Jace
"I love you too," the words tumbled out of him, desperate to hold onto her. But Clary was already walking away.
His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat echoing the chaos within. Her declaration of love. The heartbreaking sadness. It felt like a goodbye.
Clary had seemed withdrawn that day, haunted by what happened in Toronto. Jonathan was finally gone and the weight of it seemed to be crushing her. Maybe she just needed some space to breathe.
Simon appeared by his side. "Everything okay?"
Jace forced a smile, the gesture feeling brittle and unconvincing. "Yeah, everything's fine."
"Where'd Clary go?"
"Fresh air," Jace muttered, already striding towards the Institute's exit.
The cool night air, tinged with the late spring chill, slapped him when he stepped outside. The steps leading away from the Institute were deserted. Frustration gnawed at him. Was she in her room? He retraced her steps, the urgency building with each passing second. Empty. Panic coiled in his gut, a cold serpent squeezing the life out of him. Had something happened? No, he couldn't let his imagination run wild. Yet, his pace quickened as he reached his room. There, on the stark white of his bed, lay a letter. His fingers trembled as he picked it up and opened it.
Dear Jace,
By the time you read this letter, my memories of you and the Shadow World will be gone. It's the price the angels made me pay for the runes I created. But I have no regrets. Even if I don't remember you, you will always be in my heart.
The lines after that blurred. His breath hitched and he slumped against a wall, the paper fluttering to the floor. Though the words swam before his eyes, their meaning burned itself into his soul. Clary was gone. The pain, raw and agonizing, eclipsed anything he had ever felt before. It was the absence of everything he held dear, a deafening silence where her laughter and love used to reside. Clary was gone, and with her, a piece of his soul.