Overwhelmed [3] 《SHADOWHUNTERS》

Chapter Seventeen

A restless night in one another's arms did nothing to calm the quarrel of Alec and Andina's toiling minds. He had caught her staring up at the ceiling every other toss and turn he made, as if there were answers to be found along the dusty, neglected drywall. The rest was something they both needed dearly and it refused to find them.

The next day began with aching joints and tired minds, the two of them resorting to wakefulness when the clock had finally tumbled past four and they had still not been coaxed into sleep. It was one of those mornings when the cold could not be blocked away and Alec watched Andy shiver as she forced herself up to get a shower. What he did not know was that the shaking followed her into the bathroom as she closed herself within its chilly tile. It did not cease when the shower filled with steam or when the hot water pelted her spine.

She failed to locate a solid place around the shower wall for which she could curl her fingers as she accepted, for the smallest of moments, the frailness that wrapped her bones. Her bare skin was accosted by the iced clash of the tile she leaned into, her head falling against it shortly thereafter. No amount of a tight hand run over her face or through her watered down hair provided the control she sought after. The lack of it was numb and cold and hurt her muscles, though that might have been due to the creeping northern winds that refused to leave the building's tight edges alone.

When she finally found the courage to leave the humid haven she had created for herself, she found Alec still on her bed. He'd taken the time to grab fresh gear from his own bedroom while she cleaned herself and now he laid back against her headboard with his phone in hand. The small rectangular device held his full attention and Andy was well accustomed to the freaked out look that the man aimed toward the information on his screen. "What?" Her voice pulled him back to her for but a moment.

He offered another read through of the massive announcement released through the Clave's upgraded attempt to attach their computer systems to the mundane technology of the smartphones that they dared to use. "Everyone knows," Alec stated in defeat, and while it was an inevitable thing, it still lowered the woman's shoulders as much as it had sunk his own. "And the Council appointed an acting Inquisitor. Jia Penhallow." He did not hold much of an opinion towards the aforementioned Shadowhunter, only knowing her as an extremely distant relative, and a woman who had shadowed her daughter's sexuality as harshly as Robert had when Alec revealed his truth to his parents.

He listened regretfully to the sharp breath that tore itself out of Andy, who had yet to even cross her room. She could not wrap her mind around the past forty-eight hours, and the Clave's consistent ability to push right through an important soldier's death worsened the disdain she felt for their government. Her eyes held a puffy redness that Alec did not imagine would leave them soon. "What about Clary?" She questioned him. The frown that met her revealed she would not like what he had to share.

Another swipe of his thumb affirmed to her that the information was all laid out in front of him, which meant every Nephilim at every corner of the globe knew the same. He shook his head out of contempt for the rumors spread by those at the top as he read out loud, "'Clarissa Fairchild was found on scene after an experiment was stolen from the Armory and Valentine Morgenstern's grave was found to have been disturbed.' The Council had enough time to throw her to the Silent City last night," his tongue was sharp as he scrutinized the group heavily for their desperate actions. It was not hard for Andy to find the pain that had laced itself permanently underneath.

She had paused any motion to move to her dresser and locate her own gear for the day as she asked, flabbergasted, "They sentenced already?" Sentenced traitors did not leave the Silent City alive. The Clave hardly had any real evidence, as any forensic experts would have pointed out that Clary did not act alone if any had been called. Isabelle's dream job was of an immense help to the Clave, and yet they often refused to appoint those with such knowledge to help with official business. One supposed it was easier to get away with framing others when no one was there to scientifically dispute it.