Okay, so hai! Who's excited for my French exam tomorrow? Bonjour, je… urg.
I'm actually laughing to myself. I would've loved to update earlier this week, really. But have I told y'all about my plug-in-key-board-because-my-actual-keyboard-built-into-my-laptop-doesn't-work? Wellll…. It's not plug in. It's wireless. Connected by a teeny-tiny pendrive-like thing.
Which I lost.
BUT I FOUND IT! AND I'M UPDATING ON A MONDAY!
NOTE: I adore each and every single one of you for your reviews. But I physically have not got the time to reply, because, you know, FRENCH. I feel so guilty for this, but there is no possible way around it. This chapter (along with this A/N, HOLA!) was typed on a Sunday (yesterday, for all those reading on update day). I could've been revising on said day, but I didn't. Procrastination, for the win.
So, many apologies later, ENJOY!
Earlier…
"I'm going to make myself clear."
Tessa swallowed in apprehension, which was of course noticed by the blonde, who rolled her eyes at the taller of the two.
"You're acting like I'm some psyco bitch who's about to tear off your face with my nails." Jessamine informed.
"And you're not about to do that?" Tessa asked in only partial sarcasm.
Jessamine gave a bark of laughter. "And risk chipping one of these?" She replied rhetorically, waggling her perfectly-polished nails at Tessa. "No." She said, suddenly more serious.
"I don't get it." Tessa confessed.
"No, you wouldn't, would you?" Jessamine replied. "I could swear that anyone who dates, or fucks, Will literally loses several brain cells." She walked over to the nearby window, hands clasped behind her back, and stared out the glass pane.
"I thought… didn't you like Will? As in, like-like?" Tessa asked with a furrowed brow.
Jessamine gave another laugh. "I despise him; he's the reason I moved away from the house." She turned, dropping her hands, and elaborated upon seeing Tessa's confused look. "I used to live at the Branwell's too," she began, "and I hated every moment of it— at first. Will was egregiously rude, James only spoke to Will, Henry was never around, Cecily was immature, Charlotte wasn't my mother, and Sophie—"
"Sophie?" Tessa echoed. "She never mentioned—"
Jessamine gave a slight smile. "She moved out with me. It's why, when we lived in the dorm house, we shared the room. She just wanted to get away— broken heart, you know— and so did I. We invented different backstories, and James, Will and Cecily said they'd never mention our move."
"She lied to me about everything? But I told her…" She broke off, upon realising she hadn't been 100 per cent honest either.
"Dog eat dog world," Jessamine said dismissively. "Anyway," she continued, "Will was..." She trailed off. "You just can't describe something —someone— so rude, so stone-hearted, so... And then there was poor Tatiana at Christmas this one time... You can see why we don't like her. To be blunt, he stole her diary at one of the huge Christmas parties, and read it. Aloud, on the orchestra stage. Sophie once told me that he was alike to the poisonous frogs in the amazon. Beautiful to look at, but deadly inside. And the more beautiful, the more deadly." She turned back to the window. "He's a master actor, Tessa. He isn't worth crying over, I don't see him doing the same over you."
Tessa longed to point out how he'd looked when she'd last seen him, but was easily distracted by Jessamine's sigh.
"What am I saying?" She asked herself in a defeated manner. "Giving advice about love when I've yet to fall. Everything that falls gets broken, and yet it's all I've ever wanted. To fall."
Tessa couldn't help but frown. "Jessamine, if you didn't throw people away once you were done with them, then maybe—"
The blond didn't turn, but she did interrupt. "They all called me something. They all labelled me. Slut, bitch, sexy, bae, sweetie: never Jessamine. No guy has ever called me by my name. How can you learn to love someone who gives you a name used by so many others?"
