Hello fellow Shadowhunters/Downworlders.

Sorry about the wait, but I'm hoping it'll be worth it. I'm actually quite excited/nervous for you guys to read this chapter, not because I think it's fantastically written or anything, but because I've had the events of this chapter in my head for a verrrry long time. It's pretty eventful, which means a lot of it is kinda rushed, so at the end of the chapter I'll have an A/N explaining everything. But I hope you like it :).

As a side note, has everyone seen the City of Bones movie trailer? Personally, I think it looks incredible- different from the book, but it'll be awesome to see how they've adapted it. And may I just say, the Shadowhunter and there british accents!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Susie, who is so horrible and boring that I will kill her off soon

Now, to the guest accounts who reviewed Chapter 20:

ShadowKissed: haha, you read my mind about Susie. She really is just a terrible person, isn't she? Also, you're right about Magnus. I don't think anyone except Cassandra Clare can really do him justice- he's so 'everything-at-once' in terms of personality, so he's so hard to understand to begin with. (Sidebar: I can't wait to see him in the movie!). Hope you like this chapter!

Anonymous: :) thank you! My plan is for this chapter to be 10 x the excitement, so I hope you like it!

Monica: hehe, I know, sorry about the long wait! Glad you liked the chapter- it really does feel like they've been trapped there for a long time, doesn't it? Anyway, this chapter is pretty dramatic, so tell me what you think of what happens! Also, I need your advice about how to continue- there's a question for everyone at the bottom! Thanks :)

Gabriel Lightwood wiped his sleeve across his face, drying his forehead of sweat as he walked down the hall to the prisoners. He had been avoiding this for days now, but, as Tessa Gray refused to give in, Mortmain grew impatient. If the Automatons were ineffective, the Magister believed that Gabriel could wield some power over the girl- make her see sense. His mind took him back to the last time he had seen his student; her eyes defiant as she challenged his father, standing firmly behind Charlotte Branwell as though she belonged there, with the Showhunters. A Downworlder; although, despite what his father had taught him, he couldn't help but believe that she was not so different after all. Sure enough, the blood that had soaked into her dress looked human enough; no strange colour, no alien gleam to it; and the pain on her face, well, that was the same. All too human. All too real.

He averted his gaze and opened the gate to the great cage the moment he saw her eyes widen.

"Gabriel Lightwood? Is it really you?"

He did not answer her. "Get up. Get up, and hurry along, Miss Gray. I have questions for you."

She didn't move.

"Gabriel?"

It was another voice; one which Gabriel was quite accustomed to, and anger twisted inside him as he barked at Will. "Who else, Herondale?"

"Are you alright, Gabriel?" Tessa said unexpectedly, and at last he looked at her, meeting those earnest eyes.
"Am I alright?" he said thickly. Someone else had asked him that question- the first time he had met her. He closed his mind to that memory, knowing it would do him no good to think about it.

"We know," she said gently. "We know about your fa-"

"Yes?" he interrupted. "I am aware of what he did. I am aware of what has become of him. There is no need to inquire as to that. Do as I say Miss Gray, for I grow impatient."
Tessa lifted the remains of her skirts and obeyed, walking out to meet him, if a little warily. Her eyes flickered past Will, who was watching Gabriel with a most curious expression on his face. Cecily's cage was empty, and worry writhed her insides as she imagined Mortmain, holding her captive, away from them- hurt and alone.

"Are you working for him, then?" she asked Gabriel, tone cold. "are you working for the Magister?"

"No, I'm rescuing you," he said in exasperation. "Of course I am working for the Magister. You've got half a decent brain, Miss Gray- it would do you well to use it."

Tessa huffed. "My apologies. I might have known that you wouldn't have stood up for what is right. I suppose goodness is not heriditary."

He winced then. "Gideon is well then?" he said oddly. "My brother is alright?"

"All right?" Tessa said incredulously, but Will cut her off.

