Wild Warriors: A Shadowhunters Fanfic

6. Raising Hell

"Cara Freerose, where have you been?"
I winced at the shrill cry that came from my mother almost the second I stepped foot into the Institute. She wasn't the only one who had noted our absence, Maryse Lightwood was there with her as well as my father.
My hand came up to rub my temple before stepping forward and opening my mouth to explain myself.
"Don't bother with your excuses, Cara, we'll talk about this later," Maryse interrupted. The woman was wearing a dark blue dress with silver jewelry, looking closer to a Queen than the head of the Institute. Maryse regarded her children with a scathing glare of her own, but let them be for now.
"Off to bed, all of you!"
We were all forced into action when Maryse yelled at us. We obeyed just because we didn't want to cause a scene so early in the morning, and now that I had had a few moments to calm down, I was starting to feel exhausted.

Clary took ahold of Simon's hand and pulled him down the hallway, muttering something that sounded like a promise of a room.
Jace ran his hand down my back, light as a feather, and he pulled away from me to follow his parabati down the hallway where their rooms were.
My mother's keen eyes saw the fond gesture and I watched as one of her perfect eyebrows tilted skywards. She was still regarding me as if I owed her an apology for not showing up in my bed for the entire night and well into the morning. I did owe her an apology, but she wasn't getting one until she stopped staring at me like I was nine years old.

I watched the boys disappeared down the hallway and waited for Isabelle until she had returned from putting our weapons away. She wrapped a firm but gentle arm around my waist and pulled me in the direction of my room. She could feel I was tired through our parabati bond and I could feel her exhaustion just the same.
As we brushed past my mother, her arm shot out to latch onto mine. I turned to face my mother's enraged expression. I tried to set my eyes as hard as I could but I was certain the veil of weariness overpowered everything.
"We will talk about this later," my mother swore. I blinked, wrapped my arm around my parabati, and continued walking down the hallway.
My mother's eyes were burning holes in the back of my head as I retreated, but I didn't turn around.

Isabelle dropped me off at my room, making sure I had my stele with me just in case. She gave me a weary smile and stroked my hair before clicking my door shut behind her.
The curtains in my room were still drawn, blocking the mid-afternoon sun from disturbing me.
My eyes slid closed and despite the rigid clothes I still wore, sleep blanketed me in just a few minutes.

-----

When my eyes flickered open again, nothing had changed.
I was still laying on my stomach, facing the shut door across my room. One of my hands was shoved under my pillow and the other was outstretched next to my head. I felt only a little rested and suddenly wondered why I had woken up.
I slowly rolled to my back, pulling my arms out of their odd positions. I swallowed thickly in an attempt to wash the sleepiness away but it did no good. With a ragged sigh I rolled onto my sided and stretched my hand out to turn on my phone. The bright screen lit up my room and through my squinting lids I could see the numbers that read 4:57 pm.

A huge sigh left me when I realized I had slept through most of the day.
Oh well, at least I avoided my parents.
I flopped back down in my bed and stared up at the ceiling. My eyes were drifting shut again when I heard the quiet creaking of my door being opened.
My eyes snapped open and in an instant my legs had swung around to hang off my bed, pulling me to sit up as straight as a rod. My door creaked again and a blond figure appeared in the doorway, his bright hair the only thing visible in the darkness.

"Easy," Jace soothed, "it's just me."
I sighed and my whole body relaxed.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay?" I asked with the smallest frown.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jace cleared his throat as he crossed the dark room. The bed dipped under his weight when he sat next to me. "I just couldn't sleep."
"Well, its almost dinner time so it might be a good thing you woke up," I rocked into him with a smile. He returned it but quickly looked away from me and towards the door again. Jace was obviously tired, and I wondered how well he had slept, if any at all. I also found myself wondering what kept him from sleep when he had been part of a manhunt for the last twenty four hours.
We sat in silence for a while. Not the awkward silence where both of you are raking your brains for something to say, but it was a peaceful silence. We were sitting just close enough so that our shoulders brushed and our soft breathing was synced as we inhaled and exhaled sleepily.