Isabelle's POV

Jace peered out of his bedroom with an irritable look on his face. I retracted the butter knife from Clary's lock and turned the knob slowly. I peeked into Clary's room.

I saw Clary and Sebastian looking in my direction standing a couple feet apart. Sebastian had a really startled look on his face, and the left side of his face, the side farthest from the door, was bright red. Clary had her hands on her hips, and she looked a mess. I took in the scene quickly. Clary's dress was pulled up crooked with one of her ass cheeks exposed. One of the straps to her dress was torn and hanging. At the angle she had turned towards the door, I could just make out that she had red marks on her far shoulder and collarbone area that looked like several nickel size bruises. They really stood out against her pale white skin. She had tears streaming down her face, her make-up was completely smeared, and she had a terrible look on her face, she looked furious.

"JACE!" I screamed at the top of my lunges as I charged in Clary's room and attempted to hit Sebastian in the head with the fat end of the butter knife. He swatted me out of the way forcefully and I ended up falling into Clary knocking us both onto the floor, the butter knife flying across the floor and under the bureau.

"Izzy wait." Clary snapped as we both scrambled to our feet. Jace was in the room in a second and grabbing Sebastian's shirt, Sebastian showed only some initial resistance, Jace's left fist impacted with Sebastian's face hard and sent him flying back onto Clary's bed. Jace moved to continue his assault, but Clary grabbed onto Jace's left arm, his dominant arm, for dear life yelling at him to stop repeatedly. I stood there unsure if I should be trying to pry Clary off Jace, or if I should be trying to stop Jace from hitting Sebastian. Sebastian just seemed to be lying on the bed, waiting to see what was going to happen to him. Jace had fought Sebastian at Pandemonium, even though that was brief; Sebastian appeared to be no match for Jace. Jace seemed to be solely focused on Sebastian and lunged forward punching him in the face a few more times with his right fist, not nearly as powerful as the first punch. Sebastian didn't fight back, as Jace punched him, Sebastian just lay there like a coward attempting to cover his face. I had turned off Clary's radio as the scene played out. As if finally registering that Clary had been screaming at him to stop, Jace dropped his wound up arm, and turned to Clary with a disbelieving look.

"But Clary-" Jace said in disbelief, but choked mid-sentence. He just stared at her, his face shifting from anger to shock. He must have been taking in Clary's appearance for the first time.

"I think…I think it was just a misunderstanding. I don't know." Clary said hesitantly. Sebastian took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." Sebastian said softly, looking at Clary. I wondered how much more damage Jace would have done if Clary didn't stop him. Sebastian had a large dark purple bruise on the right side of his face encompassing his whole eye, which was swelling partially shut; that was where Jace had struck him with his first punch. Sebastian had another large dark red bruise along the left side of his jaw that ran into his lips, causing his lip to be swollen on that side; that had to be caused by more than one punch. There was a purple bruise at his left temple, and blood was trickling out of a cut at the edge of his eyebrow. Unbelievably his nose wasn't touched; otherwise there would have been a lot more blood. I absentmindedly wondered if Jace did that strategically. I could almost see him not wanting to get blood all over Clary's bed. Though, part of me wondered if he would have ever stopped punching Sebastian if Clary didn't stop him. Clary didn't look at Sebastian when he apologized. Her eyes were locked with Jace's. She looked very sad all of a sudden, the anger gone. After a long silent moment she turned her eyes from Jace's to Sebastian. Her eyes narrowed to a murderous glare. She crossed her arms tightly in front of her, her hands balling into fists. When Clary spoke, her voice sounded as menacing and cold as I've ever heard her sound. Clary was a remarkably understanding, tolerant, and friendly person. It sent a shiver through my body wondering what he did that made her sound that full of hatred.

"Just get out Sebastian." She hissed.

