As swiftly as wind, he takes a swing at her, but he misses. She was faster, stronger and to be honest, smarter. That's who Clarissa Adele Morgenstern was. She was a Shadowhunter, trained by her father. Her brother was basically born to kill, lead and destroy. She, on the other hand, was the only one who could control him. Because Clarissa was as good as an angel, taking over everybody's heart, making it hard not to trust her.

She kicks him in the abdomen and trips him, so that he falls to the ground. Without even a moment passing, she is on top of him, her blade on his throat. Valentine laughs, saying "I must say, Clarissa, I think you're getting so good, it might be time for you to train me."

She throws the blade on the floor and gets up, smoothing her t-shirt. "Well, with nothing to do around here father, I just might."

Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern or just Jonathan as she calls him, comes closer, handing her a bow and arrow. She has been training all day long. Valentine says that it's time to test her, to see how ready she was to go in the real world. Clarissa took the bow from him and positioned herself in front of the target, spreading her legs shoulder-length apart. She closed one eye and aimed. A second or two passed, when she let go and the arrow hit the middle of the target. Then, she threw the bow on the floor and took the knife out of her pocket. With some force, she threw it and it hit the second target. Her father was pleased.

His daughter turned out exactly what he expected. Well, except too good. He thought that when the time came, she couldn't kill any Shadowhunter no matter how much she hated him/her. But for now, she is exactly what he needs. He needs power. He needs other Shadowhunters running scared. The word around Idris was spreading. Valentine's daughter and son are going to rise in glory, taking over the world of Shadowhunters and that the Clave is going to finally fall.

Clarissa could draw new runes. Her powers were infinite. And her brother Jonathan was strong and an extreme fighter. He did not know mercy, except when it came to Clarissa. He trusted her fully. Jonathan was the fighting one and if he had to hunt someone down, he would be the one to do it.

After she finished her evaluation, she turned towards the door that led to the inside of the Morgenstern Mansion. She headed towards the kitchen to take a sip of water. That's the only thing she drinks. In case her drink was spiked, you could see it in the water. Or if a demon attacked her, it's better to fight with a clear head. Alcohol makes you lose your focus.

Valentine and Jonathan are going to discuss what they decided to do with her at dinner, but right now, Clarissa walks up the stairs to her bathroom and takes a shower. The hot water feels good when it touches her skin. She has a bruised back, from all the fighting and training. When she walks out she sees a long, purple kind-of medieval looking dress on her bed. On it is a note saying: This dress is prepared for tomorrow. After reading it, on her bed, taking her sketchpad in her hands. She's not thinking of anything in particular, but when she closes her eyes, a face flashes before her eyes. It's not just any face, but a face of her mother. It's easy for Clarissa to recognize her, since they look exactly the same.

Clarissa has red hair like the flames of fire, and green eyes like the fresh grass. Her hair and eyes combined together make her look extremely graceful and hard to resist. Her hair falls to the middle of her back, but she now makes a side braid, making her look just a little decent. Managing her hair is usually a waking nightmare, but once it's done, it's hard not to look at her. With her sketchpad and pencil in her hand, she slowly drifts to sleep.

She is awoken by someone shaking her shoulder. Her eyes flutter open just to see Jonathan beside her, calling her to dinner. Across his face is a big smile, that Clarissa doesn't manage to recognize. She is an amazing expression reader, but she just hadn't had enough time to read her brother's. They head through some halls in silence, when they finally reach the stairs. Clarissa walks down the stairs and as soon as she reaches the bottom, she waits for Jonathan to follow. It doesn't take him long, though. She heads to the dining room, where the three of them usually eat. Her father is already sitting in his usual seat, Clarissa and Jonathan sliding into their own. The dinner is served by one of the Circle's members. A girl, who looks like my age, and I think her name is Atrea.

After the dinner is set on the table, Valentine waves her to leave the room. She does as she's told. Then, he starts the conversation.

"Clarissa. Jonathan and I discussed about it and we think that you are prepared to leave Idris and live in a mundane world. We want to show you how fragile mundanes are and what hides in the shadows of their world. Of course, things that hide there, you already know. But we want to show you what you need to protect them from. The Downworlders are everywhere and the corruption of the Clave doesn't help. I already told you about Lucian Graymark, my dear friend, who got bitten by a werevolf and later betrayed me by turning your mother against me.

"You know what happened to your mother. He made her hate Jonathan and she wanted to run away with you, too, but the Clave already had a prize on your head. She was about to turn you in just when I saved you. Your mother isn't to be trusted. No one is. So, your mission for right now is just to go to the New York city and hunt a few demons every now and then. But don't draw any attention to yourself. Avoid any Shadowhunters, any institutes and Downworlders. After a few days, I'll send Cage to deliver you a message with further instructions. You'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Cage was Clarissa's favorite bird. He was a breed called Painted Bunting, but he could easily fool you as a parrot. Clarissa loved him, because his heart was so pure and he couldn't even hurt a single fly. He was always her best friend and it seemed like he always understood her. He sang beautifully and he kept her company when Jonathan and Valentine were out of town. That's when she usually took a break from training and just played piano, which she mastered, or she would read books. She really liked the Hush, Hush series written by Becca Fitzpatrick. Her father bought her these for her 15th birthday. She read them over and over again. She liked how it was about fallen angels and nephilim, but it also has a great story.

After her father was finished with talking, she replyed

"Yes, father." They ate in silence, extremely eager to go to sleep, she took off as soon as she was finished with her meal.