James stood in the training room at the London Institute, beside his Parabatai, throwing knives. He considered himself to be an expert at this by now and did not really need much practice at it but he and Matthew had always thrown knives when they were bored. His mother thought it was an odd activity to do when one was bored, but James figured that was simply the life of a Shadowhunter. He threw a knife at one of the targets and it landed square in the center of it.
"Are you trying to show off?" Matthew drawled.
James shot him a grin. "Of course I am."
"You Herondales and your knife throwing; I will never understand it." Matthew replied.
James knew Matthew was also speaking about his father's knack for throwing knives as well. It was the first skill Will had taught his son when he had begun his training and now James was grateful for all the hours his father had spent with him in this room, practicing with him.
"Jealous, are we?" James smirked to which Matthew only huffed dramatically.
He studied his Parabatai as he went to pick the knives off of the target. Although his green eyes were alive with the rush of training, there were dark circles underneath them which worried James. He knew that Matthew had been battling something for a long time and although he tried not to show it, James had always known when his best friend was hurting.
"What is wrong, Math?" James found himself asking softly. "You have not been yourself for awhile, especially these past few weeks."
Matthew paused for a beat and then spoke. "I was going to say the same for you, Jamie. You are not yourself; I had thought that you had moved on from Grace."
Her name was like a stab in James' heart and his eyes flicked away from the blond boy in front of him. He had not seen Grace since the night of his and Cordelia's engagement party but there was not one day that went by where he did not think of her. James did not know why his feelings for her had suddenly returned but he loved her more than ever before. He still wore the bracelet she had given him and it suddenly felt heavy on his wrist.
"I had also thought so but when she came to see me that morning, everything seemed to go back to the way they used to be." James replied finally. "I love her, Math, and I think I always will."
Matthew only studied him for a moment and James could tell that there was a million thoughts swirling about in his head.
"What about Cordelia?" He finally asked.
There was something in the way that he said her name that made James look up at him. What about Cordelia? He certainly was not dreading marrying her but there was always one thought that came to him every time he thought about her: She could never be Grace.
"Cordelia is one of my best friends but I think that is all she could ever be." James said simply.
Matthew looked as if he were about to say something when the door opened to the training room and Bridget walked in holding a piece of paper. She walked up to James and deposited it in his hand.
"A letter for you." She said and then left the boys.
James opened the letter and his eyes widened to see that it was from Grace. She was asking him to meet her at midnight at Blackfriars Bridge. James' immediate thought was to say yes as he had been secretly dying to see Grace but another part of him felt guilty because of Cordelia. Even though it was a fake marriage, if anyone saw him out with Grace it would ruin everything for him and Cordelia. But he was also curious about what she wanted to tell him; James wanted nothing more than to be around her.
"Who is it from?" Matthew asked.
James stuffed the note in his pocket. "Lucie. She asked me to read over her new chapter for The Beautiful Cordelia later."
Matthew eyed him but did not reply. James felt guilty lying to him but he wanted to keep this a secret as he knew Matthew would only talk him out of going to meet Grace and he had already made up his mind. He was going to meet her tonight.
* * *
The cold air of the London night bit harshly at James's face as he slipped out of the Institute late that night. Thankfully, both of his parents had retired to their room early so it was not difficult for James to sneak out without being caught. He began to walk to the bridge and felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that always came when he knew he would be seeing Grace. No matter how many times he saw her and kissed her, it never seemed to be enough.
When James arrived at the bridge, Grace was already there looking over the ledge down into the water and he stopped to admire her for a moment. She was dressed in a pastel pink dress and her silvery hair was clipped to the sides, to keep it out of her face, and was flowing down her back. She looked so unearthly beautiful underneath the moonlight and James' heart fluttered simply at the sight of her.
"Grace," He said softly as he approached her.
She turned to face and a small smile crossed her delicate face. "James. Oh, how I have missed you."
He embraced her tightly and felt heat boil in his stomach at the way her body curved to fit in with his. They released each other after a few moments.
"Why did you ask me to meet you here?" James asked.
"I wished to see you. There has not been one day where I have not thought about you or wished that you and I could be together." Grace looked at him softly. "Tell me, James, do you still love me?"
"Of course I do." He found himself saying.
"Will you wait for me then?" Grace asked hopefully. "You never answered the question at your engagement party; will you still want me after your marriage to Cordelia is finished?"
James hesitated and remembered his lack of a response at the party. He had not known why he could not answer Grace, only that no words seemed to leave his mouth. Would he still want her? James knew that of course he would but there was something in the back of his mind that gave him the smallest bit of doubt. James could not pinpoint what it was but it was like something in his mind was trying to make him remember something. A vision of kissing Cordelia in The Whispering Room came back to him for a moment he recalled how her lips felt against his own. James shook it off; Cordelia was not here. Grace was.
"Yes." He finally replied. "I will always want you, Grace."
A smile lit up her beautiful face. "Oh, James, you have no idea how happy that makes me. We only have to wait one year and we will be together; I will do my best to push off the wedding with Charles."
A year, James repeated to himself. That was all. He only had to wait one year and then he would be able to be with the love of his life. Cordelia would be able to find someone she loved to spend her life with and everyone would be happy and they could put this whole situation behind them. Only one year.
* * *
Joe Collier as James Herondale.
Pyper America Smith as Grace Blackthorn.