✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER SIX: UNCOVERED

◤I swear, if you read those words again, I am going to go insane.◢

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CHAPTER SIX: UNCOVERED

London Institute

WILL Herondale had been entirely sure that Benedict Lightwood's only goal was destroying him, in whichever way possible. The man's stupid wish to read Marie's words over and over again drove Will mad; the boy knew Benedict Lightwood wasn't dumb, though he certainly enjoyed presenting himself as such. He was asking them to repeat the left quotation just so Will could endure more pain; Benedict had wanted to remind him that it was Gabriel who was with Marie and not him.

"They had their faces twisted toward their haunches and found it necessary to walk backward, because they could not see ahead of them. ...And since he wanted so to see ahead, he looks behind and walks a backward path," Tessa read the message, folding the piece of paper in her hands and safely tucking it away in her pocket. It seemed like Will wasn't the only one who had been bothered by Benedict's constant nagging.

"What does that even mean?" Benedict paced around the room.

"I don't know," the dark-haired Shadowhunter boy said. "If you weren't so set on us repeating the damn words all over again, maybe we would have had enough time to think about it."

"Will, don't," Jem shook his head. He had been aware just how hard it was for his parabatai to go through this process. Not even the coldest people could deny the power of love and the hurt it brings when labeled as impossible and untouchable.

"Jem is right," Tessa joined. "He is not worth it. We should focus on deciphering Marie's message."

"So, what do we know?" Charlotte spared a glance in the trio's way.

"She used an excerpt from Dante's book," Will recalled the words. "Divine Comedy, to be precise."

"How do you know that?" Benedict asked.

"Some of us do read in their free time," Will challenged, turning his head toward Charlotte. "I think Marie described her life through these sentences. Although she is not literally passing through different parts of Hell, she does yearn for discovering her origins and what comes after - in our case, future. In order to do so, she has to return to the past, go through Hell, if you will."

"What?"

"They had their faces twisted toward their haunches and found it necessary to walk backward, because they could not see ahead of them," Jem recited, a sense of realization washing his features. "Will is right. She is talking about how she can't continue walking forward because she can't see the whole picture. She tried to turn to others, but they couldn't give her the answers."

"Or wouldn't," Will looked at Charlotte, but the woman seemed unphased.

"...And since he wanted so to see ahead, he looks behind and walks a backward path," Tessa whispered, voice low. "In order to move forward, she has to look back. She has to uncover the past and solve all the issues, alone."

"But what issue?" Charlotte's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

Will crossed his arms over his chest, his mind working furiously fast. He tried recollecting every single moment he had shared with Marie, hoping that it would help him in discovering what bothered the girl. What had been so bad that it had made her leave?