"How dare you act like I don't know anything about love?" Tessa hissed, her hand placed on her heart. Her eyes were narrowed, staring down deep into Julian's. She was breathing fast, and she could hear her pulse in her ears. She knew she must have looked terrifying; even after more than two centuries, she still didn't have complete reign over her powers. But Julian didn't waver. He met her gaze steadily. Yet, the more she spoke, the softer his face became, like a stone being eroded away by running water. "I have had my fair share of heartbreak and loss," she shouted at him, and a pair of dark blue eyes flashed in her mind. She pushed the image away painfully, only for it to be replaced by a pale face, highlighted in silver. Tessa choked. "Don't think that even though I am immortal-" she spat the word as though it were poison "-that I have lost all sense of emotion. That I've forgotten what it's like to feel. Don't you dare, Julian. I haven't forgotten. I remember love and hurt and happiness and pain perfectly."
At first, Julian said nothing. And then he reached out and firmly wrapped his hands around Tessa's shoulders. She jerked away from him, but he had a Shadowhunter's strength, and her walls were already falling, taking away her own strength. He held her closely to him as tears streamed down Tessa's cheeks, dampening his cotton button-down, and then his lips were on hers, and she was kissing him so fiercely and so passionately she thought she would burst from the warmth spreading through her limbs. The hurt ebbed away as her walls crumbled, and she sagged into Julian's embrace. "I'm sorry," he murmured, and Tessa realized that, as images of Will and Jem flickered across her closed eyelids, she was, too.