Our Fate II ➰Shadowhunters➰ [Jace]

➰Chapter Thirty-two➰

➰Chapter Thirty-two➰

"Hey. Mind if I come in?" Clary entered Isabelle's room warily.

Isabelle gave her a half smile, but she didn't sit up on her bed. "Hey."

Clary lay next to her and sighed. "Look, I know things with Jace have been rough, but there's no point in competing to prove who cares more about her. All that matters is that she comes back to us."

"I know that. It's just... She's my parabatai, Clary. Without her, I feel like a part of my spirit is gone. I can't really explain it... I'm sorry I've been so distant lately."

"I would never blame you for that. If anything, I feel like it's my fault she's gone. I mean... My mother chose to keep me, out of the three of us. Maybe if she'd kept Leah and Jace, none of this would have happened. Maybe if I hadn't been born..."

"Don't ever say that," Isabelle scolded her, grabbing her girlfriends hand gently. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm just some girl from Brooklyn who went out to celebrate her birthday and came back with a present she never wanted. A family she never needed."

"You don't want to return that present, Clary. It's a blessing."

"Not for me, it isn't. I just... I want to feel normal again, Isabelle. I want my old life back." Clary sighed.

"I get that. But you have a target on your back and the Institute is the safest place for you. You have a new life now. You have me," Isabelle said, stroking her cheek gently. "And that's not going to change."

➰➰➰

Leah stared at the horizon. She'd been at sea for over a week now and she only now decided to take a break from overthinking every aspect of her dysfunctional life to enjoy the view. Way back, before she learned the truth about her reality, she wanted to become a writer. Staring at the water before her, she felt somewhat inspired by it. The calmness, stillness made her feel at ease. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget her heartache and how much she missed her friends.

She missed Isabelle most of all. Leah recalled the day they became parabatai, one of the happiest moments of her life. She had finally felt complete, as if a part of her had finally been pieced together. She hated herself for how she left things with her and she wished she had some way to let her know how sorry she was for what she'd said. She touched the rune on her shoulder carefully. She tried to feel her connection to Isabelle, but she felt nothing.

"Leah?" Jace's voice startled her, but she wasn't going to let her father fool her, not again.

She quickly activated her fighting runes and locked him in a choking position. "Not now. I'm not going to let you fool me again."

"No, Leah! It's really me." Jace insisted.

"Stop it, before I actually kill you."

"I swear! Remember how I taught you to see through glamours?" Leah's grasp faltered for a moment, but she regained it almost immediately. "That night at the bar. You helped me steal a bike. We rode it through the sky."

Leah suddenly let go, convinced that he was real. "Jace?"

"Yeah, it's me."

She didn't know what to say. "Why are you here? You should really go."

"I couldn't. I needed to speak to you."

"How did you even get past the barrier?"

"Valentine Portaled me here. I know it sounds crazy, but he showed me the future. I saw Downworlders rising on a world buried under the ashes. Destruction, death... Maybe Valentine's right, Leah. I know you didn't want this life. It chose you and it chose me , and I think it chose us for a reason."

"This is what I wanted," Valentine said, walking up to them with a smile. "To be with my family."

"You and I are not family." Jace spat.

"Jonathan, you are my son and I do love you."

➰➰➰

"No, absolutely not," Alec stated, as he stood next to Jocelyn and his sister. "She's not doing it."

"Yes, I am." Isabelle insisted.

"I hate to admit this, but I agree with Alec. I already lost my sister to Valentine, I'm not going to lose you, too."

"I have to do this, guys. I... I can't do this without her. She needs me and I need her. A part of me dies with her, Alec. You know how that feels."

Alec sighed, but reluctntly nodded. "Alright. But if it goes out of hand, we cut this."

Dot finally spoke, having remained silent for the entire time up to now. Ever since Leah's disappearance, she'd insisted on looking for her without the Clave's help. "Please, Isabelle. Just find my daughter."

Isabelle nodded. "I will."

"According to Luke, you must stay on the surface, alright? If you go too deep, nothing can bring you back." Jocelyn warned.

"I swear by the Angel, Isabelle. If you go too deep, I will kill you as soon as you get back." Clary warned.

"Give me the stone." Isabelle asked, as she held it between her hands and thought of Leah.

➰➰➰

"Here she is! The werewolf that murdered Jeremy's father mercilessly." Valentine said, as he presented a platinum blonde girl to Leah.

Leah unsheathed her sword. "You killed innocent people."

"No! I'm a part of Luke's pack. I obey the Accords."

"Lying trash! You murdered him in cold blood." Jeremy hissed from behind.

"A wolf will say anything to go free, but she can never change what she is." Valentine agreed.

Leah pressed her blade to her neck. "A murderer never changes."

"Leah!" Jace called for her, making her shift her focus to him.

"Jonathan! Perhaps you can help your sister finish what she started?" Valentine suggested.

"Leah, I need you to listen to me. Everything I said before, I was under a spell. We need to go."

Leah turned her cold gaze to him and snorted. "And why would I want to do that?"

"This is not who you are." Jace continued. "You don't hurt people, Leah, you help them. This girl has done nothing to you."

"Don't listen to him! You know how to tell right from wrong, Leah. You can feel it in your gut that you're in the presence of a true cold-blooded killer."

Leah nodded. "Yeah. I do."

She then turned on her heels, and with a swift and quick motion, she slashed at Valentine's thigh behind her. She hurried and ran towards Jace, who held his hand out for her to grab as they made a run for it together.

"You so had me for a moment there!" Jace admitted, as they fought some of the minions trying to stop them.

Leah smiled. "You forgot? I'm a natural actress."

Her smile faded as soon as she felt a stinging pain on her shoulder, right on her parabatai rune. It burned as if someone were lighting her on fire, and she felt scared as soon as her nose started bleeding. She saw glimpses of Isabelle's face on her mind, memories of the two together.

"Leah!" Jace caught her before she collapsed. As fast as he could, he carried them both through a Portal that somehow appeared before them and they successfully managed to escape.