Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Tessa Gray woke with a start.
She stared up at the ceiling and listened to the pounding of her heart. At first she wasn't sure what had woken her—until she heard the loud rumble of thunder from outside. She had never been able to sleep well through storms.
She blinked rapidly, trying to cling to the last lingering wisps of her dream. Or, more accurately, of her nightmare. Tessa was used to dreaming of Mortmain, of what would happen if he were to get his hands on her, but no dream had been quite as vivid as this one.
Mortmain had been conversing with a terrifyingly gruesome beast, speaking as normally as if standing before another human being. Tessa struggled to recall what their conversation had been about, but she could remember nothing besides hearing her name.
She shivered and sat up, unable to bear the thought of trying to go back to sleep, back into the arms of another nightmare. She slid out of bed and pulled her dressing gown around her, pushing her long brown hair back from her face. She left her room, shutting the door quietly. She glanced across the hall to Jem's door, wondering if she should go inside and tell him about the dream. He had always listened so readily when she spoke of her nightmares, even though Tessa knew they couldn't be interesting for him to hear.
But it was not Jem's company that she craved. In fact, the entire Institute seemed to be pressing in around her, despite its huge size, and she turned away from his door and crept silently down the hall.
Lightning lit up the corridor in front of her, and Tessa jumped. She hurried down the stairs toward the front door, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one had noticed her passing. She doubted anyone would be awake at this hour, but there was no such thing as being too cautious.
She had made it halfway across the entrance hall when an amused voice made her start so badly she yelped.
"Little late for an evening stroll, isn't it?"
She spun around, already glaring. William Herondale leaned casually against a pillar, his arms crossed over his chest, his face cast into shadows. She could just make out the grin on his face through the darkness.
"You startled me!" she exclaimed.
"Serves you right for sneaking out." He shrugged off of the pillar and strolled closer to her, clasping his hands behind his back.
"I wasn't sneaking out," she argued, although her face burned a little with the lie.
"You were merely coming down to admire the craftsmanship of the front door?" Will suggested.
Tessa narrowed her eyes at him. "What were you doing here?" she challenged, doing her best to shift the attention off of herself.
"The same as you, of course," he replied. He turned to squint at the front door, propping his fist underneath his chin. "I daresay it's the finest door I have ever laid eyes on."
"Be serious, Will."
"Fine." He dropped his hand and looked at her. "You know it's dangerous to leave the Institute alone, especially with Mortmain hunting you down."
She found she could not quite meet his eyes. "Sometimes I feel like I have to leave," she admitted. "It feels like if I stay in here a moment longer, I'll suffocate."
Tessa flitted a quick look at him, and was surprised to see a thoughtful expression on his face rather than amusement or scorn.
"I know the feeling," he murmured. "Particularly when Sophie sneaks into my room late at night and tries to smother me with my own pillow."
Her brief hope that he was actually going to take a conversation seriously for once faded, and she glared at him again.
He raised his hands into the air in defeat, and said, "I really do know how you feel, Tessa. Sometimes the walls seem to come down around you."
She wasn't quite sure if he was joking or not this time, so she just looked away.
"And now," he declared, "it is time for young shape-shifters to go back to bed."
"What about knowing the feeling of the walls pressing down on you?" she protested. "I thought you understood!"
"I do," he said, nodding wisely. "I hope I didn't deceive you into thinking I would allow you to leave the Institute by yourself."
"You can hardly make me stay," she pointed out.
"Ah, that's where you're wrong," he said. "I can tie your wrists and ankles to the bedposts to make sure you stay where you're supposed to be. In fact, I could also lie down on top of you, just to make extra sure you don't—"
"Will!" Tessa was glad for the darkness that covered her blush. She did her best to glare at him through her embarrassment.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which looked as if it were part of the shadows that surrounded them. "All right, if you're going to be so stubborn about leaving, at least let me escort you."
She stared at him. "Really?"
He smiled mockingly back and offered his arm with a flourish. "Really."
Tessa considered ignoring it, but if it were the only way he would allow her out to get some fresh air… She accepted his arm, and he grinned at her.
Will led her up to the front doors, quietly opening them and slipping out into the cool, stormy night. The rain had not begun yet, but a thick covering of clouds blotted out the sky. Crackling electricity filled the air, making the hairs on the back of Tessa's neck stand on end. Loud thunder boomed overhead, and Tessa flinched against Will. Face hot, she quickly straightened up, averting her eyes from his smirk.
"Lovely night for a stroll," he said sarcastically.
He led her out through the Institute gates. Tessa was a little surprised by the silence he kept up as they walked through the dark, mostly deserted streets of London, without a single wry remark to be heard.
She tried to fill the silence between them with talk. "What were you doing awake, really?" she said. She took his clothing in for the first time, noticing that he was fully dressed. "William Herondale!" she exclaimed. "You were planning on sneaking out, weren't you?"
"Theresa Gray!" He matched her scandalized tone. "I do believe you're being hypocritical. You had every intention of sneaking out as well."
She knew he was right, but she wasn't going to admit it. "Where were you going?" she asked curiously. She smiled a little and said, "Not another date with Six-Fingered Nigel? I really think you should give him a little space, Will, you're making the poor man uncomfortable."
Will scowled at her. "Where I was going is my business."
Tessa searched his face, but she could see that he didn't plan on telling her anything. He kept his expression smooth, as if he could sense her gaze, so she sighed and turned to look back at the road ahead of them.
Will turned them both down a small street, and Tessa realized that he was walking as if he knew exactly where they were going.
"Do you have a destination in mind?" she asked him, jumping nervously as a cat darted out of the shadows by her feet.
