Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices
by Cassandra Clare
Keep scrolling to find our spoiler free study guides!
Stay in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter universe, but travel back in time to 1870s London to meet Tessa Gray as she travels from New York to meet her brother and start a new life in England. But instead of finding her brother Nate, Tessa finds out some hard truths about herself and who her parents were.
Check out Cassandra Clare's website at cassandraclare.com
Prepare yourself... 1878. Will Herondale kills a demon and turns around to show off to his friend Jem, who isn’t even watching – really taking the wind out of Will’s sails. He tracks Jem down. He’s kneeling down next to a young mundane girl, around fourteen or so, so has been killed. Jem doesn’t think the Shax demon Will killed is responsible for the death since the girl has been stabbed several times. Jem thinks she dragged herself to the alleyway before dying - and the Shax was hunting her down for something, or someone. Jem shows Will the dagger that he found near the body. It has a very thin blade with a handle made of bone. A symbol of two serpents in a circle biting each other’s tails is burned into the blade. A symbol for the end, and the beginning, of the world. An alchemical symbol that usually indicates a mundane who has been messing around with magic and got in over their head. A month later, Tessa Gray plays with her clockwork angel necklace. If you lift it to your ear, you can hear the machinery ticking inside, even though Tessa has never found any way to wind it and it never seems to stop working. It had belonged to her mother before she died. Tessa is on her way to Southampton on a transatlantic steamer to meet her brother, Nathaniel. But when she arrives, Nate is not there. Instead, she is met by a man with bulging eyes who leads her to a carriage carrying two women – the sisters Mrs. Black and Mrs. Dark. They were sent by her brother to bring Tessa to London. They hand Tessa a note from Nate saying that they are his landladies, whom he calls the Dark Sisters (they seem to like it), and he trusts them. The note uses Nate’s nickname for her and is in his handwriting, so Tessa gets into the carriage. On the door of the carriage, a circle of two snakes biting each other’s tail is shown with the words “The Pandemonium Club”. Six weeks later, Tessa is called out of her room by a servant of the Dark Sisters, Miranda – who also has bulging eyes like the carriage driver. Tessa is not allowed out of her room unless called for; it has become her jail cell. She is lead by Miranda to the dungeon where the Dark Sisters hand Tessa a pink bow and tell her to change. They are wearing gloves despite the intense heat; they’re always wearing gloves. The first time they did this, Tessa didn’t understand what they wanted when they handed Tessa a woman’s glove with pearl buttons. They had hit her, shaken her, told her that there was no one in the world who cared about her anymore since Aunt Harriet was dead (the reason Tessa came to London at all) and Nate was now imprisoned. If Tessa didn’t do as they asked, Nate would die too. One day, they showed Tessa a ring that she recognized, her father’s ring that Nate now wears. It had blood on it. So, she had done what they asked of her. Drunk their potions, done their exercises, imagined herself as clay. They told Tessa to reach into the object she was holding and draw out the spirit inside them. The first time Tessa managed the Change, it was so painful she had passed out. They’d rewarded Tessa with two new books. It’s easier for Tessa to Change now. This time, she transforms into a girl. Mrs. Black questions the girl, and the girl answers her. The girl’s name is Emma Bayliss. One of six children with a dead father and a mother who sells peppermint water on the East End. Emma learned to sew as a child to help with money. Mrs. Dark asks about the night that Emma died and Tessa experiences it happen. Emma was under a gas lamp in the street, sewing since she did not have a candle at home. Someone in the shadows grabbed her and drug her into the darkness. She was stabbed; she kicked out and knocked the dagger from the man’s hand. She ran, falling in an alley where she was unable to keep running. She heard something behind her. Something wrong. She just hoped she died before the thing reached her. When the sisters are done questioning Emma. She’s made so much progress. They think Tessa is ready to meet her master now. They call Miranda back into the room, telling her to take Tessa to get dressed and ready to meet The Magister. Something snaps in Tessa. She’s been living this way to save Nate, but what do the Dark Sisters plan to do with her now and who is The Magister? When asked, Miranda - who has never answered a question of Tessa’s before and whose face is generally blank and unthinking - tells Tessa that The Magister is a great man. It will be an honor to be married to him. Married!? Tessa looks around. She can’t get past Miranda to reach the door, there are no windows, and if she hides then Miranda will physically drag her back to her room. It’s happened before. Miranda has drug Tessa where she was supposed to be. With nothing else to do, Tessa picks up the brass globe the Dark Sisters keep on their desk and hits Miranda in the head with it. To Tessa’s shock, Miranda doesn’t even change inflection or tone as she speaks. She just insists that Tessa needs to come with her, even with half of her face now flattened. There is no blood. Miranda starts acting twitchy and jerky, then she starts spinning faster and faster. She hits the wall and collapses; a thread of black smoke rises from her body. Tessa bolts for the door and up the stairs to the hallway - where every single door is locked. She continues upward and finally finds a door that opens and leads outside. There’s only one person outside, a man leaning against a lamp reading the paper. She runs to him and asks him to help her, but when he turns, it is the coachman with the bulging eyes. Tessa is taken back inside and tied to her bed. The Dark Sisters are not pleased. They remind her that if she doesn’t do as they ask, Nate will be killed. The Magister wants to marry her and once that’s done, he will give Tessa whatever she wants – including her brother if she asks for him. The only thing she can’t ask for is to hurt the Dark Sisters; he won’t hurt them. He owes them everything for bringing Tessa to him. They have a deal with The Magister. He can never harm them in exchange for receiving Tessa healthy and intact. But if Tessa tries something like this again, it doesn't matter what The Magister wants. They’ll have her whipped. Tessa lays on her bed despondent and watches the world outside slowly get darker. She wishes she had a better talent, one that would allow her to escape. Then she realizes that she can just make her body small enough to slip from her rope bindings. She Changes back into Emma, slips her hands free of the knotted rope, and then frees her legs. By the time she Changes back, someone is trying to open the bedroom door. She grabs a porcelain jug from her washstand and when the door opens, she swings the jug. The person moves; she only hits the person in the arm. It’s not either of the Dark Sisters, the voice that cries out and the swearing that comes afterward sounds like a man. It’s a boy not much older than Tessa, wearing workman’s clothes and a bunch of weapons. She asks if he’s The Magister. He wishes, Magister means master in Latin, and no one has ever called him the master of anything. He introduces himself as Will Herondale. She realizes that he’s beautiful, she doubts he’s The Magister as Will wouldn’t have to tie women up to find a wife. Will explains that he’s here to rescue her - and they’ll have to take their chances going back through the house since Tessa will probably not survive the jump from the third story window. Her door can’t be opened from the inside so Will is forced to use his stele to release them. She’s never seen anything like that before – either the door opening after being drawn on or the little silvery twig he used to do it. They’re on the stairs when they hear Mrs. Dark scream, they’ve discovered that Tessa is no longer in her room. Will tells Tessa that there is a line of carriages outside, the Dark Sisters must’ve been planning something big for tonight, so they need to find a different way out of the house. He leads Tessa to the cellar. She asks if Nate sent him, but Will has never heard of Nate. He’d never heard of Tessa either, he was following the trail of a dead girl found in an alley two months ago. She was running from something, and they found a strange dagger beside her. Tessa thinks he’s talking about Emma and tells him the Pandemonium Club has the same emblem as the dagger. They can hear the Dark Sisters calling for Tessa. The corridor Will and Tessa are in ends in high metal doors. They go inside and bolt it locked. The room is full of wooden tables covered in human bodies, each with a black Y shaped incision opening its chest. There’s one window set high in the wall, and the Dark Sisters are at the door. Will throws a piece of metal he finds on one of the tables through the window, shattering the glass, and yelling for help. The doors are cracking; they are not going to hold for long. Tessa grabs a hacksaw as a weapon just as the doors burst open. The Dark Sisters ignore Will. Mrs. Black removes her right glove. Underneath, her skin is gray and her nails are like talons. Will blocks the path to Tessa and names his seraph blade, making it glow. The sisters tell him to get out of the way. He invaded their territory, breaking Covenant Law, and they could report him to the Clave. Will asks what the Clave would think about the people the Dark Sisters have been beheading and skinning, the evidence of which surrounds them. They ask Tessa if she knows what Will is… and vice versa. The Magister has been waiting for someone like Tessa for a long time, and he is more powerful than Will could imagine. Behind them is a huge crash and one of the walls is suddenly destroyed. Will grabs Tessa as two people come through the hole in the wall holding seraph blades. Mrs. Black screams and throws sparks from her hands. Will throws a blade into her chest. The two other men fight Mrs. Dark, moving faster than Tessa thought possible. Tessa moves toward the corridor door, and someone grabs her – she bites them, but Will tells her the man she bit is there to help. His name is Henry. Mrs. Black raises back up and attacks Will, but he jumps out of the way and she hits Henry instead. She sinks her claws into Henry’s shoulders; Will names a seraph blade and uses it to cut her head right off. Mrs. Dark screams. She gets away from the third man who was holding her and runs at Will and Tessa, reciting a language that Tessa has never heard before. Mrs. Dark targets Tessa specifically, shooting lightning at her. Henry pulls Tessa toward him and tells her to drop down, but too late. There’s an explosion and Tessa is hit in the shoulder. She is flung backward into the wall and passes out. Tessa dreams she’s in the bed at the Dark Sisters’ house, then she dreams of her aunt talking about how Tessa isn’t really human. She wakes up to a nightmare… in real life. A face above her: bald, with indentations where eyes should be and lips stitched closed. A Silent Brother. An unfamiliar voice introduces herself as Charlotte Branwell and explains that the Silent Brother is skilled in medicine. Will brought Tessa here because she hit her head hard, but Tessa is not imprisoned. In fact, the Accords forbid Shadowhunters to trap Downworlders under duress. Tessa doesn’t know what any of those words mean. Charlotte asks the Silent Brother, Brother Enoch, to leave and he speaks to Tessa mentally on her way out. She is a shape-changer, known as Eidolon, but one he’s not familiar with since she has no demon’s mark. After Brother Enoch departs, Charlotte tells Tessa what she already knows about Tessa’s journey from America to meet with her brother and how she was taken by the Dark Sisters. The Shadowhunters searched the Dark Sisters’ house and surrounding buildings, but they did not find Nate. They do not know where he is, nor where Mrs. Dark is. Mrs. Black is dead. Charlotte also explains that she and Will are Shadowhunters, or Nephilim – stronger and faster than most humans, able to use glamours, and skilled at killing demons. It is the duty of the Nephilim to protect humans from demons. It is their job to investigate the crimes of the Shadow World, such as Emma’s murder. There have been other disappearances as well, though Emma’s body was the only actual body found. Murdering humans by magic is against Covenant Law and the Accords, the laws governing the Downworlders – vampires, werewolves, faeries, and warlocks. Like Tessa, though they aren’t sure what kind of Downworlder Tessa is. Tessa couldn’t tell her, she didn’t even know she had a power before the Dark Sisters. Charlotte invites Tessa to stay at the Institute until they can find her brother. She is welcome to explore what she can do while at the Institute, but they would not force her to use her power. Tessa agrees to stay and Sophie, a servant at the Institute, helps her to dress for dinner in a borrowed dress. On the way to dinner, Charlotte explains about the Institute - that it used to be a church (it’s useful to be on consecrated ground) and how normal humans, mundanes, cannot see it because it is glamoured. At dinner, Tessa meets Jessie, Jessamine Lovelace, and is formally introduced to Charlotte’s husband Henry Branwell. They discuss the Pandemonium Club, a mundane organization interested in the magical arts. Several of the members are rich and important in mundane society and Will says they have more influence than you might think in Downworld. Apparently, the Dark Sisters ran Downworld gambling dens that would lure mundanes in and take all their money. When the mundanes would fall into debt, the Dark Sisters would extort them. Jessamine is teasing Tessa in an unkind way and Tessa can feel her temper rise. When Jessie says she doesn’t think Tessa actually has a power, Tessa decides to show them. She asks for something of Jessamine’s to use and Jessamine gives her a small ring with a red stone. Tessa uses it to transform into Jessamine. The Shadowhunters have a lot of questions. Can she transform by looking at someone (no, she needs to be holding an item of theirs, or an eyelash or hair also work), the Dark Sisters knew she had this talent before Tessa did (yes, that’s why they wanted Tessa), how did they know (Tessa has no idea). Tessa asks about The Magister, but no one knows who the title refers to, though Charlotte thinks it’s connected to the Pandemonium Club. Tessa tries to remember anything she heard about the Pandemonium Club, but Tessa also needs assurances that the Shadowhunters will look for Nate. Charlotte tells her they’ll start looking for him the next day, beginning with his employer. After dinner, Tessa goes back to her room on her own but gets lost on the way. She’s found by Will, who offers to show her around the Institute. He explains that they are the local group of Shadowhunters, which in London they call the Enclave but in New York is called a Conclave. He introduces Tessa to the cook, Agatha, and to Thomas. Thomas is not a Shadowhunter, but he was trained like one. His family has the sight and has served the Institute for a long time. Thomas had come with Henry to the Dark Sisters’ house. Currently, he’s polishing daggers in the weapons room. Tessa notices a tall wooden box with a different version of the snake eating its tail, but this one is just a single snake. Will calls the snake design an ouroboros, an alchemical system that represents different dimensions. The box is a Pyxis, which is designed to trap and store demons. He takes Tessa to the library and says she’s welcome to take out some of the books, thought they don’t have many novels. She loves books and she had to leave the two the Dark Sisters gave her behind when they escaped. Will had promised to get her more so that she would leave them, and now here they are. He gives her a copy of The Shadowhunter’s Codex so that she can learn about the history of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. She asks questions relating to Shadowhunter history and then moves to the history of specific Shadowhunters. Why do all these young folk live in the Institute, Charlotte and Henry are barely older than them so are definitely not their parents. Will tells her that they don’t have parents. Jessie’s died in a fire and Jem’s (who Tessa has not yet met) were killed by demons. Charlotte is in charge of their teaching right now until she can find a tutor for them since the last one left, but Charlotte also fights. They run into Sophie on the way back to Tessa’s room, who Tessa thinks hates Will. Tessa asks Will if he did something to make Sophie hate him, because it sure seems like he did. He tells Tessa that she doesn’t know anything about him, but she disagrees. She knows he’s an orphan and likes Tennyson since he quoted him. But this makes Will angry. He never said he was an orphan. And he hates poetry. He stalks away from her. Tessa finds her own way back to her room and reads the Codex that Will gave her. She learns about Idris, Marks, and how the Shadowhunters came into existence. She learns about warlocks and how they are the offspring of a human and a demon. Well, that settles it, she can’t be a warlock since both of her parents were human. She falls asleep, dreaming of chasing a man down a hallway while haunting music plays, and when she wakes up, she can still hear the music. She follows it across the room and finds a young man with silver hair playing a violin. He guesses who she is and invites her in since he can’t sleep, introducing himself as Jem Carstairs. She asks him a lot of questions. He tells her that he is originally from Shanghai where his parents ran the Institute. She correctly guesses that his parents are dead, as are her own – killed in a carriage accident when she was three. She explains that her Aunt Harriet raised her and her brother after that, but Harriet died a few months ago. Just a month before that, Nate had come to England. He had sent them chocolates and teas to try, but after Harriet died Tessa couldn’t get ahold of him. Then the ticket to England for Tessa arrived, but now Tessa doesn’t think that it was from Nate at all. Not wanting to discuss this further, she asks about Jem’s Marks and if they hurt. Will comes in. Jem asks if he’s drunk and Will tells them an outlandish story about being pickpocketed and kicked out of the tavern for fighting. When Jem starts to cough hard, Will sobers up immediately. Tessa sees a different, gentler side to Will as he cares for Jem. He escorts Tessa out of the room, saying that he will get Jem’s medicine for him and it would be better if Tessa didn’t mention this to anyone. Tessa agrees. She realizes that she doesn’t smell any alcohol on Will. The next morning, as Sophie helps Tessa dress, Tessa asks about how Sophie spoke to Will. Sophie explains that only people with the sight work at the Institute and when Sophie was hired, Charlotte had said that Will may be rude or overly familiar. It’s a condition of Sophie’s employment that she can speak to Will however she wants to. Tessa can tell that Sophie thinks well of Charlotte. At breakfast, Charlotte says that Tessa will be staying at the Institute for a while to help with the Pandemonium Club investigation. She asks Will and Jem to go back to the Dark Sisters’ house and look around while she and Henry go speak to Nate’s employer, Axel Mortmain. She wants Tessa and Jessamine to stay at the Institute and circle anything of interest in the papers, but Jessamine is entirely uninterested in doing anything even remotely Shadowhunter related. She instead offers to take Tessa to get some new clothes and Charlotte finally agrees. Tessa wonders why Jessie is being so nice today. Once at the dress shop, Jessie’ catty side comes back out, but Tessa does end up ordering four new dresses. When they’re done, Jessamine really does not want to go back to the Institute and suggests they go to Hyde Park instead. Tessa agrees and Jessamine almost smiles. Charlotte and Henry travel to Mortmain and Co. What Charlotte has not yet told Tessa is that they found cogs in the basement of the Dark Sisters’ house where the sisters were experimenting on dead humans. Cogs made by Mortmain and Co., the same company that Nate worked for. When they arrive, Charlotte has to use her Persuasion rune to be allowed to speak to Axel Mortmain, claiming that she and Henry are Nate’s cousins. Once in, Axel says he didn’t realize that Nate had cousins who were Shadowhunters. Will and Jem show up at the house where Tessa was being held. The Dark Sisters had used it as a brothel before needing to hide Tessa – Will wonders if they will catch demon pox, but Jem insists that demon pox is not real. The place is nearly deserted, but they do find the body of one woman sitting primly in a chair with her bulging eyes open, although she appears to be dead once they get closer. Only once they touch her does she comes to life and issue them a warning. Calling them Nephilim, she says they will be killed as they kill others, and then she winds down. Will sees a copper wire coming from her eye and they realize the woman is a machine. Henry is going to want to see this. Jessamine and Tessa walk through the park as Jessie gossips about how Sophie isn’t pretty enough to be her lady’s maid and she doesn’t even speak French. Charlotte is always picking at Henry, who only married Charlotte because he wanted access to the Institute. He probably doesn’t mind Charlotte, but he would’ve married whoever if he got the Institute in the bargain. Jem is okay, but foreign – so untrustworthy. Will is handsome but mean and irritable, possibly because he’s Welsh. His dad was a Shadowhunter who left the Clave because he fell in love with a mortal woman. They’re probably dead now though, otherwise they would be looking for Will. She turns to Tessa, now for why Jessie has been so nice today. Her own parents left her a nice sum of money that she will inherit at eighteen. They had left the Clave, and her mother didn’t want Jessamine to have anything to do with Shadowhunting. But Jessie is too young to live on her own. If Tessa would pretend to be her sister, or American cousin, they could live together elsewhere, and Jessamine would not have to live in the Institute at all. Tessa realizes they’ve walked away from the path just as a hobgoblin with hooved feet appears in front of them. If angel blood falls on this ground, golden vines with diamonds grow - and he wants those diamonds. The hobgoblin attacks them; Jessamine opens her parasol in front of the hobgoblin and hits him with it. The edges are like blades. Jessie just keeps hitting and hitting until she finally collapses against Tessa. She didn’t want to. Didn’t mean to. Tessa looks at the blood running from the hobgoblin’s body. Not only does Mortmain know Charlotte and Henry are Shadowhunters, but he also knows who they are. Charlotte and Henry Branwell who lead the London Institute. He’s been fascinated by the Shadow World since learning about it, imagine the things that the Shadowhunters could teach him (Charlotte and Henry are the first Shadowhunters he’s met). He’s heard they trap demon souls in crystals! Henry is confused – is he talking about the Pyxis? It’s really more of a wooden box, and demons don’t really have souls, it’s more like energy. Charlotte shuts this talk down. They’re supposed to protect mundanes, but most of what they protect mundanes from is of their own making from foolish decisions. Like the barrister who fancied himself a magician and raised the demon Marax who killed him and every member of his family. Charlotte says that Nathaniel Gray has vanished and there is something occult behind his disappearance, and he had an employer who seems very interested in the occult. She wonders if the two things are connected. Mortmain gets nervous, he didn’t know Nate was missing. He explains that he used to employ Nate’s father, Richard Gray, in London as a clerk. He was sorry when Richard moved to America and was happy to give Nate a job when he realized who Nate was. His interest in the occult had saved him, had helped his business in certain ways, but it made Richard suspicious and eventually Richard investigated and confronted Axel about the Pandemonium Club, of which Axel is a member. Mortmain took Richard to a few meetings, but Richard was uninterested. That’s when he moved. But the Pandemonium Club is not evil and are even behind many inventions, like a silver ring that can transport the wearer somewhere else when twisted or a doorway that opens up to wherever you want to go. Charlotte has always heard the club was for mundanes, but Axes tells her that there are levels of membership. The chairmen of the club are all Downworlders. But no faeries. Axel introduced Nate to the club as well but unlike his father, Nate loved it. He left Mortmain and Co., taking employment with another club member instead and Axel hasn’t seen him since. He hasn’t been to a meeting in a while – too busy. Charlotte presents him with the cog they found in the Dark Sisters’ cellar. He says he sold some of his mechanical equipment to a Downworlder on the cheap recently. It happens to be the same Downworlder that Nate started working for, but he doesn’t want to give Charlotte the Downworlder’s name. Charlotte asks Henry to bring forward the Summoner – a metal item with dials on the face that will summon the Clave to exactly where they are, after which the Nephilim will use whatever means necessary to get the answers they need. Henry gets worried, Mortmain should just tell Charlotte what she needs to know! Mortmain says the Downworlder was de Quincey, head of a powerful London vampire clan. He says that de Quincey is head of the club, known as The Magister. Charlotte promises to keep Mortmain’s involvement a secret for his safety, but she encourages him to stay away from the Pandemonium Club and others like it. After the Shadowhunters leave, Henry reveals that the “Summoner” he pulled out is actually something new he’s working on, a Sensor that can sense demon energies although he doesn’t have one yet that works. He is impressed by Charlotte’s quick thinking. He tells her she’s wonderful, and also terrifying. Jessie is very quiet on the ride back to the Institute. Once there, she asks Tessa to come to her room. She shows Tessa a dollhouse. Her father made it for her when she was six, it is an exact replica of the house she shared with her parents, down to the wallpaper and furnishings. She should not have used the parasol, even if it did save them. She’d rather die than live the life of a Shadowhunter. Tessa doesn’t have time to respond before Sophie says that Henry needs to speak to her. On the way to see Henry, Tessa comments that Sophie likes Charlotte and Henry both, but not Will. Sophie replies that Will reminds her of the spoiled son of her previous employer. He would throw a fit if he didn’t get his way, Tessa doesn’t miss how Sophie touches the scar on her face for a second. Once inside what used to be the church crypts but are now redesigned to be a laboratory for Henry, Tessa sees Miranda laying on the table. But where her chest is, the skin has been peeled back to show mechanical parts underneath. Henry believes that she is some sort of animatronic doll made to be semi-functioning on its own. He shows Tessa Miranda’s heart, which looks like a human heart but is hard as if it has been lacquered. On the back, they see de Quincey’s Mark. Charlotte fills Tessa in on what they learned today. She promises again to help Tessa find her brother. The Dark Sisters must have been using the dead people in their cellar to create these animatronic people. The skin is human skin, and the corpses were missing organs when they were given autopsies. Tessa heads to the dining room where Jem and Will are waiting. Henry comes in to show them his most recent invention: the Phosphor, which is a very bright witch light, five times as bright as normal. When he tries to show it off, it makes all the lights in the room go out instead and they have to eat by witchlight. Sophie interrupts dinner and tells Charlotte there is someone at the door, causing Charlotte to leave the table. Henry spots Tessa’s angel