"Maybe not those you love, but you have been given your name by family at least. Will, Jem—"
"Jessie. They call me Jessie." The blonde gave a shaky breath, like she was trying not to cry. Something Tessa now knew all too much about. "I act fake, I have the personality of a bitch, because that's who Jessie is." She turned and walked towards Tessa. "Come on, Tessie. We're making you over. You're going to be a flawless, cold-hearted bitch and you never cared for the man who used you."
Tessa couldn't help but give a small, grateful smile.
...
And that was how Tessa ended up sitting on a frozen on-campus bench in slim fit, pale pink jeans, a white shirt, white-beige brogues and a shaped blue blazer. A blue the exact colour of Will's eyes. Her hair was in an intricate 'Daenerys, Game of Thrones style' braid and her make-up was flawless. Cecily was good at makeup, but Jessamine's and Camille's contouring had transformed her face on a whole new level, the most prominent change being her now-visible cheekbones.
She was absolutely freezing, but she didn't care. She was warmed by the fire inside of her, steadied by her ice cold heart.
One leg was daintily crossed over the other, and she was talking to Jessamine, Camille, and Sophie when Gabriel, Gideon, Cecily, Jem and a few others appeared, but she paid no attention to them. Her face flickered up into a sweet, happy smile before she looked to the figure besides Jem.
The figure who looked straight at her.
The figure whose eyes travelled down her almost instinctively, but when they ran back up, they were met with her arms crossed over her chest, the smile now somewhat evil. You can't do that, Tessa's posture seemed to say. You can't —literally— touch this.
Tessa caught Jessamine's stare from the corner of her eye and smirked, before resuming her conversation with Sophie.
They all sat down in various places about the circular bench, Cecily next to Sophie, Jem besides Cecily, Will next to him, and so on.
Tessa watched as Cecily stood and left with a few others. As soon as they were gone, Jem turned to talk to Jessamine, who was on his right, and, by the looks of it, asked her a question.
Tessa was mostly tuned out until the others returned. With alcohol. Taking a glass that was offered to her, Tessa focused back in on the beginnings of a game of Truth or Dare.
"Jessie?" Will asked, his voice lighter due to the miracles of alcohol. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Why have you suddenly taken an interest into us and all this?" Will asked immediately, no longer sounding drunk in the slightest.
Whilst Tessa personally had taken a few sips from her half-empty (or was it half-full?) glass, others had all immediately downed them and gone for a second glass. Sophie, who was still on her first glass, told Tessa it was to warm up the game and take down defensive walls. Just kidding. She's said that when truths were asked in this game, people were expected to lie. The alcohol slowed them down, they couldn't think of lies fluently enough. It wasn't a game, it was training. However, since Tessa hadn't had a glass in her face, she'd noticed Will subtly tip his out and for Jem to pass him his own glass, which Will half-emptied, laughing loudly as he did so about Jem's alcohol tolerance, despite not setting his own glass to his lips once. Everyone else seemed to think Will had swallowed the drink.
"Dare," Jessamine switched.
"You can't change once the question's already been asked." Cecily pointed out.
"Fine, with everything that's been happening recently, I want to be prepared." Jessamine said sulkily.
Another lie.
"Will." She added venomously. "Truth or truth?"
Will cocked an eyebrow. "Dare."
Not once had he picked truth.
"Truth," Jessamine repeated, "or truth?"
"You know, that kind of defeats the concept of truth or dare, Jessie." Will pointed out.
Upon being called Jessie, the blonde clenched her jaw. "Fine." She said coolly. "I dare you to tell me the truth when I ask you this," She paused for effect. Tessa could have sworn Will's skin had paled. "Why did you cheat on Tessa? For Tatiana?"
Silence fell across the group. Jem and Cecily linked hands and she rested her head on his shoulder. They knew. Jessamine knew. Sophie knew, as Tessa had told her. Tatiana obviously knew, as she scooted closer to Will and mimicked Cecily by grabbing Will's hand and laying her head on his shoulder, her face smug, the opposite to what it had been when she'd first found out.
