Jinxed - An Alec Lightwood LS

Chapter 7: Punching Bag

N/A: Here's a rather long chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it :)

After overhearing the conversation between Clary, her mother, and this Simon Downworlder, Ethel decided to continue walking around. She soon found herself in what she suspected to be the training room. At that moment, she only saw one person there- the raven boy from earlier. He was beating a punching bag with a lot of anger, releasing all of his frustrations. Before she could stop herself, she spoke from behind him. "Are you okay?"

His back tensed at her voice, and quickly turned around. Realizing who she was, Alec relaxed. "Oh, hey. You finished with all that testing they were doing?" Once he received a small, silent nod, he let out a breath to try to restore a normal oxygen flow into his lungs. "Did I hear wrong, or did they say you were a half-Seelie before your Ascension?"

"You heart right. And I'm still part-Seelie. Just, also a Shadowhunter now, I guess." She muttered over a shrug, before tucking her hands into her pockets. Honestly, she was just trying to look away from him. It had just occurred to her that he was shirtless, and sweating all over. It exposed all the runes in his body, which somehow made him even more attractive. In the past, she hadn't really thought much about tattoos, but now, seeing markings of a similar tone or design, Ethel struggled to not look away. She knew each represented a different angelic ability. And yes, Ethel truly had no doubt in her mind that the man before her was part angel. He sure looked the part. Not that she had ever seen a real angel before.

"That is... So weird." He admitted before chuckling slightly. The irony could not be ignored. After all, the very same man that hated Downworlders had turned one into a Nephilim. "Hah, if only Valentine knew what he had done." But his amusement fell, as he recalled that Jace was still with that monster. "Jace was out of the ship for a little while today. But he didn't get the chance escape like you did. Joselyn tried to kill him with a bloody crossbow."

She took in the information, and made her deductions. "The redhead's mother. Clary." That's why Alec was so mad. His friend had almost been murderer, and was still Valentine's prisoner. 

"Yeah."

"But, she failed, right?" Ethel tried to bring comfort to him, but but her limited knowledge on the subject made it difficult. 

He nodded slowly, very much confused by the events of the day. "Yeah... Because Valentine took the hit for him. Like, he was protecting him. Who would have thought he's a better parent than Jocelyn?"

Ethel continued to reassure him about Jace's safety and current state. "So, maybe he's safe- just not where he wants to be. Not free to leave."

"I hope so. If only I could get my hands on Valentine..." 

She knew exactly what he was feeling. Ethel wanted nothing more than to kill Valentine, for what he had done to Amanda. Specially now that she could see her death had been meaningless. There were truly more Shadowhunters out there than he had claimed to be. No one had needed to be forced into drinking from the Mortal Cup. All those dead people and the survivors could still be living out their normal lives, had Valentine not been greedy. "If it helps, I spat on his face. And 'betrayed him' or whatever."

His head whipped around at her revelation. "Hold on. Back up a second, mundane. You spat on Valentine's face? You mean figuratively, right?"

"First of all, we already acknowledged I was never fully a mundane." Using that term instead of human seemed alien to her. Hell, referring to herself as anything other than human was far too weird. But she'd have to get used to it. "But no. I mean literally. It was after he killed my best friend- after he forced me to drink from the Cup. I spat on his face. It got me locked up for a few hours, and I thought he'd kill me, but I really don't regret it."