pendant and asks to see it. He wants to look at it in his lab and promises to be very careful. Jem assures her that Henry is very good with things like her necklace, and Tessa agrees that Henry can take it downstairs. Charlotte returns to announce that their visitor, the vampire Lady Belcourt, would like to speak to Tessa. Charlotte contacted the vampire, who acts as a sort of informant to the Shadowhunters on vampire things, to see if she knew anything about de Quincey but Lady Belcourt will not say anything until the sees Tessa. Tessa follows Charlotte out. Will and Jem catch up with them on their way to the Sanctuary where Camille Belcourt waits – Charlotte calls her Baroness. Camille is not a member of the Pandemonium Club, but she has been to a few of their events. She met Will at one club already, pretending to be a gambling mortal as part of his investigation. Camille doesn’t know of de Quincey’s involvement in the club. What she does know is that de Quincey is the most powerful vampire in London, old enough to have spent most of his life before the Accords were instated, and that he hates the Laws, the Accords, and Shadowhunters. She knows that he has parties at his house once a month where he kills mortals. And she knows Tessa’s brother Nate. She suggests that Tessa pretend to be her, attend a party at de Quincey’s, and try to gather information. If Nate is not at the party himself, someone there will have information about him. And then Tessa can alert the Clave to de Quincey’s parties and have him investigated. She hands Tessa her ruby necklace and Tessa uses it to transform into Camille. Her heart stops beating in her chest. She panics and Jem has to remind her that she is okay, that she is still alive. It’s Camille’s heart that has stopped beating. Camille offers to let her lover Magnus Bane escort Tessa as Camille at the party, and Will can go as well, posing as a subjugate of Camille’s. That will work well since Will has already been seen at club functions as a mortal interested in the occult. Jem and Will walk Camille out and Will asks why Camille is helping them. She says it’s out of the goodness of her heart – she doesn’t like seeing the mortals killed, but neither of them buy her story. Will is concerned this could be a trap and refuses to help if she doesn’t tell the truth, so Camille tells him that de Quincey killed someone she loved. A werewolf she was involved with, though it was forbidden, and other vampires helped to kill him. That evening, Charlotte returns Tessa’s clockwork angel necklace. Henry cleaned all the rust from the inside but couldn’t figure out how it worked. She tells Tessa that Mortmain claims that Nate already knew about the Shadow World when they met. That their father had told him about it. But Nate was only six when their parents died. Suddenly, the idea that Tessa could find Nate and they could go back to a normal life seems very far away. Charlotte tells Tessa Sophie’s story. She worked as a parlor maid in a house where the son of the mistress tried to seduce Sophie. She was very beautiful and when she turned him down, he scarred her face so that no one would want her anymore. When Sophie told the man’s mother, Sophie was thrown out on the street where Charlotte found her. Her cheek was infected, the Silent Brothers were able to heal it, but she was left with a scar. Sophie has said she’s grateful for the scar though, because she will know anyone who falls in love with her falls loves her for more than just her pretty face. Tessa may not be able to go back to her life before but the ability she has is a gift. It is a way for her to be independent should she want to be. She just needs to reframe her way of thinking. Tessa receives a brooch from Camille and practices being in Camille’s body. It’s not going well; she keeps losing control of her fangs and she can’t access Camille’s thoughts. Soon, several Shadowhunters trail into the Institute. One of them is young, about Will’s age, the others identify him as Gabriel Lightwood. Jem asks Will not to get into a fight with Gabriel today, but Will can’t make any promises. Gabriel is attending a meeting of the London Enclave with his father and others. It is Gabriel’s first meeting as he just turned eighteen. Will and the others (being underage) hide from the Enclave, hoping to hear what they discuss, but are caught immediately and asked to leave. Gabriel walks them out of the room, and it is very clear that he hates Will. He’s rather nasty to Will until Tessa defends Will and tells Gabriel he should be ashamed of himself. Will leads Tessa and Jem away as Gabriel rejoins the meeting, explaining that Gabriel hates him because of something that Will allegedly did with his sister at the last Enclave Christmas party. Jem tells her that Gabriel’s brother hates Will even more. Will says their father probably has demon pox and is reminded, again, that demon pox is not real. Will leads them to a storage room where they can listen in on the meeting using a rune. Charlotte tells the other Shadowhunters the plan for de Quincey’s party. Benedict doesn’t think it’s a good idea and all of the Shadowhunters are talking over Charlotte – even though she and Henry are heads of the Institute. Will is upset at the way Charlotte is being treated, which surprises Tessa but makes her happy. In the end though, all the Shadowhunters agree to Charlotte’s plan. Tessa will impersonate Camille Belcourt at the party with Will tagging along as her subjugate. When Tessa enters the party, Camille’s thoughts finally begin to come to her – just in time, as she is approached by de Quincey. She sees memories of de Quincey screaming at Camille about her werewolf lover, of her lover’s death, of her grieving. De Quincey thinks he and Camille are still friends… they are not. He invites Camille to join the Pandemonium Club, saying that the mortals are a nice source of income and some of the members are coming up with some really interesting ideas. Then he leaves to entertain his other guests. Tessa does not see Nate anywhere but soon Magnus Bane comes to meet them. He’s supposed to act as a sort of guide for Tessa. He escorts Tessa and Will into an office, and all of the vampires watch them as they pass. Inside, Magnus explains that the vampires are watching Will - who is not acting like a normal subjugate. He also assures Tessa that she is a warlock though he’s not sure what kind, and he’s sympathetic when she is upset. She never thought she was anything more than mortal. She tells him a little about what she’s seen of Camille’s memories and Magnus tells her that de Quincey is dangerous, equally as dangerous to other vampires as he is to other Downworlders. Although he seems to like Magnus for some reason. The feeling is not mutual, Magnus cannot stand de Quincey, but it would be dangerous for Camille not to attend his parties and imprudent for Magnus to let her go alone. Will searches the office and finds a secret compartment in the desk that holds blueprints to an automaton humanoid. Magnus finds a binding spell on the blueprint. In order to make an automaton look human, they would have to use magic on the human skin so it did not degrade, then bind the demon energies to the body. The automatons would essentially be slaves, unable to think for themselves and fully obedient to the one who did the binding. Will is concerned about an automaton army but Magnus tells him that demon energies able to be bound are hard to come by. Will puts the blueprint in his jacket pocket. He asks if Magnus has seen de Quincey break the Accords and Magnus confirms he has, but only once. Then he shows Will and Tessa a secret room, arranged as a performance room but on the stage is a chair with manacles. In this room, they watch as a mortal (usually a criminal or someone society does not care about) is brought in to be fed from and killed. Will tells Magnus that as soon as he sees the Law broken, he will signal the Enclave who will come in and put a stop to it. Magnus is to take Tessa to Thomas and the carriage and get her back to the Institute, leaving the rest to the Shadowhunters. People start to enter the performance room. They enter the room too, and Will finds seats for Tessa, Magnus, and himself. De Quincey makes a big speech about how they do not follow the rules of the Shadowhunters before leading a hooded prisoner to the chair. He declares that the prisoner has betrayed the vampires. Will cannot call the Enclave until he sees de Quincey draw blood and when that finally happens, Will tells Tessa to leave with Magnus. He will not call the Enclave until she is on her way to safety. He discreetly pulls the Phosphor out of his pocket as Magnus pulls Tessa away. De Quincey then pulls the hood off the prisoner and Tessa finally finds her brother. Nate is the prisoner. Tessa screams, yelling at Will to call the Enclave now. She puts them all in immense danger, the vampires now know there is a traitor in their midst. Magnus tries to take Tessa away as Will engages the Phosphor and it misfires. Instead of causing a huge flash of light or plunging them into darkness like it did before, it causes all of the candles to burn very high, and things begin to catch on fire, including some of the vampires. Will fights one vampire after the other, even saving Tessa once, who tells him that Nate is the prisoner. Then the other Shadowhunters enter through the windows. Tessa can see Charlotte, Henry, Jem, Gabriel and Benedict Lightwood, and Lillian Highsmith. De Quincey surrenders to them, saying that hurting the vampires now is to break the Law themselves, but Benedict retorts that the Law no longer applies to them after what they’ve done. De Quincey insists that it is only one mortal, and a worthless one at that, but Charlotte pulls out the blueprint that Will found. It is definitely more than one mortal. De Quincey has been play acting as an ally when he has hated the Shadowhunters all along, after the Shadowhunters made the Accords and tried to make Downworlders their equals. De Quincey laughs at that. Downworlders have never been considered their equals. They have no representation in Alicante, no Downworlder council. Another vampire steps forward and tells them if they kill the vampires now, they will have a war on their hands. Benedict doesn’t wait for the war to start; he throws a dagger at de Quincey, but another vampire steps in front of the dagger and is killed. The room descends into chaos as the two groups fight. Tessa is a little awed by the Shadowhunters fighting, that includes Charlotte. Tessa makes her way to Nate but is attacked by de Quincey, who believes she is still Camille. Camille speaks through Tessa – she wants de Quincey to know that she is the arbiter of his downfall for taking away what she loved! Tessa tries to fight de Quincey off, but he is too strong and she is saved by Will. He and de Quincey grapple back and forth until de Quincey declares that he will make Camille pay and disappears out the window. Will is about to go after him when another vampire comes up behind Tessa and Will has to save her again. But it’s actually Jem who gets to her first, killing the last of the vampires in the room. Henry frees Nate and Charlotte gets permission from the Enclave to take him to the Institute, where the Silent Brothers can look at Nate. He’s been drugged and possibly fed vampire blood - which would draw him to the vampires. Will is not impressed by Nate and thinks thar he probably did something to get himself into this predicament. Tessa goes in the carriage back to the Institute with Nate, Charlotte, and Henry while Will is forced to clean up before going back with Jem and Thomas – he bit a vampire on purpose and needs to start treatment. Of course, along the way, he can’t help getting into an argument with Gabriel Lightwood. Gabriel says there was a time he thought the two of them might be friends and asks if Will ever gets tired of acting the way he does – sarcastic, impudent, taking nothing seriously. Will is dragged into the carriage a second before Will makes the argument even worse by bringing up Gabriel’s sister. He and Jem talk about Tessa in the carriage. Jem thinks she’s pretty, and he knows that Will does too. He’s seen Will notice her. But Will is studiously not thinking about Tessa right now, which he’s been practicing and getting pretty good at. He is instead thinking about how he killed a human boy who had attacked him at the party and feeling guilty about it, even though the boy was a darkling and would have killed him. Nate wakes up momentarily in the carriage, lacing his fingers with Tessa’s. They put Nate in a room in the Institute and leave Tessa alone with him. He knows about the Shadowhunters from The Magister, but he didn’t think they were real. Tessa asks if The Magister is de Quincey, but Nate doesn’t answer - Brother Enoch has walked in and Nate is busy freaking out and begging them not to let Enoch touch him. Enoch can tell that Nate is human. There is nothing supernatural about him at all. But he can also tell that Tessa has a gift that he’s never seen before. Not the Changing, something else. He’s not sure what this gift is and he’s not sure what Tessa is since she has no demon mark, but he will be researching it. Nate starts begging Tessa for forgiveness and Enoch tells her that he’s started hallucinating. If Enoch doesn’t treat him for the drug he was given, Nate will likely die. Tessa hesitatingly leaves the room, letting Enoch and Charlotte handle Nate. Tessa sees Jem in the hallway. He explain that the Silent Brothers are excellent healers, but she isn’t sure that anything is worth a life of looking the way they do. She is struggling with feeling like a coward while also having been willing to kill the vampires at the party. It’s probably not right for a girl to act that way. Jem says it’s what is in your heart that really matters. If you have a warrior’s heart, you are a warrior – girl, boy, weak, strong, whatever else. You are a warrior. Charlotte tells Tessa that Enoch left but there will be more to do in the morning for Nate and encourages Tessa to get some rest. Instead, Tessa takes a bucket of water up to Will for Sophie when she hears Sophie lament how Will is being a jerk. Tessa thinks she hears Will murmuring before she walks into the attic where he’s laying on the floor. She thinks she hears him say the name Cecily. Will tells Tessa that he ingested some vampire blood when he bit de Quincey and now, he must purge himself by drinking holy water, or else he will be drawn to the vampires and could possibly be Turned. He’s drinking some water and pouring the rest over his head since the blood also makes him feel hot like he’s burning. She wants to touch him and that scares her. She asks if there is anything at all he really cares about and he invites her to sit next to him. She notes out loud that he never really laughs, everything is just an act to him. He pretends that he thinks things are funny. And he only genuinely smiles when he thinks people aren’t looking - but Will disagrees with her. She makes him laugh. He notices that she has blood on her gloves and unbuttons one of them, touching the skin on her wrist. He asks what she wants from him. She says she wants to understand him, the reasons he acts the way he does, but he won’t tell her. It wouldn’t change anything anyway. He laces their fingers together and then he kisses her, pulling her to him when she returns his kiss. But then he rips himself away, stepping backward. He asks her to leave. He can’t have her here. He will talk to her tomorrow if she just leaves now, he begs her to go – and she does. That night she thinks of the day, and of her very unexpected first kiss. Tessa sleeps all day and when she wakes up, Sophie helps her get ready. She warns Tessa away from Will, saying that he isn’t deserving of Tessa’s affection. There’s something dark in him. Tessa finds Jessamine in Nate’s room reading to an unconscious Nate. Jessie hopes that she can make him fall in love with her. He’s handsome and he can get her away from the Institute. Tessa doesn’t say that Nate isn’t even capable of taking care of himself, let alone a wife. Jessamine tells Tessa that Charlotte is looking for her. She finds Charlotte in her office with Will as Will makes a case for kicking Nate out of the Institute. Charlotte refuses to do it, Jem seconds her arguments. Nate could know something valuable. Will thinks it would be better just to have the Silent Brothers take the information from Nate now than to wait for him to wake up. Charlotte says she knows why Will is acting like this. He is, and she is too, very disappointed at the way the raid went, and it will reflect poorly on both of them, especially Charlotte. Will says the reason the raid went sour is because of Henry’s faulty invention. Charlotte chastises him, telling him that both she and Henry love him. He only says he wishes they didn’t. Tessa has had about enough. She storms in and berates Will. If it were up to him, Nate wouldn’t even have a mind after this. He points out that Nate was never the priority of the Enclave, that they have bigger mysteries to solve. She retorts that it would be easier to get help from the Downworlders if the Shadowhunters didn’t think they were so much better than them. They all say they don’t, but they do. Not to mention that they hate the mundanes. She doesn’t trust the Shadowhunters - after all their empty talk they just wanted to use her like the Dark Sisters did. She storms out of the room, telling them to stay away from Nate and not to follow her. She makes her way through the Institute and ends up at the front steps, where Jem comes out behind her. She feels bad, she shouldn’t have said the things she did. She doesn’t really not trust the Shadowhunters and feels even worse about making Charlotte feel bad when she’s been so kind. And she knows that Will didn’t mean the stuff he was saying either. Jem agrees, though he’s surprised Tessa knows Will that well already. He also gets frustrated with Will when Will is like this. Jem usually spends some time alone at his favorite place in London, and then thinks about killing Will in his sleep, which makes Jem feel better. He offers to show Tessa his favorite place. She takes his arm, thinking about what a nice smile he has. Jem takes her to a bridge that no one else really visits, Blackfriars Bridge. He finds it peaceful here. She asks him about his affection for Will – who he loves like a brother. Jem also knows that Will isn’t out drinking all the time like he claims. He followed Will once, and all Will did was wander for the whole night. He never asked Will for the truth; all he knows is that Will always makes up stories that make him look bad. His father was a Shadowhunter who fell in love with a mundane and gave up his life as a Shadowhunter to be with her. Doing so, Will’s dad had to completely cut out everyone who was a Shadowhunter and never speak to them again, he could never call upon the Clave for help, and the Clave would still ask his children to rejoin them. They went every six years to ask the children if they wanted to rejoin the Shadowhunters, meaning they would be giving up the rest of their family. Will said no… twice. Then one day, according to Charlotte, he showed up at the Institute alone saying he had nowhere else to go. His parents came looking for him a week later, but Will refused to see them - hiding under his bed with his hands over his ears. But Jem has never asked him for more information. He thinks that may be why Will likes him so much. As for himself, his parents ran the Shanghai Institute and was killed by a demon named Yanluo. He came to England in case the demon or his buddies came for him too, his dad had been from England and Jem spoke English already, so it seemed apt. As he and Tessa talk, Jem notices a couple out for a stroll even though it is quite late. When they turn to go back to the Institute, the couple is now right in front of them. Tessa recognizes the coachman and tells Jem he belongs to the Dark Sisters, but the coachman corrects her. He belongs to The Magister. He has come to issue a declaration of war from The Magister to the Nephilim. They also plan on leaving with Tessa. Jem fights them with his cane, inherited from his father, in which a blade is concealed that he can pop out when needed. The automaton woman falls into the water, and the coachman is left headless, but now there are several more running towards them on the bridge. Jem tells Tessa to run. She read in the Codex that Shadowhunters can usually run for miles, but Jem seems out of breath after a few moments and he looks like he is in pain. By the time they reach the Institute, he’s coughing terribly and having body spasms. His eyes are completely white. Tessa can’t open the door without Shadowhunter blood, so she is forced to use the bellpull as the clockwork creatures climb over the Institute’s gate. When one of the creatures looms over Jem, Tessa grabs his cane and defends him. She gets a couple of hits in but then one of the creatures grabs the cane and breaks it in two. Luckily at that point, the doors open and Charlotte comes out swinging … the other Shadowhunters quickly follow her. Will asks Tessa what happened and she points him toward Jem - who he and Thomas carry inside. Tessa is in a daze, in shock. Do they think this is all her fault? Sophie takes care of Tessa and then Tessa tells Charlotte and Henry what happened, thinking they might just want to give her to The Magister to avoid this war, but Charlotte explains that de Quincey hates the Shadowhunters. He would have come for them eventually and there’s no reason to give him what could be an incredible asset like Tessa. Jem has lost some blood, but he’s gotten an iratze and his medicine and will be okay with some rest. Henry says these automatons are more sophisticated than Miranda was. Faster, deadlier, but they have not yet done the binding spell that Magnus showed them on the blueprints. There is nothing demonic about these. There is no intelligence in them. Thank goodness, they’re difficult enough to kill without the demon binding. Will comes to get Tessa. Jem wants to talk to her. He doesn’t want to answer questions about Jem, he just wants Tessa to come, now, because Jem is asking for her. Jem apologizes when he sees Tessa, but she says it was her fault that the creatures came after them. It was her fault that he was hurt. He just scoffs, he wasn’t hurt. Against Will’s advice, Jem decides to tell Tessa the truth about his condition. Yanluo had a nest in a small town and had been feeding on the children there. Jem’s mother found it and burned the nest - killing many of Yanluo’s offspring, and then escaped before Yanluo could find her. When Jem was twelve, Yanluo tunneled inside the Shanghai Institute, taking Jem’s family prisoner. It had been biding its time. Yanluo tortured Jem’s parents while Jem was forced to watch and it injected Jem with demon poison. He saw hallucinations for days. He would come out of his hallucinations long enough to hear his parents screaming for him before slipping back under, but eventually it was only his mother screaming. Finally, members of the Shanghai Enclave came looking for them but by then, both of Jem’s parents were dead and he was delirious. The Silent Brothers did what they could, but Jem had become addicted to the demon poison and they could not fix that. Trying to wean him off the poison nearly killed him and was incredibly painful. Jem cannot live without the drug, which is killing him slowly. Jem shows her the box that contains his “medicine”, silver and decorated with an enamel rendering of the goddess of mercy and compassion, Kwan Yin. It contains the drug, which drains the color from his hair, skin, and eyes. He takes just enough to stay alive, but since he’s weak when he doesn’t take it, he takes more if he expects to fight. He hadn’t taken enough today, causing him to collapse. The others would understand if he chose not to fight in order to prolong his life since he would never have to take additional poison, but he doesn’t want to do that. He is a Shadowhunter and that is important to him. His life is more than just this drug and his addiction. It’s more than just not dying. Will returns to Jem’s room, unhappy that Jem has told Tessa about the drug, and prepares to act as nursemaid for the night. Tessa is happy to see that Jem’s cane has been repaired. Tessa goes to check on Nate and finds Sophie in the hallway crying. She’s worried about Jem. Tessa had suspected that Sophie was in love with someone at the Institute, but she’d thought it might have been Thomas. Now she realizes that it’s Jem. Tessa assures Sophie that Jem is going to be okay. Tessa goes to Nate’s room to find both him and Jessamine sleeping, Jessamine in a chair next to his bed. Tessa has nightmares of clockwork creatures that night, followed by a dream of Jem, and then a dream of Will. She’s woken by Sophie. Nate is missing! Thomas finds Nate hiding behind the curtains in the drawing room. Tessa goes to speak to him alone. Nate tells her that he’s been warned about the Shadowhunters. That they are a bunch of madmen and monsters, that they would take him apart piece by piece for breaking the Laws. She notices that it is cold in the room and spots that one of the windows is open, but Nate insists that it was open when he came in. She closes it, worried about Nate catching a chill. She tells Nate that she has not been imprisoned. In fact, the Shadowhunters have been very generous and have even been helping her. They’ve been kind to her. Nate seems angry. He wants to return to the States and start a new life, but they can’t. The danger will only follow them if it’s not dealt with. They need the Nephilim. He tells her that de Quincey forced him to write the letters that brought Tessa to England. It should have been him with Tessa’s abilities. Tessa is about to ask what Nate means but Will interrupts them, and Tessa implores him to be gentle with Nate. But Will needs to know if Nate is hiding anything. Tessa loses her temper: everyone hides things! Will certainly does! He didn’t even tell her about Jem (she decides not to bring up Will’s reluctance to speak of his past). He retorts that he still doesn’t think Jem should have told her at all, but it’s Jem’s story and Jem’s choice – not Will’s. There are people that think Jem is weak because he has an addiction. Will didn’t want her to know because he wasn’t sure how Tessa would react to the news; he doesn’t really know her. She snaps back that he doesn’t want anyone to know him, so she’s done trying. If he cares about Jem so much, he should be looking for a cure, but Will insists that he has. They all have. They’ve paid for information, researched, called in favors. None of them want Jem to die. Jem told Tessa that he asked the others to stop looking for a cure and he believes that they have, but Tessa decides to ask Will if he’s stopped looking. Will only says that there is no cure. Tessa says he could keep looking… without Jem’s knowledge. That surprises Will, but Jem comes up behind them and surprises them both before they can say anything more. Jem was told to meet in the drawing room to speak to Nate, he’s joined by Henry, Charlotte, and even Jessamine (looking as pretty as possible). Before they go in, Jem pulls Tessa to the side, but they can hear Nate asking about her and Jem changes his mind about talking to her. They enter the drawing room behind everyone else. Charlotte starts by saying they have spoken to Mortmain, who told them about Nate’s penchant for the Downworld and for gambling, and that Nate already knew Mortmain was involved in the occult when he arrived in London. Nate explains that their Aunt Harriet kept their mother’s old jewelry box next to her bed and said she kept her sewing accoutrement in it. But after going into some debt, Nate went into the jewelry box looking for a gold bracelet of their mother’s that he believed he could sell. The bracelet wasn’t there, but he found a false bottom full of crumpled up papers that he took to his room. They were diary pages of their mother’s. He was ablet o put together a story of how their father was working at Mortmain’s offices much of the time, coming home every night more and more concerned about what was happening. Nate was a baby then. When their dad confronted Mortmain, Mortmain admitted to being involved in the occult. He invited their father Richard to come to one of the meetings of the Pandemonium Club and to bring his wife with him. They decided to attend and were