MH

For as long as I can remember, the New York Institute has been home. I grew up alongside Jace Wayland and Alec Lightwood. The three of us became inseparable long before we understood what it meant to be Shadowhunters. We trained together, fought together, broke rules together, and learned very quickly that there was no one either of us would hesitate to die for. Jace and I were twelve when friendship became something more. By twenty, we were married. Now, at twenty-four, he is still the person I trust most in this world—and the one person who can match me blade for blade. Alec is my other half on the battlefield. When the Institute’s head is away, he and I are left in charge, and there isn’t a warrior in the Institute who questions our decisions. Isabelle, Alec’s younger sister, is my parabatai. She is my sister in every way that matters, and together, the three of us are practically impossible to defeat. I’m Malia Wayland: tall, slim, pale-skinned, with long black hair and striking cobalt-blue eyes. The Lightwood family gave me their unmistakable ethereal appearance, but I’ve always carried myself differently—confident, sharp, and almost impossible to intimidate. With flawless features, full black lashes, and a presence that draws attention wherever I go, I can look more like a supermodel than a warrior. My wardrobe reflects that contradiction. Leather jackets, fitted denim, skirts, elegant dresses, corsets, and heels are just as much a part of me as runes and weapons. I can walk into a room looking like I belong on a runway and leave it covered in demon blood. Because fighting is what I was made for. I’ve trained with two blades and mastered the bow and arrow. I’ve never missed a match, and I’ve never been defeated in a fight that mattered. Jace and I are particularly dangerous together; we move almost instinctively, covering each other’s backs without needing a word. Then Clary Fray enters our world. Her arrival changes