"Tessa, don't."

"Don't tell me what to do, Will," she said, but she said it tiredly, not even looking at him. Gabriel noted the hurt in Will's eyes, and he wondered what had befallen them that had caused Tessa to behave like this; so alarmingly absent, as though she cared for nothing and noone. She didn't even look at Will when he spoke. "I suppose you are here to torture me."

"I am here to retrieve information from you," Gabriel said. "And to persuade you to Change."

"Then I should tell you immediately, Gabriel, that is not going to happen," she said factually. That is not going to happen. He had heard those words before too- she had said them to him, when he had asked her if she loved him, blue eyes clear, still naive, despite all that had befallen her. Blond curls brushed his face as he held her body close to his own, and he did not know if they were her tears on his chest or his own.

He shook his head. "Come now, Tessa. Do you not see that you are making it harder for yourself? The Magister has no wish to harm you. Quite the opposite. He could ensure your safety- if you wish, he could even ensure the safety of your friends. All you have to do is Change once- just this once. Fighting it will only hurt you- and Mr Carstairs."

Tessa paled at the mention of Jem, but kept her lips pursed, silence stretching on as she refused to speak. The silent treatment. She had kept her distance from him at first. Before she became a friend. Before she became his last hope.

"Do not test me, Theresa," he said dangerously- wanting more than anything to warn her more than anything. He had no wish to harm her- but if she went on like this, what he wished would not matter, and he would make her skin bruise and bleed under the Magister's orders, and he would watch- just as he had watched her die.

Tessa raised her chin defiantly, and his heart sunk. "So be it."

He reached into the belt at his hips and retrieved a simple, wooden rod. Tessa barely blinked at the sight of it; merely sighed, as though oddly contented.

Now there was a sight that was rarely seen; a Shadowhunter with a weapon and a Downworlder without- yet it was the Shadowhunter who had to close his eyes when he brought that weapon down on flesh. It was the Shadowhunter who winced and beggged that day- begged for a mercy all of his own- while the girl just stood, beaten and wounded, her head unbowed. There were three people watching this take place, two of them hidden from plain sight, and each of them unsure as to who was the victim in this situation. There was Will, fists curled in as he watched the woman he loved endure what he had promised her she never would; and then, high above, on a balcony overlooking the scene, unknown to those in the cages, were the Magister and Cecily Herondale, Cecily held by the back of the neck with sobs racking her small body, knowing that this was all her fault, and the Magister, a grimace on his face as he told her exactly that.

"Jessamine Lovelace?"

"Our Jessamine?"

"Why were we not informed of this sooner?"

"Jessamine," Magnus mused, tapping his finger on the rim of his tea cup and observing the panic of the couple with some amusement. Charlotte and Henry sat on the other end of the table, faces matching in their confusion. It really was rather adorable. "Her cell in the Silent City has been emptied- she was released on parole, if you will."
Charlotte shook her head firmly. "That can't be. We are her guardians- if the term is applicable- in any case, it is this Institute that is her home. If she were to be released on parole, it would be by a Shadowhunter from this Institute. It is the Law."

"Not quite," Magnus said. "the Law says that one must be collected from the city of bones by a verified Shadowhunter. For Nephlim, you really don't know much about your own regulations, you know."

Henry put a hand on Charlotte's stomach, absentmindedly drawing her closer. "What does this mean, then? No Shadowhunter that we know of has gone to the Silent City. Has she been...kidnapped? Perhaps she was taken by the Automatons, when they took Tessa?"

"No," Charlotte said slowly. "the Silent Brothers checked all the cells that night."

"Apparently, not Jessamine's," Magnus said. "Brother Enoch sent me word that her cell has been empty for a most lengthy amount of time- at least two weeks. I would say the guards had been paid off by somebody to cover for her absence. The question that remains, as ever, is 'why'?"

"My only question right now is who did it?" Charlotte said, her voice growing shrill. "Who took Jessamine out?"