"I…" Will looked then. He truly looked. From Tessa to Tatiana. Then to Tessa.
Well? Tessa thought, struggling to hold his gaze.
"I…" Will repeated, before standing and yanking his hand free from its enclosure, leaving Tatiana to topple onto the bench. He then left.
Jem and Cecily automatically sprung apart and went to go after him, before they were stopped by a voice.
"Let him go."
Tessa's voice.
The two relaxed slightly, turning back to face the group.
"Since Will left, I'll go." She continued. "Umm… Gideon. Truth or Dare?"
"Cecily, truth or dare?" Sophie asked.
It wasn't technically her turn, but since Jem was off doing a dare, they'd decided to continue.
"Truth!" Cecily somewhat sang.
"Why are you dating Jem?" Sophie asked.
Cecily frowned slightly. "What…?"
"I mean, it's obvious you don't like him." Sophie continued.
Cecily shrugged. "To get at Will for dating his best friend?" She suggested. "I don't know, why not?"
"Guys, I'd better go, it's getting dark." Tessa pointed out.
Gabriel checked his watch. "The course starts in an hour." He said to presumably the rest of the group, who all began talking about whatever the thing was they'd be doing.
I don't know, why not?
It's obvious you don't like him.
To get at Will?
You don't like him.
Why not?
Why not?
"WHY NOT?" Tessa exclaimed angrily, slamming the dish she'd been washing into the sink, where it, to no surprise, shattered.
There was a soft knock on her door.
Furiously wiping her wet hands on a towel, Tessa made her way over to the door and flung it open, to reveal a wind-beaten Jem, his scarf (he was wearing a scarf) askew about his neck, his dark hair awry* and mused from the wind.
It suited him.
"I'm so sorry, did I interrupt something?" He said apologetically, gesturing to the towel in her hands, which Tessa immediately threw behind her.
"What? No! Of course not!" Tessa responded.
Jem gave a crooked smile. "My apologies. I just heard a crash while coming up the stairs—"
"How loud was the crash?" Tessa asked.
"The stairs which are literally," despite living in England for a while now, LITERALLY. She's never get over how the English said it, "outside your door." Jem added.
Ah. "Oh, what are you doing back?" Tessa asked suddenly. "Has the game ended?"
"Ah," Jem said, blushing slightly. "No. I quit." He gave a slight smile, before his eyes sparked with curiosity. "But what are you doing back? I came back from the dare and you'd left?"
"I stormed off like you, yes." Tessa said with a grin, lounging against the door. "So, why'd you leave?"
"Seven minutes in apparent 'heaven' with Cecily." Jem said with a grimace. "What about you?"
"Wait, aren't you two dating?" Tessa responded immediately to change the subject.
Jem gave a slight smile. "Well yes, but…" He grimaced again. "Not in public."
"Seems like an odd reason to leave."
"Well then, why did you?"
"I…" Tessa's mood darkened immediately. "Cecily."
Jem cocked an eyebrow.
"She was asked a question and her response to it! HER FUCKING RESPONSE!" Tessa exploded in anger.
Jem looked quite taken aback. "I'm starting to think that the crash I heard wasn't an accident." He merely said.
Tessa stood, seething.
Jem glanced at his watch. "You aren't busy, are you?" He asked her.
"No, why?"
"There's something I want to show you— it'll help you relax." He gave her a warm, trusting smile.
"Relaxing isn't the issue." Tessa said with ground teeth.
Jem simply broadened his smile and stood aside to let her pass.
"Jesus Christ, Jem. Where are you taking me?" Tessa asked. "You know, some might get the impression you're leading me to my imminent doom."
Jem laughed softly in response. "We're here now, watch your step," He added the last bit quickly.
"What was it you wanted to show me?" Tessa asked?
"It's literally right in front of you," Jem said with a light breath.
And it was. Adorned in blue, purple and pink lights, lay a great bridge that stretched across the riverbank.
