Will waited as the cool breeze ruffled his hair. He watched as Nora hugged Magnus, then started down the steps.
She seemed so relaxed, so graceful. But there was a tired aura surrounding her. She walked up to him, and hooked her arm with his.
Will thought she'd never looked more beautiful than she did tonight, her hair blowing around her, a simple black dress on her.
"Let's go," She said, smiling at him.
Will nodded, letting her lead him down the street. They carefully avoided mundanes, who couldn't see them. It'd be strange if they were to bump into air.
The walk back to the Institute was a blur for Will. He didn't know how to feel. Anguished, angry, happy, free.
When they had finally reached Will's door, Will looked up in slight shock.
"What's wrong?" Nora asked.
"Everything," Will laughed mirthlessly. "How- how do I start now? How do I tell them that I lived in hate for myself for the past five years for no reason? How—"
Nora clamped her hand on his mouth, and when Will looked down at her, she was smiling sadly.
"I'll help you. Jem will help you. Tessa will help you," she said.
Will didn't know what had overcomed him, but he thought he deserved at least some love. And all he wanted was love now.
He removed Nora's hand gently and pressed his lips to her's. She seemed to freeze for a moment as Will's hands went around her. Will realised with a stab of pain that she didn't want this. He pulled away, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry," said Will, shaking his head, too ashamed to look at her. "That was foolish of me."
Nora blinked at him, and Will pulled away, releasing her, starting to turn to go into his room.
Then Nora took him by the collar, smiling. She pulled him down, crushing her lips to his. Will was too stunned to react. Then suddenly it felt as if every nerve in him was being set alight.
He brought his hands to the back of her neck, and he could feel her. Her lips on his, her hands in his hair, her devouring him.
Nora pulled away slightly, her hands moving from his hair down his neck and resting at his chest, fingers splayed.
"I thought..." she said, shaking her head. "Tessa."
Will shook his head. "No. I did love her. But not anymore."
Nora lifts a hand and brushes his hair back from his forehead. "So who do you love?"
"Well I do love myself," said Will, unable to help himself. "Who doesn't?"
Nora laughed. "Not me."
Will leaned down and brought his lips to her ear. "You love me?"
Nora pulled away slightly and smirked up at him. She brought her lips near to Will's, leaving that small space between them, never closing it. It was killing Will.
"I do," Nora said.
Will tried to lean down and kiss her, but she shifted her head and his lips grazed against her cheek. It felt like agony.
"You haven't answered my question," Nora said.
"Yes I have," Will said. "I told you, I love myself."
Nora smiled innocently. "That's just a pity."
She tried to pull away but Will quickly snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.
"Alright, you win," Will laughed. "I love you."
Nora brought her hands around his neck, smiling up at him. He leaned down and brought his lips to hers yet again.
~
CASPIAN'S POV
The absence in my chest unsettles me. Not being able to feel Ella. I wake up. It's not sunrise yet. It's probably 4am.
I slowly stand up and get dressed, then head out of my room. I head up to the roof, and there I see Ella, head tilted back to allow the wind blow on her.
Her hair is wild, undone. She seems so relaxed at the moment.
"Are you sure you want to leave if things don't work out?" I ask, approaching her from behind.
Ella nods. "They will put us under the Mortal Sword. There are some things that are better if hidden."
"And if they find us?"
"They won't," Ella says easily.
"When do we start?"
"Soon."
I nod slowly. "And you are absolutely sure you will be able to kill him?"
"We have no choice. Not if we want to keep ourselves and them safe."
I sigh and sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm always here for you, Ella."
Ella leans against me. "I know."
~
ELEANORA'S POV
I enter the drawing room with Caspian by my side. It's got a warm feel, with Sophie tending to a blazing fire and Charlotte and Henry at the desk. Will is sprawled in one of the flowered armchairs beside the fire, a silver tea service at his elbow and a cup in his hand. The sight of him makes me remember the taste of his lips, the warmth of his hands.
Will's eyes seem to light up as they settle from Caspian onto me, and he flashes me a smile. It's so pure and innocent that my heart breaks.
Jem and Tessa enter behind us and I go and sit on the armrest of Will's chair. Caspian moves to seat himself in the armchair across from us.
"Hallo, Will. Sure it was a good idea to spend all night out in the rain when you're still healing?"
Will grins up at Jem. "I am quite sure," he says firmly. "I had to walk. To clear my head."
"And is your head clear now?"
"Like crystal," Will says.
Jem and Tessa seat themselves on a sofa near the desk together, and I tilt my head in observance.