"As it happens, I can help you there." Magnus surveyed them both, as though deciding how much to tell them. "Does the name Gabriel Lightwood mean anything to you?"

Henry looked properly shocked. "Gideon's brother?"

"Heavens," Charlotte said faintly. "I had wondered what had happened to him- after what happened to Benedict. I suppose he is following in his father's footsteps."

Henry shook his head. "Gideon has not spoken a word about him. Rather odd, isn't it? They are family."

"Blood does not define family," Magnus said quietly. "I expect Gabriel is dead to Gideon- as my father is to me."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "Your father?"

Magnus let his head fall, and he chuckled. "Never you mind, Nephlim. My troubles are my own. Anyway, you need not worry about Miss Lovelace. I suspect she is dead by now- or well and truly on Mortmain's side. Either way, there is no use in your pursuing her any further. We must focus on finding Miss Gray."

"Finding where she is has been easy enough," Charlotte said, then, catching Magnus's look, she added quickly, "I mean, since you agreed to help us- finding the Dark Sister's Third House as his base was easy enough. It is retrieving her that will be most difficult. As you say, the House has many layers...we may require the help of the Clave."

"Your Clave have no place in this investigation," Magnus said sharply. "They will do nothing but stir up trouble, Charlotte. Loud, proud, naive Nephlim. You know better than to go to them for help."

"What would you suggest?" Charlotte said icily. "That we ask the Warlocks to help us? With your magics, and your trickery?"
"How quickly you do judge us," Magnus mused. "But no, that is not exactly what I had in mind. I have a plan. A risky one- but a plan nonetheless. Hear me out, Shadowhunter. Tessa Gray's life my well depend on it."

Will was seeing red. Everywhere he looked, it was scarlet as blood, and he found himself feeling terribly ill. When he looked at Tessa, he saw red, and when he looked at Cecily's empty cell, he imagined her covered in blood, as he did Jem whenever he closed his eyes. He saw red when Gabriel, finally finished, escorted Tessa back to her cell, his shoulders hunched and his eyes squinted, as though he too could see it. Everywhere he glanced, it was as if his fear followed him, showing him what he dreaded. But he was still yet sane enough to know that it wasn't the end yet, so he stumbled to his feet and called to Gabriel with a rasping voice.

"Gabriel?"

"Herondale," he said blankly, not looking at him. Will grabbed the bars and leaned closer.

"Gabriel, I must speak to you," he went on. "I must apologise-"

At that, Gabriel spun on his heel, eyes wide and jaw trembling. The whip that he had used to hurt Tessa with was still in his hands.

"Apologise?"

"I behaved atrociously," Will said, "towards your sister, and towards you. I was young- young and foolish, and I apologise for my actions. I am sorry that I gave you reason to think ill of me, and I wish you to know that I do not think ill of you."

Gabriel stared at him for a moment, and Will felt unnerved. He had very rarely tried to earn forgiveness before- very rarely experienced that moment waiting for another person to accept an apology, or to reject it. Out of the corner of his eye, Will was aware of Tessa, beholding the two of them with exhausted eyes. He forced himself not to look at her.

"Why?" Gabriel said at last. "Why do you apologise, Will? And why now? Because you are locked up? Because you want me to help you?"

"Because it is never too late to ask forgiveness," he replied. "It is never too late to try to be better. It took me a long time to realise that- I thought perhaps it was time wasted- but I am here now, and I am saying that I am sorry, and I am trying."

Gabriel's mouth opened slightly, then closed again. He shook his head. "That you say that only means that you are less like me than I thought."

"No," Will said. "Trust me, Gabriel, it is not too late. Gideon is at the Institute. He is alright- but he misses you. Tatiana will return from her honeymoon soon- she will need you. You can go to Gideon. He will forgive you. You still have a family."