"Get out and never, ever touch me again. At all. Ever. And never come back in my room. Ever. You are a truly malevolent person. There is a dark demonic side to you that makes my blood boil and my stomach turn. Your soul is dark and evil. I am being completely frank when I say I have not an ounce of care as to your wellbeing. I am not playing hard to get, this isn't a game, we will never have a relationship in any capacity. Your attention is completely inappropriate and unwelcome. Just…Never…Never, ever, no, no, no, never even think of so much as laying a single finger on me. If I drowned tomorrow swimming, do not touch me, do not drag me from the water, do not attempt to give me mouth-to-mouth. I would rather die than have you touch me again." Clary said darkly. She took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. Her expression changed. She looked dazed.

"I am really very sorry." Sebastian turned his gaze to Jace, but he was still looking at Clary.

"Are you finished?" Sebastian asked quietly and started to sit up, but Jace grabbed hold of his shirt and roughly jerked him up off the bed." Jace glared at Sebastian with fire in his eyes.

"We're not even close to done. And if you ever so much as graze her arm again, I will put in a body bag." Jace growled into Sebastian's face through clenched teeth. Jace shoved Sebastian hard towards the door.

"Get out." Jace snarled. Sebastian walked out of Clary's room with an almost relieved expression. Clary was still staring at the ground. Tears slowly falling down her cheeks. She looked shocked. I walked over to her and put my arms around her. She collapsed into me and started to bawl.

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"He thought I wanted…I tried to tell him…he said some girls…who would want that?" She choked out between sobs. Jace took a step closer to us and I gave him a warning look, but he took another step anyway.

"Clary?" He said as he put his hand on her shoulder gently. She pulled away and out of my arms.

"Don't touch me." She snapped. Her eyes quickly diverted to the ground. He flinched slightly, but just nodded. He looked so devastated.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked quietly. She shook her head.

"Not now. I have to go…I have to go to the hospital." She stumbled over her words through the tears. Jace's face changed to a much darker anger.

"Are you hurt? What did he do to you?" He asked through clenched teeth. She shook her head.

"Not me." I nodded.

"Jem?" I asked softly. Clary nodded.

"I got the note you left Simon last night. Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean up. I'll pick out something for you to wear and I'll change too. You can drive Will's car, if you feel up to driving, and I'll drive your car. If you don't want to drive, I'm sure Jace and I can drive, and you can still come with us to bring Will his car." She pulled away from me shaking her head. I carefully grabbed at the hem of her dress and pulled it down over her ass.

"I want to go. I want to know how Jem is." I nodded. Jace blocked Clary's way as she tried to walk out of the room.

"Clary, I need to talk to you. I need to talk to you now. This can't wait." There was urgency in Jace's voice and deep concern all over his face. She took a deep breath and nodded slowly still looking at the ground.

"Then talk Jace, but talk quickly because I have to go." He swallowed hard.

"I need to know you're alright. Did he touch you?" I could tell Jace had asked the question as though he already knew the answer, we both did, but he still seemed to need confirmation. Clary nodded.

"Yes." She said evenly. Jace took a breath, anger flashing across his face.

"Did he hurt you?" Clary reached up to her shoulder almost subconsciously, and placed her hand over the marks I had seen earlier. Jace's eyes watched her and darkened with realization, I could see his jaw clenching.

"Yes." She said softly. Jace's fists balled tightly at his side, his knuckles turning white. He swallowed hard. There was a long pause, I could almost imagine him counting to ten in his head.

"Did he try to…" He began hesitantly, but didn't finish the sentence. She raised her head and looked him in the eye. Her face looked so sad, so upset. Her voice sounded drained.

"Did he try to force himself on me? Is that what you were going to say? Yes-" She shook her head and looked back towards the ground.

"-or no, I don't know. I thought he was, then he said he thought I was into it. He stopped, eventually, I don't know, I don't know what he was thinking, but this is really not what I want to talk about right now. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" She looked back into his eyes. He shook his head slowly, the anger gone. There was a long pause.

"No." He said softly. She nodded.

"There's Nothing else you wanted to tell to me?" Her eyes were almost pleading. He swallowed heard and hesitated.

"No." He said softly. After all the craziness she didn't look terrified as I might expect, just crushed. She passed Jace and walked down the hall, her eyes glued to the ground. Jace walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked lost. I sat next to him and put my arm around his shoulder.

"She's going to be alright Jace." He shook his head.

