Valerie was just 6 years old when her world came crashing down. A fire ignited her home in flames, killing her entire family. Everyone but her.
Luckily for her, Jocelyn Fray was able to get to her and take her in. For the next 12 years, Valerie has...
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Entering the building, I watch Simon out of the corner of my eye. His expression is bare and I figure he can't see anything that we can see.
Jace brings out his stele again, drawing some sort of rune on the inside of his forearm. He grimaces slightly while Simon looks frightened. "I know. Trust me," I mumble.
"He's, like, burning himself." Clary rests a supporting hand on his shoulder as he stares at Jace in bewilderment. Suddenly, Jace reaches out and grabs Simon's hand. "Buddy, what's going on, man? I'm not your type, man. I don't even..."
I have to hold in a snicker at the look on Simon's face. I'm only guessing he can see everything now. Jace quickly drops his hand before walking over to me, taking my hand instead.
"Where are we? What the hell? Valerie, Clary, is there a war going on that I don't know about?" My lips pull down in a frown at Simon's confusion. I don't even know the answer to that question.
"There is now." Simon starts to speak but suddenly stops, his face dejected. I step out of Alec's arms to wrap mine around Simon's torso. I know exactly how he feels, not knowing what to do or how to help. "It's going to be okay."
"I sure hope so, Val," Simon mutters into my hair.
"I think our mother is at the center of it." I sigh at Clary, who's back to being close to Jace again. My lips purse at her actions. I don't like her that close to him.
"You coming?" Reluctantly, Simon lets me go and I go back beside Alec, who watched the exchange with a critical eye. I smiled up at him and I visibly relax when I see his tense shoulder drop. He slings his arm over my shoulder, his fingers lightly tapping my arm before following Jace deeper into the building.
Based on the way the guys act, they don't like it when I touch other men.
"What is this place? There's a lot of gear in here. What'd they do, rob a tech shop?" A snort escapes my mouth at Simon's blabbering which earns me a soft pinch in my side from Alec. I shoot him a playful glare which he returns with a smirk on his face.
"So this cold-blooded killer is going to help us?" Simon glances at Jace, who's walking beside me, his hand skimming the outside of mine. I make the first move, placing my hand in his. What can I say, I wasn't kidding when I said I liked him touching me.
fI can see Simon frown, his eyes glancing over each of us before his gaze settles on me. He gives me a questioning look and opens his mouth to start speaking, but I shake my head.
Whatever Simon has to say about my predicament can't be good.
"He's not a killer. He's protecting us."
"Specifically you. It's sort of our thing," Jace comments, briefly looking at Simon. I smile up at him, happy to know that someone is looking out for my best friend's well-being. Jace smiles down at me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
"You're thing? You guys have a thing?" Simon doesn't try to hide the fact that he's looking at our intertwined hands. Jace smirks, before bringing our joined hands up, flipping my wrist over to show Simon my tattoo.
"See this mark on her wrist?" I feel Alec tense beside me, his grip tightening on my shoulders as he glares daggers at Jace. "Don't," he says through clenched teeth, but Jace ignores him, his full focus on Simon.
"Yeah, what about it? She got a tattoo to represent her mother when she was 16." Simon looks closely at Jace, whose smirk grows even wider. He glances down at me. "Who told you that?"
"Jocelyn," Her name sounds sour on my tongue. I'm not used to saying it, always referring to her as my mother but I also didn't want to confuse Jace. I raise my eyebrow at him but he just shrugs.
"Jace, don't," Alec says again, pushing Jace a bit back. He just rolls his eyes but the smug smirk doesn't leave his face.
"I'll say this much, it's not a tattoo." Simon narrows his eyes while I stare up at him. "So what, am I supposed to believe that it's another one of these 'runes' you keep talking about?"
Jace shrugs. "Think whatever you want, Mundane."
"He means a Shadowhunter thing. That's what they do, protecting humans from demons." Clary tries to defuse the tension in the room by answering Simon's earlier question. Simon relaxes slightly, taking a few steps toward Clary. "Demons, right. That makes perfect sense, 'cause there are demons running all around New York."
I don't miss the way Simon continues to stare at the two men by my side, each one touching their corresponding mark. Jace on my left and Alec on my right.
"That's the first correct thing you've said all day." I lightly punch Jace's shoulder, giving him the look when he turns back toward me. He returns the look with one of his own, his shoulders sagged a bit as guilt flashes behind his eyes.
Jace sits down in front of the computer. I lean on the back of his chair, looking over his shoulder at the screen. Two people dressed in officer uniforms show up on the camera in front of the church. "NYPD."
"Won't they find us?" Clary asks, her hand resting on Jace's shoulder. I ball my hands together to resist pulling her hand away and causing her harm. Jace tenses underneath her hand and shakes his shoulder, Clary's hand falling back to her side. I watch with smug satisfaction the look of hurt that flashes across her face.
"He's mine," I whisper under my breath, and based on the look Jace sends my way, he's heard me. My cheeks flush under his gaze before he turns back to the computer, a permanent smirk on his face. When did I suddenly get protective over a guy I just met?
"No. Our wards will deter them." I swear Jace's voice got deeper than before. "And the NYPD will do their typical mundie thing for a few hours and then the area will be cleared."
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