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Book 1 of Where We Come Alive
The New York Institute and its' shadowhunters, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, have decided to take part of the exchange program offered to them. In which, they are given two Shadowhunters to host for the coming months...
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It should probably be known that Henry Darkblood never wanted to be a Shadowhunter.
Back then, when he was a child, he had a moment of clarity for this statement. It went like this; He was ten years old.
His father had left to Idris for a week, which meant that his brothers were left to watch him. Which meant basement time.
When his brothers would drag him down to the basement, they would play a game to see who could make Henry cry first. It used to be things like crushing a butterfly in front of his face or shoving him around a little, but as they grew older it progressively got more violent. Thus came the scars on his body.
During this one week, though, Kai had caught them attempting to drag Henry down the steep stairs. He was livid, in fact, he had beat the crap out of all five of their brothers. Then, he took Henry out of the house to go to the sauna for much needed relaxation.
It was there that Henry saw so many mundanes together, some were even his age. And he was so confused on why the kids there didn't have scars like he did. When he'd asked his brother, Kai said it was because they didn't train to kill or hunt monsters—all they knew was how to play.
Henry wanted to play, too. He wanted to be able to do such simple things then.
But Kai reminded him that they were saving the world every single day. That they were Shadowhunters—Nephilim, and that they had a higher purpose and destiny to fulfill. What Kai didn't tell him was how much their own upbringing was terribly different than even other Shadowhunters went through.
Henry learned as he grew older that they weren't trained to be soldiers, his father trained them to be cold, merciless killers. Yet he could never turn off his emotions like his brothers had, thus leading him to more brutal treatment than them all. He learned how to not show emotion because if he did—he would get hurt or worse, get sent to the basement.
And then, he met Alec.
From the moment he laid eyes on the man, there was an instant attraction that he couldn't explain. Because he has never felt this way for anyone in his life.
With every look, he was consumed. With every word, he fell deeper. With even the briefest of touches, his skin was aflame.
Henry may act confident, but he would never reveal how much Alec affected him truly. Even if they had only known each other for a month now. He changed everything that he knew, like trying to shut off his emotions. He simply couldn't, not with him.
