Jace's POV

"What are you doing here?" Clary asked me. "Shouldn't you be with that blonde?" I winced; I didn't think she saw Kaelie.

"No. She came to see me, but I got rid of her," I replied. "Oh, so you're not sleeping with her?" she asked me pointedly, as if she already knew the answer. I gulped. "Er...well..." Yes, I've slept with Kaelie, more than a few times, but it's not like I have feelings for her. She's fun sometimes, when I'm bored, but most of the time she's just annoying.

She scoffed. "I thought so," she said harshly, turning away from me. "Clary wait-" "No Jace! It's fine. You and I, we're a business agreement. Sleep with whoever you want. I don't care." I knew that wasn't true. I could see in her shining eyes just how much she cared.

"I was only with her because you weren't here. But you are now. So, I'll stop, I promise," Was I really promising her that? I didn't even know her. But honestly, Kaelie, as well as other girls, were just a way to pass the time until I got married. After that, who knows? "I don't want to be in her position, Jace. Some toy that you use when you're bored and then throw away when you're done," she said, her voice shaking.

"You're not that, Clary. You'll never be that. You're going to be my wife," I said, trying to comfort her. "Yeah, that you didn't choose!" she argued.

I recoiled. She was right. I may not have chosen Clary as my wife, but that didn't mean I wasn't excited for her to be. "That doesn't change anything," I reassured her.

She re-positioned the books in her arms before saying, "Look, we're going to be married, whether we like it or not, so we need to stop arguing. You can be with her or any other girl if you want until then, and after even, and I need to accept that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start an argument. Goodnight, Jace."

What the hell was she sorry for? I understood where she was coming from and I don't want to be an unfaithful husband because I've seen the effect my father's mistresses have had on my mother. But I barely knew the girl. I couldn't commit myself to her yet. Before I could think of something to say, she had turned and left the library.

Clary's POV

I woke the next morning to sunlight streaming through my windows and my maids placing a tray of food on the table at the other end of my room.

I had barely begun eating when my ladies burst through the door. The sight of them brought a smile to my face. I was so happy I had friends here, especially as Jace and I weren't on the best of terms.

"How are things going with Jace?" Isabelle asked me before taking a bite of an apple. "Not the best," I played with the ends of my hair nervously. Tessa hugged me from the side while Isabelle took my hand and said, "Jace has walls around his heart. Always has. It's going to take some time for him to warm up to you. But he will, I know it."

"The sooner the better. Our wedding is in a month." The girls all squealed in excitement and started chattering quickly. "Can we talk about something else? I'm not really in the mood right now." They all nodded and suggested we go for a walk in the grounds. From what I'd seen, they were beautiful, and I was excited to explore.

Later, I was walking through the flower garden with my ladies, laughing and chatting about our lives before I arrived. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace coming around the corner straight for us. I cursed under my breath, remembering that I was supposed to be spending the day with him.

"Clary," he said brightly when he reached us. My ladies all curtsied while I simply stared at him and said stiffly, "Jace".

He took hold of my arm gently and pulled me away from my friends. "We got off on the wrong foot. Let me make it up to you." I sighed, knowing I should, and nodded in agreement.

Jace led me towards the stables where he asked a stable hand to fetch two horses for us. The boy's eyes lingered on me a little too long, causing Jace to scowl at him. He quickly hurried away and I scolded Jace playfully.

"So where are we going?" "My secret spot," he said with a smirk. Intrigued, I allowed him to help me on to one of the horses and then followed along beside him to this 'secret spot' of his.

The journey took us across the castle grounds and into the woods. Eventually we came upon a clearing where the sunlight shone beautifully through the trees and glimmered on the surface of the lake. "It's beautiful," I breathed.

Jace smiled at me as he helped me down from my horse. His smile was beautiful and the radiance of it stunned me. I stood, looking at the water, while Jace rummaged in his saddle bag. When he returned, he was carrying a blanket and a satchel full of food.

I helped him set the blanket down on the grass and lay the food out before settling down next to him on top of the blanket. We avoided discussing Kaelie and our dispute last night, instead filling each other in on our lives up until now. He told me about his hobbies (fencing and playing piano), his friends (Alexander and Isabelle mostly but some noble children too), his parents (he loves them more than anything and they love him, but he wishes they loved each other more. His father has a mistress named Maryse – Alec and Isabelle's mother! But Jace believes he still loves Celine too) and his hopes for the future (to be a better king than his father and to do right by his country).

I told him about my parents and Lucian, my father's reluctance to teach me anything of benefit, my relationship with Sebastian, and the fact that I didn't have many friends growing up. "I just really miss them." I lay back on the blanket, looking up at the sky and the leaves while thinking of my family, and Jace moved to lie next to me. "I know. You'll see them at the wedding though, right?"

"Yeah, you're right." A month wasn't a long time; I could wait. But it was also a month until Jace and I's wedding, and a month until I became princess of Idris.

"Are you scared?" I whispered into the evening air after a moment. Jace turned his head to look at me, but I kept my eyes trained on the sky above us. "Yes," he exhaled, leading me to look at him. "I don't want us to end up like my parents, or yours." I processed what he said, thinking of Kaelie, before voicing my thoughts, "It kind of feels inevitable."

Jace sat up, leaning on one arm, and said "Not necessarily. Just because that's all we've known doesn't mean we're going to follow the same path." He took my hand in his, playing with my fingers. "I hope you grow to love me, Clary, and I hope I'll love you." "Me too," I said earnestly.

By the time we left the clearing, the stars were shining brightly in the sky and it was clear we had missed dinner. We finished the food hours before, so I was famished. "Don't worry, we can get food in the kitchens," Jace assured me, reaching for my hand. I let him take it, glad of the progress we had made today, and walked with him to the castle.

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