Fear

Childish Bets and Empty Promises.

Chapter 21- Childish Bets and Empty Promises.

Clary POV

I stare down at the page, racking my brain for the required image to come to me, but nothing appeared. For what felt like hours, I sit there zoned out of reality when surprisingly, a black combination of swirls and lines flash before my eyes. My right hand lifts up the pencil and, as if I were being possessed, dances it across the page. I gasp in shock when the rune's name pops into my head: somnus. But its use, I don't know.

"You sound so confident," a voice laughs from outside. Hastily, I jump up and shove the pencil and stack of papers into one of the drawers under a pile of clothes. Just as I slam the drawer shut, the door swings open and Jace and Ash saunter into the room.

"Oh please, the Angel knows I could beat you in a fight." Jace shakes his head and pushes his delicate, blonde curls out of his amber eyes. "Hey Clary," he smirks when he sees the length of my dress and his lips part in a grin; I can see a chip in one of his incisors (which only makes his looks more endearing). Self-consciously, I tug at the hem of the dress and wrap the jacket tighter around my shoulders, thankful for the extra layers.

Jace raises his eyebrow at me curiously and all I say is, "It was the longest thing in there."

He laughs and continues to talk to Ash as if I wasn't there; "If you don't believe me, we could always make a bet."

Ashley laughs, before saying; "Winner gets choose a fear for the other to face."

"Loser has to wear a dress to the next public meeting," Jace announces, holding his hand. Glancing at me he adds, "Although maybe not one of Clary's." Chuckling to himself, Ashley shakes Jace's hand before nodding to me and walking out of the room.

"Found yourself a new boyfriend, Jace?" I ask. Calmly, I make sure that the drawer containing the drawing is fully shut and then I move to sit on the bed.

"You say that as if I couldn't get a boyfriend. I'll have you know, I don't only have to reject swooning women, but sexually obsessed men also," he states proudly.

"Charming," I shake my head.

"Quite." He collapses onto the bed; his limbs sprawled out upon the mattress. "But seriously, about that dress-"

I lift up a pillow and throw it at his teasing face. "No, Jace. Nothing about the dress is to be said."

"What about compliments?" Jace asks, throwing the pillow back at me half-heartedly. I catch it and toss it back onto the bed.

"Even those won't be welcome," I stand up to look out the window, which is unfortunately blacked out. Blackness. That's all I see. Not a twinkling star for the night; not a blazing sun for the day. Just a blackened hell for me to observe.

"What kind of girl doesn't want a compliment?" Jace exclaims, bolting upright.

I turn around to face him, "Any girl who is forced to wear a dress designed for hired company."

"Hey!" Jace laughs. "That's something Izzy would wear."

"Well Izzy is probably stunningly beautiful," I shrug.

"You're beautiful," he states. "Si cammina nella belleza, come la notte di climi tersi e di cieli stellati."

I feel a slight tug in my brain, something familiar. "I don't speak Italian," is all I say, knowing that I've said it before. "What does it mean?"

"You walk in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies," a small smirk plays on his pink lips.

"You're only saying that so you don't have to sleep on the floor tonight," I shrug, blushing madly.

"That's not entirely true," he jokes. I just shake my head and lean against the window. The deafening silence between us echoes through my head, but my stomach slices through the awkward tension with an unappreciated dying walrus sound. I haven't eaten anything since Taki's and am starving. Jace however, seems as cocky, arrogant and refreshed as when I first met him.

"So what did Sebastian want with you today?" I ask him, blatantly ignoring his amused expression.

"The usual really: 'You and I could rule the world, Jace Herondale,'" Jace says, mimicking Sebastian's commanding tone. "That's all he ever talks about. That and destroying the Clave of course."

"But you were gone for hours," I state (surely that would have only taken a few minutes).

"It didn't feel like that," Jace mutters hesitantly.

Jace lets a light breath roll out of his chapped lips as his eyelids close halfway over his mesmerizing orbs. His golden ash-like lashes flutter open and his back becomes a straight line. He drags a slightly shaking hand through his blond locks and drops it to his side, his eyes focused on the floor. Steadily, he lifts his legs onto the bed so that he is sitting with his long limbs crossed underneath him.

I watch his unusual behaviour for a moment before deciding: "Are you hiding something?"

"And what would I be hiding from you?" Jace asks, raising one eyebrow at me. Once again I feel slightly jealous: I've always wanted to do that.

"I don't know," I say bored, letting it drop. "What time do you reckon it is?"

"Probably about ten in the evening," he shrugs, looking at his watch-less right wrist. "We woke up late after staying up last night."

"Of course," I agree, walking into the bathroom.

Jace turns his back to me and lifts his black t-shirt over his head. I watch as the muscles dance elegantly across his back, his strong figure demanding attention. As he moves, his captivatingly imperfect scars seem to ripple as he runs a hand through his curled, golden locks and sighs. Without warning, he strides over to the drawers, tossing his used top onto the bed, and starts to rummage through them; looking through the drawer in which I shoved the rune.

A/N

Hey guys, sorry i haven't posted in a while I've been working on some other things that i might post on wattpad soon: like fanfics from different fandoms. Please comment and vote and hopefully, I'll be updating soon. Happy Easter by the way (if you celebrate it).