"No Izzy. She most definitely is not." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll talk to her. I'll find out what happened. I know she's shaken…She loves you Jace. It's going to be alright." Jace shot up off the bed. Hands balled at his sides. He looked deeply irritated. He talked quietly, but forcefully.

"Why do people always say that? You can't tell me it's going to be alright. You don't actually know if it is going to be alright. I don't know what the hell just happened between her and Sebastian, and I'm going to have to figure out what the hell happened between me and Seelie last night. I don't even know if Clary is upset about what just happened with Sebastian or if she is upset with me. I have no idea what she knows or what she saw. God Izzy, she could know more than I even remember. So don't tell me it's going to be alright. It isn't." We both heard the door open at the end of the hallway and we were silent. Clary walked into the bedroom her hair up in a scrunchy. She had washed the makeup off her face, but tears were still slowly falling down her cheeks. She held a navy blue cloth item in her hand pressed tightly to her chest. As she walked into the bedroom she walked over to Jace but didn't look up at him. Her eyes were still on the ground. She held the blue cloth so tightly to her chest that her knuckles were turning white. She took a deep breath.

"This is yours." She handed the blue cloth to Jace with two hands, her arms slightly shaking, and he took it, never so much as grazing her hand.

"Where did this come from?" Jace asked softly. His eyebrows furrowed. Clary swallowed hard. We were all silent as she walked over to her bureau. Jace shook out the cloth, it was his navy blue Yankee t-shirt, the one Seelie had been wearing this morning. He and I both exchanged a look of alarm. We didn't say a word as Clary's back was to us, she was rummaging through her bureau pulling out clothes. I had told her I would get something out for her to wear, but I didn't get the chance. With a handful of clothes she walked back towards the door. She stopped a few feet from the door without turning around.

"I know its one of your favorites. Seelie left it in the bathroom. I told her you loved that shirt and she said she wouldn't take it when she left. I guess she was telling the truth." I heard Jace's sharp intake. She took a few more steps and stopped in the doorway, never turning around.

"I just wish." She took a deep breath.

"When I saw you two together at the party…The way your arms were wrapped tightly around her body…If I had confronted you when you were kissing her, holding her…I could have prevented this…I will always regret I didn't do anything…I'm not without faults either…I've made mistakes…You forgave me for Sebastian…If you had just told me…I would have forgiven you for Seelie…Simon always says the worst thing he can imagine is not trusting someone he loves…I agree." She trailed off at the end and shook her head as she walked down the hallway. Not only had Clary most definitely seen that Seelie was here in Jace's room, in Jace's t-shirt, but she had talked to her, and seen them together at the party. She most definitely knew much more about what happened than Jace did.

"Oh Jace." I said softly. Jace collapsed to his knees, his blue shirt in his hand, and rested his head onto the shirt and into his palms. He looked devastated before, but now he just looked destroyed.

Clary didn't return to her bedroom. She left the bathroom and walked into the living room where she waited for us. I silently grabbed clothes for myself and went to the bathroom to change. As I walked out of the bathroom I was intercepted by Jace. He looked so shattered. He really didn't have to work hard to convince me to let him come with us; I didn't really think Clary looked fit to drive anyway. Though, she was adamant that Will wouldn't want anybody else to drive his car. A short argument later we were on the way to the hospital, me in the passenger seat of Will's car and Jace following in his.


Sebastian's POV

After I knew the coast was clear, I left my room and headed to the back yard where Seelie had told me to meet her. It had been about a half hour since I had left Clary's room, so about 45 minutes since I had seen Seelie last. I knew my face was sore and I had a headache, but I hadn't taken the time to look in a mirror and survey the damage. I grabbed a couple Advil on my way through the kitchen and headed out back. I assume I felt like I looked, horrible. I was trying not to think. I didn't want to think of that last look on Clary's face that was burned into my mind, or the moment when I realized she was crying because I could taste her tears on her neck, or what we were doing to her and Jace, or the fact Kaelie said she had personally kept a close eye on Jessamine last night. I was having so much trouble concentrating on what I was supposed to be doing. I was trying to get back the feeling I use to get right about now, the excitement, the thrill, the total fixation to see this through. I use to not think twice about the people we manipulated. I did whatever Seelie and Kaelie wanted and I got sex out of it, so why care about anything else. My life revolved around sex, and it was a good life…When the fuck did I start to feel like what we were doing was wrong?