Will didn't answer, but when she glanced at him, she could see that he was smiling ever so slightly.
They left the road and Tessa was startled to see the river rushing by their feet. Will pulled her to the right, and they walked alongside the water for a while until a small wooden bridge came into view, with a lovely, intricate railing.
"No one ever comes to this sad little bridge," Will told her, leading her up onto it. He leaned his hands against the railing and stared into the river below them. His hair hid his eyes in shadow, so that she could not read the expression in them. "It's always a good place to come and be alone."
Tessa's heart jumped a little. Will wanted to be alone with her? She turned and rested her elbows on the railing beside him, hoping he couldn't tell what she was thinking, as he so often managed to do.
"Tessa." Will's voice was soft. Tessa glanced up at him as a raindrop plopped onto the back of her hand.
He hesitated, and Tessa prompted, "Yes, Will?"
He raised his head and looked off into the distance. Rain started falling in a slow drizzle, catching in sparkling drops in his hair and eyelashes. His beauty took Tessa's breath away, even though he looked so far away at the moment.
"I brought you here because I…I wanted to tell you something."
It was odd seeing him struggle with his words, something that normally came so naturally to him. She reached out and gently touched his arm, feeling him stiffen as she did so. She withdrew her hand. "You can tell me anything," she said softly.
His hands were fists on the railing, his muscles tense, and Tessa began to worry about what he was planning on telling her. He had been laughing and joking only a few minutes earlier; what could be so terrible that it made him look so serious?
Suddenly Will turned to her, so abruptly she was startled. He took her by the shoulders, searching her eyes desperately with his own.
She wasn't quite sure what to say. "Will—?"
"Tessa," he whispered, interrupting whatever she had been about to ask him—she wasn't sure what she had meant to say, herself. All words died on her tongue as he looked at her with eyes so intense it took her breath away. She found herself leaning unconsciously toward him, and realized he must have been leaning toward her as well, for suddenly they had only a few inches of space separating them from one another. Their noses nearly touched. If she leaned just a little closer…
"Jem loves you."
Tessa felt the fiery longing in her beginning to fade. She started to draw away, feeling disappointed. Will had brought her all this way to tell her that someone else loved her? She barely registered the meaning of his words, what they meant.
Will tightened his grip on her shoulders, drawing her back to him. "Let me finish," he said fiercely. "Jem loves you, and you mean the world to him. That's why I shouldn't be here with you. That's why I shouldn't be saying this." He took a deep breath, his fathomless blue eyes closing as if he couldn't bear to meet her eye.
"Will?" she whispered, a tremor in his voice. "What are you saying?" A voice in the back of her head was starting to rise, urgently telling her, Did you hear what he said? Jem loves you! But she shoved the voice away, desperate to cling to this moment in the here and now.
He opened his eyes, and their gazes locked again. Then Will closed the distance between them and kissed her.
The fire that had simmered deep inside Tessa blazed upward, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer, feeling a blissful sense of joy, ignoring the voice that kept persisting in her head that was trying to remind her of what he had just told her. She felt his hand reach up and touch her cheek gently, as if he were afraid she would shatter if he were too rough with her.
He pulled away for a single heartbeat and whispered her name. "Tess…"
She kissed him again, more fiercely this time, and he murmured against her mouth. "Tessa, I think I l—"
His words cut off abruptly, and his lips were gone from Tessa's. She opened her eyes, staring in bewilderment at the space where Will had been standing a moment before. Now there was just empty space in front of her.
Then she heard the splash.
Tessa spun around and leaned over the bridge as far as she dared, heart hammering as she searched the water with her eyes. Had Will…fallen into the river?
His head broke the surface, his mouth open in a gasp for air. He shook his head sharply to get his sopping water out of his eyes and blinked up at her.
Tessa was looking down at him, unsure whether she should be concerned or burst out laughing, when his eyes shifted past her and widened in horror.
Tessa turned, too late. She started to scream when she saw the automaton looming over her, face devoid of emotion. It moved behind her with startling speed, and a hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her cry, another arm snaking around her from behind, pulling her hard against a broad metal chest.
Instinctively, she tried to bite the hand over her mouth, but her teeth scraped against metal. The automaton started walking with swift, jerky steps, ignoring the kicks she sent at its shins. She tried to get another glimpse of the river, desperate to see if Will was coming, to see if he was all right.
The river came into view as the automaton carried her off the bridge. She was in time to see Will starting to drag himself out of the river, his mouth shouting her name, though she couldn't hear it over a crash of thunder. A shadow loomed through the rain above him. Tessa screamed from behind the automaton's hand, but it was no use.
The second clockwork creature slammed a metal fist into the back of Will's head. Will jerked forward and collapsed into the mud of the bank, unmoving.
With a surge of strength, Tessa wrenched away from the hands that held her, shoving the automaton so that it stumbled backward. She raced down the river toward Will, desperate to reach him. The clockwork thing that had hit him looked up at her approach, and what she saw made Tessa stop dead and stare in horror.
The clockwork automaton that had knocked out Will was…Tessa.
Long brown hair dripping with rain and gray dress soaked through, the clockwork girl looked at Tessa and smiled. It was a chillingly real smile, full of menace and something ominously human.
In a rush of anger and despair, Tessa understood. Mortmain had created a clockwork clone to take her place. Who would notice Tessa's absence if her face was on this creature? Who would try to find her now?
She felt something hard crash into the back of her head, and she lurched forward into the mud, her vision blackening. The last thing she saw was Will's beautiful, still face, rain falling as if the heavens were crying for what had happened that night.