The Return | Alec Ligtwood - Book 2

Betrayal

I had hardly time to foreseemy fall as we were already back inside the liner. My mind still inprogress of what had just happened, I jumped immediately on my feetat the same time as Jace and Valentin. The latter hissed pain as hebrought his hand to the arrow still lodged in his shoulder letting mefully realize that it had not been a kind of nightmares.
It wasreal and it turned out that my mother, our own mother was trying tokill us.

"You set me up to kill that vampire." Accusedbitterly Jace pointing at Valentin bringing meback to the reality of the situation as I brought my arms around myframe in an attempt to keep me together.

Tonight was not supposedto go like that. Hell, my life was not supposed to happen like this.I always get my little differences with my mother but see her pointthis crossbow directly on Jace as if he were not even her son. Herflesh and blood.
What prevented her from doing the same for me ?After all, all had always been on Clary with her.

Iknew it was not the time to set up some immature jealousy but I justcould not help but wonder what Clary had that I didn't have. WhatJace and me had done to receive such a look of contempt from theirmother. They had followed Valentin but it had been an impossiblesituation. Did Clary or Simon, or even Izzy, take the time to explainwhat had really happened ?
And even without that, her mother,Jocelyn had to know that she would never go of her own free willafter the man.

Well I began to doubt the malevolence of thelatter. At the moment, my two parents seemed exactly on the samepage.

'' You killed her because it was the right thing to do. Theworld's a safer place without that thing wreaking havoc.'' Objectedimmediately Valentin convincing me to raise my eyes from the groundto watch him completely disarmed this time before making me grimaceas he removed by hand the arrow still lodged in his shoulder.''Wouldyou rather turn her over to the Clave to stand trial?''

He threwthe carefree arrow on the ground letting my eyes dart between thearrow on the ground and the man in front of us as Jace resumed withfrustration. ''That is my job ! "The Law is hard, but it isthe law.''

I could not help feeling a spike in the hollow ofmy chest at the familiar slogan agreement before biting hard on mylips to try to keep an unmoved face. I was not going to beoverwhelmed by my emotions at a time like this. I had lived muchworse and I still had control.

And that was what I was going to doeven if a deep feeling of nostalgia seemed ready to flood me fromwithin.

"The Law." Repeated Valentine from memoryforcing me to focus my attention again on the conversation athand.''Yet the Clave does nothing, nothing to enforce that.Downworlders multiply with a bite or a scratch, while our numbersdwindle year after year. If we don't do something, a den like thatone is gonna be on every corner on every street in the world. This isthe only way.''

I watched Valentine pass his stele on his healingrune through his speech full of conviction and could not help butthink he was a good speaker. However, a small voice in the back of mymind reminded me that Hitler was also a good speaker.

I wasperhaps lost, but I was not ready to blindly follow this man in hismadness. And it would seem that Jace was of the same opinion as heshook his head before trying to overtake Valentin.''You're wrong.''

'' Like I was wrong about your mother ? ''

This was just theperfect pressure stroke as Jace stopped instantly in his tracks as Isuddenly raised my eyes to the man who was casting glances betweenthe blonde and me.
Jace suddenly turned to me with his jawclenched before fixing his burning orbs of resentment on Valentine.

The latter simply raised his chin knowingly.''Look, Iknow you even better than you know yourself.''

''You... you don'tknow me at all.'' Barked Jace in the objection as he took a steptowards the bald man to stand at his height in a tacitconfrontation.