picked up by Mortmain’s carriage late at night. They went to several meetings over the last few months, even though their mother, at least, hated going. But something changed and they left London quickly, covertly, and without telling anyone what they were doing. They tried to vanish. After reading all this, Nate wrote to Mortmain and explained who he was, that his parents were dead, and that he wanted to meet and discuss employment opportunities. He tried to blackmail Mortmain with the diary pages. He thought Mortmain might send some money, but he sent a steamer ticket to London instead. When Nate arrived in London, Mortmain gave him a job and seemed unconcerned about Nate revealing what he knew to the public. And when Nate seemed intrigued by the Pandemonium Club, he offered to let Nate join him at a meeting. When they arrived, they were approached by de Quincey, who also knew Nate’s parents and invited Nate to play cards with them. The drinks were flowing and Nate won big that night. He kept going back, not realizing that the drinks were addictive, and he kept winning – until he didn’t. He quickly racked up an immense debt, and he barely went to work anymore since he thought of nothing but getting back to the club. De Quincey approached Nate for a trade. He had reason to believe that Nate’s parents had a child who was “special” and after some time with him, de Quincey had deduced that Nate was not that child. It must be his sister. He had Nate send Tessa the letter and ticket to England, promising that he would not hurt Tessa. Will and Jem do not look impressed that Nate was willing to sell his sister to a literal vampire, but Jessamine defends him. Tessa looks at her brother and feels like she sees him truly for the first time, but she defends him as well. Now is not the time to think about that. Nate reveals that de Quincey hates the Shadowhunters enough to want them eliminated completely, which would have been difficult because of their training and weapons - before they invented the automatons. He says people called de Quincey “Magister” and that he is at the top of the Pandemonium Club, with other Downworlders on the tier below him and mortals on the lowest tier. De Quincey had hired the Dark Sisters not just to train Tessa but to figure out how to bind the demon energy to the clockwork creatures. They did figure it out, just a few weeks ago, but the binding can only be done at the full moon. Jem leaves to look at the lunar tables as Nate explains that he was being punished for Tessa’s escape at de Quincey’s party. De Quincey has a hideout in Chelsea that he may be staying in, Nate thinks he can show them the location on a map. Jem comes back to tell them that the full moon is that night. The Shadowhunters fly into action. Charlotte goes to alert the rest of the Enclave while Nate shows Henry the approximate location of de Quincey’s hideout and Jem and Will gather weapons with Thomas. Nate thinks of how weird it will be: just him, Tessa, and Jessamine all alone in this big building, but Jessamine reveals that Will and Jem will not be going. They aren’t yet of age, and Benedict Lightwood has been going on about leaving the younger Shadowhunters behind. He keeps saying it’s because Will and Jem are not adequately trained yet, citing the mess that happened at de Quincey’s party, but Jessamine thinks it’s really to protect Gabriel from going. Tessa feels a surge of relief, but Nate seems surprised that the others will be staying. He recovers quickly, then asks Tessa and Jessamine to meet him later in the drawing room – he’s sick of sleeping. Tessa goes to her own room to clean up. Will is waiting in the hallway for her on his way to take weapons to Charlotte and Henry. Tessa is nervous about tonight, but she supposes after de Quincey is killed that she will not have to stay at the Institute anymore. Will seems taken aback. She’d like to go back to New York… unless there’s a reason for her to stay. She asks if he ever has the urge to go back home, he tells her he can’t return and starts to withdraw. She asks what his family did, and who Cecily is, but all he says is that they did nothing before walking away. Charlotte and Henry leave, the others converge in the drawing room where Jessamine and Nate sit down to a game of cards (Nate with a mug of brandy). As soon as the Branwells are gone, someone appears at the front door, summoning a Shadowhunter. Jem and Will (as the only available Shadowhunters) answer the door while Tessa looks out the window. She sees a carriage with the Mortmain and Co. emblem on the side. Wanting to know what Mortmain wants, and to protect her brother from knowing who is at the Institute, she sneaks out of the drawing room. Tessa interrupts Mortmain as he speaks to Will and Jem on the front steps of the Institute. He is introduced to Tessa and says that she looks like her brother (Will doesn’t think so). Mortmain tells them that he’s there to repay a favor, since Charlotte and Henry did not mention to the rest of the Clave that he had been involved in the occult. That and for failing poor Nathaniel. But most of what he’s come to say, they already know. That de Quincey has created clockwork creatures and paid the Dark Sisters to bind demon energies to the creatures. The one sister has resurrected the other, and the two are attempting the binding tonight in Highgate – Mortmain goes so far as to give them the address. He guesses that the Enclave is planning to confront de Quincey that night and warns them, if the Dark Sisters succeed in their binding ritual, there will be hundreds of clockwork creatures that will flock to de Quincey. The Shadowhunters will have to contend with these new numbers, which they are unprepared for. Jem and Will dismiss Mortmain before heading back inside the Institute. There’s no time to warn the Enclave, they will have to deal with the Dark Sisters themselves. They’ll get Thomas’ help to drive them, but Will tells Tessa she must stay behind and he’s quite stern about it. Tessa waits on the front steps as Will and Jem prepare to leave. They’ve decided Thomas will stay in case of any trouble at the Institute, and so he doesn’t get into trouble with Charlotte. Tessa prepares to say goodbye, but Shadowhunters don’t say goodbye. Jem approaches her and kisses the back of her hand, telling her the word “mizpah” which is a way of saying goodbye without really saying it. Will watches them, his hands in fists, until Jem returns to him and they leave. Tessa goes back inside to find Agatha and Sophie waiting – Sophie looks much like Will did at the bottom of the steps. Before Tessa can ask her what’s wrong, the front door begins to open. It reveals a clockwork creature. The creature grabs Agatha and stabs her in the chest with a dagger before it turns around and leaves the Institute again. Tessa doesn’t have time to be confused about why it’s leaving. She pulls the bellpull that summons a Shadowhunter, then slams the door and bars it shut. She and Sophie try to help Agatha, who doesn’t understand how the automaton opened the door. Only someone with Shadowhunter blood is supposed to be able to get in. Tessa realizes that the automaton who attacked Agatha was the same one who had hurt Jem and then had fled the battle – its hands were still covered in Jem’s dried blood. Something hits the front door so hard that the bar snaps in half and falls away. The door opens to show more automatons, but these ones have been jumbled together so quickly that they don’t even look like humans. They look like monsters, and some of their limbs are made of weapons. Sophie starts to scream as Tessa tries to close the door, but it’s ripped from its hinges and Tessa falls back as the monsters come towards her. Will and Jem arrive at the house in Highgate and notice that it looks like no one has stepped foot inside for decades. But they hear singing coming from the upper stories. They find Mrs. Dark alone (kind of). She’s holding the head of her sister, who is still quite dead. She is here not to bind demon energies but to resurrect her sister. When Will reveals that they have found The Magister, de Quincey, she starts cackling with laughter. She calls them both fools. De Quincey is not The Magister! Tessa backs away from the automatons, trying to get Sophie to run with her, but Sophie will not leave Agatha. Agatha is dying but not quite dead yet, and she’s also trying to push Sophie away. Soon, Thomas comes in holding a large sword, followed by Jessamine and her parasol, and Nate – just looking scared. The automatons have stopped and appear to be waiting for directions. Jessamine surprisingly takes charge and tells Thomas to get Sophie to her feet. Thomas tells Jessamine to take Sophie and Tessa to the Sanctuary, he’s clearly preparing to stand off against the clockwork creatures, but Tessa hears a familiar voice behind them. Mortmain tells them that Sophie may go wherever, but Tessa and her brother will be staying put. It appears that Nate has arranged for Mortmain to be able to procure Tessa after all. And after coming face to face with Mortmain, Nate drops to his knees and says it is his only desire to serve Mortmain - The Magister. Mrs. Dark goes on to say that if the Shadowhunters thought de Quincey was The Magister, then she knows they have no idea what they are truly up against. Will attacks her, but she throws her sister’s head at him and runs out. Jem and Will follow her. Mortmain tells Tessa that it was Nate’s idea to lure Jem and Will out of the Institute tonight so they could get her. Nate crows that so few know The Magister’s true identity, but he is one of the chosen. Jessamine scoffs at him and Nate raises from his knees to yell at her as Mortmain orders the creatures to grab Tessa. She can’t hear what Nate’s saying because one of the creatures is holding her so tightly she can barely breathe. She feels a flutter at her breast – the clockwork angel necklace of her mother’s that she always wears. She sees it rise up, fluttering its wings that it then spreads out. The angel flies around, destroying the creatures as if its wings were razors. Jessamine takes the chance to grab Tessa and pull her towards the door, spinning her parasol around her and taking clockwork creatures down (laughing while she does it, and she thinks she’s no Shadowhunter) as Thomas jumps in front of them with his sword. But then Mortmain tells the creatures to kill Jessamine, and all it takes is one shot in her chest from a weapon fused to the creature as an arm. Jessamine falls to the ground, eyes glassy. Nate laughs. Tessa nearly attacks him but Thomas yells at her to take Sophie and get out. He’s holding the automatons off, but he’s terrified for Sophie and Tessa realizes that Sophie may love Jem, but Thomas loves her. Tessa doesn’t want to run, but she grabs Sophie and runs toward the Sanctuary anyway. Jem and Will run into the next room after Mrs. Dark. Though there is no other exit, she is nowhere to be found. But there is a bunch of dark magic paraphernalia, and a cat in a cage. Then a statue begins to move in the center of the room. Not a statue at all, but a demon in a protective pentagram. The demon laughs. It is Mrs. Dark, this is her true form, and the Shadowhunters cannot hurt her inside the pentagram. Her sister was a warlock, but she is a full-blooded Eidolon demon. A shape changer. But unlike Tessa, she cannot become what she transforms into, she cannot touch their minds – either living or dead. So, The Magister did not want her, only wanted her to train Tessa. Jem can tell that The Magister hurt Mrs. Dark in doing that and tries to pacify her, tries to get her to continue talking. It nearly works, but she remembers herself just before telling them The Magister’s real identity. Jem points out that she can’t stay in the pentagram forever. At some point she will need to come out, and the Enclave will deal with her then. But she is more afraid of The Magister than the Enclave. Will has already put together the pieces and asks if The Magister is Mortmain, Mrs. Dark sobs thinking that Mortmain will think she told them of his identity. Jem gets there quickly enough afterward. Mortmain sent them here; Mortmain gave them de Quincey’s name. He gave them essentially all the information they had and probably hid the blueprints to frame de Quincey. Jem also realizes that Nate told the same lies. They must be working together. Knowing that he was right about Nathaniel Gray does not make Will feel better for being jealous of the sweet way Tessa treated Nate. With a little prodding from Mrs. Dark, they figure out that Mortmain wants Tessa and has a way to get into the Institute with Jem’s blood. The Shadowhunters rush out of the room, Jem only pausing long enough to grab the cat in the cage, but flames leap up around the walls before they can get out of the house. Demon flames made by Mrs. Dark, who plans to buy back The Magister’s favor with Jem and Will’s bodies. They could stop the flames by killing Mrs. Dark, but she’s in the pentagram still. Jem spots the chandelier above her, and Will throws a seraph blade, severing the chandelier’s chain. The chandelier comes crashing down and kills Mrs. Dark (for now, demons can’t really be killed) – the flames go out and the two of them dash out of the room. Sophie leads Tessa to the Sanctuary, but they can’t get in since the door is locked. Sophie will sneak through the Institute to get the key from where Charlotte keeps it, Tessa will wait for her at the Sanctuary. But Nate gets there before Sophie returns. He explains that The Magister has gifted him with certain traits, like speed. He has a knife in his hand. He’s very proud of himself. He sent the Enclave to get rid of de Quincey, sent Will and Jem to get rid of Mrs. Dark, and has given Tessa to Mortmain – all in one night. Tessa wants to know if anything Nate told her was true and he admits that most of it was. He came to London to try to blackmail Mortmain but once there, Mortmain wanted to know if he was the first or second child of their parents. He was delighted to find out that Nate wasn’t the right kid, Mortmain wanted it to be a girl. When Tessa escaped the Dark Sisters, Mortmain gave Nate to de Quincey as punishment. Nate had thought he’d lost The Magister’s good favor, but when he was brought to the Institute, he realized what a boon he’d been given and reached out to Mortmain. She remembers the open window; he must’ve used it to contact Mortmain. Nate declares that he would be a fool to turn from The Magister and his continued gifts. He will stand at The Magister’s right hand when he rules the British Empire, probably in less than a year. Tessa tells Nate that he’s an idiot. It’s amazing that he can’t spot a liar when he is such a liar himself, just like Aunt Harriet always said… but Nate cuts her off. He laughs. He killed Aunt Harriet. Sent her chocolates that he knew Tessa wouldn’t eat. And he would do worse than that if necessary. He’s alone in the world now. Tessa has been dead to him since the moment he was told what she really is. Not even human. She thinks she sees something moving behind Nate and tries to keep him talking. She assumes it’s Sophie and hopes that Sophie gets away before Nate has the chance to use the knife on her, but it’s not Sophie at all. It’s Jessamine, who hits Nate over the head with a lamp, knocking him out. Sophie finds them a moment later, holding the Sanctuary key. Jem and Will burst out of the house and get to the carriage. Jem is concerned because the drug he took before leaving the Institute is wearing off faster than expected, but he can’t worry about that now. Will points out that one horse can pull the carriage fine, and one horse is faster than two with a carriage behind them. He quickly uses his knife to sever the harness, riding Balios to the Institute, leaving Jem with Xanthos, the carriage, and the cat. After closing and locking the Sanctuary door, Tessa, Jessamine, and Sophie wait. Jessamine tells them that this whole thing is Tessa’s fault since it’s her that Mortmain wants. She’s holding the knife Nate had in the hallway, she drops it as she says that Charlotte and Henry are too soft-hearted. If Jessamine had been in charge, she would have thrown Tessa out on the street and Agatha and Thomas would still be alive. She quickly tries to backtrack what she said, they hadn’t known about Thomas, but the others ask Jessamine what happened after they ran. Jessamine was knocked unconscious and woke up to find Thomas fighting the creatures, the others (including Mortmain) had gone. Thomas was surrounded but when Jessie stepped forward to help, he told her to run and she did. Sophie is in the middle of berating Jessamine for leaving Thomas, a mundane, in danger while she, a Shadowhunter, ran away, when they hear the Sanctuary knocker. Will yells that he’s outside. He wants to know how the clockwork creatures got inside, and Jessie explains as she opens the door for him. But something is wrong. Will’s tone is too reassuring, and it does not feel right to Tessa. Tessa looks at Sophie and sees that Sophie is also uneasy. Tessa tells Jessamine not to open the door but it’s too late. Outside they see Mortmain with clockwork creatures on either side of him. Meanwhile, Will flies toward the Institute on Balios’ back, making the forty-five minute trip in only twenty. He finds the doors to the Institute wide open. Nate stands right behind Mortmain as the four clockwork creatures enter the Sanctuary. Mortmain tells Nate to go to the armory and orders Jessamine and Sophie to leave the Sanctuary, but they refuse. When the automatons grab them and prepare to kill them, Tessa promises not to run if Mortmain doesn’t kill the other girls. He orders the automatons to take Sophie and Jessamine downstairs, without harm, instead. Will walks inside the Institute. He finds Agatha’s body, then Thomas’. He’s giving Thomas a Shadowhunter’s farewell when Thomas grabs his arm. He tells Will that Tessa is still alive, with Sophie. Thomas asks Will to take care of Sophie just before he dies. The doors to the Sanctuary close, leaving Tessa and Mortmain alone. He knows what she can do because he made her. Not literally, he’s not her father. But she would not exist if not for him. He hands her a watch on a chain with the initials J.T.S., he tells Tessa he wants her to Change. There is someone he very much wants to speak to, but she refuses to Change unless he answers her questions. He’s not interested in negotiating; he turns to find Tessa’s friends and make them pay for her impertinence. Tessa grabs Nate’s knife from the floor and calls him back, but instead of using it on Mortmain, she turns it on herself. If he takes one more step, she will plunge the knife into her own heart. Jem finally makes it back to the Institute just as Nate escorts the automatons holding Jessamine and Sophie downstairs. His wrist is aching, which is worrying, but Jem does not have time for the drug to be wearing off so quickly. He sees that one of the automatons next to Nate is holding the Pyxis. No living creature but a Shadowhunter can touch the box the stores a demon inside, but a clockwork creature is not alive. Nate proudly says that the demon energies inside the Pyxis are some of the energies that will be bound to the clockwork monsters. Jem does not know what promises Mortmain has made to Nate, but he makes a promise of his own. If Nate hurts Jessie or Sophie, or takes the Pyxis out of the Institute, the Clave will not stop hunting him until he is found and killed. Nate laughs. The Shadowhunters want to promise to allow him to live. But Mortmain will promise that he won’t ever die. One of the automatons lunges for Jem, who disables it and hits Nate – knocking him to his knees. Nate commands the other automatons to let the girls go and kill Jem instead. Luckily, Charlotte and Henry reappear and help him fight them off. The situation is quickly explained to Charlotte and Henry, Jessamine telling them that Nate has run off with the Pyxis, and Jem saying that Will is inside somewhere. He would have gone for Tessa. Mortmain asks what Tessa wants from him, but what she wants is answers. About what he wants from her. Why he created her. Who her true parents are. Mortmain tells Tessa that Nate is only her half brother and fully mortal. A warlock is the best word for what she is. Her mother was really her mother, and she had no idea that she had gotten pregnant with a demon’s child since the demon had taken the shape of her husband Richard Gray. Mortmain is not completely sure why Tessa doesn’t have a warlock mark, maybe because her mother didn’t know what she was either. He doesn’t tell Tessa more, he doesn’t think she will really stab herself in the chest. But she is not bluffing and as soon as he steps forward, she drives the knife into her chest. Will finds Tessa on the floor with Mortmain kneeling next to her and assumes that Mortmain killed her. He sees flashes of the library of the house that he grew up in, his family’s house. He sees himself opening a box, hears screaming, remembers riding to London. He remembers how he kept thinking that he had lost everything. Will prepares to stab Mortmain with his seraph blade, but when he grabs Mortmain’s jacket, the man disappears completely – leaving only a brass button that Will had severed from his jacket behind. Will doesn’t have time to figure out how Mortmain managed to disappear, Will kneels next to Tessa’s body. He lifts her into his arms and hugs her, his face in the crook of her neck - where he can feel her pulse. She asks if it’s really him and he is so relieved, then terrified. He can’t have her die in front of him like Thomas did. He has to find bandages, but Tessa tries to calm him. It’s not her blood that she’s covered in. Mortmain never would have left if he thought she was alive, so she Changed when the knife touched her - into a woman who had died of a gunshot wound. She had Changed into this woman for the Dark Sisters and the first time she did it, blood had poured all over her from the woman’s wound. She had banked on the same thing happen and crumbled over the knife, hoping that Mortmain would be distracted by the blood and not realize that the knife hadn’t actually gone in – Changing from the woman and back so quickly that she actually fainted in the process. When Tessa came to and heard Mortmain calling her name, she pretended to be dead. Thankfully Will came in before Mortmain had time to really investigate. She was thinking about when Will had told her about Boadicea, it helped her be strong. When she heard Will enter the Sanctuary, she thought he was a dream. But he’s real. He says nothing back to her, even when she asks him to speak. There’s nothing for him to say. He’s lost everything. Several Shadowhunters had been killed in de Quincey’s vampire nest, though Benedict did succeed in killing de Quincey. They bury Thomas and Agatha the same day as the Nephilim, to honor them for their service to the Clave. But Sophie and Tessa are not allowed to go to the funeral, they watch the others file out the front door of the Institute, leaving a Shadowhunter behind to guard the Institute. Two days ago, Tessa and Will had both been questioned by the Inquisitor about the time they spent alone with Mortmain. Will left the questioning with sanctions for rudeness and insubordination. He hasn’t spoken to Tessa in that time. She thought something important had happened between them in the Sanctuary, now she isn’t so sure. But she couldn’t have imagined the way he looked at her while he held her, when she first woke up. She’s not imagining that Will cares about her. But now he won’t speak to her, he won’t even look at her, and she suspects he’s acting withdrawn because the Shadowhunters are going to send her away. The Institute is not for Downworlders. Maybe she really will move in with Jessamine, they’ll go somewhere remote. When the Shadowhunters return, Charlotte finds Tessa in the library. But instead of asking Tessa to leave, Charlotte wants her to stay. Yes, the Clave is angry - but not at Tessa. They’re angry at Charlotte and Henry for being fooled by Mortmain. Charlotte admits that her pride stopped her from seeing clearly and allowed Mortmain to take advantage of the situation. And the Clave doesn’t even know that Henry told Mortmain about the Pyxis when he and Charlotte first met Mortmain. Only Charlotte does, and she doesn’t plan to tell. The Clave is calling a tribunal to decide if Charlotte and Henry can be trusted to run the Institute still. And Charlotte is worried they will lose their position – Benedict has always wanted the Institute. If Mortmain plans to use the demon energies in the Pyxis, they don’t have much time to stop him. Charlotte needs Tessa’s help to stop Mortmain, and possibly to keep her and Henry in charge of the Institute. Tessa runs to the roof of the Institute, where Charlotte says Will likes to sit when he is feeling troubled. And she’s almost never seen him as troubled as he is now. He doesn’t look at Tessa when she finds him leaning on the roof railings. He blames himself for not realizing that Mortmain was lying when he told them about the Dark Sisters. But Tessa says that she blames herself for bringing Nate to the Shadowhunters. Charlotte and Henry both blame themselves, too. That’s a normal feeling when faced with tragedy. She tells him that she can stay at the Institute, but Will is not excited like she expected him to be. She thought he’d be a little pleased at least. Tessa explains that she has come to care for him, to admire him, but when Will looks at her, he looks hollowed out. He calls her forward, kissing her and clutching her to his chest. He tells her they should discuss their arrangement if she’s going to stay. It’s better to use her room, it’s more discreet since Jem is often coming into his. He thought this is what she wanted. She could not have expected more from him, there is no future for a Shadowhunter and warlock. Tessa is expectedly insulted, but Will goes on to say that she shouldn’t be worried about unwanted children. Warlocks can’t have children. Tessa didn’t know this and she’s hurt. Will looks as if he’s in pain too, but his voice and gaze is steady. Tessa stops him. There is no reason to be cruel like this, even if what Jem says is true and Will is only trying to make himself look bad. He has nothing more to say to her, and she leaves him on the roof alone. Tessa is looking in the Codex at the warlock entry. She completely missed the part about their inability to have children; she doesn’t understand how. Jem finds her there, following his new cat inside the library – Jem has named him Church - which is shorter than calling him “the church cat”. Jem can tell something is wrong by the look on Tessa’s face. She shows him the entry and explains that it’s just one more thing that sets her apart from humanity. Jem tells her not to despair. There’s no real proof that she’s a warlock and when they discuss her parents, he reminds her that they tried to keep Tessa safe. Mortmain was searching for her, but they hid Tessa from him. Her parents, and then later, her aunt. He will help her look for answers about her past if that’s what she wants to do, but she may not like what she finds. She may be without family now, but she is not alone. Everyone at the Institute is missing someone but has made a home for themselves there. Tessa can do the same, they can be her family. She says that Will doesn’t want her there. Jem doesn’t make excuses for him; Will should be sorry for what he said. But family is often difficult and Jem believes wholeheartedly that the Institute is the best place for Tessa. And she may not be human, but the right man won’t care about that. They hear a tapping on the window and Tessa opens the glass to find her clockwork angel. She hasn’t seen it since it saved her from the automatons. It flies right to her, and it winds down once it’s in her hands again. Magnus is staying in Camille’s house, though she’s not in town and he’s not sure if she’ll be back. He wonders if he was just a dalliance for her to throw in de Quincey’s face after the death of her werewolf lover. Either way, he’d like to see her again (much to his own dismay) and this is the most likely place for that to happen. He’s told by one of Camille’s subjugates that a Shadowhunter is waiting in the library to see him. Magnus wasn’t expecting a visit and finds Will in the library, soaking wet from the rain and asking for Magnus’ help. He says there is absolutely no one else he can ask. Magnus locks the door behind him and asks what the problem is.
