The Mortal Instruments | Morgenstern Blood

Confessions:

I walk straight past her, out the door and into the hallway.

"Jace?" I call out into the lonely house.

"Uh huh?" He calls back grumpily, his voice only raising slightly at the end to make his tone questioning.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask, accusing.

"Someone," He says pointedly. "Decided it would be fun to smash their head into a wall and now I'm paying the price."

"Oh the sass." I roll my eyes, not in the mood for a grumpy Jace. "We're going out."

"Where?"

"You'll see."

I grab my stele from the table in the living room and quickly draw a speed rune on my ankle then a soundless rune and a stamina rune. I add a few more general runes to my left arm, where I can reach, hesitant to ask Jace for help. He's less so.

"Do me?"

"I'm straight." I turn to him grinning. "Sorry. I do hate to disappoint you and I know it's hard to resist my enchanting good looks-"

"Good looks?" Jace snorts.

"Enchanting?" A feminine voice questions. I look up and see Clary leaning against the door frame, her red hair pushed over one shoulder. Despite the wardrobe of designer clothes in her room she'd chosen to wear the most casual, ordinary clothing. A black jumper and skinny jeans. She looks so gorgeous.

Her bright green eyes catch my gaze and that's when I realise I'm staring. I avert my eyes and try to focus on drawing a sure footed rune on my calf- a difficult procedure.

"We're going out." Jace smiles at Clary as he pulls on his trainers.

"Where are we going?"

"That's we as in, Jace and I." I clarify.

"Oh." She looks down.

"Be a good little sister and do my back, won't you?"

I watch her eyes follow my body up and she sighs, walking the few steps towards me. I pull my tshirt off, over my shoulders and hand her my stele.

She draws a rune gently on my back. She doesn't dig the stele in this time but holds it lightly, so the tip just scrapes my skin.

"Going to get my coat." Jace walks out to his room.

Clary runs her hand down my back, feeling all the little indentations of scars from training... Or beatings.

"So many..."

"They made me stronger."

"How could anyone hurt you like this?"

"Valentine could."

"Did they hurt?"

"Some. Some I didn't even notice until after I'd fought. They just stung a little. All shadow hunters have scars."

"Not like this."

Her hand stops at a particularly deep one and she slides it across gently, then I feel her lips touch my back and she plants a soft kiss directly on the scar, her lips pausing as they touch my skin. I take her arm, my grip on it solid but soft. Then I pull it around my waist, so her arm cradles me.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it?"

"No... " She whispers.