I walked over to the lounge chair where Seelie was laying down. She had on her dress from the night before. She was wearing sunglasses she must have taken out of my car, and appeared to be looking out over the lake. She looked pleased as punch with herself.

"Queen of the Damned." I said sweetly and inclined my head mockingly.

"You were so much kinder to me the other day when I was here. Where are all the sweet complements?" I rolled my eyes.

"No use keeping up pretenses when there's nobody here to entertain." She laughed.

"It's my birthday Sebastian, indulge me." I smirked, but the gesture made me wince.

"Blow me Seelie." She snapped her head towards me for the first time, for a moment she looked irate, but then she threw her hand over her mouth blocking her laughter.

"My, my, aren't you a sight to be seen?" I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't know Clay had it in her to fight back like that." I shook my head. I wasn't about to tell her that Jace beat the shit out of me, not that I really put up a fight. I knew how he felt, if Kaelie and Seelie ever got to Jessamine, I'd do the same thing to the son of bitch that touched her.

"Yeah well, I told you I'm a lover not a fighter." She shrugged. I was pretty good with seduction, that was my trick of the trade. I liked to seduce the girls and sleep with them, end of story. I never liked to scare the shit out of them. Blackwell was into that, but it always turned my stomach.

"Well you also told me you didn't have enough time to work your magic on her, so I had to improvise. Did you at least have enough time to scare her half to death?" I rolled my eyes. When Pangborn called to say Clary left the hospital, I told Seelie I would never have enough time to get Clary to sleep with me. Too much time had gone by since everybody was drugged. We had no idea when people would start coming back or when Jace would wake up. I suggested we nix the whole plan. Of course Seelie had already invested so much time, she refused to give up, so she improvised, she changed the plan to have me try to scare Clary so bad that she takes off. She was already going to be devastated when she found Seelie in Jace's bedroom, Clary would just need a good push to get her to leave town. With Clary gone, Kay could move in on Jace.

"Yeah. She seemed terrified when I left. I'd definitely say she thought I was going to rape her. Of course I'm pretty sure Jace and Izzy did too the way they attacked me." She laughed. It was really bothering me thinking of the look on Clary's face, the way her body trembled, the way her voice wavered. I hated scaring her like that.

"A little collateral damage. Actually, it worked out great that Izzy showed up when she did, that way I didn't have to be the one that came breaking down the door to stop you." I shook my head.

"Yeah, worked out great Seelie. At least now I'm only risking sexual assault charges or attempted rape at the worst." I said sarcastically.

"You're being awfully melodramatic. It could be so much worse Sebastian." She said as she shook her head. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, somebody could have had a gun and shot me." She smiled a vicious smile.

"Yes, or you could be in Jace's shoes right now." I glared at her.

"Now, now, Sebastian, you use to laugh when I said things like that. Have you lost all enthusiasm for the game? You don't seem to be having fun." I shook my head.

"Why don't you just leave them alone? This is probably one of the most fucked up things we've done…We're destroying an innocent girl. You know that right?" She pushed her glasses up on her forehead and looked at me like I was crazy.

"Who cares? What makes her any different from the others? This should be an easy score. The deck is already stacked in our favor. She's so predictable. We know how she'll react. When I came over the house the other day she gushed over me. She was so worried that you'd try to take advantage of me. Now I can play the victim. I don't know what happened. I'm ruined. I can't believe Jace took advantage of me when I was drunk. I'm just a girl, barely seventeen. I'm so sorry. She never yelled at me this morning. She probably already feels bad for me. She commented on what I was wearing. I had to refrain from laughing at her. She's not mad at me; just as expected. She never blamed Kay for years. Clay blames them…or you. The men. How can a dainty young woman be held responsible for such a thing? Clay believes what you tell her Sebastian. I haven't seen her for three years and the girl thinks I'm going to come running to her to rat out my own flesh and blood. Please. Clay was so concerned with watching out for Kay last night that everything fell right into place under her little nose. Now we couldn't have planned for her to go running off to the hospital because her friend was in a car accident, but everything else went rather smoothly." I shook my head.