All the spoilers ahead... Will makes his way to the Cross Bones Graveyard near London Bridge. He can always hear ghosts, though not all Shadowhunters can – unless the ghosts choose to be heard. As such, he’s familiar with some of the ghosts found here, like Old Molly. Magnus has sent Will to Old Molly several times already, for candles, bones, and faeries’ eyes. Today Will need Foraii demon powders. He pays Molly in gold wedding rings with a lovers’ knot on top. Molly is looking for the one thing that holds her to this world so that she can finally pass on – her own wedding ring, though most believe that Molly’s ring is buried at the bottom of the Thames by years gone by. But the powder is not all Will wants. He wants to know if there’s something like the opposite of a love potion, call it an indifference potion, that he may be able to take. Jem takes Tessa to see Westminster Abbey. He takes her to a place he thinks she will truly appreciate, the Poets’ Corner where she sees the graves (and empty monuments, depending) of Robert Burns, Milton, and Shakespeare among. Over the last two weeks, Charlotte and Henry have been busy, and Will has been purposely avoiding her, so Tessa and Jem have spent a lot of time together as he shows her London. They’ve grown close. He helped her come out of her anger and unhappiness after what happened with Nate and then with Will. Will surprises them both by coming out from between two monuments. All three of them are late for a Council meeting. He looks like he’s been in his clothes all night. Will says he had an important errand to run - probably more important than visiting the Poets’ Corner. They pass into the East Cloister of Westminster Abbey where Will uses his stele to draw on a set of doors set into one of the walls. They swing open and all three step through before the doors close behind them. They continue to a pair of silver doors with the emblem of the Shadowhunters – four interlocking Cs which stand for Clave, Council, Covenant, and Consul. Inside the doors, Tessa sees a huge dome with amphitheater seating and a platform at the bottom. On the platform sits Charlotte and Henry, waiting. The Council is being addressed by a bearded, blonde man. She realizes that the blonde man is Consul Wayland. The Consul asks Tessa to answer a few questions for them, and she approaches the bench in front of Consul Wayland, escorted by both Will and Jem. As a Downworlder, Tessa’s testimony will only count for half of that of a Shadowhunter, even though neither Tessa nor the Silent Brothers (nor anyone else for that matter) really know what Tessa is. First the Consul dismisses Henry and Charlotte is questioned with the Mortal Sword about the events that happened the night de Quincey was killed and Nate betrayed the Institute. Then Tessa is questioned, and she attests that she does not know where Nate was, she had no idea he would betray the Institute, and she didn’t know until arriving in London that she had any powers. She’d always thought both of her parents were human. Mortmain had told her that her father was a demon, but she does not have a warlock mark. She tells them she used the button from Mortmain’s jacket to try to access his memories and thoughts, but it did not work and she doesn’t know why. Benedict Lightwood doubts her story. The Inquisitor announces that Mortmain’s houses, warehouses, and offices have been searched but he has not been seen since that night. The Consul advises that Henry and Charlotte be censured and placed on probation for three months for their missteps, he would have to personally okay any official actions they take on behalf of the Institute, but Benedict Lightwood interrupts. He thinks their punishment is too light, affected by the Consul’s friendship with Charlotte’s family. The Enclave’s relationship with the Downworlders has suffered since attacking de Quincey, and they let a dangerous criminal escape. Henry’s involvement running the Institute is nominal and Charlotte should no longer be in charge. Women cannot be trusted to run an Institute. Will leaps to Charlotte’s defense. He is a man and he was also fooled by Nathaniel Gray, as was Jem. Benedict brushes him away, he’s a mere child. Of course, Benedict could run the Institute instead. Three Shadowhunters rise to support his claim, Lilian Highsmith included. Consul Wayland retorts that Benedict has always wanted the Institute and challenged Charlotte the moment she was appointed, now the Shadowhunters need to work together more than ever. But Benedict will not withdraw his challenge. The Consul makes a decision. He gives Charlotte and Henry two weeks to locate Mortmain or find strong evidence of his whereabouts. They can use other members of the Clave if they have a specific need and may also use the Silent Brothers and Iron Sisters, but the investigation must be done themselves. Thomas’ brother, Cyril, will be joining the Institute and they have a new cook coming too, both trained to fight. This is a bit of a chastisement, but Henry insists that both Thomas and Agatha were trained too. Wayland points out that Tessa, Sophie, and Jessamine all live at the Institute, yet Tessa and Sophie have no training whatsoever and Jessie is woefully behind. Benedict offers the use of his sons Gabriel and Gideon to help with the training, since Charlotte and Henry will be busy with their investigation. Gabriel is horrified by the prospect, but the Consul advises Charlotte to accept the offer. The Consul adjourns the meeting, announcing that they will meet again in two weeks. Charlotte leads the residents of the Institute out of the Council room amidst whispers about them, but she takes a sharp right in front of the door and heads into a hallway. The Consul speaks to Charlotte there. It is better to placate Benedict because he has a lot of political power. The Consul believes in Charlotte, and he has always believed in her ability to run the Institute, but this mess was caused by bad luck, bad timing, complacency of the Clave, and bad decisions – of which Charlotte is accountable. But he has given her a chance to keep the Institute by doing a job that she would be required to do anyway. To stop the Magister. And if she thinks that job is impossible to do, then perhaps she should not be in the position after all. Charlotte puts everyone at the Institute to work on research: automatons, summoning and binding spells, the Pandemonium Club, and any Mortmain family histories. Even Jessamine is looking, she wants the man that nearly killed her punished. Tessa is looking through stories of Mortmain’s shipping company. When Charlotte leaves to speak to Brother Enoch, the others discuss Mortmain and what a waste of time this research feels like. What they need to find out is where Mortmain learned dark magic and why he hates Shadowhunters – which they aren’t going to find in a family history. Tessa says it has something to do with the watch Mortmain wanted Tessa to use. Jem suggests they look at the reparations section of the archives. Reparations are when a Downworlder is compensated after a Shadowhunter has broken the Law while dealing with them. Mundanes can also receive reparations, though it is not as common. Jem and Tessa leave to ask Brother Enoch to check the archives. Will decides to follow them, only to get into a petty argument with Tessa and storm off. Will goes to Camille’s house, where he is escorted to the drawing room by one of her subjugates and finds that Magnus has pushed all the furniture to the walls and drawn a pentagram in the center of the room. He has summoned Thammuz, a minor demon from the eighth dimension. Magnus tells Will to ask Thammuz his questions, but Will doesn’t think that Thammuz is the right demon. He’s not the right shade of blue, his voice is different, he doesn’t have the correct number of eyes. When compelled to give a truthful answer, Thammuz confirms that he’s never seen Will before. After banishing Thammuz, Magnus asks Will if there is any information he left out of his story. Will opened a Pyxis and released a demon that cursed him, he now wants that curse removed. Not much to go on. Will is desperate to end the curse that he has lived with for five years, but he won’t tell Magnus what the curse is. Sophie walks through the halls of the Institute when she hears the voices coming toward her – Jem and Tessa. She takes refuge inside a room. She can’t stand to see Jem and Tessa together, not seeing Jem’s feelings for Tessa on his face while she herself is in love with him. It makes Sophie jealous, even though she likes Tessa. It’s impossible not to like Tessa. Sophie watches as Jem lays a bundle of training clothes at Jessamine’s door before he and Tessa wander off, laughing and joking. She hears Jem tell Tessa that he thinks she is pretty. Once they’re gone, she prepares to leave her hiding spot, but Jessie’s door opens and Sophie sees Jessamine is dressed in traveling clothes. Jessamine kicks the training clothes into her room before walking off. After breakfast the next morning, Tessa and Sophie are told to meet the Lightwood brothers in the training room. Jem is there too, but Will is gone (probably avoiding the brothers) and Jessamine claims she has a headache. The two of them dress before walking to the training room together. When Jem joins them, Tessa finds herself worrying about how she looks in the loose pants and tunic and wishing that Jem could train them. But he’s not done training himself…and he’s not well enough to train them. Sophie asks how much training they will do and Jem assures her that a beautiful woman should at least know how to defend herself. Sophie gets upset and tells him not to make fun of her. He’s in the middle of saying he wasn’t teasing her when Gabriel Lightwood walks in with his older brother, Gideon. They’ve brought Thomas’ brother, Cyril, and the new cook, Bridget, with them. They give a little demonstration in which Gabriel fights Cyril but disarms him, only to be knocked down by Bridget - who puts a dagger to his throat. Gabriel laughs, making Tessa like him a tiny bit more. But then Will walks in and immediately starts insulting Bridget’s (as of yet still untasted) Irish cooking until Jem makes him leave the room. The two of them walk Cyril and Bridget downstairs to get their instructions from Charlotte. Gabriel focuses on training Tessa, and she thinks he’s pretty good at it, as Gideon trains Sophie. Afterward, dinner is served (Bridget’s cooking is rather good) though Charlotte is not present. She has gone to investigate the reparations records herself and soon she barges into the dining room, announcing that she has found something. A request for recompense made by Axel Mortmain for the unjustifiable deaths of his parents John and Anne Shade. Both of Mortmain’s parents were warlocks, so he must have been adopted and allowed to keep his previous surname. The record is dated before the Accords were signed and Shadowhunters could kill a Downworlder that they merely suspected had done something wrong. The Shades were killed for “natural and illegal dealings with demons” as well as creating a weapon that could threaten the Shadowhunters. Mortmain’s request did not ask for money, but for the Shadowhunters that killed his parents to be tried and punished, and he had the backing of Aloysius Starkweather through the York Institute. The full record should be in the York Institute still. Charlotte says that Aloysius Starkweather is still alive at the Institute in York and may even remember something about the event. Charlotte will write to Starkweather - which will be super awkward since he and her father had a severe falling out several years ago. Tessa goes to the library, giving Church his space as she walks around him – he likes to bite. Will joins her soon. It’s the first time they’ve been alone since he propositioned her on the rooftop, and their conversation quickly turns cool - at least on Tessa’s end. Will tells her that he read a book she said she liked and he did not like it himself. She prepares to leave the room and calls him Mr. Herondale. He is aghast. He thought they could at least talk about books. They begin to argue and Will says he read A Tale of Two Cities again after they had talked about it. It’s too sad, there’s no future for the character Sydney, with or without love, and for Lucie to be near Sydney would be worse for her. This makes Tessa soften a little and when she does leave, she calls him by his first name. She nearly says something else to him, but Church attacks Will before she can. Charlotte receives Aloysius’ reply and it is not favorable. He refuses to meet either Charlotte or Henry and furthermore says he will never forgive her family for what her father did. She’s not even sure what that was. Will and Jem offer to make the trip instead, since they can’t ask any of the other members of the Enclave to go. They don’t know who to trust outside of the Institute, anyone could be on Benedict’s side. Then Tessa suggests that they don’t really need Aloysius to tell them anything. If Tessa goes and retrieves something personal of his, she can Change into him and retrieve his memories. A good plan in case Aloysius decides not to talk to them. It’s decided that Tessa will join Will and Jem, the three of them will leave on the train the next morning. On the way to their next training session, Sophie seems maudlin. She says that Bridget is not particularly friendly and all she does is sing about murder and betrayal. She misses Agatha. She and Tessa make their way upstairs and overhear Gideon and Gabriel arguing. Gideon says that there will be a reckoning and they need to decide which side they will be on when it comes. Gabriel wants to staunchly stand next to their father, but Gideon says there are things that Gabriel doesn’t understand. Maybe there are reasons that the Consul didn’t put him in charge of the Institute, reasons that Gabriel doesn’t know. When Gabriel asks why he ever came back from Spain, where Gideon was training with another Institute, Gideon tells Gabriel that he came back to London for him. That makes Gabriel stop talking and the girls enter the room. Jessamine again is not with them, and Gideon makes a comment that Jessie’s headache probably won’t go away until the training sessions are over for good, which makes Sophie laugh. Gideon looks at her surprised, but not unhappy. Tessa is lying awake in her bed when she hears a rustle at her door. She opens it to find a book that Will recommended to her lying on the floor. He must have brought it – he’s so confusing! Inside, she finds a terrible poem Will wrote to her which makes her laugh. She is able to sleep at last. The next morning, she boards a train with Will and Jem. Will is in a sour mood (especially when he finds out that Tessa didn’t bother to bring anything to read) but assures the others that he will be the pinnacle of charm once they’re in York. He understands the trust that Charlotte is putting in them with this mission. They try to come up with a cover story as to why they’re in York and Jem suggests that Tessa be his fiancée preparing for her Ascension. Shadowhunter and mundane marriages are forbidden, but there are occasions when the couple will apply to the Clave to have the mundane use the Mortal Cup and be made into a Shadowhunter. The Clave considers each case for at least three months while the mundane studies to become a Shadowhunter. Will stares fixedly out the window but agrees it is a decent enough idea. Jem thought of the plan ahead of time and even has his Carstairs family ring for Tessa to wear. They explain that there are five other Institutes in Britain, but they are smaller Institutes that report to London, which reports to Idris. At eighteen, Shadowhunters are encouraged to travel to other Institutes to learn about different cultures. For example, Gideon Lightwood just returned from the Institute in Madrid. They also discuss what it is to be parabatai. It is an oath made to another, making them two halves of the same warrior. A rune placed by a parabatai is more powerful, you can draw on your parabatai’s strength in battle. There are even runes available to parabatai pairs only. You can only become parabatai once, but the bond can be broken by turning into a Downworlder or a mundane, or death. They’re met at the York train station by Gottshall, whose family has worked at the York Institute for nearly three hundred years. He doesn’t paint a favorable picture of Aloysius Starkweather for them. Aloysius does not disappoint. He starts by insulting Will about being both Welsh and having a mundane parent, then insults Jem, only to follow it by insulting Charlotte and her family, all before he even notices Tessa. Aloysius shows them to their rooms. As Tessa goes down for dinner, she looks at all the family portraits on the walls – including one of a young girl named Adele Starkweather. Will looks at the portrait too, probably a granddaughter of Aloysius. Will doesn’t like how the Institute feels like it belongs to the Starkweather family instead of to the Clave. Institutes shouldn’t be passed down through generations for that long. It’s part of the reason Benedict is so up in arms about the London Institute, and that was only two generations of Charlotte’s family: Charlotte and her father. Tessa, Will, and Jem are alone at the table for some time before Aloysius finally shows up, carrying a box in his arms. It is marked with the initials JTS, AES, and AHM, as well as the year 1825. He explains that the claim was made by Axel Mortmain, adopted son of two warlocks (he absolutely does not think that warlocks should be able to adopt). There’s not much about Mortmain in the file, but it does say that John Shade was in possession of the Book of the White, which had disappeared from the London Institute’s library around 1750 and specializes in binding and unbinding spells. They believed that John Shade was trying to animate corpses that he would buy off of medical students or dig up himself. A group of Shadowhunters killed both John Shade and his wife, the son was not found and was assumed dead until he made his reparations claim. It does list a family address at Ravenscar Manor, but there may not be much there still since most of the Shade’s belongings were taken as spoils. Tessa doesn’t know what he means by spoils, so Aloysius takes them on a tour – they have many spoils at the York Institute – as he finishes telling what he remembers of Mortmain’s case. Axel Mortmain was protesting the death of his mother only, he said that Anne Shade had nothing to do with her husband’s projects and hadn’t even known about them, thus her death was unjust. As recompense, he wanted those who killed her put on trial and to get his parents’ belongings back, including the Book of the White. The book was not given to him; it was placed in the London Institute’s library. Aloysius was part of the group that killed the Shades and he recollects the event fondly. They even took the cloaks off the dead warlocks’ backs. Tessa realizes that Mortmain never had a chance of winning his case. They arrive in the Institute’s museum of spoils. A locket splattered with blood, a dish of silver bullets pulled out of the bodies of freshly killed werewolves, rows of vampire fangs, faerie wings, the skull of a warlock’s head with tusks instead of teeth. Vials of blood. Tessa grows lightheaded, she sees black - she wants to fight the old man. She turns and presses her face into Jem’s face as he explains to Starkweather that she’s never seen spoils before. Maids come to escort Tessa to bed. She has a nightmare that night of the Dark Sisters, Nate, and Henry chopping her up and displaying her body parts like spoils. She is woken up by Will, who came into her room after hearing her yell out. He’s still in his evening clothes. He tells her everything was just a dream. The Accords outlawed spoils and besides, she must know that he would never let anyone hurt her. He nearly kisses her, but she turns away at the last moment. She doesn’t know that at all, not after what he said to her on the rooftop. She asks if he regrets saying it, but he admits that he doesn’t. She asks him to leave her room - even though it feels like a huge mistake. Tessa, Will, and Jem leave to investigate Ravenscar Manor early the next morning. They are told that they will not be returning to the York Institute but dropped off directly at the train station afterward. The carriage that Starkweather loans them doesn’t take them to Ravenscar Manor’s front door, but drops them off a little distance away so they can check for demonic activity before charging in. The manor is nestled between three tall hills and as they climb one, Will tells the others that his own home was in the country like this. Isolated, but not lonely since people would visit for weeks at a time. Neither can believe that Will is voluntarily speaking of his childhood. They crest the hill and look down to see that Ravenscar Manor is not in a state of disrepair at all. Someone has been using it. As they watch, a different carriage rides up to the gates, and a teenaged girl gets out. She turns around to look behind her, and Will chokes out one word – Cecily. Will is shocked. Cecily is his younger sister. His family must’ve been drawn into this somehow and are now in danger, possibly being held in Ravenscar Manor. He starts to run toward the manor to warn his family of the danger they’re in, but Jem grabs him and pins him to the ground. Jem points out an automaton that seems to be watching them. Will promises not to run again. But as soon as Jem releases him, Will takes off toward the manor. Jem and Tessa follow him as quickly as possible, but Tessa is wearing a corset and skirts and is quickly left behind. She is alone when the automaton finds her and attacks. She grabs a branch and uses her newly acquired training to try to hold the automaton off, but its metal weapons trump her wooden branch. Just as it tries to grab her throat, Tessa’s clockwork angel necklace defends her again. Jem and Will appear behind the automaton, and Will chops it in half with his sword. The automaton can still talk and delivers a message to Will and to all Nephilim. Leave the past in the past and stop investigating Mortmain, or Will’s family will pay the price. Once the automaton stops working, they see multiple other automatons standing guard. Jem tells Will that to protect his family, they need to lure the automatons away. They cannot speak to the Herondales, not to mention that it is against the Law since Will’s father gave up being a Shadowhunter. The Clave will not help them anymore. Will gives up and when he looks at Tessa, she sees pronounced, raw agony in his eyes. They bury the remains of the automaton and return to Starkweather’s carriage. Once inside, Tessa tries to help Will, but he isn’t speaking to anyone and just stares out the window. Jem speaks to Will – he thought Will’s sister was dead. Will looks at them both and says that his sister is dead, before they all lapse into silence for the rest of the ride. Once on the train, Will still refuses to speak. At least, not until he and Tessa are alone for a moment. She wants to thank him for his kindness the night before when she had her nightmare, but he only says that the night before never happened. He is not in the mood to talk further, not even to tease. Luckily, they’re interrupted by Jem returning to his seat and Will returns to starring. Tessa quietly asks Jem if he has any idea why Will’s family is involved and he doesn’t, other than to think that Mortmain is playing a very long game indeed. Jem says