Wild Warriors: A Shadowhunters Fanfic

3. A Door Into the Dark

By the time Victor Aldertree, Lydia Branwell, and three more Clave representatives showed up on the street the five of us were on, I was still crying. And by the looks of things, Clary wasn't holding up too well either.
Simon had held me in his arms for just a few moments longer after I had ceased my attacks on Jocelyn, just to make sure I was finished. When he let go of me I stormed away from the rest of them so quickly he was afraid I was making another move on her.

Isabelle caught up to me before I could turn the street corner. She stepped in front of me but didn't say anything, just blocking my path deep into the city.
Tears hadn't stopped rolling down my cheeks. It had been years since I had cried this hard for this long and the feeling was extremely unusual to say the least. I almost wished I hadn't seen Jace tonight, that we had missed him entirely. The pain of not knowing where he was seemed somewhat lesser than the pain of having him at my fingertips but being forced away.

Isabelle wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed my head gently against hers as sobs wracked my body.
"We were so close," I whispered tearfully. "He was...right there."
"I know, I know. But now we know he's alright. Now we can move forwards with new information."
"We wouldn't have to if-"
"Sshh..." Isabelle hushed me partly because she didn't want me to become hysterical with anger again and partly because Aldertree and Lydia had just arrived.

My parabati walked with me to the Clave representatives and we allowed them to Portal us back to the Institute.
Surprisingly, neither Aldertree nor Lydia said anything to us about how we had broken Aldertree's rules about not aiding in the search for Jace.

The Institute rushed upon us as the Portal swept us the few blocks distance to the broken down church.
As soon as we stepped foot inside, Clary turned her back on us and all but ran down the hallway towards her room.
"Clary!" Her mother called out. Clary ignored her and didn't cease her movements.
"Clary, please!" Jocelyn pushed past Izzy and I on her way to pursuing Clary, Simon right behind her.

Izzy and I pulled away from Aldertree and Lydia, not wanting to deal with whatever they had to say to us, and started walking slowly towards our own rooms.
My tears had stopped, finally, and my hand was firmly linked with Isabelle's.
We didn't say anything as we stepped off the elevator and continued walking down the hallway. Isabelle's very presence was comforting me and I was sure my presence as doing the same for her.

When Isabelle reached her door, she turned around and took my other hand in hers.
"Go train with Alec," she whispered. "It'll make you feel better."
"No..." I shook my head and frowned. "No, I don't-"
"Cara," Isabelle's voice was soft but also firm. "Training always helps you, you know that. Alec needs it too right now."
I sighed and reluctantly pulled my hands out of hers. I didn't want to leave her, I wanted to curl up on her bed and fall asleep for the next four days. But she was right, I needed to do something and training had always helped me in the past.

"Okay, I'll go find Alec."
Izzy smiled at me and kissed my forehead softly. She stroked my hair before turning and disappearing into her room.
When the door shut, I took a few steps back and inhaled a deep breath. I brought my hands up to run them through my hair.

Snap out of it, Cara, I told myself.
Just because Jace is still out there with Valentine doesn't mean you have to mope about it. He was missing this morning and you were fine.

I turned from Izzy's room and walked down the hallway to the elevator again.
I found Alec already in the training room that was attached to the foyer of the Institute. He was already training, working on his hand-to-hand combat with a punching bag.
I approached him silently and didn't even need to tell him what I was doing there.