"I don't know Seelie. I don't know if it went all that smoothly. To tell you the truth, I'm not that certain she'll even leave." She glared at me.

"Well she better leave." She snapped

"What if she doesn't? What's Kaelie going to do then?" Seelie smirked.

"She's got a few ideas. I think she'll request a favor from Jonathan next. There's a party on Friday night at the Morgenstern Estate for Jonathan's twenty-first birthday celebration. We could always arrange to send Clay his way as a nice birthday present." I was giving her an incredulous look. The thought of Clary being delivered to Jonathan like a gift turned my stomach and if Jace ever found out, he would quite literally kill me.

"Don't look at me like that Sebastian it would be fun. It's formal, ball gowns and tuxedos. She's lovely and sweet; he'd take right to her. That property is locked down like FortKnox, but Kay and I wouldn't have any control, so we wouldn't want Clary going with her entourage. The Morgenstern's do like to throw their money around for these types of events…" Seelie started rambling on and on about the party. She had this mischievous twinkle in her eye. I took a deep breath and scratched the back of my neck. I suddenly didn't want Clary mixed up with Jonathan. He wasn't like anybody else I'd ever met, he was different. He could definitely get to her if he wanted her.

Jonathan played a whole different game. He wasn't at Seelie and Kaelie's beck and call. He was very connected and very powerful. Kay told me once that his father was into organized crime, he was like a mob boss or something, but I didn't really know if that was true. Jonathan always seemed to know everything about anything that happened in the area, it was weird. The family was very affluent and to the Average Joe that money came from the number or large companies his father owned internationally. He traveled often leaving Jonathan in charge. Both Jonathan and his father were very respected and very feared. They were not to be crossed. Seelie and Kay might have liked to consider themselves Queens among the commoners, but this was definitely his kingdom and it spread much farther than their reach. He just didn't get involved very often with their charades. He was a very busy man, but on occasion Kaelie could peak his interest with the right girl. He was very particular; he wouldn't waste his time on just anyone. He picked and choose with a very high discretion. He would occasionally assist Kaelie and Seelie, but it was completely on his terms, and the girls had to be exceptional. Once in a while, he would stop by one of Kaelie's parties to see if any young women caught his eye, as he did at the bonfire.

Jonathan was very smooth and very rich. He liked to pursue a girl seemingly cordially and make her fall in love with him unequivocally. Once he had accomplished his goal, he'd simply break up with her. Crush her. Having a girl completely lovesick and then breaking her heart was what turned him on. Then there were the two girls a year ago that fell off his yacht. He never had charges against him, but the rumors were they didn't just fall. He was deplorable in the way he seemed to completely not have a heart. At least I never tried to get a girl to fall in love with me. I made it clear to Clary anything between us would be just physical. I didn't like what I was doing to Clary, but what Jonathan did to girls, that was so much worse. Clary didn't deserve that, she already thought Jace loved her and cheated on her. She didn't deserve what Jonathan would do to her, she didn't deserve any of this…Why does it all of a sudden bother me so much what Jonathan does? Never did before. Why does it bother me so much the thought of him doing it to Clary?

"Have you even been listening to me? I said they're flying in some fancy caviar from London. It's white! It sells for like $25,000 a kilo. Did you just have a stroke or something?" I shook my head. I was zoning out for a minute there. I felt kind of disorientated and confused about everything going on. God maybe I had a concussion or something from this morning. I was so fucking exhausted.

"So you're going to waste a favor from Jonathan over this? It's not worth it Seelie. You didn't see how she was looking at Jace, she'll never forgive him. The damage is done."