that at least Tessa didn’t have to change into Starkweather to get information, he seemed very willing to talk about Mortmain on his own. She shows Jem a button that belonged to Starkweather. She’s glad too, it probably would have been very unpleasant to be Aloysius, but she snagged his button just in case. When Jem starts coughing, Will is concerned about him but returns to despondency as soon as Jem says it’s just dust from the road making him cough. The second the train pulls into the station; Will jumps off and runs off alone. Jem insists to Tessa that he will be okay. Will storms into Camille’s house to see Magnus. He wants Magnus to send him to the demon realms to find the demon that cursed him, but Magnus says doing that is black magic and he would be punished by the Clave. Will cannot see any other recourse. He cannot deal with the constant disappointment of finding the wrong demon when every day brings a greater chance of losing her forever! Magnus knew that this was about Tessa! Will admits that yes, he loves Tessa. Of course he does, even though he never thought he would love anyone. Magnus points out that Will loves Jem, but Will brushes him off – Jem is his great sin. Will reveals that he saw his family earlier that day and they cannot be around him. He lied to Magnus before (Magnus is nowhere near shocked). Will’s father had kept a few things from his Shadowhunting life in their library. His stele and a small, engraved box - hidden in a false desk drawer. Of course, when Will found the box, he opened. It. A mist poured out, and he began to scream as the mist formed jagged teeth and a barbed tail. Then his sister barged in. Not Cecily, his elder sister Ella. She was holding a seraph blade. She tried to banish the demon, but it only laughed at her before knocking her to the ground with its tail. The demon looked at Will and told him that since his father was not there, the demon would make do with destroying Will instead. It cursed him, saying that all who loves Will will die. It may take only moments, or maybe years, but they will all die for loving Will. The demon pointed to Ella; he will start with her. Then it disappeared. But Ella was not hurt. In fact, she comforted Will – who was terrified. She’d been reading some of their father’s forbidden books and explained what the seraph blade was and what the Pyxis was that Will had just opened up. The terror started to fade. But the next morning, Ella was dead. She had swelled up and her skin turned greenish black in the night. That night Will left, knowing he had to leave to save the rest of his family. This is why he is cruel to those that may learn to care about him, to save them. He has been nasty enough to Tessa that he believes she does not care for him, although he nearly slipped up when he thought she had died, and he let his real feeling show. He had to crush any possibility of her loving him after that and now she hates him. As for Jem, he is the only person that Will allows himself to love since Jem is dying anyway. Will can delude himself into believing that Jem’s death would not be his fault. He has not even told anyone of the curse, so they would not pity him and form an attachment because of it. But he knows that Magnus does not like the Nephilim, and warlocks know how to protect their emotions, so he is willing to take a chance and tell Magnus. When Charlotte learns that Will is gone, she is worried, but Jem tries to relieve her of her anxiety. Will is always out at night, they never know where he is, and he can take care of himself. She reveals that she’s been paying Ragnor Fell to keep an eye on Will’s family. Ever since the Herondales came for Will and he refused to see them, he begged Charlotte to tell him if they died. Four years after that, Ragnor told Charlotte that the family had lost their house in Wales after Will’s father Edmund racked up gambling debts, but Ragnor didn’t know where they’d gone. Charlotte doesn’t understand why they would be in York, or in Ravenscar Manor. They suspect that Mortmain has found a way to prolong his life since he only looks like he’s about forty, but he should be in his seventies based on when his parents were killed. Jem suggests that Mortmain faked his death, leaving his company to his “son” – allowing him to come back to England and even change what the company was involved in. A trick that vampires employ often. Since they only have nine days left to solve this investigation, Charlotte asks Tessa to change into Aloysius Starkweather. They need to know if he can be trusted, if there was anything he was hiding. Magnus refuses to send Will to the demon realms and Will is desperate. He believes he is losing the good parts of himself as he pretends to be someone else, whittling away what was left of who he used to be. When Magnus does not change his mind, Will storms out. Magnus watches him walk away. Will reminds him of someone. Tessa changes into Starkweather. Aloysius’ mind is fractured with age, it is difficult to grab and hold on to a memory, but she finally manages it. She sees through Starkweather as Shade holds the hand of his son Axel, showing Axel the clockwork creatures that he’s been making. The automatons hold hands and dance around. Tessa feels Starkweather’s hatred. The memory is taken away, and she tries to find the Shade family again in Starkweather’s memory. She sees a room torn apart, full of cogs and gears with a green-skinned man and blue-haired woman lying dead – the Shades. She sees Aloysius’ granddaughter, the girl from the stairwell portrait, screaming in pain as a Mark is given to her. And she sees the first time that Starkweather saw her own face, saw Tessa’s face, and the shock that he felt is so strong that it throws Tessa back into her own body. She drops the button. She’s sitting in front of her vanity in her dressing gown thinking about what she just saw. She thinks she saw a glimmer of movement at the window and for a moment, she believes she sees Mrs. Dark. But below her window, the courtyard is empty. Just her brain, already anxious and on high alert, getting the best of her. The next morning, Will still has not returned and everyone (including Jem) is starting to get worried – except for Jessamine. Charlotte doesn’t think he would try to contact his family now that the heat of the moment has worn off, Tessa can tell that Charlotte would be upset if Will left and never returned – which is exactly what he would have to do if he spoke to his family. He would be giving up the life of a Shadowhunter. Tessa tells them what she learned from Starkweather the night before, basically nothing, and is reminded of their training that day with the Lightwoods. Jessamine volunteers to do anything else (her headache is finally gone but she can’t risk it returning by training) and Charlotte finally relents. She asks Tessa and Sophie not to mention anything about Will during training. Sophie and Tessa are waiting in the training room, speaking about Will when the Lightwoods are brought in by Jem. Of course, Gabriel overhears them. Gabriel says he hopes Will doesn’t come back. He hopes that Will’s dead. Tessa is astounded and asks what Will did to deserve that, Gabriel only says to ask Will herself. Today they start knifework and Gabriel is not patient and he is not kind; he even gets a little handsy when she fails to hold a knife correctly. When she rebukes him, he points out that Gideon is standing just as closely to Sophie, yet Sophie doesn’t seem to mind. Tessa does look. Sophie does look relaxed and amazingly, Gideon blushes a little when he catches Tessa watching them. But Tessa still thinks Gabriel was in the wrong and he ends up storming out of the training room. Gideon apologizes for Gabriel’s behavior. Things have not been easy at home lately and Gabriel is taking that out on Tessa. Then Gideon follows after his brother. Tessa leaves training to find Charlotte and Henry speaking to Ragnor Fell, the High Warlock of London. Charlotte wants to know why the Herondale family is in Ravenscar Manor, and she wants to know if they are safe... without the rest of the Clave or Benedict Lightwood hearing about it. She also thinks it would be beneficial to try to look into Axel Mortmain’s birth family. Ragnor agrees to do so, but he believes Mortmain is a name that Axel took himself. It feels like a Shadowhunter name. Stark-weather, Heron-dale, Light-wood, Fair-child. Mort-main. “The hand of death.” Once Tessa is back in her room, a letter is delivered to her from Magnus Bane. He tells her that he saw Will and is worried that he may hurt himself. He also recommends Tessa not tell Charlotte. As soon as she’s able, Tessa goes to Jem’s room to show him the letter. He knew there was something wrong with Will, he could feel it in their bond. He takes her to Will’s room and they look around (it’s a mess). Tessa finds a ton of books and the letters that she wrote to Nate. More of a diary since she never really thought Nate would get them, she wonders why Will has them. Jem finds a receipt for some of his medicine. Will usually buys it for Jem, and it turns out it costs a lot more than Will had said it did. He also finds a Herondale dagger – one of the only items Will brought with him from his family home. They should be able to use the dagger to track him. Cyril brings the carriage around; Tessa climbs in as Jem sits across from her and he tells Cyril to head toward the center of London. Tessa asks about the parabatai bond in the carriage and Jem tells her how he came to be parabatai to Will. Will asked Jem when they were thirteen, but Jem said no. Will deserved to bond someone who was not destined to die one day. So, Will challenged him to a duel with longswords. If Will won, Jem would agree to become his parabatai. Throwing daggers are Will’s weapon of choice so Jem agreed, but Will must’ve been practicing without Jem’s knowledge. He disarmed Jem and pinned him against the wall in nine seconds flat. Now Jem can’t imagine his life without his parabatai. They find Will at the drug den run by ifrits that he frequents to buy what Jem needs. Jem and Tessa insist that they’re there for Will, but the warlock at the door still tries to sell Jem some yin fen. The warlock tells him that it’s getting harder and harder to obtain, he should buy up what they have, and Jem gets paler and paler until Tessa orders the warlock to show them to Will. Will is high, barely conscious. Jem is so stunned that Tessa has to force him to help her get Will out of the ifrit den. On the way out, Will asks Jem to pay. Once outside, Jem punches Will in the face. As Jem returns inside to pay for Will’s merchandise, Cyril helps Will into the carriage and hands Tessa a handkerchief for Will’s face. She helps him staunch the bleeding as Will tells her he only wanted to have happy dreams for a little while, but he’s made a mess of everything. When Jem enters the carriage, he tells Cyril to drive, and Tessa takes the handkerchief wet with Will’s blood and tucks it into her sleeve. This time, it is Jem that does not speak during the carriage ride, and he runs off as soon as the carriage stops. Tessa tries to find him but eventually goes to her own room. She sees a new side of Jem, and she realizes that she has taken his patience and kindness for granted. As if that was just who he was, and not choices that he constantly made. When she hears a noise from the hallway, she realizes that Jem is playing his violin but not softly - violently. She goes to his room, and his pupils are blown wide. She tells him that he’s going to destroy his violin. He’s distraught. What does it matter if he destroys the violin when he’s going to die soon anyway. And when his closest friend makes a mockery of his illness. Tessa tries to tell him that Will is fighting something; he hadn’t been trying to hurt Jem at all. She feels Jem’s head to see if has a fever, but Jem brushes her hand away. He doesn’t want her to touch him, not like that. He knows that Tessa doesn’t believe he could want things like a normal man would, that when she touches his hand, she is only checking his pulse or looking to see how much drug he has taken when she looks in his eyes. She can’t believe that he would be healthy enough, alive enough to want her. But he is. Jem pulls Tessa to him and they kiss. They kiss a lot, ending up on the bed as they explore each other. Tessa reaches out and knocks a pillow off the bed, which falls into Jem’s nightstand and knocks his wooden box onto the ground. The box opens and the drug falls onto the ground. This stops him. Tessa shouldn’t touch or even breathe the drug in; he asks her to leave the room. She doesn’t want to, but he pleads with her to go. He doesn’t want her to see him degrade himself by scrabbling on the ground to collect what he can of the drug that he has to have. No man would want the girl he… he cuts himself off, ashamed. Tessa kisses him on the cheek before leaving, wondering what it was he was going to say. She makes it to her own room and has almost closed the door when she sees Jessamine sneaking around in men’s clothing. She wonders briefly what that’s about before going to bed, and she’s not sure if she dreams of Will or Jem… or both. The next morning, Tessa wakes up mortified at what she did with Jem. But really, about what Jem will think of her now. That she lost control. Will announces to the breakfast table that he was found in an opium den and does not get half of the response that he thinks he should. Tessa says it wasn’t really opium and Jem says he shouldn’t have worried about Will, he didn’t need Jem’s help after all (he’s still very angry), but Will does tell them something interesting that he learned. He saw a bunch of werewolves in the den, buying a lot of yin fen – the drug that Jem uses. It works as a stimulant on them and when asked, the werewolves said that Mortmain likes to keep them up all night working. Some of them were already starting to turn silver, like how the yin fen has changed Jem’s hair and eye color. Charlotte will have to talk to Woolsey Scott, who is in charge of the London werewolves. She hopes he’s not involved with Mortmain like de Quincey was. Soon, Charlotte stalks off after asking Henry to join her meeting with Woolsey and he doesn’t get the hint, then Jem stalks off because he can’t look at Will. Will asks Tessa why she isn’t changed for training with the Lightwoods and she says she doesn’t need to; it’s just knife throwing that day. What a great thing to hear. Will is really good at knife throwing, he thinks he will join them for the day. That should keep things interesting. He’s not wrong. Gabriel in particular is perturbed by Will’s presence at training. When Gabriel starts to insult Charlotte, Will speaks up. Even Sophie and Gideon stop training to watch what happens. Gabriel says that the Lightwoods should take over the London Institute and Charlotte can take the York Institute instead. It’s time Starkweather stepped down and his children won’t ever leave Idris, not after what happened to his granddaughter. Tessa asks what happened and is told that Aloysius’ granddaughter reacted poorly to her first Mark, turned Forsaken, and then died. Gabriel goes on. Charlotte doesn’t deserve the London Institute after what her family did to the Lightwoods. Charlotte’s father Granville found out that Gabriel’s uncle on his mother’s side, Silas, had broken the Law. Just a minor infraction but instead of letting it go, Granville told the Clave and Silas killer himself of the shame. Their mother never recovered and died from the grief a few years later. Though Charlotte had nothing to do with that, the sins of the father are inherited. Gabriel is cut off from talking further but not by Will, by Sophie - who has slapped him across the face. Gabriel runs off, but Gideon doesn’t seem angry. In fact, he’s happy Sophie has been paying attention to his training. Will asks if the story was true and Gideon says yes, at least partly. Gideon had known that his uncle had killed himself but not why until their father told them the story a few days ago. Gideon had told his father that Charlotte seemed to be doing a good job running the Institute, so Benedict told him and Gabriel the story. But Silas hadn’t committed a minor infraction, but a major Law. He fell in love with his parabatai. That is strictly forbidden. The Clave would have separated the two parabatai, but Silas couldn’t conceive of the thought and killed himself instead. Gabriel was five when their mother died, and Gideon believes that it has a lot to do with Gabriel’s hero worship of their father. Sophie is distraught. Because of what she’s done, Gabriel won’t return to the Institute, so Tessa decides to go after him and speak to him. Will follows her out, but they’re too late. She can see Gabriel’s carriage drive away through the drawing room window. Talk turns serious between Tessa and Will. She tells him that he needs to think of Jem – he should have thought about what it would be like for Jem to see Will in that ifrit den. What a slap in the face it is for Will to make a mockery of what is killing Jem. Will doesn’t understand. He wasn’t trying to make a mockery of Jem and Jem shouldn’t think that, but Tessa assures Will that Jem does. Maybe Will should start thinking about how what he does affects others, but Will insists that it is all he thinks about. How he feels about others and what they think about him. He’s about to say something about what he’s scared of but Charlotte walks in with Woolsey Scott, head of the London werewolf pack. Sophie and Gideon are left alone in the training room; she assumes that he will be leaving and won’t be returning to train her anymore since she hit Gabriel. But Gideon wants to confide something to her. He did not want to return to London from the Madrid Institute when his father sent for him. He’s never been happy in London, not since his mother died and their house descended into misery. Moreso, he thought that Tessa and Sophie would be silly and uninterested in training, that training them would be a waste of time. He has found that he was entirely wrong. And Sophie shows more ability than many of the younger Shadowhunters he’s trained. He began to look forward to their training sessions, look forward to seeing Sophie. It’s the only time he’s happy in London. She protests. He’s always saying “Dios mio” when she messes up but he just grins - he speaks Spanish when he’s in a good mood. He wants to know if he can see her again… even if the lessons do not continue. Woolsey insists that Tessa and Will stay while he speaks to Charlotte. He’s more interested in gossip and namedropping, but Charlotte is eventually able to get him on topic. He assumes that the reason Charlotte wanted to meet is to see if he was betraying the Shadowhunters like de Quincey did, she says she thought members of Downworld might be upset about what happened with de Quincey. But not Woolsey. Camille’s werewolf lover that de Quincey killed was his older brother. Woolsey loathed de Quincey. He was given the position of pack leader after the previous leader, his brother, died so that he could get revenge, but the Shadowhunters have taken care of that for him – for that he owes them a favor. He knows there’s a small group of rogue werewolves not associated with any pack that may be working for Mortmain. They seemed to have quite a bit of money, but he didn’t know they were using yin fen. He hopes they won’t create a shortage, leaving Jem without what he needs. Will panics and walks out, he hadn’t even thought of that. Woolsey assures Charlotte that he is not a member of the Pandemonium Club; he refused to join when de Quincey was already involved. But he does know that Mortmain hates the Shadowhunters. Killing them all is an obsession of his. Charlotte asks Woolsey to let her know if he learns anything more about these rogue werewolves. When Woolsey tries to talk about Charlotte’s personal life, she “accidentally” knocks over the teapot and shows him out. Ragnor writes to Charlotte. Will’s parents and sister Cecily are living in Ravenscar Manor as custodians of the property. Edmund was offered the position after losing their house in Wales to gambling debts. Mortmain is not often seen in the area - according to the locals. Ragnor had the chance to speak to Cecily, who told him it was Will’s desertion of his family that made their father lose everything. If Will is worried about them, he should return to them. But Ragnor believes that Mortmain hired the Herondales to watch the manor so that the Shadowhunters could not investigate there, that would be breaking the Law. In addition, none of the items in the house can be used to track Mortmain since they now technically belong to the Herondales, and it gives him power over Will should he ever need it. Cecily speaks of Mortmain with nothing but affection, she believes he is in Shanghai though Ragnor has spoken to the Shanghai Institute and they disagree. Ragnor told Cecily that Will missed her, that seemed to make her happy. Ragnor plans to stay in the area a while longer. Charlotte is worried about how Will will take this news. He can be trying, and mean, but she always remembers the way he looked the night his parents came for him and her heart goes out to him. Jem comes in as she’s thinking and tells her what Gabriel said in training about Silas Pangborn (Sophie had relayed the story to him). Charlotte says the story can’t be true. Silas killed himself because he was in love with his parabatai, but her father didn’t tell the Clave. The first time the Clave heard about it was in Silas’ suicide note. Silas’ father even asked Granville to help write Silas’ obituary. Jem suggests she tell the Consul about this, perhaps it will give them extra ammunition to keep the Institute. Jem starts to cough and Charlotte worries about him. She loves all those under her care – Jem and Will included – and she’s worried about losing Jem. And of how that will affect Will. Will comes back from buying all the yin fen he can find to find Jem pacing in front of Tessa’s door. He convinces Jem to go to his own room, where Will gives him the package. He confirmed that Mortmain has been buying up all the supply, if they didn’t have enough for Jem, they would have been forced to comply with Mortmain’s demands for the drug… or to let Jem die. Will won’t allow that. He would do anything to save Jem, and he apologizes for going to the ifrit den. Without Jem, he would be alone in the world. He doesn’t want to hurt Jem; he’s hurt enough people - but never Jem. If not for Jem, Will would be dead already. Will’s speech alarms Jem. Jem reminds him that he is dying and there is nothing that Will can do about it. Will says they made a bond. They are one person now; one cannot go where the other cannot follow. But Jem disagrees. Two people with a bond that only death can separate them. He agreed to be Will’s parabatai because he thought Will needed him. Will had built a wall around himself but no one should be so alone, and Jem thought that he could be the person Will relied on. But something has changed and Jem thinks that Will’s wall is finally coming down. Tessa is in her room. She thinks Jem is avoiding her because she acted so scandalously the night before, she’s relieved when she hears the quiet knock on her door. But it isn’t Jem, it’s Sophie. She tells Tessa of how she’s seen Jessamine sneaking out and tonight she found an invitation to a ball at Benedict Lightwood’s. She shows Tessa the invitation. On the back, she sees Nate’s handwriting. He’s planning to meet Jessie at the ball. She asks Sophie if Jessie has