✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: GOLD

◤I discovered something, but I must warn you - first, you might be shocked. Then, you might come to hate me. Or love me. But most likely - hate me. Just, whatever you do - don't slap me.◢

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CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: GOLD

ANOTHER morning came, gloomy and monotonous, bearing no signs of Will Herondale.

Marie Wayland felt his absence in her chest, like an intruder left to roam free within her very own body, twisting and turning, squeezing and clenching against her heart. The little jolts of pain turned to a continuous, prolonging sense of hurt. The undesirable suffering brought by Will's disappearance wasn't an unknown feeling to the girl; she had felt it on multiple occasions. But now, with days of not glancing at the one who held pieces of her fragile heart, the pain grew stronger. Flickers of sadness and missing burned her like a blazing fire, awakening hurricanes of uneasiness in her soul. The endless gushes of darkness suffocated her screams and - yet - the girl appeared unphased. She continued staring at the white ceiling of her chambers, knowing that it was only a matter of time before her heart gave out completely.

She didn't know why she nourished hope of Will returning so early. She had faith that, perhaps, he would have chosen to return to those he had called family all these years. She had anticipated that the boy would have suffocated under the burdens of his own mind, feeling the need to share his troubles with those he trusted.

But Marie Wayland was wrong. She was wrong and she was in pain and that didn't go unnoticed by others. But then again, she wasn't the only one suffering.

Jem was suffering, as well.

Although the boy attempted to keep a straight face and mask his emotions by wide smiles, the lack of words was noted by everyone. The absence of his parabatai hit him hard, a veil of guilt and fear falling upon his tender shoulders. He had, without a doubt, blamed himself for everything. "Will can take care of himself", he said. But now, he wasn't so sure.

The parabatai bond only made it worse. It was a connection stronger than any words, stronger than runes drawn into their skin, stronger than synchronized way of fighting. It was a connection between minds and souls, hearts and bodies. What one felt, the other did as well.

Even Tessa worried, despite being with them for only a short period of time. She spent her days in the library, nose stuck up between the pages of the books.

"Am I interrupting?" A familiar voice rang in Marie's ears, pulling her out of her mind. A brunette boy, with a smile painted on his lips, peeked through the small space of the opened door.

"Gabriel," Marie stood up from her bed, hands quick in straightening the wrinkled ends of her dress. She didn't even register the boy knocking."I didn't expect to see you here."

Taking it as an affirmation to enter, Gabriel pushed the door open. He was dressed in his usual attire, trousers and a simple shirt. "Well, I did get a letter from James. He said something about you not feeling well. Let me guess - Herondale again?"

Marie's eyes widened, her cheeks flushing pink. "James sent you a letter?"

"Don't avoid the main part of the sentence, darling," Gabriel smirked. "What did he do?"