"I know what you're thinking," Jem told her. "The solar panels, they're hideous. But if you look beyond that, at the bridge…" He sighed. "It's been standing since the Victorian times, without all the lights on it. It used to be quite beautiful. But it's the waters that calm me down. If you tune out all the traffic and noise, it can really be quite a way to lose yourself, to stay in beat with the movement of the water."
Tessa watched the liquid slide down the riverbank, calm and graceful. Was this how he did it? How he stayed so calm? She slowed her breathing, taking comfort in the silence beside them, placing her hands on the cool, white railing. But the inky black water just reminded her of Cecily, how someone could be so dark. "This isn't really working, Jem, to be honest." She somewhat snapped.
Jem's eyes stayed trained on the water. "What did she say that could possibly offend you so much?"
"I honestly can't tell you, Jem."
He gave a soft laugh. "Gabriel?"
"No, I probably wouldn't tell him either. Though he was there…"
He gave that laugh again. "No, no. I meant was it about Gabriel?"
"No, why would it be?"
He gave a small smile. "Tessa, what did she say? It'll help for you to say it, and besides, I'm a little too curious for my own good."
Word vomit.
"She said she doesn't love you!" Tessa burst out. "She said… she said she was only getting at Will, that she was only with you because 'why not?'!"
Jem laughed then. He truly laughed. "Tessa…" He trailed off, and looked to her then. "Did you forget the concept of the game 'truth or dare'?"
Tessa paused.
Jem shook his head. "We try our best to lie. Cecily evidently did just that."
"You don't know that. You trust people too easily."
"I give them a chance," Jem corrected. "It's different to trust."
"You don't seem to like her all that much either." Tessa murmured quietly.
"Tessa, how old am I?" Jem asked.
Taken by surprise, Tessa answered. "Huh? Like, eighteen?"
"How old is Cecily?" Jem followed.
"Sixteen? Sevent— oh."
Cecily was underage.
"We're not together, Tessa. We never were." Jem shrugged. "That night after the… mausoleum… when you saw Cecily and I…" He sighed. "Well, we were talking about something you were not supposed to be hearing. When you opened the door, Cecy saw it in her peripheral. When we leaned closer, she told me. We needed you out of the room, and that was the fastest alterative Cecily could think of. We had no idea it would backfire in the way it did, but…"
Silence. It clung to them fore ever. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes expanded forever, until Tessa forgot what they'd been talking about.
"Was Will lying to me? When he said… when he broke up with me?" She asked quietly.
Jem sighed. "I don't know how— why— he did that to you, Tessa. You didn't deserve that, you were both so happy. I have a hunch, an idea of why he broke up with you, but it is a foolish and childish one."
"Tell me." She said flatly, already knowing the answer.
"He'd have told you if you wanted you to know."
"It's just, why are all guys' assholes?" Tessa vented suddenly, breaking the silence of the night.
"Well, not really—" Jem broke off as soon as he saw Tessa's mood had depleted. He cast his eyes downward and stuck his hands into his trouser pockets, looking at the water that was peacefully running below them. "Look, I know that you think that, but look at all the guys you hang around with. Gabriel, and Will, they're not exactly the most caring men you could come across. You know not all of us are like that. Everyone's different. Some men would treat you like gold, as you should treat a lady," Tessa stiffened, before telling herself he just meant her gender and not her class, "whilst some would treat you like dirt. It's just the luck of the draw. And, hypothetically speaking, if we were to ever… for whatever reason… if we were in a real relationship together, I wouldn't—" he faltered and gave the smallest of sighs. "I could never do something like that to you, or to any girl I cared about so much."
He looked out across the bridge, the bronze in his eyes glinting gold as the orange lights from the street-lamps above them cast light onto them both as they all simultaneously turned on down the road. Tessa didn't follow Jem's gaze, but took the time to study his careful expression as he spoke.