already left – but that’s the thing. Jessamine saw when Sophie discovered the invitation and got really angry. She came toward Sophie, who used her new training to hit Jessamine in the head with a mirror, knock her out, and tie her to the bed. Now Sophie’s not sure what to do. She doesn’t want Charlotte to fire her, and she doesn’t want Jem to know what she did, which only leaves Will. Will is shocked – and impressed. He doesn’t think Charlotte will be upset with Sophie. If Jessamine had met Nate, she may have betrayed the whole Institute, but Will doesn’t think they should wake Charlotte either. Charlotte would be honor bound to alert the Clave, but they have an opportunity here. He gives Jessamine an iratze and a sleeping rune, so she won’t wake up soon. Why is Benedict throwing parties none of them know about? Why is he inviting Nathanial Gray? He suggests that Tessa attend the party as Jessamine and they get some answers. He will go with her - it is a masked party, and he happens to have a venetian mask handy. Sophie agrees she can get Tessa ready in an hour, and Will goes to dress himself and wake Cyril for the carriage. Will looks devastating dressed for the ball, and Cyril is confused why Jessamine and Will are going anywhere together. While in the carriage, Tessa reveals that she cannot access Jessie’s memories. Something is wrong. She can feel anger and rage and bitterness, but nothing specific. She says she knows another reason that Will didn’t want to wake Charlotte. If Jessamine is actually in love with Nate, that would break Charlotte’s heart and Will doesn’t want that. He’s not as cold as he pretends. He does care. She asks about his sisters and he actually answers. He had two. Ella, older by one year, was protective. She died. Cecily, younger by three years, was wild. At least when she was nine. Will hasn’t seen her since. He also finally tells Tessa what happened between him and Gabriel’s sister Tatiana. When they were twelve, she fancied herself in love with Will. He found her diary and read it out loud at the Christmas party. Gabriel wanted to preserve his sister’s honor, but Will broke his arm instead. It was an embarrassment for both Tatiana, for obvious reasons, and Gabriel, because he’d been gossiping about how Will was weak and basically a mundane. Not quite the sordid tale that Tessa had expected. She says she heard that Tatiana got married and has just returned from her honeymoon. She has more questions. She’s been trying to figure out what she might be, a combination not seen before. She asks about the children of demons and Shadowhunters, but Will tells her that they are always born stillborn. He asks if she could access her parents’ memories, but she’s tried. Not even the clockwork angel allows it, probably because it’s been Tessa’s for too long. When they arrive at the Lightwood’s estate, the house is black. Tessa wonders if they’ve messed something up, but Will can smell witchcraft in the air. Some powerful magic is being done tonight and there is something very strong, stronger than a ward, concealing it. Will conceals himself in the shadows as Tessa (as Jessamine) waits at the gates. It is opened by a hooded figure (she thinks she sees a cluster of red eyes under the hood but she’s not sure) who leads her toward a side entrance to the house. A strange symbol is carved into the door. As soon as she goes inside, the door slams behind her and lights turn on around her. Torches with green flames going up a narrow staircase. At the top is a door with the symbol of the Pandemonium Club. When she goes through the door, she finds the ball. The room is packed with people; she can spot different kinds of Downworlders. Automatons line the walls. Someone touches her shoulder, her brother – who calls her Jessie. He looks great. Dressed opulently in the height of fashion, it’s everything he always wanted. He asks Jessie to dance, and she asks how he has been. The Magister still favors him, thanks in large part to the information that Jessamine has been passing to him. As they dance, Tessa sees Gideon and Gabriel in the crowd. Then finally, she finds Will. He looks furious. Nate shows her where Benedict is sitting with a woman sprawled over him. Or, what looks like a woman but has snakes coming out of her eyes. Nate confirms what Tessa suspects, it’s a demon. That’s what Benedict likes. Tessa remembers what Will said about Benedict having demon pox. Nate’s disgusted. He doesn’t understand why Mortmain favors Benedict so highly and wants Benedict at the Institute so badly. But then, Mortmain could use Benedict to destroy the Clave from the inside, plus there’s the library. As for Tessa, they plan to have her arrested for possession of dark magic items and sent to the Silent City, from which Benedict will deliver her to the Magister. It’s part of the agreement they made, but Nate doesn’t know what Benedict is getting from the agreement. It must be something big. All this will go to plan, as long as Jessie hid the Book of the White in Tessa’s room like she was supposed to. Tessa assures him that she did. He comes in for a kiss, but Tessa says she feels faint and needs to sit down. He helps her off the dance floor and goes to get her a drink, although he is annoyed about it. While alone, a woman with lavender hair speaks to Tessa. She can see through Jessamine to the real Tessa, and she recognizes her because the lavender-haired woman knew Tessa’s mother. She says Tessa’s mother always called her Hyacinth, though her kind doesn’t give their actual names. She’s known Tessa’s mom since childhood. Tessa guesses that Hyacinth is a faerie and Hyacinth asks if Tessa knows about changelings: human babies replaced in their cribs with sickly faerie children. The human child grows strong in faerie and strengthens their bloodlines, as the humans deal with the weakling faerie child. They kids are switched out to avoid suspicion and revenge sought by mortals, usually the mortals don’t even realize the child has been changed out. Tessa asks if she is a changeling, but Hyacinth only laughs. Of course not! Nate comes back with a glass of fizzy lemonade that Tessa drinks, and he asks Jessie to dance again, but Tessa says she isn’t feeling well still. That’s fine. A man can’t dance all night with his wife. They’re Married! Nate receives a note from the Magister summoning him, he leaves Jessamine alone. Soon Will comes up to Tessa. He sent the note to get rid of Nate, and now its time for them to leave before they’re discovered. And they need to hurry; Tessa is starting to Change back to herself. Soon she’s shivering, twitching with the Change as she tries to stave it off. Will quickly gets her to a balcony for privacy. She thinks all the information has overwhelmed her, but Will says she did great. He’s gentle with her. He hates Nate for breaking her heart, but he tells her the Institute is her family now. They should go back in, but they don’t. Will touches her face, her neck, her waist, telling her that he has wanted to touch her every moment since they’ve meant, then he kisses her. They don’t stop, even when an old lady comes onto the balcony (and quickly turns around). But then they’re found by Magnus. He heard from his “sources” (Camille’s subjugate that recognized Will) that Will and Tessa might need some assistance and he came to give it to them. The lemonade lowers inhibitions. Will turns away from Tessa and asks Magnus to get them out of the party. Magnus magics them off the balcony to a pathway near the garden where a group of demons are walking and chatting. One looks like a corpse, one looks like a spinning wheel of mouths, and the last looks like… a blue lizard with a barbed tail. Will sees the blue demon and immediately attacks him, running after the demon when it tries to flee. Magnus tells the two remaining demons that they’re having a minor disagreement and shuffles them toward the party. Magnus tells Tessa they won’t be able to catch Will, so they start to walk down the path instead. Will will find his own way back to the Institute. Magnus puts Tessa in his own carriage; he wants to hear what she learned at the party. Tessa returns to the Institute to find Jessamine still asleep and Sophie standing guard. No doubt about it, they’re going to need to wake Charlotte up. Magnus is waiting when Will arrives at Camille’s house looking like he got into a fight with a giant cat. He shows Magnus his arm, pulling a tooth out of it. He chased the blue demon all over, the demon got away but only after he bit Will and left his tooth behind. Magnus can use the tooth to summon the demon. Magnus says it will take a couple days as Will starts to stumble around. Will says the tooth may have been poisonous - just before he passes out. Jessamine wakes before Charlotte comes to the room and Tessa takes the chance to try to talk some sense into her, but it goes very poorly. When Charlotte arrives, Brother Enoch is with her, and he has the Mortal Sword. They use it to question Jessamine since the sword will force her to speak the truth. Jessamine admits that Nate sent her his first message only a few days after the Institute was attacked. She ignored it, but he kept sending letters until she agreed to meet him. He proposed the second time they met in person. He said they could be together; they could have children and they would never have to worry about money. They were married in a church with a minister and everything. Jessamine has told him everything. It’s part of the reason she was so involved in the investigation. Where they were looking for Mortmain, which Downworlders they spoke to, about the trip to York. That’s why the automatons were sent to Ravenscar Manor. The Magister’s plans are nearly complete and then he will take the Institute and Tessa. Jessamine doesn’t know what Mortmain has on Benedict, or if he’s managed to open the Pyxis yet. She admits that she found the Book of the White in the library and hid it in Tessa’s floorboards to frame her. Jessamine looks at Tessa. Nate hates Tessa. He knows that she’s always looked down on him with her ideas of morality She never wanted him to get ahead. Nate said Tessa’s father was a demon and her mother was a Shadowhunter. Magnus patches Will up and lets him sleep on the sofa as he sits nearby. That’s where Camille finds them. Magnus wants to know where she was, but he already knows she was in Russia with a human lover. It hurts when she isn’t honest with him. She tells him she was in Paris. He calls her out and she admits she had a bit of a distraction in St. Petersburg, but that guy’s dead now. The two of them, they’re immortal. Monogamy is for those with short lifespans. If Magnus wants to be with her, he will have to deal with her small transgressions. Magnus doesn’t want that. He lies and says he’s got Will now anyway; he doesn’t need Camille any longer. Magnus wakes Will up and says they must leave, kissing him before they go out the door. Will is stunned but plays along until they’re outside. Camille is angry. A Shadowhunter! And in her own house! Outside, Will asks if Magnus really kissed him and Magnus says it was just a hallucination from the painkillers. He will start work on the demon tooth right away and will let Will know when everything is ready. Tessa is stunned, but Charlotte agrees with what Will told Tessa. Jessamine is only saying what she believes is the truth about Tessa’s parentage, that doesn’t mean what Nate told Jessamine was the actual truth. Tessa can’t be part Shadowhunter. Besides, if their mother was a Shadowhunter, so would Nate – and he is not. Charlotte decides to tell the Consul about both Jessamine and Benedict’s betrayals, at this Jessie laughs. That is exactly what Mortmain wants her to do, though Jessamine is not sure why. Charlotte asks where Mortmain is hiding and after a moment, Jessamine says Idris. In the next breath, she denies it. Charlotte calls in Brother Enoch, who was waiting in the hall. He says there is a block on Jessamine’s memory, if they keep questioning her, it could kill Jessamine. He asks to take Jessie to the Silent City; they have different ways to get Jessamine’s secrets – ones she might not even know she has. He carries Jessamine out of the room and Charlotte breaks into tears. Charlotte tells everyone about Jessamine’s betrayal and Henry does not take the news well either. They all knew that Jessamine was unhappy there, but she’s lived there since she was a child and they didn’t think she hated them like this. Will returns, tired and with a bandaged arm, but also a spirit of excitement for some reason Tessa doesn’t understand. Brother Enoch has agreed not to tell the Clave of Benedict’s betrayal for a day or two and Charlotte tells everyone what Jessamine said about Mortmain wanting the Consul to know about Benedict. It’s decided that they will not turn him in… yet. They will try to lure Nate in for a meeting with Jessamine instead, Tessa will reprise her role. But they’re going to need Jessie’s help. A last chance for her to help them and gain some leniency when the Clave finds out what she has done. Jem and Tessa agree to speak to Jessamine in the Silent City. Once the Institute’s meeting is done, Tessa finds Will. She wants him to promise not to tell anyone about what happened on the balcony the night before. He teases her but agrees in the end. He wasn’t planning on bragging about it anyway. He won’t even tell Jem. Sophie meets Gideon at the park. He’s ready for a picnic but after what she’s learned of Benedict Lightwood’s party and his sons’ attendance, Sophie tells Gideon that she cannot see him. He begs her to let him explain. He had no idea what his father had gotten involved in. Before he went to Spain, his father was not this bad - although he had always bent the Law. He swore all the Shadowhunters did the same. It wasn’t until Gideon studied in Madrid that he found that was not the case. Most Shadowhunters uphold the Law rigorously. Gideon came home partly to try to show Gabriel the truth before Gabriel is too far gone down the same road as their father. The party was the first time Gideon had seen this level of depravity, and he was disgusted. He’s also pretty sure he saw Will chasing a blue-skinned demon but hasn’t told anyone that Will was there. He does want to know why Will was at the party – he thought the Institute was busy investigating Mortmain. He asks Sophie to tell him the truth, she’s more trustworthy than his own family, and she agrees to go to the park with him. If only so she can tell him what the Institute knows and how the automatons at his father’s party belonged to Mortmain. Tessa is tortured by riding to the Silent City alone in the carriage with Jem. She thinks he must think the worst of her. That she is wonton and not worth getting to know any longer, but he suspects she thinks the same of him. When they finally talk, they find that neither of them despises the other and they both blame themselves for what happened. Finally, Jem tells Tessa that the reason he is upset is not because of what happened, but when it happened. He would have liked to court her first, properly. Before you know it, they’re kissing again until a bump in the road brings them back to their senses, and Jem decides it’s probably prudent to sit across from Tessa instead of next to her. Soon they’re at the Silent City and asking to see Jessamine. Jem tells Tessa to speak to Jessamine alone first. Tessa has brought Jessamine the little baby Jessie from her dollhouse. Tessa explains that she knows Jessie is in love with Nate, but Nate cannot love her back. There is something missing in his heart which will not allow him to love. Tessa tries to reason with her, but Jessamine refuses to listen. When Jem comes in, Jessie turns to him. He should know how she feels, Jessamine sees the way that he looks at Tessa. But he insists that he would never betray the Institute or the people who care for him, and if Tessa asked him to then he would know that Tessa did not truly care about him at all. They explain that if Jessie doesn’t help them, she will lose everything. She will stay in her cell in the Silent City and will not be able to see Nate, and she will also lose whatever support she still has. Jessamine insists that Mortmain will triumph and when he does, Nate will come for her. Maybe so, Tessa agrees. If he does, he will understand that women are fragile and easily led astray. He would forgive her if he loved her. Jem concurs – he would forgive Tessa for anything. Jessamine tells them where to find the boy’s clothes she wears when she meets with Nate and agrees to write a letter for them. The Institute breaks into a flurry of activity, preparing for Tessa to meet with Nate. Jem comes in to tell Tessa that everyone is ready and sees her in the men’s clothes, he stumbles out quickly while blushing, making Sophie laugh. She explains to Tessa that the clothes are a bit tight on Sophie form since they are for Jessamine, plus she is wearing pants. And besides, Jem fancies Tessa as it is. Sophie says all this with no animosity and that intrigues Tessa. Sophie admits that there was a time she had a crush on Jem, but he never returned her feelings, and those feelings have cooled into friendship. Tessa suspects that they’ve cooled with the help of Sophie’s crush on someone else. She asks if Sophie has been seeing someone else, but Sophie insists that she has not. Tessa joins the Shadowhunters as they make their plans. They’re still waiting for Nate’s reply, but Jessamine has shown them on a map their usual meeting place. Henry will drive the Shadowhunters with the carriage so they can get into the warehouse first and hide themselves. Tessa will walk, since Jessie would not be driven, and Cyril will follow at a discreet distance to make sure she doesn’t run into any trouble. Will points out that they will again be leaving the Institute without a Shadowhunter, but Charlotte and Sophie have already thought of that. Sophie recommended they call Gideon Lightwood; he arrives at the same time as Nate’s response – in the form of a flying letter outside the window. Nate says he will be there at sundown, and Charlotte tells Gideon he is there to train Sophie and guard the Institute while the others are gone. Gideon and Sophie go upstairs as the others head outside. There’s not much time before sundown. Just before the Shadowhunters leave, Sophie touches Jem’s wrist and tells him “mizpah” like he taught her. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek, unnoticed by the others, before climbing into the carriage. Before she leaves, Tessa wants to grab her clockwork angel necklace. She can’t wear it, but she would feel better with the necklace in her pocket. She runs inside but finds Gideon and Sophie in the hallway. They’re whispering and looking very focused on each other. Tessa turns around before she’s noticed. She doesn’t need the necklace. The Shadowhunters arrive at the warehouse and find nothing of note. While they investigate, Will and Jem go up a set up stairs to a gallery where the lower floor can be watched. They are not alone. A man sits and as they approach, they believe he’s dead. His hair is silver, as are his eyes when they finally look at him. Not dead but dying, one of Mortmain’s hired werewolves. He tells them they’ve been putting the clockwork creatures together; Mortmain would have them take the yin fen six or seven times a night. Charlotte comes up behind them, sees the man, and immediately turns and leaves to be sick. As Will tries to find a way to move the werewolf, maybe the Silent Brothers can help his suffering some, the werewolf dies. Immediately afterward, Jim and Will hear Nate come into the warehouse - calling for Jessie. Tessa walks to the warehouse without trouble and finds Nate in the back room. She tells him she needs to know where the Magister is, she has urgent information, but first he wants a kiss. He insists on a kiss actually. When she prepares herself to get the kiss over with, he starts laughing. He wondered how far Tessa would go to protect her Shadowhunter friends. He grabs Tessa by the arm and doesn’t let go. He knew she was behind this. Her meddling caused him to have a falling out with the Magister after the ball, and he was quite worried about it before he got this note from Jessie and knew Tessa must be behind it. They must’ve tortured Jessamine to get her to write that note to him. Jessie wouldn’t betray him, she loves him. Tessa says she loved him once too, he was her brother, but he reveals they are not siblings. Not even half siblings. Tessa’s mother was Elizabeth Gray, born Elizabeth Moore. But Nate’s was Tessa’s aunt - Harriet Moore. She was once engaged after her sister was already married, and she got pregnant before the wedding. Her fiancée unexpectedly died before they could be married and left Harriet in a bad situation. Elizabeth raised Harriet’s son, Nate, as her own so that Harriet would not be shamed by the world. Nate found this out from Elizabeth’s letters. Its part of the reason he killed Harriet. She disowned him and he will never know who his father was because of her. This still doesn’t make sense. He told Jessamine that her mother was a Shadowhunter, but that can’t be true. If it were, Aunt Harriet and Nate would be Shadowhunters too. Nate just smirks at her but does not explain. Tessa tries to free herself from Nate, using all of her sparse training, but he overpowers her. That’s when Nate shows her an automaton – but it is twenty feet tall with metal spikes on its feet and hands, and horns on its head with fire crackling between he horns. It’s already holding Charlotte’s limp body but allows Charlotte to fall to the floor. The giant is prototype that the Magister has abandoned for being too cumbersome but has given to Nate for his own uses. Nate orders it to crush Charlotte. Henry darts out screaming Charlotte’s name and uses a misericord on the automaton. It breaks the blade and grabs Henry. Nate orders the automaton to hold Tessa until the Magister arrives. Nate shoves her away and she rolls to the side in time to see Will and Jem jump onto each of the automaton’s shoulders. It’s let go of Henry, who lies still near a pillar, but Tessa is more worried about Charlotte - who could be crushed by the machine’s feet. She is still alive; Tessa drags her to the edge of the room. Will and Jem distract the automaton and shear off pieces of its body; Tessa tries to find a way to where Henry lies. Nate orders the automaton to shake, and it does. Will is able to hold onto the creature’s neck but Jem falls and lands hard on his leg. Before he can draw an iratze, the automaton is coming for him. Jem takes out a metal object – a new invention of Henry’s. He had given one to Jem and one to Charlotte, he only had two. It’s specifically made to disrupt the mechanics of the automatons. Before he can use it, Nate kicks Jem’s injured leg and the leg snaps beneath Jem. The object rolls away from his hand as he falls. Nate and Tessa both go for the device. She nearly has it when Nate grabs her leg and pulls her backward. She Changes - into Nate using only the touch of his hand on her skin. This throws Nate off. Tessa grabs the device and throws it to Will. Tessa (as Nate) orders the automaton to hold Nate, but it doesn’t move until she orders it a second time. The automaton picks Nate up as Will finishes doing something on the automaton’s back and drops down to the ground. He runs at Tessa, who has Changed back into herself, and pushes her to the ground. He covers her body with his own as the automaton blows apart. When the metal is done falling, Tessa looks around. Henry