But Gabriel was still shaking his head, if a little sadly. "I have nothing." It was barely more than a whisper. He stared over Will's shoulder, right at the rusted brown poles that made up the back wall, and raised his voice. "Your friend, Jessamine Lovelace- she is dead."

Will looked at him, a sense of horror sinking over him. Jessamine. He hadn't even thought about her. He heard Tessa's gasp and knew that she had heard too.

"How?"
"How do you think?" Gabriel said bitterly. "Mortmain. He caught her- us- trying to escape after he had me bring her here. I did try, William. I planned it all out. I thought we would make it. But he found us, and he killed her to punish me."

Will fell silent then aside from his own, heavy breathing.

"So, what do you think, Herondale," he said. "Are you going to tell me to try again? It is no use. I will be his faithful servant here for the rest of my days, and you will be his prisoners." He looked over his shoulder at Tessa, eyes shining with regret. "I am sorry." A half-sob wrenched from his throat and he began to walk away, out the corridor.

"Wait," Will called after him.

"I accept your apology, William," he said, without turning back. "But I'm afraid it doesn't change a thing. We are all prisoners in the end."

Cecily fought back the tears as she watched the scene below her, Mortmain's breath burning down the back of her neck.

"I suppose that's enough for one day," the Magister said finally, as they watched Gabriel walk away from the cells. "I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't think she would last as long as she has- at least, not without trying any funny business." He raked a hand across her cheek, nails digging in. "So unfortunate that I cannot say the same for you."

Cecily trembled, but her voice came out steady. "What do you mean?"

In one fluid motion, Mortmain snarled, shoving Cecily in through the door that had led them to the balcony overseeing the cages and ramming her into the wall there. "Don't lie to me," he hissed. "Do not assume that just because I am not there, I do not know everything that you say and do, Cecily Herondale, and I know that you stole yin fen. I know you gave it to him."

She froze for a moment, petrified, eyes glued to Mortmain's furious ones.

"Nothing to say for once, I see? That's alright, Miss Herondale, that is perfectly alright- I want you to listen to me without interruptions anyway. You see, I feel I have to inform you of a few facts." His lip curled to a grimace. "You are a bitch. You are a traitor, Herondale, in so many ways. You betray your friends by working for me, but by directly acting against me, you betray your family. Did you even think of them, young Shadowhunter? Did you think of what I would do to them if you tried anything? Because you're thinking about it now. It's too late. In the end, you were the one to screw them over." He clenched his fist around her chin, hard. "You."

She shook her head frantically, trying to free herself from his grip, but he was too strong. "Please," she spluttered. "Let my parents go- they cannot help you- we cannot help you. We will be out of your way, we won't interfere- if you just let them go... and let Jem go-"

Mortmain chuckled. "Let Jem go? Why, because you are in love with him? Don't look so surprised, child, love is the most obvious thing in the world to detect in young eyes. So painfully obvious. It's pathetic."

"The only reason you have him here is because of love," she spat. "Because he is Tessa's fiance, and you think that you can blackmail her through him. It is not the case."

"All in good time," Mortmain's eyes twinkled. "But you, dear, are not to see that boy again, is that clear?"

"What are you, my father?" she growled.

"No. But funny you should mention him. Food or water- which of those shall I starve him of next?"

"No!" Cecily cried; her whole body was shaking, and Mortmain had not released her. "You can't- please- you cannot- you have it all wrong!"

"I have what all wrong?" Mortmain snapped.

Cecily shook her head in despair, scrambling for something, for anything. And suddenly the words poured out of her mouth without a second thought.

"She loves my brother. She loves Will. You have it wrong."

Mortmain stepped back and stared at her for a moment. A slow smirk started to spread across his face.

"Of all the riddiculous lies you have tried to sell me, Cecily, that is the most riddiculous. She is marrying James Carstairs- therefore James Carstairs is the one I hold captive. It's quite simple."

"It's wrong," she said bitterly. "He loves her. There's a difference."

"One does not become engaged to a person one does not love."