"Tessa, I know your heart has been broken, and I know that you've been looking everywhere for someone, but I don't understand why you can't seem to find a guy who can't see how amazingly rare you are." He looked to her. "But maybe…" he paused and trailed off, "maybe you've just been looking in the wrong places."
He was beautiful, Tessa realised. But not just on the outside. He was not just the painting like Will, the shallow and coloured paints mixed together to be admired, but he was the artist himself: the one who mixed the emotion into the brush, the one who cared about the words he created and how the words would be viewed by others.
Jem was right. He was always right. "Some guys do care." She said, barely breathing the words, closing the short gap between them.
But Jem stepped back, his eyes guarded yet want in his eyes. "I can't," he told her. "Don't get me wrong, I want to, but it wouldn't be right. Not after what's happened."
Tessa's mouth opened slightly. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" He offered her his arm for her to take. Amused by his sincerity, Tessa took it. "It's getting late. I'd better walk you back before I got to training."
"I can look after myself."
Jem gave a small smile. "With everything that's happened recently? I wouldn't allow anyone to walk alone in the dark."
"I'm not afraid of the dark."
"That makes one of us," Jem said softly, the simple sentence no more than an utterance on his tongue.
"You're afraid of the dark?" Tessa asked in shock.
Jem lowered his head slightly. "It's… no. I won't burden you." He looked up, his posture proud again. "Is this our parting of the ways?"
"Where are you going?"
"Training. Ever since December in the Council Hall, the Clave has insisted we boost our skill." He paused. "You wouldn't care to come, would you?"
"I don't know…"
"I'd allow you to walk alone in the dark." Jem noted with a smile.
"Oh, yeah. Deal then." Tessa said immediately, though in good, ahem, 'bant-ah'.
Jem laughed, before giving her a second glance. "You'll probably be able to borrow gear at the centre." He mused, before re-offering his arm, allowing her to take it.
"Tessa!" A familiar voice greeted her when she entered the reception.
The place Jem had taken her to looked like a gym closed down for refurbishment. They'd entered through the side security door (meaning Tessa was amazed by the hand scan Jem had done to gain access) and had been met with the reception.
A girl with long, ebony hair had been signing in on a sheet, though had turned at the arrival of the two.
"Aline?" Tessa asked, recognising the Taki's Waitress. "What… why are you here?"
The girl rolled her eyes. "My parents 'suggested I take a trip' while they 'figured out some stuff'. Universal code for get out of this house and don't come back until you find guys attractive. No offence." She added when she saw Jem. "I just meant I don't swing that way."
Jem gave a small smile. "You're better off without them, if they kicked you out." He noted, going to the sign in sheet and scanning through page after page.
"Yeah, well. I came here to take my anger out on the targets, but according to Nightshade, we're 'conquering our fears' today."
"Ah." Jem merely said in response, reaching for another stack of papers.
"I saw Carstairs in this pile, you know." Aline told him, gesturing to the pile already on the table.
"I was looking for Starkweather, for Tessa." Jem told her, flicking through the pages.
Aline gave her a smile. "Everyone's great by the way. Jace, Clary, the whole gang. Well, there's Jordan, but we don't talk about that." She added with a frown.
"Aline, do you know who the instructor is today?"
"Penhallow," She responded, swinging through the large double doors to her left.
Jem groaned.
"Penhallow? Isn't that Aline's surname?"
"Yes, but she isn't an instructor. George, on the other hand… while we're facing our fears, too." Jem shook his head.
"Come along, Starkweather." He told her, motioning for her to follow him.
"Starkweather?"
"Your Shadowhunter name for tonight. Just in case."
"What's wrong with Gray?"
"Well, Starkweather actually is a Shadowhunter name, but we could easily make one up for you. Skygrass, Woolrod, Irontrial, they could go on and on."
"So Carstairs is just… a Car and some Stairs?" Tessa asked in amusement.
