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"I don't know," said Jace "I think they'd clash with ear"

Isabelle made a face at him "Did you hear about the dead Shadowhunter they found in Brooklyn? The body was all led up, so they don't knoho it is yet I assume that's where Mo up "ClaveI ran into her on the way out"

"You didn't tellrope?"

He nodded "Sorry I didn't want to freak you out"

"He means," said Isabelle, "he didn't want to spoil the romantic mood" She bit her lip "I just hope it wasn't anyone we know"

"I don't think it could have been The body was dumped in an abandoned factory-had been there for several days If it had been so" Jace pushed his hair back behind his ears He was looking at Isabelle a little iht this up She wished he'd told her earlier, even if it would have spoiled the mood Much of what he did, what they all did, Clary knew, brought thehtwoods were, in their oays, still grieving the loss of the youngest son, Max, who had died si tie Jace had accepted her decision to leave high school and take up training without a ers of a Shadowhunting life with her

"I'et dressed," she announced, and headed for the door that led to the s area It was very plain: pale alls, a mirror, a shower, and hooks for clothes Toere stacked neatly on a wooden bench by the door Clary showered quickly and put on her street clothes-tights, boots, jean skirt, and a new pink sweater Looking at herself in the hts, and her dale She would never look perfectly put together like Isabelle always did, but Jace didn't seem toroom, Isabelle and Jace had left the topic of dead Shadowhunters behind and hadJace apparently found even -Isabelle's date with Simon "I can't believe he took you to an actual restaurant" Jace was on his feet now, putting away the floor ainst the wall and played with her new gloves "I assu you watch him play World of Warcraft with his nerd friends"

"I," Clary pointed out, "arinned at her

"It wasn't really a restaurant More of a diner With pink soup that he wanted htfully "He was very sweet"

Clary felt instantly guilty for not telling her-or Jace-about Maia "He said you had fun"

Isabelle's gaze flickered over to her There was a peculiar quality to Isabelle's expression, as if she were hiding soone before Clary could be sure it had been there at all "You talked to hio Just to check in" Clary shrugged

"I see," Isabelle said, her voice suddenly brisk and cool "Well, as I said, he's very sweet But loves into her pockets "Anyway, it isn't a per around for now"

Clary's guilt faded "Have you guys ever talked about, you know, dating exclusively?"

Isabelle looked horrified "Of course not" She yawned then, stretching her arms catlike over her head "Okay, off to bed See you later, lovebirds"

She departed, leaving a hazy cloud of jasmine perfume in her wake

Jace looked over at Clary He had started unbuckling his gear, which clasped at the wrists and back, for a protective shell over his clothes "I suppose you have to go ho herhad been a long, unpleasant argu that she'd spent her life trying to keep Clary out of the Shadowhunter culture, which she saw as dangerous-not just violent, she argued, but isolationist and cruel Only a year ago, she pointed out to Clary, Clary's decision to be trained as a Shadowhunter would have ued back that the fact that the Clave had suspended rules like that while the new Council reviewed the Laws irl, and anyway, Clary needed to kno to defend herself

"I hope this isn't just because of Jace," Jocelyn had said finally "I kno it is when you're in love with someone You want to be where they are and do what they do, but Clary-"

"I aer, "the Shadowhunters aren't the Circle, and Jace isn't Valentine"

"I didn't say anything about Valentine"

"It's what you were thinking," Clary had said "Maybe Valentine brought Jace up, but Jace isn't anything like him"

"Well, I hope not," Jocelyn had said softly "For all our sakes" Eventually she had given in, but with some rules:

Clary wasn't to live in the Institute but with her ress reports fro and not just, Clary supposed, ogling Jace all day, or whatever she orried about And Clary wasn't to spend the night at the Institute-ever "No sleepovers where your boyfriend lives," Jocelyn had said firmly "I don't care if it is the Institute No"

Boyfriend It was still a shock, hearing the word For so long it had seemed a total impossibility that Jace would ever be her boyfriend, that they could ever be anything to each other at all but brother and sister, and that had been too hard and horrible to face Never seeing each other again, they had decided, would have been better than that, and that would have been like dying And then, by a miracle, they had been set free Now it had been six weeks, but Clary wasn't tired of the word yet

"I have to get home," she said "It's almost eleven, and ht" Jace dropped his gear, or at least the top half of it, onto the bench He wore a thin T-shirt underneath; Clary could see his Marks through it, like ink bleeding through wet paper "I'll walk you out"