You Wouldn't Dare

Chapter Ten

All my past lives, they got nothing on me

Golden eagle, you're the one and only flying high

Through the cities in the sky...

-Past Lives, BØRNS

Jace showed up about a week later.

I had figured out that something like this was going to happen, but what I didn't expect was for him to come through the door being half dragged/ half carried by Alec and Will, both of whom had a strange mixture of aggravation and relief plastered across their faces.

Jace's black clothes were darker in some spots, and his lip was split.

"We found him in the woods," Will grunted as he shifted his shoulder, causing Jace's head to roll back and for him to groan. Will flinched. "We need to get him upstairs."

I nodded and followed them upstairs. Alec had given me the evil eye a few moments before, so I was sure to keep a short distance behind them.

I watched as Jace's feet knocked against the stairs, causing clumps of mud to fall off his boots.

Knowing how much he loved his precious carpets, I figured he was going to throw a hissy fit when he woke up.

Will had made it adamantly clear to me that Jace hated things out of order, and that everything had a specific place in the house and that if I messed anything up... well, he didn't go there.

Once they finally reached Jace's bedroom, Will and Alec dropped him on the bed. Will turned to me and flashed me an exhausted, apologetic half smile.

"Sorry, Clary. But I don't think Jace would want you to see him without his pants on."

My cheeks flamed as he closed the door.

I sat out in the hallway for what seemed like forever, but was probably no longer than ten minutes. Will came out looking haggard, but Alec didn't follow.

"We need a Silent Brother." He said, his voice panicked.

My brows furrowed. "Why? What's wrong?"

Will ignored me and raced down the hallway, muttering something under his breath over and over that I didn't quite catch.

I sat back against the wall, not wanting to go into Jace's room at the moment because Alec was in there, and I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be afraid to bite my head off if I looked at him the wrong way.

Slowly, I got up and walked down to where my mother's room resided. A pang of guilt flashed through me as I realised that I hadn't really talked to her in the past couple of days.

I raised my fist and knocked softly.

"Come in," She said, her voice ringing clearly through the door.

I swallowed and turned the knob.

As usual, her room was impossibly neat and not a thing was out of place.

The covers were pulled so tightly over the
mattress that I could have bounced a coin off of them. A stack of books sat on the nightstand.

It was a whole lot neater than my room.

My mother herself was sitting by the windowsill, her gaze off and dreamy as she stared off into some unknown place in the distance.