"Yet you wish to marry her. Do you claim to love her?"

"That is completely different," his tone was acidic. "And none of your concern."

Cecily shook her head. "Fine," she said bitterly. "Do as you wish. Destroy who you want to. But let me ask you one thing. Let me be the next person. Put me in solitary confinement. Starve me. Kill me. Don't made me keep doing- this. It's horrid. It's sick."

"So are you." In a flash, he scraped his nails across her face, leaving scratches bleeding like teardrops on her cheeks. "Out to the balcony with you. I want you to see everything that happens next. And you won't be seeing your lover Carstairs again, I guarantee you that."

"He is not my lover," she sniffed.

"Yet, apparently, he is not Theresa's," Mortmain said with dry amusement. He shoved her back onto the unstable balcony with a hard jab to the back. "You will stay here now. You have shown to be to reckless to allow near others."

"What are you going to do to him?" she said quietly.

Mortmain smirked, shaking his head at you. "You will see. Quite literally, I'm afraid."

"I don't understand why you're asking me this," Susie said for the umpteenth time, and Mortmain scowled at her.

"Never you mind my reasons, answer the question," he snapped.

Susie sighed, smoothing her pinafore down. "There's something going on between them, I'd guess. Not that I can imagine why. She's a monster, and he's too pretty to look at the likes of her."

Mortmain paced the red carpet, processing this new information. When Cecily had blurted out that Tessa loved Will, however desperate and false it had seemed, he had not been able to shake the suspicion from his mind. He had called in Susie for confirmation- if the Herondale girl was correct, it opened him up to range of new strategies- new ways to make Tessa break. After all, nothing he had tried had yet suceeded, and his patience was waring thin.

"You may go."

"Aye, Sir," Susie said, voice expressionless. She curtsied and left the room, taking a silver tea tray with her. Mortmain waited until she was gone before moving slowly and deliberately to his desk and sliding open the draw that he kept, just for precautions.

Then he drew out a gun.

"Where do you think Cecily is?"

Will stirred, glancing across at Tessa in surprise. The silence between them had stretched on for so long that only the useless racing of his own heart at the sight of her reassured him that he was not alone.

"I do not really care to think about it," he confessed. Tessa gave him a small smile.

"She will be alright. If she is anything like you- and I think that she is- she will be strong enough to withstand whatever Mortmain may try."

"You think that I am strong?"

He knew he shouldn't have said that; but it was better than continuing to talk about Cecily. As her absence became more and more noticable, it hurt more and more to guess what had befallen her. He shifted uncomfortably where he sat. While they had been allowed out to wash, there clothes had not been changed, and the material of his shirt sleeves was stiff with blood. He expected Tessa not to reply to that, and cursed himself instantly for driving her away when he could barely get her to look at him anymore- but she took him by surprise again. Perhaps she too could not stand the silence anymore.

"Of course I do," she said softly. "I have told you that before. No doubt I will tell you again oneday."

He shifted. "I am not as strong as you."

"Am I strong, or am I stupid?" Tessa shook her head. "I was so sure of what I was doing- but what if it would be better to just do as he asks? What if he really means no harm? If I go on like this, I am hurting Jem... perhaps you were right, Will. I am sorry I snapped at you before."

"I am sorry too," he said. "There is nothing right or wrong or easy about the choices you have to make now, Tessa, and I am so sorry that you have to make them at all. But I made you a promise."

"Well." A deep voice interrupted. "This is all rather touching." Mortmain emerged from the hall, face cast over by shadows, eyes bloodshot and wide. He walked closer- no, he stumbled, tripping over his own feet, and he was looking, for once, not at Tessa, but at Will. His usually tidy business suit was crumpled, and he smelled strongly of alcohol. In his hand, he held a black handgun. With a great wrench, he opened the door to Will's cage and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him clumsily across the room until the two were standing before Tessa, who had scrambled to her feet, eyes on the gun.