"Oh, no. It has a long story behind it. It means support, ease, comfort. Stairs. They can support another storey in a building, can ease your journey if you're walking up… say, a steep hill. A car can also ease you, and so on and so forth."
"Car? Weren't they only invented in, what, the 1800's?"
"The names will change slightly as time goes on and history forgets. Off the top of my head: Herondale and Fairchild are the only two that haven't changed."
"Do they meant something?" Tessa asked in curiosity.
"Heron-Dale. Heron, king of birds. Dale, a great lake. The name means great king, though nowadays it's referred to as great leader, I'd suppose." Jem said, stopping as they faced a forked corridor. "Go to the right, you'll find the girls' changing area. You'll probably have to borrow gear from there."
George, Tessa soon learned, wasn't a very likable character.
"Shadowhunters are meant to be strong, powerful, leaders, prepared—"
"Not corrupted by the Clave," Cecily muttered from next to her.
The group— and a pretty large one at that, full of sixteen-twenty one year olds— were gathered in a large, brightly-lit room.
Not large.
MASSIVE.
They were gathered in a circle; George was at the centre, pacing about the group.
"These creatures are smart. You should always be alert. They'll know when you're vulnerable and strike when you're off-guard. You should always be prepared—!" He threw a blade at a blonde girl who ducked, though not without a faint shriek.
George walked towards her. "Not only should we be prepared, but we should also be fearless." He said, directly to her, but addressing the whole group also, lowering his voice slightly.
"Which is why, today, we'll be facing our fears. This is no landscape, no simulation. We've read your files, and we're ready to throw your worst nightmare at you." He looked to the blonde. "Literally."
He went up to a wall with a projection on it. He swiped the mouse on the connected laptop and the screen came to life. A randomizer.
"If you were expecting alphabetical order you're wrong. Preparation—!" He threw another blade at an unsuspecting Gideon, whose brother reached and caught it, a cool glare directed at George's turned back. "—is key."
"I'm starting to think he'll throw a blade every time he says that bloody word." Gabriel said sourly, just loud enough for those near to hear as he dropped his blade.
"HERONDALE!" George boomed.
Will and Cecily automatically stepped forward as the computer settled on their surname. It stopped on Will, and, like it had done with the previous six other people, it brought up his fears, projected for the room to see.
Jem automatically went to stand beside Will, the two staring at the screen with fury and hatred. And, obviously, a little fear, too.
"You're lucky most of these are minor fears, Herondale." George said, back still turned. "Aerophobia, fear of flying— presumably in planes. Doesn't provide a massive threat. But my, my," George said, looking under the major category. "Pyrophobia, a fear of fire. A little odd."
Cecily, beside Tessa, hung her head.
George turned around. "Herondale, in you go. Carstairs, step back." George gestured to the glass box near one wall. You could see in, but those inside couldn't see out.
"With all due respect, I'm Will's parabatai. I swore an oath to stand beside him in these situations."
"I don't remember the part about Pyrophobia in the parabatai speech. And, if I'm not mistaken, isn't there fire in the ceremony hall?" George said.
Will and Jem looked to each other, Will momentarily placing a hand on his shoulder, before turning and going into the glass box.
The door shut.
The cage darkened.
And suddenly, Will was standing in a ring of fire.
"That went well." Will said bitterly, nursing his burnt arm as he emerged from the box.
"No it didn't. You cremated yourself in there." George snapped.
"It's all in the past." Will replied dismissively.
"It was literally 30 seconds ago."
"That's a matter of opinion."
"No it isn't. You failed." George said with an air of superiority.
"How the hell did you expect me to put it out?" Will snapped. "If I'd have had water—"
"This task was all about preparation—" George was broken off by a dagger thrown at him, which barely missed.
'I'm starting to think he'll throw a blade every time he says that bloody word.'
The class gave a rumble of laughter.
George gave a glare at the whole group, who subsided.
"Right. Since you were so eager to go earlier, you can go now, Carstairs." George said with a slight snarl.