"Oh my, Sebastian, you do need to have more faith. Clay has faith in everybody, that's her downfall. She's too gullible and trusting. If you try hard enough I'm sure she'll forgive you, let alone Jace. It's in her nature. She can't hold a grudge. If Kay came over and apologized tomorrow, Clay would give her a great big hug. She's too innocent and pure not to. She doesn't understand that there is true evil in the world. She believes people are inherently good. She's Eve in the Garden of Eden, show her enough apples and she's bound to take a bit out of one of them. She wants to taste what she's missing. She just needs to be tempted enough. I just need to make sure she's no where near Jace when she finally falls from grace. Only then will she and Jace truly be divided. I just need to find the right snake to set loose in the garden."

"Fine Seelie. No need to send her to the depths of hell. I'll get her to take a bite out of a poison apple for you Your Majesty. Leave Jonathan out of this. He's just satanic. I've got another week. I'll take care of this." She chuckled.

"Seriously Sebastian, you don't exactly look like Casanova right now…You know what kills me? Clay would have slept with you once. That night by the lake. When you told her all about how Jace and Kay had this special connection. You wasted the whole day on that plan, from horseback riding, to watching them, to comforting her; so much work you exerted and yet you got nothing out of it. I wanted to scream when I found out you didn't close the deal. This could all be over if you had. Then Kay was going to rush in and tell Jace she was pregnant. After you slept with Clary and Jace found out he was going to be a father, he would have stayed with Kay. Clay would be out of the picture. She never would have interfered. Kay would have said she miscarried of course, but she'd already have him back. He wouldn't have left Kay after that. You had to ruin that for her though…You know you were so eager to sleep with Clay the night we went to Pandemonium. When Jace brushed off Kay at the club, she figured he was just in another one of his moods, but when she saw the way he looked at Clay…oh it was on. You were already positioned to be of assistance and you were more than willing to play the part, but now you've become something of a loose cannon. Kay might like you, but I don't. I can't count on you anymore…You've changed Sebastian…Just bring Clay to the party and I might leave you in as back up, maybe you can get sympathy sex out of her or something. I guess it is possible she won't appeal to Jonathan's exquisite taste, but I think she will. She does clean up nice. Put a ball gown on her and she'll look like a princess." She said sarcastically. I shook my head.

"I heal fast Seelie. Don't worry about that. I can't believe you'd wait for your next move until Friday when she's only going to be here until next Sunday. I'll talk to Kaelie. I'm sure she'll agree with me. My understanding is she's still calling the shot's, so it doesn't matter whether you like me or not." She glared at me, but didn't say anything.

"You and your sister still fighting?" I asked sarcastically. Seelie rolled her eyes. I heard Kaelie was fit to be tied last night.

"Kay is just throwing a temper tantrum. She's overreacting about that kiss with Jace. Mel has such a big mouth. I thought it was a paramount decision. Jace has a much higher tolerance than the others, it's rather fascinating. I thought that Fairy Dust laced swisher sweet would be enough, then I had to have Mel get him to smoke Pixie Dust, and Jace still appeared to be holding himself together. I think it worked out perfectly really. I didn't even have to kiss him, as I hoped, he was blitzed enough at that point he thought I was Clay. I told Kay the red hair would only help. Timing couldn't have been better if I planned it. I was watching him just leaning up against that wall for some time. I was getting concerned that he didn't appear to be blacking out anytime soon. It was a last minute decision, but when I saw Clay descending the stairs I quickly put in a few eye drops to make my eyes look bloodshot, smeared the Fairy Dust on my lips, and stumbled my way to Jace. I planned to make it seem like I kissed him in a drunken daze, but I didn't even need to kiss him, he kissed me. I was sure that extra Fairy Dust had to push him over the edge, and it did. Though, I thought it was rather rude he left me on the ground after I passed out. Kay told me he scooped Clay up off the ground at the tennis courts and carried her all the way to the parking lot. I was so hoping he'd scoop me up in his arms and carry me upstairs to my bedroom. I guess he's not quite as considerate as I thought. I could have definitely had more fun with him if I could get him in my bedroom and we weren't being watched from every angle. Kay's so possessive of her toys." I rolled my eyes.

"Well you're lucky he didn't try to pick you up. He just barely made it to my car when he passed out. You both probably would have come crashing down the staircase…I don't know why you and Kay are going to such extremes here. Can't you see you've already destroyed them? You won." She laughed.

