Sнadow Girl ▹ Jace Wayland (editing)

21.

"I see i've interrupted something," Valentine said. "Son, would you care to tell me who this is? One of the lightwood children, perhaps?"

"No," Jace responded, his grip on my wrist didn't loosen, but i was too frozen in shock to fight back. "This is Anna. Annalina Grey. She's a friend of mine. She—"

"Annalina, yes i remember you." Valentine smirked. "You've grown up quite nicely."

I growled trying to struggle against Jace's grip. That was when i noticed Clary at the back of the room drawing a blade. I tried to warn that was a stupid idea, but unfortunately Jace noticed where i was looking.

"Clary. Don't!" He sighed.

She froze for a split second, but in that time Jace had glided across the room to take hold of her wrists. He had taken the blade from my hands with him like he believed that would stop me.

"And this is?" Valentine asked observing Clary with his black beady eyes.

"Clary. Clarissa Fray, she's also my friend."

His eyes zeroed in on the blade in her hands. "Where did you come by that blade, young lady?"

Clary answered coldly. "Jace gave it to me."

"Of course he did," Valentine replied. "May i see it?"

"No!" Clary squealed, but Jace plucked it neatly out of fingers. She hissed at him, her words dripping with disgust. "Jace."

He ignored her going over to Valentine to hand the dagger to him. "Here you go, Father."

Valentine examined the dagger closely. "This is a kindjal, a Circassian dagger. This particular one used to be one of a matched pair. Here, see the star of the Mogensterns, carved into the blade." He turned it over slowly. "I'm surprised the Lightwoods never noticed it."

"I never showed it to them," Jace said. "They let me have my own private things. They didn't pry."

"Of course they didn't," Valentine mused. "They thought you were Michael Wayland's son."

"He is Michael Wayland's son." I hissed.

"I'm afraid not."

"Let's say your ludicrous lies turn out to be true," I reply slowly inching towards him. "It doesn't matter, blood doesn't make family."

"You are so much like your mother." He remarked, clearly taunting me.

"I wouldn't know, you took her from me." I hissed back.

Jace glanced between us in confusion. "Annalina, what are you talking about?"

I turned to him feeling the anger rise up. "What, you father didn't tell you? He killed them, he killed my family."

I glided closer to Valentine willing myself to be calm. My heart was racing, my breathing shaky. "How can you stand before this man, and forget all the horrible things he has done?"

"Just listen to him, will you? Hodge lied to us. Everything is not like we thought." Jace pleaded.

"Yes hodge betrayed us. Let himself become a pawn in Valentine's game." I replied not breaking away from those black dark eyes for a single second.