Inside of Me ━ Isabelle Lightwood

XV. GETAWAY

         Tensions were high between the group. Alec still wanted to secure the Cup even more, Clary and Jace wouldn't let them have it, and Clary was at a lost for Isaac. He was still ignoring her, keeping an obvious distance between them, that even Alec was beginning to wonder what was going on with Isaac.

         But Isaac was trying to protect them. He was protecting Clary from the hard truth that he had learned. Or maybe he was just protecting himself. He wasn't sure if he wanted a sister yet, it was better to pretend that they weren't related. Clary didn't know – and she would never know – and Isaac would train himself to forget. Jocelyn would just be a mother figure not mom, and Clary would be the sister he never had.

         He watched Isabelle snatch the Cup from Clary with her whip, smiling at how elegantly she had done it. It scared him to become attached to her, to like her, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be leaving Brooklyn for a long time.

         "Alec, what are you going?" Jace asked, coming to the area at which Isaac and the Lightwood were standing, the latter crouching over a monitor. "You can stare at this monitor all you want, they need angel blood to get past the wards. You know that. No Downworlder can come into the Institute."

         "Not without an invite by a Shadowhunter," Isabelle added, sending a wink to Isaac.

         "Last I checked, Valentine is a Shadowhunter," Alec turned to them, "The Cup is not safe here. We have to give it back to the Clave."

         "Give it back to the Clave? No," Clary defied, looking to Isaac for help, but he gave her none, "Not after everything we went through to get it."

         "My brother is right," Isabelle spoke up, "The Cup is extremely important."

         "Are you agreeing with me?" Alec asked, genuinely shocked by his sister's words. All she ever did was disagree with him.

         "I'm full of surprises," she almost smirked, but that was the old Isabelle. The new one was more mature.

         "This Cup is the one chance I have at getting my mom back," Clary held the card in her hands, and Isaac sympathized for her.

         Their mother was asleep, taken by Valentine, their father, and Isaac did want her back. He wanted a chance to properly meet his mother, but then again, he didn't. Jocelyn was never there, he was fine on his own. He didn't need his mother anymore, but a part of him still craved her.

         "I agree with Clary," Jace said, "We can't give the Cup to the Clave, not now. We need it. It's our only bargaining chip."

         "Look, I know how powerful this Cup is," Clary walked forward to Alec, "It has the power to create new Shadowhunters, control demons, and even kill a mundane if they drank from it. But I promise you, I will not let that monster get his hands on it."

         Monster. Their father was a monster, and Isaac hated that. He hated how Clary spoke so easily, unaware that two of them shared the same heritage. But she didn't know – Clary didn't know, and I was his fault. He never told her, so he couldn't blame her.

         But he didn't just hate her words – he hated the fact that Valentine was a monster. He was a monster, and that scared Isaac. He was so utterly terrified of turning out like him. But in a way, he already was like his father. Isaac was a werewolf, a disgusting, ugly werewolf who was cursed with that for his whole life. He was a monster in a different way, but it seemed so much worse to Isaac.

         "There you go," Jace spoke, looking at Alec, "You have her word."

         Alec sighed, looking dead at Clary before saying, "Follow me," and the two walked off.