In the Shadows (Shadowhunters, Jace Wayland)

Chapter 10

Lia's POV

Jace and I had been training for almost two hours, and it was getting exhausting. We were fighting with long wooden sticks now, and it was trickier than I thought.

"Focus, Lia.", he said, knocking my stick down, once again.

"I am.".

"Not hard enough.", he said back, getting me annoyed. I picked up the stick, charging towards him. Left, right, I hit his stick, pushing him back. He counter attacked quickly, but I evaded his hit. A harsh hit got me on my shoulder though, making me hiss in pain, but I didn't give up. I missed his stick, making me stumble slightly.

"Focus!", he called. This was ridiculous.

"I'm trying!", I shouted, anger surging. Without thinking, my hands darted forward, and I felt the energy leave my body. Shocked, I watched as Jace was catapulted back, landing on the ground a few metres back.

"Holy shit!", I let out, immediately rushing towards him. "You okay?", I asked, kneeling next to him.

His eyes were wide, as he rubbed his back. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. How the hell did you do that?".

"No idea, I-", I felt myself getting a little dizzy.

"Lia?", his voice came to my ears, but my vision became blurry. I felt the stick fall from my grasp. "Lia, you okay?". His hands found my face, holding it up.

"I'm exhausted.", I let out, and he nodded, watching me closely.

"Your magic is still new to you. Until you have it under control, it will wear you out.", he stated, and I nodded slightly. "But that's good. It means you have something else you can use to fight.".

I nodded, again. My brain felt wobbly. Sighing, I let my head drop, resting my cheek on his shoulder. His hand rubbed my back, and I heard him sigh quietly.

"What's going to happen, now?", I asked, my voice muffled a bit. "We have to find the cup, no?". I pulled back, sitting across from him now.

He nodded, looking down. "Before Valentine, yeah.".
"Okay, so where do we find it?".

He sighed. "At the time of the uprising, 20 years ago, Valentine's wife at the time, Jocelyn, she stole the cup from him. That was what basically drew him out to the Clave, that's how they caught and exiled him.".

"Okay, so what about this Jocelyn-person?", I asked.

"She died, getting the cup away from him. But she hid it before her death. We don't know where.".

"Okay, so what, where do we look? You'll need a psychic to find an object that could literally be hidden anywhere!", I let out.

He stayed quiet, his eyes narrowed. He was deep in thought, his eyes finally finding mine.

"What?", I asked, leaning away.

"Not a psychic.", he said, realization hitting him. "You.".

I frowned. "What do you mean, Jace, I can't-"

"Your paintings. You had seen us, before you've even met us. You painted it! I've seen all of your paintings, there was no way you could've known about any of us.", his voice was rushed now, his eyes wide.

"What, so I have psychic abilities?".

He shook his head, thinking. "No, I don't think so. But you've got... something.", he muttered. He scrambled to his feet, helping me up as well. "How did you paint us? What was the process? Did you have to concentrate on something, or?", he asked.