CHAPTER THREE

Seeing Clary walk down with Sebastian made Jace sick. His body was weak and fatigued when he woke, and that made his suspicious as to how he slept through Clary leaving the room. He knew that Sebastian had done something to him, but had he done something to his girlfriend? She had clung onto him as tightly as she could, promising that she was okay, until the moment that Sebastian had simply yanked her off of him and chained her back up.

She took that time to explain what had happened, how Sebastian allowed her to shower with the door closed, but still walked in while she showered, how he allowed her to pick clean clothes to wear and let her choose from a drawer full of panties to wear. They talked about a plan to leave, how they would get out of the mysterious house, but were unable to come to a conclusion due to the fact that Sebastian strolled in with food for them to eat and a cold bottle of water. They ate and drank in silence, then continued planning until Sebastian came back down.

"Jace, would you like to come shower?" Sebastian asked, breaking the silence that fell among them.

Jace eyed Sebastian up and down, searching him for any weapons. He wanted to figure out a way to get the upper hand. However, Sebastian turned immediately towards Clary, unlocking her arm, then pulling her up. Their breakfast bowls were placed in her hands, then Sebastian suddenly pulled out a blade.

"I didn't do anything!" Clary gasped, her hair bouncing with her as she tried to jump out of the way of the glowing blade.

"This isn't intended to hurt you, dear sister, this is so our brother behaves." Sebastian whispered into her ear, his eyes never leaving Jace. He watched as he gripped his girlfriend's arm and held back his yells to order Sebastian to release her.

When his arm was released from the shackle, Jace stood as quickly as his body allowed, then balled his fists at his sides, ready to swing at any second.

"Go on, then." Sebastian indicated for his brother to begin walk towards the door. Jace heard Clary forcibly swallow a whimper when his grip tightened on her arm. "Or would you rather Clary lead us? She knows exactly where to go." His voice was taunting Jace.

For Clary's sake, Jace kept to himself, then began walking.

"Don't go running off now, brother. I don't think Clarissa could keep up." The taller, platinum blonde boy noted as he directed him towards the back of the house.

Jace made sure to check on Clary every few steps, making sure that she wasn't struggling keeping up, or wasn't being groped silently behind him by her monster of a brother. Every time he looked back, Clary's big green eyes were on him, and she would flash him a calming smile.

They walked into a bedroom, Jace assumed that it was the same one Clary had been in, because her dirt clothes were on a pile on the ground. Sebastian sat Clary down on the bed and kept his blade in her face while shooing Jace into the bathroom to get cleaned up. He made a comment while Jace was still able to head that he wished that he could still trust his siblings, but they had broken him too badly. Jace could hear Clary trying to comfort him before he turned on the shower, and it made his stomach turn.

How could someone so sweet, so innocent, justifiably comfort a monster? How could they have come from the same parents? Two polar opposite siblings. It showed Jace that people became people by nurture rather than nature.

He showered hastily, not relishing the thought of Clary being left alone with her perverted brother on a bed. Once he was clean and delivered a dry towel, Jace pulled the first two things out of the closet that he could get his hands on, was handed a pair of underwear by Sebastian, then quickly changed in privacy. Once they were all together in the bedroom, Sebastian began to address them.

"Things cannot go back to the way they were. Not yet. I don't trust either of you." He began, his blade still shining in Clary's face, like he was ready to jump at any second. "So, that being said, you will only be allowed in the house when supervised. This can be as temporary as you want it. As soon as you gain my trust back, we can assign bedrooms and then work our way from there. I can have blankets down in your chambers to make you comfortable."

"Sebastian," Clary's soft voice pulled both of the boys' attention to her. "We're really sorry for leaving."

Jace knew exactly what she was doing, and she was good at it. She was an expert at manipulating Sebastian, seeing as he had quite the soft spot for her.

"You just really scared us… You know, the last time. We didn't know what to do." She continued on, wrapping her arms around her defensively.

He did more than scare us, Jace thought in reply to Clary's argument. I thought he had really hurt you; I was out for blood.

"You could have told me that, sister." Sebastian whispered sadly to her. "But instead, you left me."

If Jace didn't know any better, he would have guessed that Sebastian was actually sad. Taking a look at the situation, he saw that Sebastian had his eyes on Clary, not paying Jace any mind, so he tried to reach out and snatch the seraph blade from him.

