open beneath his own.
Soon, their combined body heat had Jace amazed that the bridge above them was still standing and not up in the flames that he felt between them.
Just as he thought this, Jace heard a voice that doused the flames quicker and more effectively then ice water.
Jace gasped and pulled away from Clary, his heart thudding painfully fast.
"Jace, what-"
"Shh," he said quickly before looking up at the bridge that arched above them. Clary remained silent because of the look on his face.
Two pairs of footsteps stepped onto the wooden planks of the bridge, and the voice that had shot through Jace more painfully then a bullet spoke again.
"The Clave meeting is moved back; I don't know why they couldn't have just sent someone to tell me. Ah well."
Valentine and Jonathan stopped directly above them, and Jace looked down at Clary before slowly bringing a finger to his lips.
Then they both stared back up through the spaces of the bridge.
Valentine's eyes narrowed as he stared out at the stream.
"But I suppose the trip here wasn't for nothing…" he said slowly. Oh God, no.
Jace looked away from his father, praying with everything inside of him that Valentine hadn't felt him watching him from where he was standing beneath the bridge. Then Jonathan laughed.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Nothing like reminding the Circle of our priorities…Blackwell's death will ensure that the consequences of disloyalty aren't forgotten."
Relief struck Jace so hard he felt dizzy. He silently let out the breath that he hadn't been aware that he was holding as Valentine turned to Jonathan again.
"I shouldn't have to remind them. What happened today is nothing to laugh about."
Jonathan lowered his eyes at the reprimand and Jace ducked and yanked Clary out of sight with him behind the wooden post.
"Did you hear that?" Jonathan asked.
Behind the post, Clary and Jace were on their knees in the sand, and Clary was digging her nails into Jace's forearm, a look of fear on her face.
She didn't even know these people. But if this was how Jace reacted to them…they were people she should be absolutely terrified of.
Jace didn't seem to be feeling Clary's fingernails gouging into his forearm.
He had his eyes closed, his hand braced up against the post with an expression of waiting for the gun aimed at him to blow him away.
"I don't hear anything."
Jace opened his eyes and let out the smallest gasp of relief; so quiet it sounded like a breath.
"Come on, Jonathan, time to get back; who knows what your darling brother's been up to this whole time."
And with that, Valentine and Jonathan walked away off the bridge, their footsteps pounding over the wood. When it was silent again, Clary exhaled.
"Wow. I feel bad for the brother…" she said as she shook her head.
Jace looked at her, his eyes hard, but she was too busy looking at the deep claw marks that she had made in his forearm. Jace stood up, pulling Clary up with him.
"I have to go." he said. She looked up at his face, worried because of his tone.
"Well are you okay?"
"Yeah." For right now. She didn't look convinced.
Jace leaned in and pressed a brief kiss to her lips.
"Tell Alec I said thanks for everything." he said as he turned to begin the insane task of discreetly following his hyperaware family in an effort to somehow make it back to the manor house before his father realized he was not there.
"But wait, he's probably gunna wanna know when you'll be coming by to see us again. And I wouldn't mind knowing either." she said, her eyes lighting up again slightly.
Despite knowing that he was facing almost certain hell when he got home, Jace smiled. The smile was sad though, and his golden eyes were uncharacteristically dull.
"Tell him…I'll see him when I see him." he said quietly.
And as he jogged away up the steps and off into the direction his family had gone, with a feeling like he was running towards the rope that was going to hang him, Jace felt almost certain that he wouldn't be seeing Alec, not after Valentine found out what he had been up to this whole time