"I don't think so Sebastian. This vendetta is personal. Clay's hurt, but not destroyed. Nobody takes away Kay's play things. You sound too much like you're siding with these people. You've already shown weakness on more then one occasion this week. Kay might have a high regard for your abilities Sebastian, but I question your loyalties. You know I only find it so humorous that you suddenly became chivalrous when you met that young girl there…What was her name again… Jessamine -" I cut her off as I balled my fists, anger flashing across my face.

"Stay away from her Seelie." I snarled. She chuckled. I quickly schooled my expression. This cut throat company I keep tends to turn on their own in a heartbeat if they sense weakness. I had to keep reminding myself I needed to forget about Jessamine, she was better off without me in her life. She was safer. I had to stop letting Seelie get to me.

"You know it is comical really. The way you get fired up about her. So protective. Who would have thought you capable of caring? Or loving I dear say? Then you find somebody that you do care for and oh what a mess you made of that. You ran right out to do the noble thing and you confessed all your sins to Clay and Jace. Kay was so livid. You set us back terribly. She was really excited about working that pregnancy angle. Nothing destroys a man like a fake pregnancy. You had to go and ruin that. You've known Kay for a long time and you were willing to throw that all away on a skirt you just met. You thought the world could be a happy place where the good and the righteous prevail? That's rather pitiful. Then, I threatened to make a fool out of you to all those that think you hold some sort of power in our little world, and you fold. You're a pawn in a game of chess Sebastian. A pawn Kay and I like to play with. You'll never have Jessamine. You could have had her. Not now though. Don't cross me Sebastian. Don't decide to be all noble again. I'm not as forgiving as my sister. I'll make sure Jessamine knows the depths of what you're really like, and then I'll not only ruin you, I'll ruin her. Can't you see that nothing good comes from caring?" She snickered.

"One day you'll feel differently Seelie." She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't bet on it. See how that worked out for Kay? Jace doesn't appreciate what she's going though for him." I shook my head.

"Kaelie doesn't know what its like to care about somebody. She doesn't have a heart. What she feels towards Jace is possession, its not that same thing as caring." Seeling rolled her eyes.

"I'm really helping you Sebastian. You know right now that girl just thinks you've gone your own way, you haven't called, you've been busy. She'll move on. Had you attempted to have an actual relationship with her I wouldn't even need to intervene, there'd be no point really. After a few mundane dates of playing tennis and eating ice cream you'd eventually get too horny to be satisfied with first base." She chuckled.

"You would have screwed the whole thing up. You'd have cheated on her. It's not in your nature to be monogamous. You saw how crushed Clay was this morning; you wouldn't want poor Jessamine to ever feel that betrayed now would you?" I glowered at her.

"You know, I spent some time looking through some of Jace's things last night. It became awfully boring being stuck in there with him practically in a coma. He has the most peculiar saying written in a notepad in his nightstand. To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed. So very true don't you think?" I felt my chest tighten as I glared at her. I knew what she was implying. I never said I loved Jessamine, I wasn't even sure what that would feel like, but I felt something for her. I definitely cared a lot about what happened to her.

"It doesn't really matter what you and Kaelie do. Jace is never going to go back to her. Even if I can get Clary to sleep with me, it won't matter either. You don't understand Seelie. You don't see the way he looks at Clary. Right now he'd forgive her for anything. He probably won't even think twice about it. There's nothing Clary could do that would make him not forgive her." She laughed a peal of laughter.

"Now do you really think that's all there is? I find guilt is very hard to overcome, especially for the innocent. I'm counting on her guilt to help crush her. Though, I'm also counting that she won't forgive him fast enough for Kay to make her move. Kay told me that the thing about Jace is, when he feels like he's at the bottom of the world, he wants to be on top of a women. Kay's going to be there for him when he's looking for someone to help remind himself how worthless he is. Right now little Clay is all upset at the thought that I slept with Jace, but she has doubt. Once Clay leaves town, or has sex; that should break Jace's little heart down enough to lose all hope. Not only will he feel like he screwed things up with Clay when he screwed me, he'll think she's moved on. He'll break down, he'll seek out Kay. Then Kay will have Jace back, Clay will be shattered, and Kay will have her revenge on both of them." She smiled sweetly.

