"I've been feeling
Like I'm out on the edge again...
Nobody else needs to get hurt,
Because they'll never know. "
D A I S Y
The Circle. Those two words were enough to send fear into the hearts of every Downworlder.
Valentine. Charming, cunning as a snake, handsome. Cold. Deadly.
Word around was that his little group of Shadowhunters ran around killing Downworlders, wether they'd broken the Accords or not. Mostly, they were just killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Like I was about to be.
I had been walking along the streets of London, back from visiting Lily, a vampire friend of mine. I was happy because I'd also seen Raphael. We were in the stage of small smiles and compliments- Lily had laughed loudly and pretended to gag and then shooed Raphael away. 'Jane's here to talk to me,' she'd said.
Back then I was Jane. I changed my name when it suited me- one name for two hundred years got boring.
The houses on the side of the street cast shadows across my path, and the stars barely have any light at all. The moon was covered by clouds, and the street lamps were all either off or broken. The area near the Hotel wasn't the nicest.
As I walked towards the entrance to the faerie courts, I felt my heart start to thump faster than normal. I paused, wondering if I should have asked Lily to travel back with me- faeries weren't as fast or strong as vampires, and the streets were dangerous at this time.
But then I sighed and carried on walking. I was fine. It wasn't like Valentine's Circle were about to jump out at me, was-
Something blurred in front of me, a fast streak of black. A Shadowhunter.
The blur turned into a woman- a woman with a ruby necklace and a shining silver whip, runes decorating her exposed arms.
I froze. Don't move.
'Faerie,' the woman said quietly. 'What are you doing out and about at this time of night?'
I didn't speak. Anything I said could be used against me- anything I said could give this woman a reason to kill me.
'Don't you know the Circle are walking around at this time of night?' the woman asked. 'You're lucky it's me and not Valentine. He would have killed you by now.'
'Why haven't you?' I asked through frozen lips. 'Killed me, I mean.'
'I have enough blood on my hands,' the woman said slowly. 'I have killed Shadowhunters who stood in my path, and I have watched innocent people killed for the cause. I have a son at home. His mother is a murderer and so is his father.'
'So leave the Circle,' I said, wishing my wings could carry me far far away. 'Run.'
The woman's whip reached forwards, the top curling around one of my wings. 'If I ran, my son would die,' she said carefully. 'But if you ran from me now, nothing would happen. No one would know this night ever happened.'
I blinked. This was new- a Circle member showing mercy to a Downworlder.
'What's your name, faerie girl?' the Shadowhunter asked.
'Jane,' I said, feeling fear coursing through my body. Are you going to kill me?
'Maryse.' she nodded, and just like that, her whip uncurled from my wing and snapped back around her wrist. 'Now, run, faerie girl, run as fast and as far as you can before Valentine finds you. Run. Run!'
I ran. I didn't look back.
****
Later, I found out that the woman had been Maryse Lightwood, one of Valentine's favourites. She had a son- Alec- and a husband, Robert. She had everything to lose.
But she saved my life.
Bonus Chapter as a thank you for 5k reads!! I did this late because I only just checked my reads. Almost 6k!!! I love you all so much.
Each and every one of you is beautiful and amazing. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to PM me.
xxx Jade
P.S LADY MIDNIGHT COMES OUT TODAY!!