"We are all here, then," Charlotte says briskly. "As you probably know, we are near the end of the two-week period granted to us by Consul Wayland. We have not discovered the whereabouts of Mortmain. According to Enoch, the Silent Brothers have examined Nathaniel Gray's body and learned nothing from it, and as he is dead, we can learn nothing from him."
"What about what Jessamine said? That we'd be playing into Mortmain's hands by doing so." Tessa says when I snap back into attention.
"But we cannot do nothing," Will says. "We cannot sit back and hand over the keys to the Institute to Benedict Lightwood and his lamentable offspring.
They are Mortmain. Benedict is his puppet. We must try. By the Angel, haven't we enough evidence? Enough to earn him a trial by the Sword, at least."
"When we tried the Sword on Jessamine, there were blocks in her mind put there by Mortmain," Charlotte says wearily. "Do you think Mortmain would be so unwise as to not take the same precaution with Benedict? We will look like fools if the Sword can get nothing out of him."
Will runs his hands through his black hair. "Mortmain expects us to go to the Clave," he said. "It would be his first assumption. He is also used to cutting free associates for whom he no longer has a use. De Quincey, for instance. Lightwood is not irreplaceable to him, and knows it." He drums his fingers on his knees. "I think that if we went to the Clave, we could certainly get Benedict taken out of the running for leadership of the Institute. But there is a segment of the Clave that follows his lead; some are known to us, but others are not. It is a sad fact, but we do not know whom we can trust beyond ourselves. The Institute is secure with us, and we cannot allow it to be taken away. Where else will Tessa be safe?"
Tessa blinks. "Me?"
I look at her in amusement. "Mortmain obviously wants to use you for something important. We can't let him have you."
"All of that is true, Will, and of course I will go to the Consul," said Charlotte. "But as an ordinary Shadowhunter, not as head of the Institute."
"But why, Charlotte?" Jem demands. "You excel at your work—"
"Do I?" she demands. "For the second time I have not noted a spy under my own roof; Will and Tessa easily evaded my guardianship to attend Benedict's party; our plan to capture Nate, which we never shared with the Consul, went awry, leaving us with a potentially important witness dead—"
"Lottie!" Henry put his hand on his wife's arm.
"I am not fit to run this place," says Charlotte. "Benedict was right. . . . I will of course try to convince the Clave of his guilt. Someone else will run the Institute. It will not be Benedict, I hope, but it will not be me, either—"
There is a clattering sound. "Mrs. Branwell!" I turn to look at Sophie. She had dropped the poker and turned away from the fire. "You can't resign, ma'am. You- you simply can't."
"Sophie," Charlotte says very kindly. "Wherever we go after this, wherever Henry and I set up our household, we will bring you—"
"It isn't that," Sophie says in a small voice. Her eyes dart around the room. "Miss Jessamine—she were—I mean, she was telling the truth. If you go to the Clave like this, you'll be playing into Mortmain's plans."
Charlotte looks at her, perplexed. "What makes you say that?"
"I don't- I don't know exactly." Sophie looks at the floor. "But I know it's true."
"Sophie?" Charlotte's tone is querulous, and I know instantly what she is thinking: Did they have another spy, another serpent in their garden? Will, too, is leaning forward with narrowed eyes.
I bite my lower lip, shaking my head. Sophie would not betray them. For them to think such a thing...
"Sophie's not lying," Tessa says abruptly. "She knows because- because we overheard Gideon and Gabriel speaking of it in the training room."
"And you only now decided to mention it?" Will arches his brows. I glance down at him.
"Be quiet, Will. If you—" Tessa snaps, but gets cut off.
"I've been stepping out with him," Sophie interrupts loudly. "With Gideon Lightwood. Seeing him on my days off." She is as pale as a ghost. "He told me. He heard his father laughing about it. They knew Jessamine was found out. They were hoping you'd go to the Clave. I should've said something, but it seemed like you didn't want to go to them anyways, so I . . ."
"Stepping out?" Henry says incredulously. "With Gideon Lightwood?"
"Gideon?" I exclaim, grinning despite myself.
Sophie keeps her attention on Charlotte, who is gazing at her, round-eyed. "I know what Mortmain is holding over Mr. Lightwood too," she says. "Gideon only just found out. His father doesn't know he knows."
"Well, dear God, girl, don't just stand there," Henry, who looks as poleaxed as his Wife, says. "Tell us."
"Demon pox," Sophie says. "Mr. Lightwood's got it, has had for years, and it'll kill him in a right couple of months if he doesn't get the cure. And Mortmain said he can get it for him."