"What do you want?" Will said in a guarded tone.

"A little too composed for my liking," the Magister commented. Within a second's notice, he had rammed the gun into the side of Will's head with a loud smash. Will yelled out in surprise and pain as blood began to appear from the gash there, and he reeled over, hands on his knees. Tessa stepped forward instantly, wrapping her hands around the bars.

"Will, are you alright?" she cried out.

He nodded gruffly, standing tall again and looking at the Magister.

"Foollish of you, really," he said, "to let a Shadowhunter loose without your precious automatons at your side."

"You are unarmed," Mortmain appeared unfazed.

"Even so- I am stronger than you."

At that, the Magister grinned the Will- and not very nicely, at that.

"Now there is a theory I'd like to test." With rough blows, he elbowed Will in the torso, only to crash the gun yet again into his head. When Will simply stumbled to his knees in response, Tessa's mouth parted, horror freezing her on the spot. Will never did that. He was Will Herondale, the boy who bit a vampire, the boy who barely flinched as shards of glass were pulled out of his back- the one who nobody could ever stop from fighting. And now he was brought to his knees by a mundane.

"What have you done to him?" Tessa demanded, as Will coughed blood. She looked away, not wanting to see him like this- for it would surely break her.

"Who do you think has been providing your water, Herondale?" the Magister said gleefully. "A friend of mine was able to concur a substance that would counter the effects of a Shadowhunter's natural strength. Everything you consumed has been spiked with it. You have no power here." He cracked the barrel of the gun down, this time on Will's shoulder, and he gasped in pain, eyes widening. Tessa was sure she'd heard a bone crack. There was a click, and suddenly the gun was aimed at Will's temple. "Don't," the Magister breathed, "move." Once Will's hands were both in the air, he shifted in head so he was facing Tessa. "You," he said. "You will answer me this question, and if you answer incorrectly, you will watch him die."

Tessa whimpered, suddenly panting, as though all the air had gone from the room. She looked at Will, face caked in blood and dirt, eyes still blue and right on her. She had never seen anybody look as helpless as he did, not in her entire life.

"Where is Cecily?" she found herself saying. "What have you done to her?"

"Do not change the subject, Theresa, I will not be distracted," Mortmain said. He was less composed than Tessa had ever seen him before, and that frightened her. She let out a dry sob.

"No," she whispered. "No, please."

"Do not beg me, child. It is your hands that his life lie in, not my own. It is your hand on the trigger." He leant forward, dragging Will savagely with him. More blood trickled down his face, making a puddle on the floor. "Now tell me, do you love him?"

All she could hear was breathing- her own, ragged and frantic, Will's slow and long, Mortmain's uneven and racked with short laughs.

He was laughing when he replied, his eyes mad. "Don't just stand there. My, don't you look shocked. It's a simple yes or no answer, do you love this man or not?"

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head.

"Oh," Mortmain said, eyes filled with fake sympathy. "Isn't that a shame." He drove the gun barrel into Will's ribs, and with four sharp jabs, Will had fallen completely over. He tried to scramble to his feet, but Mortmain stood on his leg, grimacing as Will struggled. "He's got courage, I'll give him that. Is that why you love him?"

"Why are you asking me this?" she asked, and even to her, her voice sounded shrill. She scrabbled to her knees, to where Will was on the other side of the bars, hands reaching frantically towards him. "Will!"

There was another 'crack', and Will rolled over, catching up against the gate, facing away from Tessa. Taking her chance, she reached her arms through the bars to shield him, hugging her to him through them as tightly as she could. A teardrop on her shoulder told her that she was crying, and indeed, loud, terrible sobs were escaping her mouth. "Please," she was saying. "Please, I beg you, let him go."

"ANSWER THE QUESTION," Mortmain roared. "Do you love him?" he grabbed Will's face in his hands and turned it so Tessa could see him, a bruise forming under his closing eyes. When Tessa did nothing but cry, Mortmain's finger began to press down on the trigger.

"Stop, don't!" she screamed. "I love him, please! I love him!"

Mortmain froze, staring at her intently. "Say that again," he said. "Slower."

"I love him," she said, powerless. She was trembling, her hands outstretched to Will. She glanced down at him, only to be met with the widest eyes she had ever seen. Will was shaking too, and she wasn't sure if it was because of his injuries, or because of something else. After all, he was no block of ice. Anybody listening would know that Tessa meant every word that she said- every word that she had never intended to say to Will Herondale. Words that might just have gotten him killed.

"I said that your answer would determine whether he lived or died," Mortmain said slowly. Tessa looked up at him, already on her knees, and she pulled her shaking hands together in prayer- something she rarely did these days.

"Please," she gasped. "Please."

And so it was that Mortmain, with some form of passion that Tessa did not understand, dropped the gun with a clatter, rasping for air. Tessa let out a heavy sigh of relief, and hugged Will to her, pressing her face to his through the bars.

"Will?" she said. "Are you alright, Will?" she was still crying. "I am so, sorry, Will, I'm so sorry."

He was so limp in her arms that she would've thought he was unconscious if it weren't for the one word he whispered. "Tess."

At that, Tessa half-laughed, half-sobbed, and she looked up at Mortmain, simultaneously afraid and furious. To her surprise, he wasn't glaring down at them, or laughing, either. No, the Magister, for once, looked quite lost in his own prison, just standing there, his gun beside him on the ground. Without another word, he turned around and started his clumsy way away from them, taking the stench of alcohol away with him and leaving Tessa clinging to Will, free from his cage.

"God, Will," she was saying. "I'm so sorry." She said it blindly, not knowing what she was apologizing for. Wordlessly, he began to hug her back, barely, but with all the strength he had left. And still, Tessa cried. She cried because she had come so close to seeing Will be killed before her eyes. She cried because he was weak, and the thought of a weak Will frightened her. She cried because she had spoiled everything between them by telling him the truth today, and she cried because she had no idea what came next. But most of all, she cried because however wrong it was, however dreadful, she couldn't help but feel happy that Will was in her arms again, even if there were bars pressed between them. It was just her and Will.

Of course, above them, there was a girl, hopeless as she watched them, wondering what on earth would become of Jem's heart if he were to witness such a scene.

She did not know that there was another hidden balcony, directly above her own, and she certainly did not know that Jem had indeed seen everything- held still by two Automatons so that he would not miss a moment. She didn't know that his heart was breaking- confused and hurt and hopeful all at once.

"Tessa," he whispered, so quietly that even the Automatons, were they human, would barely have heard it. "I'm so sorry too."

If you are a Jessa fan, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.

If you are a Wessa fan, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR IT HAPPENING THAT WAY.

It's all Mortmain's fault, I swear! (well, and sort of Cecily and Susie's.)

So, basically, so nobody's confused, in this chapter we established that Gabriel has been working for the Magister. Part of that work included retrieving Jessamine from the Silent City and trying to get to cooperate, but Jessamine was- well, Jessamine, and she didn't cooperate with the Magister. She and Gabriel became good friends to say the least, and they tried to escape together. This all ended with Jessamine being killed, something which is haunting Gabriel. (I know that all seems really rushed- they'll be further flashbacks etc. to clarify it all.)He doesn't want to work for Mortmain, but he feels he can't escape. Meanwhile, Magnus is on top of things and has a plan to rescue everyone (FINALLY). Hopefully everything else was pretty clear, though.

Anyway, this is the part where you guys come in! Next chapter I'm planning to have their rescue party come to save them. However, I'm not sure whether or not to write a conversation between Will and Tessa before they arrive about what just happened, or whether to just have Magnus and co arrive from the start (aka: the Wessa scene ends as it does in this chapter).

I really want to know what you think, so please review! :) Thank you.