Sebastian was quick to defend himself. He had an unsuspecting Jace pinned on the ground in seconds, weak from the pain in his shoulders and lack of energy.

"No!" Clary exclaimed, standing up. "Sebastian, stop!" She begged him, leaning over to pull at the back of his shirt.

"It would be so easy to kill you." Sebastian hissed at Jace, the heat of the seraph blade drying his hair. "So easy and so worth it to have her all to myself. You're lucky that she cares for you so much."

Sebastian stood up and pulled Jace up by his shirt, then reached out and wrapped his arm around Clary's shoulders, hold her against his chest. Jace grimaced at the scene in front of him. With Clary vulnerable in front of him, he was willing to do anything to keep her safe. Sebastian demanded that they return to the chambers with Jace leading, and so they did.

Once they had entered their dark, freezing room, Sebastian let go of Clary and gave her a small shove towards her side of the room. She complied with him much more than Jace did, who pulled against the shackles as he was being locked into place. In retaliation, Sebastian tightened the lock.

"That's too much; you're hurting him!" Clary barked at Sebastian. They both know that in order for her to cooperate, she must get her way, so Sebastian loosened Jace's shackle just enough. He then crossed the room to lock Clary in place, making sure that she was comfortable before leaving.

"Are you okay?" Clary asked quietly. The fact that only one of their arms were attached to the wall made it easier and more comfortable for them to reach out for one another, so Clary scooted forward and extended her arms as far as they would go.

Jace made the same effort after silently nodding. Their fingers barely touched, but even then, that made their whole experience better.

As soon as they had felt their bliss, the door opened. Both Clary and Jace pulled away from one another, turning to see who was standing at the door. Of course, it was their brother, clad with blankets and a single pillow.

Sebastian handed the thicker blankets to Clary, along with the pillow, then tossed a few throw blankets at Jace. Once he had left, not saying a word to either of them, Clary stood up and began to make herself a bed on the floor. She had tossed Jace a few of her blankets, and when she offered him the pillow, he quickly declined. As long as Clary was comfortable, he was fine.

They laid down and faced one another, the pain in their arms being nothing compared to how badly they felt for one another. Jace wished more than anything that he could reach out and touch Clary's cheek. He had promised her that they were safe.

Sebastian came down to check on them every so often. Sometimes, Clary would be asleep, and Jace would be allowed to leave and use the restroom. They didn't speak to one another; Jace feared that any anger he caused would be taken out on Clary. It felt like days went by before they established a routine. Because of the limited light, Jace was unsure of how much time they had spent in and out of that room. He did notice a pattern, though. Clary would be taken without him, but he would not be taken without Clary. Jace suspected that Sebastian knew that Jace could overpower him, but it wasn't hard to keep Clary at bay, even when she fought with all her might.

What felt like it could have been three days after they had first arrived at the house, Jace could hear Clary screaming at Sebastian as she approached their room. When the door opened and Clary was shoved into the room, her hair was wet, and she had a red handprint on her face.

"What did you do?!" Jace screamed, pulling against the shackle he was attached to. He could feel the rusty metal rubbing against and irritating his skin.

"Oh, shut up." Sebastian rolled his eyes, giving Clary another shove. She wore a pair of black leggings with a black t-shirt over top that looked like it belonged to Jace, but he knew that Sebastian was dressing his sister in his own clothes to fuel some sick fantasy. He never offered them socks or shoes, always keeping their feet bare. Maybe he thought that if they had nothing covering their feet, they wouldn't try to escape from the house.

Clary's arms were lifted over her head by Sebastian. He linked her arms into the higher cuffs. They were too tall for her, she either had to suffer from her wrist being bent at an awkward angle or stand on her tiptoes. "Sebastian," Clary grunted as she struggled against him. "I can't; they're too tall."

"You're doing just fine, Clarissa." Sebastian muttered, his hand forcefully holding her chin in place. He stood over her, watching her struggle for a moment, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

"What happened?" Jace asked, feeling hatred bubble in his chest. Clary looked so desperate and she tried to balance herself and find a comfortable position. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and help her or offer her a means of comfort.

"He wouldn't let me change in the bathroom." Clary told Jace, her voice sounding defeated. "I tried to change under the towel, but he pulled it away." She went into detail, looking up at a very angry Jace. "And then I punched him. He didn't like that."

The expression on Jace's face lightened up at Clary confession of her attempt in fighting back.