Angelic

Alec ~ 34

I spent the rest of the day in the training room. Izzy didn't come near me. She was completely overreacting. If they knew what had happened, they would be mad at Ev, not me.

I shot another arrow at the target across the room. I couldn't believe I had let her into this place, near my family. I had had a bad feeling about her since the day she arrived, and I was foolish enough to ignore it.

I grabbed another arrow from my quiver, pulling it through the bow. The doors to the training room opened. I looked over, forgetting about the arrow in my hands, and released my grip on the string. It ricocheted and I turned to see the arrow land just outside of the bullseye.

Frustrated, I turned to see who was coming in. Jace. His eyes searched the room for a moment before holding my gaze.

"I need a sparring partner." Was all he said.

I knew that was just an excuse to get me to talk, but I needed to let my anger out somehow, and shooting arrows wasn't doing the job, so I agreed.

He handed me a seraph blade and I stood opposite him, preparing for him to make the first move. He took a sudden step forward, swinging sideways at me, but I blocked him before he could hit my stomach. Adding force, I pushed him back. He didn't even stumble. What a surprise.

I moved fast, faking left and hitting right. I jabbed him in the side, thinking we would start again, but he grabbed the hilt of my seraph blade and yanked it out of my hands. I was so surprised I didn't fight back. Then he jabbed me in the chest, and I lost my balance, falling. He was on top of me before I could blink.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, breathing deeply.

"This isn't sparring." I told him through gritted teeth. Izzy had lectured me all night. I didn't need to hear it from Jace, too.

"Even if Ev was as crazy as Valentine, like you seem to be thinking," Jace said, ignoring me, "you have no right to kick her out. The purpose of an institute is to be a home to Shadowhunters."

"She should be exiled for what she did." I spat at him. "Institutes don't protect exiled Shadowhunters, and this place shouldn't protect her."

Jace glared at me, but he didn't say anything else before he stood up, offering me a hand. Not knowing what he had planned, I took it and got to my feet.

"Ev called me today. Said Lizzie was missing." He raised his eyebrows, looking at me like he thought I was to blame.

"You think I have anything to do with that?" I questioned. "You and Izzy haven't left me alone since I got back from the Silent City. How could I have kidnapped her sister? Even if I did have time to sneak out, where would I hide her? In the Sanctuary?"

"Fine, you don't have anything to do with it." Jace said, almost reluctantly. "Just tell me one thing."

"What?"

"What did she do to make you hate her so much?"

How much should I tell him? "We knew each other when we were little kids. We were on vacation in Idris and I was with her. You and Izzy were with Mom and Dad. But I was with her and she... she got mad. She killed her parents, Jace. And she tried to kill me."