is cradling Charlotte in his lap, kissing her face – but she is awake. Jem has his stele in hand as he slowly gets to his feet. And Nate leans against one of the pillars, a chunk of metal in his chest. She runs to Nate. She tries to save him, but Nate stops her. He has failed the Magister; this is a better death than he would get from Mortmain. He tells her to always wear her angel necklace, making her swear - but she can’t really trust him. He knows that. He knows there’s no forgiveness for him, but she leans in and whispers that she does forgive him. He only responds that she doesn’t know everything he’s done. He dies. Only then does Tessa realize that no one else has come over. She sees the Shadowhunters kneeling in a circle around Will’s body. Will covered Tessa to protect her, but they were closest to the blast, and his back is torn apart with wounds and imbedded with shards of metal. They cannot heal him because the skin would close over the metal, but they have used a rune to slow the blood flow. They must get him back to the Institute before he loses too much blood. Just then, Jem points out that Tessa is also hurt. She touches her temple and feels a piece of skin in a loose flap. It’s too much and she passes out. Tessa can hear Charlotte and Brother Enoch. Brother Enoch says Tessa is not badly injured, she passed out from repeated shocks to her system. She will wake up when her body and spirit are ready. Tessa wakes up when Will cries out. He’s a few beds away from her on his stomach as Brother Enoch removes the metal from his back. Jem stands at Will’s head, giving his parabatai whatever comfort he can as Will refuses any more painkilling runes. All this because Will chose to protect her. She dreams of her Aunt Harriet, who explains that she coddled Nate because she felt so guilty about not being able to raise him herself. About not telling him the truth. When Tessa says she has no family anymore, Harriet tells her she has more than she thinks. Tessa can hear Charlotte speak to Jem and Sophie as Tessa and Will rest. She thinks she will lose the Institute after this – after finding a traitor living there (again) and losing their best source of information. Jem asks what Henry thinks. He’s shocked that one of his inventions worked as intended, but also blaming himself that Will and Tessa are injured. It doesn’t matter that without his invention, they would be dead. Jem tries to console Charlotte. Everyone says that Henry doesn’t really love Charlotte, she must’ve heard the mean gossip, but Jem assures Charlotte that he does. Henry nearly went mad when Charlotte was hurt by the automaton. Charlotte doesn’t believe Jem but is soon drawn away by Sophie, who wants to talk privately. Jem whispers to Tessa. He thinks he will be lost if she doesn’t come back to him. He says something to her in Mandarin, and she knows what it means without being told. He loves her and he doesn’t want to lose her. She wants to wake up, but she can’t. Tessa sees Jessamine in her cell. Jessamine knows somehow that Nate is dead and uses her necklace, a diamond given to her by Nate, to carve the initials “JG” into the wall for “Jessamine Gray”. The diamond breaks. Not even the stone was real. Tessa wakes to find Will sitting in the bed next to her. He tells her he’s sorry about what happened to her brother, even if he deserved it. He couldn’t save his own sister either. Tessa is pretty sure this is a dream and that makes her bold. She curls up next to Will, her head on his shoulder. When he leans down to kiss her, she tells him this is all a dream and he gets concerned, but she falls back asleep. Will leaves Tessa (though he really doesn’t want to) to see Magnus, who has sent him a note. Will’s back is nearly healed since they used iratzes after removing the metal. Magnus is now staying with Woolsey Scott since moving out of Camille’s house, and he’s ready to summon the demon Will found - Marbas. Once summoned, Will demands to know if Marbas recognizes him. Sure, he chased him around the Lightwood Manor. But no, does Marbas recognize him from five years ago. Then Marbas realizes, Will is Edmund Herondale’s son. He remembers Will’s sister, he remembers the night he was freed. Will asks about the curse and Marbas says the curse wasn’t enough, he should have made it worse after being imprisoned for twenty years. Then Magnus speaks up. Something isn’t right. A demon is usually at its weakest after being released from the Pyxis. How was Marbas strong enough to curse such a strong and clever curse. Marbas admits that the curse was fake. Ella died because Marbas hit her with his stinger. Will has lived his life this way unnecessarily. Will doesn’t believe it at first, but Marbas swears it. Magnus burns Marbas, destroying him for his cruelty. Will is bereft. Everything he’s done, the things he’s said, abandoning his family, the nasty way he treated Tessa – all because he was stupid enough to believe a demon. Magnus tries to tell him that this is a new beginning. The people he thought he was protecting really do love him, despite the way he has acted. And Magnus thinks that includes Tessa. When Will leaves (still in shock), Woolsey asks how much Will paid for Magnus’ help. Magnus says nothing. Will did him a favor once, a favor Will doesn’t even remember. Tessa wakes up for real and wonders how much she remembers was a dream. Sophie helps her to her room and Tessa reveals that she saw Sophie with Gideon. Tessa isn’t going to tell Charlotte, but she warns Sophie. Can Sophie imagine Gideon going to his father and saying he wants to marry a mundane? She tries to tell Sophie not to be ridiculous, but Sophie just gets angrier. Tessa has no idea what Gideon is capable of, what he would do for the two of them. She storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Charlotte is penning their resignation letter as head of the London Institute when Henry comes in and sees what she’s writing. He’s hurt. They technically lead the Institute together; shouldn’t he get a say in this? He tells her that he knows why she’s mad at him – because he didn’t see Woolsey Scott with her. Before she can protest, he goes on. He always thought Charlotte understood his need to make something great, something that would help the Shadowhunters in their fight. That’s why he’s always inventing, always working. He has the same passion for his inventing as she has for running the Institute. She also wants to make things better. Henry knows that he will always come second to Charlotte, that he will never be first in her priorities because that title belongs to the Institute… here she interrupts him. Charlotte knows that Henry only married her because his father owed Granville Fairchild money. Granville forgave the debt because of their marriage. She was too plain, too strong willed, and unmarriageable – no one would want her without incentive. Henry gets angrier than she’s ever seen him. He doesn’t know anything about any owed money. He went to Granville Fairchild himself, in good faith, and asked for the honor of marrying Charlotte. She is not plain, she is beautiful and he wanted to marry her because he loved her. Because he has always loved her and he loves her now. He asks if she ever loved him or if she only married him for the Institute, she cries out that she does love him! Now she’s mad. She’d give up the Institute before she’d ever give him up. She married him not for the Institute but because no matter how hard it was to head the Institute, or how poorly the Clave treated her, it would be okay because she would be with him. They’ve both been so silly, thinking the other may grow to love them with time when they’ve actually loved each other this whole time. Charlotte needs to tell Henry something else, but they’re interrupted by a wild-looking Will looking for Tessa. Seeing Charlotte’s letter, Will says they can’t give up the Institute. He won’t stay if she isn’t there. This is their home! Will tells Charlotte that he is grateful for everything she and Henry have done for them and he will not allow her to make this mistake. But they only have three days to the end of the deadline and they cannot expose Benedict, based on what Jessamine has said. Will says they’ll figure something out and leaves to round up the others. Charlotte and Henry are stunned. Was that Will… their Will? Tessa stares at the door, hoping that Sophie will return and she can patch things up. But when there is a knock at the door, it is Jem instead. He looks awkward and asks to come in. He’s making Tessa nervous and she’s worried this has something to do with his illness, but he assures her he’s fine. He explains that Charlotte may have to give up the Institute and they will all be scattered. Tessa will not be able to stay there unless she wants to, and is allowed to, stay with the Lightwoods. But Jem doesn’t want her to leave. Her place is with him – forever. He asks her to marry him. She thinks he’s doing this, sacrificing himself, for her sake since he would have to leave the Clave to marry her. But Jem doesn’t think he would need to leave. Tessa is not a mundane, their marriage would not be against the Law, the Clave they would have to consider their case specifically. In the meantime, they could be engaged. And the sacrifice would be made by Tessa because Jem won’t live for long, even less time than a regular mortal, while Tessa is immortal. But he thought he would die before he ever loved someone and had them love him back. He gives her a jade pendant that his father gave to his mother when they became engaged. Shadowhunters exchange family rings when they get engaged, but those are meant to be returned when they’re married. She would not need to return this pendant. He says that Tessa makes him stronger. He doesn’t even have to take as much yin fen anymore. And he wants to be with her because he loves her. There’s a small part of her heart still holding on to Will, but she decides she will just have to let that go. She says yes and puts the necklace around her neck. Jem is so relieved. Sophie finally does knock, telling Tessa (and Jem when she notices him) that they’re wanted by Charlotte. Jem says they will tell Charlotte about their engagement first whenever they get a chance. When Tessa walks into the room where everyone is gathered, she sees Will and they lock eyes. Will does not look away - and he looks bright somehow. But talk turns serious quickly. Charlotte still plans to give up the Institute. After everything that has happened, it has become clear to her that she is not capable of running it well. Everyone disagrees with her, including Will and then Sophie. Sophie tells them she knows that Jessamine’s information is correct - giving up Benedict Lightwood would play directly into Mortmain’s hands. Sophie doesn’t want to say where she got this information at first but then she admits she’s been seeing Gideon privately. Gideon has also figured out what Mortmain has on Benedict. He only just found out, and Benedict does not know that Gideon knows, but Benedict does have demon pox. They thought that was made up! Jem asks what symptoms demon pox has and Will, the only person who believed in any capacity that it was real, tells him that it starts with a shield-shaped rash on the back that spreads and creates cracks in the skin. Jem rushes from the room, he will be right back. He returns with a report that he got from the Silent Brothers when Tessa saw Jessie alone. A report about Barbara Lightwood’s death. He was interested after finding out about Silas Pangborn exactly how Barbara Lightwood had died. She had a shield-shaped rash on her left shoulder, indicative of astriola or demon pox. She slit her wrists and Benedict made up a story so that his children wouldn’t have to know that she killed herself after getting demon pox from her husband. Sophie has heard that Mortmain has been giving Benedict Lightwood drugs to slow the progression of the disease. But the disease is moving more quickly now, making Benedict desperate. They come up with a plan. Charlotte will contact Benedict for an immediate meeting under the pretense of passing the Institute to him. She knows now that she will lose it and Benedict will not give up the chance to see her embarrassed. But once they are there, they will turn on him and blackmail him for information. Benedict will throw his support behind Charlotte as head of the Institute and withdraw his challenge. Unfortunately, Benedict has a lot of followers, and they do not know who they can trust outside of their group - and Benedict probably has blocks on his memory like Jessamine did. But Will thinks he will prioritize not being shamed in front of the Clave rather than staying alive longer. The Clave would give him the worst of punishments for this transgression and make him Forsaken, while stripping his sons of their Marks and striking the Lightwood name from the rolls of Shadowhunters. They would no longer be Nephilim. Benedict would not be able to handle that. And if Benedict doesn’t agree, they’re no worse off than they were before. Charlotte agrees to Will’s plan, on one condition. He has to follow her lead. But he and Tessa will come to the manor with her while Henry and Jem stay at the Institute. Tessa and Will rise to prepare as Charlotte writes a note to Benedict. Cyril will take the note ahead of their arrival, alerting Benedict to their impending visit. Will asks to speak to Tessa once they’re alone in the hallway but the others come out to quickly and he has to wait. Tessa says she will meet him in the drawing room after they go to the Lightwoods. She thinks he wants to hear her thank him for saving her life. Tessa goes to her room to find a new outfit on her bed. Sophie comes in and helps her dress, saying that Charlotte had ordered Tessa a few new dresses so that she didn’t just have the ones from Jessamine. Charlotte thought it would make Tessa more comfortable. Tessa is overwhelmed at Charlotte’s kindness. She also apologizes to Sophie. She should not have said the things she did about Gideon, and she makes a point of saying Gideon wasn’t partaking in any of the party activities when she saw him. Sophie has already forgiven her. Tessa said she was brave to tell Charlotte the truth about Gideon. Sophie says Charlotte wants to talk later – Charlotte is disappointed in her. Tessa proclaims that Charlotte loves Sophie. She’s not going to fire her. Charlotte knows that Sophie is wonderful, and Tessa thinks so too! Sophie warns Tessa to beware Benedict, he’s very cruel to his boys. And she asks Tessa not to break Jem’s heart, looking at the jade pendant Tessa now wears. Tessa meets Will and Charlotte at the front steps. When she sees Will, she is struck again by how beautiful he is. She wonders if there will be a day when she will not notice. She shouldn’t notice now, since she’s engaged to Jem. Will looks at her and smiles broadly. He comments on her new dress, and he doesn’t make fun of it. He compliments her eyes, stunning her. Soon Charlotte joins them and rushes them into the carriage. It’s going to rain. Cyril does not take them to the manor like Tessa’s expects, but to the Lightwood’s weekday house where they are escorted into Benedict’s office to see him. Gideon stands to one side with Gabriel on the other. When they tell Benedict that they know he is fraternizing with demons (unless you consider a demon licking your face an act for a mere acquaintance), Benedict is not concerned. He gestures at them saying that they are not trusted sources, and he will testify with the Mortal Sword that he has done no such thing. But Will sees a mark on Benedict’s wrist and asks how far the demon pox has spread. To be at his wrists, it must be advanced indeed. Benedict turns on Gideon and accuses him of betrayal. Gideon admits he did tell them about the demon pox and he would again. Furthermore, he will stand up in front of the Clave and tell them what Benedict does in the evenings, how Benedict believes the Law can be bent (or broken) at his will, and testify that Charlotte is far more fit to run the Institute than his own father – with the Mortal Sword if necessary. Charlotte explains that if Benedict does not withdraw his claim and throw his support behind her, she will tell the Clave (and his sons) everything she knows about Benedict’s wife and the real reason Barbara killed herself. Before they leave, Gideon chooses to leave with them. He removes his family ring and places it on his father’s desk. Gideon asks Gabriel to come with them. Gabriel is torn, but he ultimately decides to stay with Benedict while Gideon leaves with Charlotte. Gideon is quiet on the ride back to the Institute. He really thought Gabriel would come with him. Charlotte says to give Gabriel time. He has only just learned the truth. Tessa sits next to Will, and he seems happy and sweet, but she can feel the tension emanating from him. As soon as they arrive at the Institute, he leads Tessa to the drawing room - locking the door behind them and kissing her before she has a chance to say anything. She pushes him away. She thought he wanted her to thank him for saving her life. He insists that he didn’t save her life so she would be grateful or because it is expected of him. He did because he loves her and he has loved her for some time. She doesn’t believe him after the way he acted on the roof, but he explains what he has told no one else. He thought he was cursed and he was pushing her away to save her. Everything clicks into place for Tessa. He tells her how he read her letters that she wrote while imprisoned by the Dark Sisters and he felt a connection to the way she used books to keep herself sane in the Dark Sisters’ House. Books were the only reason he didn’t kill himself at certain low points in his own life. He only allowed himself to love Jem because Jem was already dying. Will figured that after Jem succumbed to his illness, he would leave and go live alone somewhere alone where he could not hurt anyone. Tessa tells Will that it’s too late, but he insists that it’s never too late! They can start again. She just embraced him the night before! She tells him she thought she was dreaming then, and that she accepted Jem’s proposal only that morning. This stuns Will. He had no idea how Jem felt – Jem never said anything. Will thinks that if they told Jem the truth, he would not hate either of them. But they cannot do that to him. They both love Jem too much to hurt him that way. Will asks Tessa to never say a thing to Jem about this, and not to speak of the curse to anyone at all. He does ask if she loves him, but she won’t give him her answer. She tells him he will have no trouble finding someone to love him now that he does not feel the need to push people away. He rushes out of the room, believing that she could never love him and she watches him go. She is in so much pain, it feels impossible that the pain is invisible to others. She sits alone for a long time before she grabs the hot fire poker and wraps her hand around it. Burning her hand finally allows her to cry and when she does, it is with earth shattering sobs. That is how Sophie finds her. Sophie takes her to her room and tends to Tessa’s hand, and Tessa apologizes again for telling Sophie not to be foolish about Gideon. Sophie is not the person Tessa needed to worry about being foolish. But Sophie begins to cry. She is happy that Gideon has taken their side but if he lives at the Institute, he will see Sophie as she truly is. Just a servant. Sophie got in over her head and has everything to lose, where Gideon stands to lose nothing. And all she’s ever wanted was to be a Shadowhunter. She used to think that if she married Jem, she might Ascend. But is Gideon going to offer that to her? Will thought that Tessa would come after him, but when she doesn’t, he finds himself at Jem’s door. Any remaining thoughts of asking Jem to let Tessa go are washed away when Will sees Jem. He looks happier than Will has ever seen him - and stronger too. Jem thanks Will for saving Tessa. He wonders if Will did it partly because he knew what Tessa meant to Jem. And Jem apologizes for being so harsh about finding Will in the ifrit den. He knows that Will was only looking for solace. He knows who Will truly is, no matter what he shows others. Will is not just better than who he pretends to be, but better than most people ever could be. Will is worth everything. Later, they all attend the Council meeting – and they’re all nervous. Charlotte is called to testify with the Sword about everything that has happened in the last two weeks. Consul Wayland calls on Benedict. How does he think Charlotte has performed? Was she too cruel to turn Jessamine in? Too lax to allow yet another spy into their midst? Too careless to allow Nathaniel Gray to be killed? Benedict throws his support behind Charlotte completely. He insists that she needed to be tested, but she has passed muster. She has discovered who Mortmain is and, in Benedict’s opinion, they need to focus on preparing for a war against Mortmain and his creatures now. Gabriel sits next to Benedict looking awful, like he hasn’t been sleeping. They take a vote, and the vote decides that Charlotte remains in charge of the Institute. Then tons of tiny clockwork creatures the size of large beetles fly into the room. The Shadowhunters take cover, but Tessa traps one creature inside her hat and calls Henry, who smashes the machine before it can dig a hole through Tessa’s hat to freedom. Aloysius Starkweather makes his way over to Tessa and asks if she’s okay. He had noticed that the clockwork machine had come right over to her and wanted to make sure that she wasn’t harmed. She assures him she’s fine as everyone else stares in wonder. Everyone is acting so strange lately! In the carriage, Henry tells them that the automatons are cameras, although he can’t tell yet if they can record sound. He decides they are going to celebrate that night since they get to keep the Institute. When they pull in, Tessa sees a curtain twitch and a glimpse of a face watching from the window. She thinks it may have been Sophie but can’t be sure. Jem comes to escort Tessa to dinner and, carried away by his love, kisses her in the hallway. He apologizes again that she is going to marry someone who will die young, but she tells him there is plenty of time for them to find a cure. She plans to be with him forever. He tells her that he does believe they’ll be together forever. He was born to love her and that love will travel with him to the next life and every life thereafter. When they enter the dining room, Jem cannot wait any longer. He grabs Tessa’s hand and announces that he and Tessa are going to be married. The room is shocked into silence until Will stands and proposes a toast. Then Henry and Sophie are very excited, Will is congratulating Jem, and Gideon is standing awkwardly. Charlotte, though, is strangely quiet. Tessa asks if she’s okay and Charlotte says she has news of her own. She and Henry are having a baby – a boy! Henry is utterly elated, Gideon just gets more embarrassed, while the others are so happy for the couple. When Cyril comes in and announces there is a Shadowhunter at the door to speak to Henry, they can’t imagine who it may be, but the person is refusing to wait. Henry says to let the Shadowhunter up but make it quick, they have celebrating to do. This is a private affair only for their family. When the girl walks into the room, Tessa recognizes her immediately. Will gasps a quick intake of breath as the girl introduces herself. Her name is Cecily Herondale, and she is there to be trained.
