Sweet Creature ▹ Alec Lightwood [2] ( SLOW UPDATES )

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE
TESSA GRAY

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     "Maybe Magnus knows who Tessa Gray is," Jace said a few days later, strolling beside Adrian and Alec as the three of them walked to Magnus's apartment. He had sent a fire-message to all of them that morning, telling them that he had a new idea for finding Adrian's parents. Adrian hadn't been able to talk to Magnus about what Brother Zachariah had said, so he was glad to have been called. After going to the Shadow Market, Adrian had wanted to play it safe, so the last few days had been spent training with Isabelle and going on missions and patrols. They hadn't been tested, as far as they knew, but that didn't matter. Going to see Magnus wasn't illegal, and by that point, the Clave knew he was their friend. Besides, when Magnus Bane called, Adrian found it was best to not ignore him. The last time he had, his bedroom had been flooded with fire-messages, to the point that he hadn't been able to see his floor. He'd carried around the odor of Magnus's magic—a mix of burnt sugar and roses—for the rest of the week.

"Why?" Alec asked, frowning at his parabatai, having to lean forward to look around Adrian. Adrian was between both of them, his hand in Alec's and his arm linked with Jace's. "Just because they're both warlocks?"

"Well, yeah? If she's powerful enough to hide an exiled Shadowhunter for over a decade, I'm pretty sure Magnus knows about her," Jace pointed out, and while it was a valid point to make, Adrian couldn't help but snort.

"Still, I doubt there's some sort of warlock book club, Jace," Adrian said. Jace shot him a look, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Adrian rolled his eyes and nudged his shoulder with his own, sending him stumbling a few steps sideways. Jace righted himself easily and raised his chin, like Adrian hadn't almost pushed him out into traffic. Either way, the shove worked. Jace didn't make a joke about what type of book warlocks would read if they were to form a club, and they could enjoy the rest of their walk in peace. When they arrived at Magnus's loft, they were greeted with Clary, who was curled up on the steps. A sketchpad was in her lap, and pencil smudges were staining the tips of her fingers.

"Clary!" Adrian greeted brightly, letting go of Alec's hand to sweep her up into a hug. She let out a small shriek when he did, her feet not touching the ground. He twirled her once, just because he could, and heard Jace and Alec cry out when he nearly hit them when he did. Clary broke out into happy laughter, her arms locking around his neck to hug him back. When he set her back down, she was grinning widely, and her face was flushed. He tugged at her hair playfully as he grinned back. "How have you been? We haven't talked in a while."

"Oh, you know, training, training, and...more training," she said with a small grimace. Adrian laughed and threw his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side as they turned to climb the steps.

"You'll be grateful for the training when you inevitably find a demon and you're alone," he said sweetly, though once he voiced the thought, he found himself slightly worried. Most demons tended to avoid Shadowhunters unless they were cornered, but some were simple too stupid to hide and wait. Some demons saw a Shadowhunter and immediately started a fight, because they thought they could take out a demon hunter on their own. Sometimes, with untrained or ill-prepared Shadowhunters, they were right. Adrian had no doubt in his mind that Clary would be able to get away from a demon, but he doubted she'd win in a real fight—and Clary was the type to try and fight instead of choosing to run. He frowned, slightly troubled, and glanced down at her. "You know what to do if that happens, right?"