Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE HUNTER'S MOON

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     "Do you know where he could be?" were the first words said after Isabelle gave them the news, spoken by a very concerned Alec. Isabelle and Alec were both tense, Alec sitting on the edge of Adrian's bed while Isabelle seemed determined to wear the carpet down by pacing. Adrian, however, was as comfortable as ever, back against his headboard and long legs stretched out in front of him. At Alec's question, Isabelle shot her brother an irritated look, a scowl twisting her mouth. Adrian just continued to pick at his comforter.

"If I knew where he could be," she said slowly, "would I still be pacing, Alec?" Alec threw his hands up in the air, letting out a small sound of frustration. Adrian watched them from under his eyelashes, leaning his head back against the headboard.

"Well, you haven't said anything for five minutes," Alec pointed out. Isabelle motioned toward Adrian, who just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Neither has Adrian!" Isabelle turned toward him then, and Adrian straightened his head out, leaning it away from the wood. "You've been oddly silent." 

"Because I know Jace is fine," he said. Alec twisted to look at him.

"How?"

"Jace does the same thing I do when I'm upset. He runs away. Which means your mother must have said something to him to make him upset." Frowning, he pushed away from the headboard and folded his legs beneath him. "I'm more concerned about that at the moment." It was like his words had summoned her, because a moment later, Maryse came into the room, not even bothering to knock on his door. Adrian shot her an annoyed look, not appreciating the lack of consideration. He didn't care if Maryse knew Alec and Isabelle were already in his room. Barging in without asking for permission first was rude regardless. It reminded him that Maryse had taken it upon herself to clean his room for him, to touch his things, and the memory only served to make him feel angrier.

"What did you say to Jace?" he demanded as soon as he saw her, blood boiling beneath his skin. There must have been something in his voice, because Maryse gave him a cold, stern glare that made his skin crawl. Still, the look did nothing to calm his rising temper, and he just glared harder. Isabelle and Alec, sensing his sudden change of mood, shifted uncomfortably, and Isabelle even stopped pacing. They had always hated when Adrian got confrontational with their parents.

"That's none of your concern," Maryse finally said when she realized Adrian wasn't going to back down as easily as Isabelle, Alec, or Jace would have. Adrian arched an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. Maryse's jaw clenched at the action. The small act of defiance—at not backing down when the tone of her voice had clearly told him to—bothered her more than she would ever admit.

"Like hell it's not my concern," Adrian snapped. He would have continued if Alec hadn't touched his arm.  His touch, however small, did the same thing it usually did—it made the calculated thoughts in his head become scrambled, turned his thought process into dust. The only thoughts that were clear were the ones pertaining to the touch itself, the fact that Alec's thumb had swept once against his arm to calm him, the fact that Alec had calmed him with just a hand on his arm. It was odd. Alec had touched him before just as casually, but something about this specific touch was different. Maybe it was because of the intimate moment they had shared before Isabelle came into the room. Maybe Adrian truly had needed Alec's comfort without even realizing it. Either way, he suddenly wanted to lean into Alec, close his eyes, and pretend like all of their problems weren't there anymore.