Jem's mouth opened slightly, though Tessa doubted it was down to shock, as a list of fears appeared on the board.
Minor—
Pyrophobia
George laughed. "Evidently due to Herondale's hatred, I presume? Sweet."
Major—
Nyctophobia
Cleithrophobia
Homichlophobia
Maniaphobia
Pharmacophobia
"This is almost comic, Carstairs." Penhallow said with a sneer and a laugh. "Darkness, enclosed spaces, fog, insanity or hallucinations, drugs." He looked up. "And here was everyone at Christmas boasting about your mind, when I see that, quite clearly, it's your biggest fear."
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Cecily exploded, striding forwards. "You criticise us for our fears when we haven't seen you do the same!"
"I eradicated my fears a long time—"
"Bullshit." Will said firmly, looking up in cold fury. She'd seen Will mad. This was another level. "If anything, you've been brainwashed."
"Will's right." Gideon said. "Our biggest fears aren't just fire, darkness, enclosed spaces. They're major, not minor, like flying, or spiders. Our biggest fears aren't fears, they're memories. A terrorist entering your home and locking you in a room is, in my opinion, a pretty valid reason to hate enclosed spaces. A family member burning to death is a valid way to fear fire."
"Our fears all stem from the dangers of shadowhunting parents." Gabriel added. "You want us to be fearless? Make us normal. Make our eight birthday present a bike, not a dagger."
"Then explain to me fog, hm?" George said. "How could fog be tied to being a shadow hunter?"
"I'm afraid of anything that restricts me. I need to know things others just trust on. I need to know your personalities, where every living thing in this room lies, which weapon poses the most threat to individuals. Fog, darkness, they all restrict my vision, I have to rely on other senses. Drugs and hallucinations is pretty much obvious. Insanity is not something that endangers me, but it endangers other people." Jem said quietly. "I guess that paranoia comes from a murderer entering my home and trapping me in a dark room, injecting my with drugs that drained my sanity and poisoned me with hallucinations. Three days went by with me locked in a haze— a fog. It's not a weakness, it's caution."
And what better way to conclude the rebellion of the Shadowhunters by a single blast firing in the large room, missing Jem by a hair.
A figure strove forwards, so she was in the centre of the room.
Next to Tessa, Cecily gasped. "It's the woman from the river on Christmas," She breathed. "But how…?"
"You are weak, all of you." The woman began. "You train hard, but you raise your blades at your leaders and not your enemies. The magister knows, and he observes. Everything you do to protect her will be futile. Broken hearts will shatter, new relationships will burn. Plans will be overheard, and meetings catalogued by the spy within your group. They are the one with a name never once uttered by mankind, and your ignorance will be your downfall. Remember who the enemy is, because it is not our leader. We are an army born of neither heaven nor hell, no simple blade can kill us." She turned about 180 degrees. "The past has returned to haunt you all. You," She pointed at Will with a partially skin-covered hand, the rest exposed metal. "Marabas sends his regards." More figures started advancing with the same movements as the other woman.
Tessa felt a cool hand grab her skin. "Run," whispered a familiar voice.
Jem.
Ahahaha… oops.
* Google 'define awry'. Just… do it. On the second definition on the little google box, it'll say a line in the TID books. Clockwork Prince, to be precise. It's only about, you know, JEM. Continue on your way now.
NOTE— I AM AWARE IT IS TUESDAY. I didn't finish writing on Monday, so I had to carry over… yeah.
A lot of stuff went on, not all of it made sense.
If y'all spot a mistake, PLEASE NOTE IT IN YOUR REVIEWS! I cannot proofread until Friday. Tomorrow I've dance, dinner, and then Drama until ten at night, followed by homework. Thursday— finish geography assessment at home. Friday— boom.
*bows* Hope you enjoyed! R&R, as usual!
PS: What did you think about the Parabatai's fears? Good? Bad? Shit? Tell me!