"That's very touching really." I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

"So you did sleep with Jace? I thought you weren't supposed to." Seelie smirked. She was right about one thing, Kaelie doesn't like to share her boy toys.

"Didn't say I did. Didn't say I didn't. As long as Clay thinks I did, that's all that matters. It's really none of your business what I did."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. You should know that better than anyone Seelie. I hope you didn't fuck him."

"You're way too concerned. I should hope that's because your allegiance still lies with Kay and not with me. Kay's losing her touch Sebastian, I'm not nearly as concerned about crossing her as I once was. As far as you're concerned, consider me Queen of the castle now. Kay may be my older sister, but I'm running the show from now on and you're really trying my patience!"

"Mutiny? Against your own flesh and blood? This isn't a very pretty side of you Seelie." She glared a look that could kill.

"You'd zip it if you knew what was good for you…Jonathan likes me and around here that's all that matters. Kaelie has had a few too many mishaps and she's falling out of favor." After a moment her expression changed to a rather pleasant looking smile.

"What was it that made you think Jessamine was so special Sebastian? Worth your trouble?" A smile just barely touched my lips as the words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"She made me laugh." I said softly. She did too. Jessamine made me laugh sincerely, not a forced or social laugh, a genuine laugh. Seelie shook her head.

"See that's just pitiful. Enjoy the game Sebastian. We're so close to winning. She made me laugh. How trivial of a thing to hold such a high regard for. These sheep make me laugh every day." Her expression changed to a very sinister smile. I glared at her for a moment before I could compose myself again.

"Why do you and Kaelie do this Seelie?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"You never cared to ask why before." I rolled my eyes.

"I care now." I snapped.

"And there it is. That's what has changed about you Sebastian. You care and you shouldn't." She brought her sunglasses back over her eyes and stood up.

"Play the game according to my rules Sebastian or I will make sure Jessamine pays for your disloyalty dearly. Clay should have walked away from Jace when she had the chance. Kay doesn't give second chances. Now Clay and Jace will both pay…You know Clay and Jessamine are so similar; they're both so young Sebastian, so lovely, so innocent. I get the distinct impression neither one of them has that much experience with the touch of a man. They are pretty girls, so cute, so tiny. I can just tell by looking at them they must be so firm, so supple, and so tight in all the right places." She smiled a malicious smile. I glowered at her as I swallowed hard. She turned towards the driveway and started walking up the incline. I felt the heat pulse throughout my body as I bit my tongue. She was baiting me. I was just digging myself in a hole at this point and I knew it. I started to follow her several paces back.

"You know, I really despise Izzy. That bitch smacked me across the face. Can you believe it?" I had to suppress a laugh.

"She's going to pay for that. I bet I could have some fun with her boyfriend. He watched me like he was seeing a striptease for the first time. He couldn't tear his horny eyes off me. He'd be a piece of cake to get into bed." She said casually as she walked, never turning around. I felt my breath hitch.

"You know Izzy's off limits Seelie." I said forcing myself to stay calm. It wasn't Izzy I was concerned with. It was Aline. Seelie shook her head.

"No. I don't' think so. Kay might have left Izzy alone because it would have upset Aline, but I'm going to be calling the shots from now on. The best I'll do is leave Aline alone. For now anyway, as long as Kay and Aline remain close. The day may come where that friendship disintegrates. I'm a very patient woman Sebastian. Kay's impulsive, but I'll wait as long as necessary to enact my revenge. Don't think I'll forget your high esteem for Aline…" She snickered. I swallowed hard. Seelie just crossed the line.

"I've enjoyed our little chat. Now do stop this holier than thou routine and get your head in the game." She opened the door and climbed into my car as I climbed into the driver's seat. She cranked up the radio ridiculously high and didn't say another word all the way back. I dropped her off out front. She slammed the door hard behind her. I sat there for a moment as I watched her vanish into the cottage.


William Congreve The Mourning Bride (1697)

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned" spoken by Zara in Act III, Scene VIII.

(This is usually paraphrased as "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned")