ꜰʀᴀʏᴇᴅ |ᴀ.ʟ.| ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀꜱ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ {ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴍɪʟʟᴇ ꜰᴀɪʀᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴛʀɪʟᴏɢʏ #1}

{𝔻𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟}

"This is insane!" Izzy hisses as we watch the footage from the interrogation room, where Meliorn was being held, "We have to put a stop to this!"

"Yeah, well, enjoy portalling back to Idris with Mom and Dad" Alec remarks but I've already resolved not to look at him or at the least, offer a furtive glance. Anymore than that is unthinkable...

It just hurt too much.

"Meliorn is here because of me" Izzy whirls on him, glaring at him in disbelief. She was clearly having just as hard a time understanding why Alec had taken this new approach to living as I was.

"Alec's right" Jace agrees, though he sounds unsure of himself, treading carefully, "There's nothing we can do to stop this interrogation."

"You're on Alec's side now?" Izzy glowers, turning on her other brother, astonished

"We swore to protect each other, of course he's on my side" Alec notes, his eyes never leaving the computer screen

"I'm not picking sides" Jace surrenders, "Jace Wayland is Switzerland."

"Oh yeah?" I scoff, "Since when?"

My retort goes unnoticed and Jace plows on.

"We have got to find Valentine. Let's let this play out, Izzy. Meliorn might have some important information."

Izzy's expression softens as her gaze drifts back to Meliorn's face on screen as Lydia begins her raucous questioning. The mere sound of her voice pierces me like a knife whilst burning through me like a raging fire.

Even though, technically, I knew it wasn't exactly her fault. That Alec's decision focused heavily...well, kind of completely on me.

But it didn't stop me hating her.

I turn my attention back to the screen, watching with a repressed glee as Meliorn leans forward, a taunting smile on his lips as he goads Lydia.

"If Shadowhunters had a better relationship with us...Downworlders, you'd know that Valentine's daughters have the Mortal Cup"

My joyous moment is severed in two almost as quickly as it presented itself and I look backwards, towards the training room, at the Lightwood family lockbox...unable to help myself, I glance at Alec worriedly.

5 hours ago, I would've said I trusted the Cup in Alec's hands more than I would in my own or even Luke's. Now...

Who knew?

"Still think we should let this play out?"

***

I grit my teeth audibly as Lydia and her cronies delve their hands through the drawers and cupboards of my bedroom, having insisted upon checking it for the Cup.

"Woah, hold on there, Buster" I snarl, grabbing one of the guys' hands and wrenching it from my underwear drawer, "It's not in there."

"We do have to cover all our bases" the guy smirks, giving me the up-and-down, lingering on the word 'bases'

"Yeah, well, this base" I hiss, slamming the drawer closed and narrowly missing his fingers, "Doesn't need your cover."

"I apologise for the intrusion, Camille, I'm sure you understand we're just doing our job" Lydia reasons, her tone friendly yet strict

"Oh, really, it's his job to paw at my underwear?" I roll my eyes, ignoring Lydia's kindness. Cousin or not, she hasn't earned my respect yet.

"Alec, call this off. Now" Jace pleads stonily. They'd only just finished searching Clary's room, where the same guy had sifted, for an unnecessarily long time, through her underwear drawer too.