Have your tissues close by... In 1847 York, Aloysius Starkweather tries to reassure his granddaughter Adele before she receives her first Mark. He explains to her what will happen: the Silent Brothers will come in and use a stele to draw a rune on her skin. Afterward, she’ll get to be the center of attention at her party downstairs and there will be presents. Usually, they would start with the Voyance rune, but Adele is delicate, so they’ve chosen to start with a Strength rune. When the Silent Brothers come in with Adele’s parents, Aloysius sees pain in Adele’s face as the Mark is drawn. Some pain is normal, this is not. He yells at them to stop but the rune has already been completed - Adele starts to scream. Twenty-six years later in London, Charlotte Fairchild looks for Will. He’s about twelve and she wants him to greet the newcomer to the London Institute, a boy named James Carstairs (everyone calls him Jem) who is about the same age. Will treats Jem the way he treats everyone. He pushes Jem away with a combination of scorn, pointed cruelty, and hatred. She has seen Will push away every person who has tried to get close, but she’s also seen him cry and believes that he has given up hope in himself. Will tells Jem that he looks weak – like he’s dying. Charlotte is aghast, she knows something that Will does not which makes that comment particularly biting. But Jem isn’t fazed. He reveals that he is dying. They say he only has two or three years tops. But as for being weak, he’s better at throwing daggers than Will is. He could teach him. Will tells Jem that he’s sorry, but Jem doesn’t want his pity. He wants to train with him. Charlotte watches as Will agrees, taking the knife that Jem holds out to him and brushing Jem’s hand with his own. The first person she’s seen Will touch willingly. Tessa is being fitted for her wedding gown when Jem comes looking for them. Gabriel Lightwood is downstairs throwing a fit. Will trains Cecily. She continues to urge him to write a letter to his parents. He refuses to do it since it is against the Law, finally agreeing to a wager. If she throws three daggers in a row into the center of the bullseye then he will write the letter. He doesn’t know that she’s been practicing since before she ever came to the Institute. She wins, and he agrees to write the letter telling their parents of the curse (he’s come clean to everyone in the Institute) and then he will throw it into the fire. He will only send it to their parents if she agrees to deliver it herself – and not return to the Institute. Jem interrupts their argument by telling Will that Gabriel is downstairs talking about demon pox. Sophie takes food to Gideon’s room. He asks her if he’s done something to upset her. Ever since he moved into the Institute, she has been cold when before things were far more…amicable. She only tells him that he is a gentleman and she is only a servant. Henry comes barging in. Gabriel is downstairs and he won’t speak to them until Gideon comes. Charlotte and Tessa go to Gabriel first. He’s driven himself to the Institute and is covered with blood: his clothes, his hair, his hands. The others come in and too late, Tessa realizes she is still in her wedding dress. Once the others are there. He explains that Benedict is a worm. Yes, yes – he’s despicable. Gabriel insists that no; he’s an actual worm. He has not been getting his medicine since he betrayed Mortmain, and the demon pox has been getting worse. Today, Gabriel went to get him and found the doors of the study torn off their hinges. He followed a trail of slime to the gardens where he found the servants torn apart. Then the giant worm, his dad, came for him. Gabriel fled, although he should have tried to reason with the worm. Gideon doesn’t think so. It probably would have tried to eat him. The worm didn’t follow Gabriel out of the gates, he doesn’t think it wanted to be seen by the public. Everyone turns to Will. He didn’t tell them that the last stage of the demon pox was turning into a giant worm. A) The books are in the library; anyone could have read them. B) He didn’t know it would be a worm. It’s really any kind of demon. Just about now, Gabriel sees Cecily for the first time and is audibly blown away by how pretty she is. Gideon says he and Gabriel will go to the Lightwood house and most of the others quickly agree to come with them. Including Cecily, though Will doesn’t want her to come. Next thing you know, Tessa will want to come too! Tessa says that of course she is coming! Will points out she is still in her wedding dress but that’s not a problem. Everyone has seen it – she couldn’t possibly wear it to get married anymore. Meanwhile, The Council (via the Inquisitor Victor Whitelaw) reminds Josiah Wayland that his tenure as Consul is coming to an end. They think Charlotte might be a good fit for his replacement. The carriages arrive at the Lightwood Manor to find Tatiana’s carriage there too. Their sister, recently married, must have come to visit with terrible timing. The Shadowhunters split up (Charlotte has not come) and soon, Tatiana is running at Tessa’s group and throwing herself at Will. She explains that the worm came and took her husband Rupert into the garden. She speaks to both Jem and Cecily briefly but ignores Tessa completely. Will and Jem head into the garden, followed by Cecily and Tessa a moment later. They find Rupert’s boot under a hedge and at first, Tessa thinks his body is hidden by the hedge. Then she realizes that the boot and the foot inside it are all that are left of Rupert. Will and Jem hear Tatiana’s scream and rush back. They find Cecily investigating the bush that hid Rupert’s foot. The giant worm that was Benedict Lightwood bursts out from the ground in a barrage of dirt. Will knocks Cecily out of the way, dropping his blade in the process, so Jem stabs it with his sword. The worm goes back underground. They pull Tatiana up from the ground and Will convinces Tessa to take Tatiana away. Tatiana is not trained, it’s too dangerous for her to be in the garden right now. And it will get Tessa out of danger too – so all the better. Will wants to protect Tessa, comfort her, but it is not his job. She is engaged to marry Jem. The worm surfaces again and Jem throws his dagger at its neck area. The worm knocks Will to the ground. Its tail is around Will’s knees and is about to drag him forward when it is stopped when Gabriel shoots it with an arrow. He and Gideon are running toward them. Will can’t believe Gabriel Lightwood just saved his life. Gideon stands in front of the gigantic worm, he’s dwarfed by it, and Gabriel shoots again. The worm slithers out of the garden quickly. They are making a plan to surround it when Will sees Cecily climbing a tree. She’s about to tell him why when the worm bursts out of the ground again. Tessa shoves Tatiana into a carriage just before she hears a crash from the house. Henry is in there alone as the others search the garden. Tessa runs in to find out what the sound was and finds Henry locked in battle with a second, smaller demon, but one with far more arms than the worm had. She stabs the demon with a fireplace poker and then Henry is able to use the seraph blade on it. He explains that he was searching Benedict’s desk and must’ve triggered an alarm. The demon was a guardian demon. Tessa tells Henry what they found, Henry gets her attention and points to the wall. She had already seen that it had stains all over, but she can see now that the stains form words. “The infernal devices are without pity. The infernal devices are without regret. The infernal devices are without number. The infernal devices will never stop coming. May God have mercy on our souls.” Gideon and Gabriel fight the head of the worm, trying to keep its attention on them, as Will and Jem tackle the tail. Cecily, still in the tree, jumps onto its back and stabs it. The worm turns to bite her, but she jumps off and it ends up biting itself in the side. Gabriel is then able to surprise it and shoot an arrow into its eye. Finally, the worm is dead. Will runs toward Cecily who has hurt her wrist but is stopped by Jem. Will’s face is covered in ichor that is burning him. Jem gives Will an iratze and waves him off, but by the time Will gets to Cecily Gabriel is already there and they’re staring at each other. Will yells at Gabriel to get away from his sister. As Will begins to ask Cecily what she was thinking to jump on the back of the worm, Gabriel tells her it was one of the bravest things he’s ever seen. Cecily flushes as Gabriel looks at her with surprise and awe. Will gawks at both of them. Then Jem collapses to the ground. Tessa and Henry hear the screams of the worm as it dies, and they run out of the house. They’re met by Gabriel, who tells them about the worm and Jem. Tessa hurries to him. Will suspects that he did not take enough yin fen before leaving the Institute, though Jem won’t admit it. They prepare to hurry back. Will will drive Jem and Tessa now, Henry will take what’s needed from the house and bring the others behind them. Inside the carriage, Jem asks what they found inside the house and Tessa tells him. She’s worried, but he assures her that this is just a passing attack. Nothing more. Sophie stands at the window. She’s supposed to be working but she’s too concerned about the people who went to the Lightwood estate. About Gideon. But when she sees Will driving the carriage in and Jem leaning on his shoulder, she grows concerned about Jem instead. She may no longer be in love with him, but she still wants him to be okay. She runs down to find everything being taken care of but Tessa, who needs to get out of her gown that is covered with demon ichor, is too concerned about Jem to think straight. Sophie leads Tessa away. Tessa’s head clears a little with Sophie’s soft instructions, enough to assure Sophie that Gideon was not hurt. Gabriel waits in the drawing room of the Institute. Charlotte joins him after Brother Enoch arrives to see Jem and kicks them all out. She explains that Tatiana has already been taken back to the Blackthorn home and the Lightwood estates will be confiscated by the Clave, at least until they are thoroughly searched. Gabriel has already made it quite clear how he feels about Charlotte and the Institute, so if he will give her an address, she will send a letter for him and arrange for him to stay there. But Gabriel doesn’t have anywhere to go, and he wants to stay with his brother. He doesn’t know what his father’s plans were, what he was doing with Mortmain, and he doesn’t even know what the Infernal Devices are. He went along with it because he was his father. But Gabriel has lived through hell the last few weeks since Gideon left, a hell that was growing steadily worse. And if Charlotte won’t let him stay, she should just say so now. She explains that she has never turned someone away when they needed help and she’s not about to start now. But to allow him inside the Institute is to place her trust in him and his intentions. Do not make her regret it. Tessa is trying (and failing) to distract herself from worrying about Jem by reading a book when Will finds her. He’s been kicked out of Jem’s room. They talk and she tells him she can feel the darkness and despair closing in. She does not want to sit back and do nothing while it happens. She wants to be brave. He assumes she’s worried about Jem and she is, but she’s worried about him too. He tells her not to waste her concern on him; Charlotte comes in suddenly. The Silent Brothers have managed to stop Jem’s internal bleeding and Jem has had some yin fen. He’s awake and wants to see Will. Both Will and Tessa are a little surprised about this, but Will turns to go. He asks Tessa to do something for him while he’s gone. Once back at the Institute, Cecily finds herself by herself. She tries to write a letter to her parents. She’s been trying to write to them since she left, but she just can’t find the words. Tessa comes to check on her. Will sent her. Tessa impresses on Cecily that Will loves her, but Cecily finds that hard to believe. Tessa tells her that Will left his family to protect them yet here Cecily is, training as a Shadowhunter and throwing herself into danger. He is worried about her, he loves her, and he sent Tessa to check on her because he can’t bear to see her wounded himself. He may not actually be cursed, but he has believed it all these years, and unlearning habits is much more difficult than one would think. She implores Cecily not to give up on Will. In the meantime, Consul Wayland responds to the Clave about Charlote. He does not believe she should be in the running for the next Consul. As a woman, she is too emotional and disobedient. But his nephew George Penhallow might be a good pick. Jem had requested Will to visit because he didn’t want to be fussed over. He’s stable, but not well. When he begins to cough, he asks Will for more yin fen. But the box is nearly empty. Will bought enough yin fen to last Jem a year when they learned that Mortmain was buying it all up. Jem admits that he was sick of only living half a life. He had been taking only enough to keep him alive but not allowing him to live. He started taking more and the more he took, the more he needed. Will is astounded. Did he do this for Tessa? Jem says Tessa knows nothing about it and he implores Will not to tell her. This was his choice. He is dying already. He’s just dying a little faster now. He asks Will to go get him more yin fen. Will doesn’t want to at first, since he’s so upset at Jem being this reckless, but he finally agrees. He would do anything for Jem. Jem knows that, and he would do anything for Will too. Will agrees to buy what he can on one condition, Jem allow him to search for a cure again. Jem agrees and Will announces that he will not give up. Jem will not leave him, not while Will is still alive at least. Cecily is throwing daggers at a target and missing them more times than not when Gabriel finds her. He tells her that she needs more practice and offers to train her. But she knows that Will doesn’t like Gabriel, and she finds his cocky tone irritating. He has not yet changed out of his ichor covered gear and he explains that he’s not sure yet where he will be living. Gideon is here and Charlotte will allow him to stay, but Cecily points out that Will is also here. Gabriel tells her that Will is not there right now. He just saw Will leaving. Cecily turns to follow her brother. Will walks through the streets of London and knows he’s being followed, he catches Cecily easily by ducking into a doorway and grabbing her as she passes. She refuses to go back; she wants to be with Will. She wants to know why he will do anything for Jem, who is only his brother through a ritual, but doesn’t want her when she is his sister by blood. He explains that Jem is the better part of himself, while Cecily is his weakness. Cecily fills in the rest. And Tessa is his heart. Cecily can tell he loves Tessa, but she won’t tell anyone. Of course she wouldn’t, she’s probably ashamed. She insists that she’s not. They all have things they cannot have. For example, she wants Will to go home again. He can’t do that, but he does allow her to come with him now. Gideon calls for someone to come to his room, and Sophie arrives to find Gabriel asleep on the bed. Gideon thinks that Gabriel is going to stay. He tells Sophie that he thinks Gabriel had begun to question their father too, and had gone through a terrible ordeal in that house. But Charlotte may have terrified him with her gentleness. Gabriel is only used to the utmost severity and punishment. Sophie tells Gideon she’s sorry he lost his father. No matter what happened, he should be allowed to grieve. Gideon kisses her. She falls into him, trips on the rug, and then the two of them fall to the floor. She spots piles of scones piled under his bed. When she wouldn’t speak to him, he would call for scones just so he could see her. This does not endear him to her. Does he have any idea how much work she has to do! She doesn’t have time to carry scones up to his room that he doesn’t even want! She storms out and Gabriel sarcastically compliments his brother. He heard the whole thing. Charlotte goes to find Henry in the basement, absorbed in his work. He got an idea from Mortmain’s ring and has been working on a portal. He’s also made a crib for their baby. But not just any crib, a self-rocking crib. Henry is adorable. Charlotte came down to tell Henry that Jessamine will be returning to the Institute in two days. The Clave has released her, and she has nowhere else to go. Henry looks slightly concerned but then the crib goes haywire and throws itself into the wall. They will not be using it for their baby. Tessa sits next to Jem. She asks if he has thought about becoming a vampire, but he does not want that. A vampire that was once a Shadowhunter is shunned by the other vampires but also cannot be accepted by the Shadowhunters. She then suggests a Silent Brother. He tells her that he cannot become a Silent Brother with yin fen in his system. He’d have to expel it all first, which would probably kill him before he could take the runes. And he has no wish to live forever. As it is now, he believes he will see those he loves again in death. But Tessa thinks how that will not include her. She will not die. Jem reminds her, Silent Brothers can’t marry either, and he does intend on marrying her. Tessa sees Will outside and he beckons to her. He had gone to buy more yin fen, but it’s all gone. Every granule was all purchased weeks ago. There is no more yin fen and now Jem is going to die, just as he gave Will permission to try to find a cure. Now there’s no more time for research and Will can’t even remember what he was looking into before Jem made him stop. Tessa calms Will down. He didn’t have the same resources before as he does now. They will go talk to Magnus Bane, maybe he will have an idea. Meanwhile, the Council responds to Consul Wayland’s letter. They were distressed to hear about this opinion on Charlotte. Even Inquisitor Whitelaw was impressed by how Charlotte managed the challenge to the Institute and speaks well of her, plus she has proven herself as leader of the London Institute. They tell him to forget about George Penhallow being considered. He has not even led an Institute. Charlotte may be passionate, but the role of Consul requires passion. They urge him to reconsider his stance. Consul Wayland responds to the Council. He again pushes for his nephew to be the next Consul. He now believes that he has made an error in giving Charlotte the London Institute. He had specifically requested that Jessamine be sent to Idris upon her release from the Silent City and Charlotte has requested that Jessamine come back to London instead. In addition, he thinks she may be friendly to Downworlders who are in league with Mortmain. When his authority is undermined, it undermines the entire Clave - as he is a symbol of the Clave’s power. Better to put his nephew in, who may be untested but is dutiful. Will and Tessa travel to Woolsey’s house to see Magnus. On the way, Will thinks of the day he told Jem about the curse and why he had acted so badly in the past. Jem had been sorry it happened, but he did not pity Will - and he felt vindicated for believing in Will as he always had. That Will was good. When they arrive, Tessa and Will explain their problem to Magnus while Woolsey (nosy) listens in. Magnus says that anyone who helps them will be considered an enemy of Mortmain, who is very powerful. Even Old Molly is scared. But Will is offering to give Magnus whatever he wants for his help. Woolsey says they shouldn’t bother; they should be happy that Jem is dying and shouldn’t bother to prolong it. Will snaps, attacking him, and then Magnus is hauling Will into the other room. He apologizes for Woolsey. Will tells Magnus that even if Jem dies, he cannot be with Tessa. To do so would be finding a reason to celebrate in Jem’s death, and Will cannot do that. Magnus agrees to do what he can to help Jem. He gives Will a ruby necklace. It had been a gift he gave to Camille, who had returned it when they broke up. It warns the wearer that demons are nearby and it may work on Mortmain’s automatons too. Tessa is left alone with Woolsey, who can tell that she loves both Jem and Will. He tells her to stop moping. Most people don’t even have one great love in their lives, and she has managed to have two. When she makes it clear that she doesn’t want to talk about it, he talks about her parentage. He believes that she may be part faerie. Soon, Will and Magnus return, then Will and Tessa leave. Outside, Will tells Tessa that Magnus has agreed to help but that Magnus looked at him with pity and sadness. Magnus doesn’t really think any help will be found. Will is lost. He has known for years that Jem will die but still he feels like he’s drowning. Jem is his compass point. Without him, how will Will learn to be a better man than who he’s been. No one will be able to show him who he really is. But Tessa knows who Will is. She cannot be Jem, but she can help shoulder his burden. He hugs her, sobbing. Woolsey gives Magnus a silver snuffbox that someone gave Woolsey as a gift. He can’t touch it, since it’s silver. He asks how Magnus feels about Will. Perhaps it’s because Magnus helped to find the demon behind Will’s curse and, in essence, saved Will’s life, but Magnus now feels a responsibility for Will. If he can’t help Will, he will feel that he failed the boy. Woolsey decides to go to the country for the winter. In the meantime, Inquisitor Whitelaw writes to Consul Wayland privately. He and Wayland were both good friends to Charlotte’s father Granville and Victor Whitelaw wants to know if there is anything specific causing Josiah to have such doubts about Charlotte. Josiah Wayland responds to Victor Whitelaw. He is concerned that the Clave is not taking the threat of Mortmain seriously enough. He believes that Charlotte does not do what he wants her to do. More than that, he feels as if Charlotte is eclipsing his own legacy. He destroys that letter and instead writes to Whitelaw that no, all of his concerns regarding Charlotte were already addressed. Everyone comes down to breakfast the next day, Gideon and Gabriel looking haggard and Jem looking very tired but not particularly sick. Their breakfast is interrupted by Josiah Wayland. Tatiana has accused them of killing Benedict Lightwood and her husband Rupert Blackthorn and is threatening to sue for reparations. Everyone is affronted, and no one admits to any wrongdoing. Charlotte insists that she told Josiah what had happened as soon as they all returned, but Josiah knows that she helped hide Benedict’s illness before. Gabriel and Gideon agree to go to the Silent City for questioning. Gabriel says he will pay reparations if that is necessary, but he will not say he did anything wrong. Tatiana has no idea what was happening, Gabriel alone was in that house with Benedict as their father slowly went mad. Josiah tells the Lightwoods to wait in his carriage; he will take them to the Silent City – Tessa notices that Gideon is wearing his family ring again. But wait, there’s more! Josiah wants to know where Benedict’s journals and papers are. He accuses Charlotte of taking them and she admits that she did, with the intention of giving them to the Clave at the first opportunity. Henry wants to know what they’re looking for – asking if they are looking for information about the clockwork creatures. Josiah is angry. Charlotte continues to go against his orders and undermine him; this investigation no longer belongs to her. He leaves, with Benedict’s journals, and once he’s gone Charlotte reveals that she and Sophie had already copied anything relevant from the journals. They will make sure that Tessa is safe. They take care of their own. Which brings her to another point: Jessamine will be returning to the Institute. Her fortune was confiscated by the Clave, and her mind is nearly broken after her imprisonment and repeated questionings - she has nowhere else to go. After a week if the others cannot stand her being there, she will send Jessamine to Idris instead. The Council responds to Josiah’s letter. The Silent Brothers were in charge of where Jessamine was sent and approved Charlotte’s request to have the girl returned – an act that seemed generous of Charlotte. In addition, Woolsey Scott leads the Praetor Lupus and is considered an ally of the Clave. If Josiah has no specific concerns with proof behind it, they are reluctant to take his recommendation. Josiah Wayland does not take the Lightwoods to the Silent City. He assures them that he doesn’t believe Tatiana and will make sure her case is dismissed. He takes them to a house of “ill repute”, reportedly run by Downworlders. He says he used to go there with Benedict. Once inside, he leaves the boys alone for a moment. Gideon believes that he brought them here to unsettle them (job well done, at least on Gideon’s part) but Gideon isn’t sure why the Consul is trying to unsettle them. Josiah doesn’t make them wait long to find out. He installed Charlotte at the London Institute thinking that she would be docile and follow his commands. She has proven the opposite and she, and the others that live there, act like no one else exists. Jem is a drug addict, Jessamine a betrayer, Tessa a warlock who has no business living there at all, and Will is a spoiled brat. Josiah wants the Lightwoods to spy on Charlotte, especially her correspondence. Josiah doesn’t want any more surprises. As it stands, the Lightwoods could be in quite a bit of trouble. Benedict had demon pox. He made a mockery of his position and the Laws of the Clave. His children will be punished for it and stripped of their Marks – should Josiah will it. But he could make it so they can keep their house in Idris, their name, their honor, and their role as Shadowhunters if they do what he asks. They should not be loyal to Charlotte. Charlotte is just an arm of the Clave. They should be loyal to him. Gabriel agrees that they will do it. He tells Gideon that Tatiana is expecting a child now and if this is found out, she will be thrown on the streets. Gideon reluctantly agrees as well. Gabriel can tell that Josiah didn’t expect any other result from the children of Benedict Lightwood. Sophie tells Tessa about Gideon’s bed of scones. Tessa asks if she’s flattered, but Sophie says she cannot expect anything from Gideon. He is a Shadowhunter and she is just a mortal. Josiah Wayland drops the Lightwoods back off at the Institute with the order not to tell anyone of their agreement. Gideon pulls Gabriel to the side. He will not spy on Charlotte. They will not tell her what happened with the Consul, but neither will he spy on her. She is a good person who has never been anything but kind to him, as are the others at the Institute - and Sophie loves her. Gabriel says that he has a different plan. He’s had it since he first agreed to spy on Charlotte. They will read her correspondence and they will report to the Consul, but they will not give him the correct information. They will only read the letters so that they know what not to say. Josiah writes to the Council. If it’s proof they want, it’s proof he will give them. In their first letter, Gideon and Gabriel tell the Consul that Charlotte spends money liberally. Although she puts up a front of modesty and frugality, she wears nothing but ostentatious gowns and jewels when she is in the Institute. In fact, she spends so much money on dresses that the household does not have their basic needs met. They eat nothing but meager helpings of gruel. They will, of course, keep digging. Cecily trains with a double handed sword. When she first came to the Institute, she didn’t really want to become a Shadowhunter. She only wanted to convince her brother that he didn’t really want it either so they could both go back home. But she has seen now how strong Will’s ties are to the people at the Institute. It’s strange for her, after thinking Shadowhunters were monsters for so many years, to realize that some of them are good people. Gabriel sees her training and helps her a little. He comments that he saw her fighting at his home. She fights not like it is her duty, but like she loves it. With passion. She doesn’t think so but before she can comment, Will comes in and makes Gabriel leave. He doesn’t trust Gabriel and thinks Gabriel is just trying to get back at him for the way he treated Tatiana. When Cecily comments that Gabriel may have changed, Will points out that Cecily certainly has. He knows she didn’t want to train at first, but she doesn’t mind it now. Her entreaties to him have gone from “come home” to “write a letter”. And he also thinks that Cecily enjoyed the fight at the Lightwood house. She notices that he’s wearing the ruby necklace just before Sophie comes in. Charlotte is calling everyone to the drawing room – it’s urgent. She has received a letter from Mortmain. He knows that Jem needs yin fen and is willing to trade what Jem needs - for Tessa. He has enclosed a packet of the drug as a gesture of goodwill. Tessa stands up. It is her choice and she will go. Both Jem and Will argue against it, but it is not their choice. Jem says that if she trades herself, he will still not take the drug and he will die anyway. She doesn’t believe him, so to show that he’s serious, he throws the letter and the packet into the fire. Will dives in to save the yin fen, burning his hands badly. Tessa helps to collect what yin fen can be saved. Jem feels terrible, Tessa just gives him what she’s collected. Charlotte insists on treating Will’s hands even after several iratzes – Cecily and Jem refuse to leave his side. Jem only leaves to sleep, but Cecily stays until Will falls to sleep himself. Consul Wayland writes back to the Lightwood brothers. He wants information on Charlotte’s letters to her relatives and friends in Idris. He does not care about her dresses. Tessa sits in her room preparing for bed when she hears a light scratching at her door. She finds Church with a note tied around his neck. Jem is asking her to meet him in the music room. Gideon and Gabriel go through Charlotte’s letters, finding nothing of interest. Sophie walks into the room and catches them in the act. Gabriel quickly explains what they’re doing and at first, Sophie still plans to tell Charlotte. But then Gideon offers to let her read their letter. It explains that Charlotte is not womanly at all, she barely feels any sympathy for her uncle who has gout. They explain that their other letter was about Charlotte’s wardrobe. Instead of turning them in to Charlotte, Sophie offers to have the letter posted for them. Tessa meets Jem. He wasn’t sure she would come, that she would be too angry. But they don’t have time to be angry at each other right now and moreover, she says that she never should have offered to trade herself. She should have realized how he would react. He tells her he has a wedding gift for her; one he’s prepared himself. A song that he wrote to her on the violin. He plays it for her and it’s beautiful. Afterward, he tells her that she sees his music. Not what he plays, but the music in the beat of his heart. He loves her more than anything else and he could never allow her to put herself in danger, even if it means he will die sooner. His only regret is that he cannot be married to her, that they could not have forever together. She can’t do much about forever, but there’s nothing stopping them from marrying. She doesn’t care about the dress, or anything but him. She has no one that may stop their union from happening, not on her side. They have each other and the people they love, all right there at the Institute. Jem asks if she’s serious, and she is. She would marry him tomorrow. Jem announces at breakfast the next morning that he and Tessa will be married the next day. There are a few concerns from the others that Jem easily puts aside, and then there is nearly an argument between Will and Gabriel that is interrupted by the arrival of Jessamine in a Silent City carriage. On their way out to meet Jessie, Will speaks to Tessa. She begs him not to abandon her; he is the only other person who may find a cure for Jem. He will not leave her, and he wishes the utmost happiness to both her and Jem, but he can’t help to say that watching Tessa marry his best friend will be like ripping out his own heart. In a moment of weakness, she tells him that people say you cannot split your heart and is about to tell Will that she loves both him and Jem, but Charlotte asks Will to get Cyril. Tessa can’t believe what she nearly said! She cannot put that burden on Will and tie him to her forever. She continues down the steps when a second carriage pulls in behind the first. The Silent Brother driving Jessamine’s carriage looks surprised, then a hooded figure climbs down from the second carriage and unveils himself as an automaton. He shoots the Silent Brother in the chest with the crossbow it has as a right arm. Henry rushes to the first carriage where Jessamine is waiting, weak and begging him to take her into the Institute. Automatons begin to climb out of the second carriage, countless automatons that had folded in on themselves to fit. They are more sophisticated than prior versions, less jerky. The Shadowhunters fight hard. Tessa runs inside to get a sword from the wall as she doesn’t have a weapon and comes back out to find Gideon and Gabriel fighting a giant automaton together, Jem using the sword concealed in his cane, and Henry guarding Jessamine next to the carriage. Charlotte takes off the heads of the automatons with her whip. Tessa can’t see Jem and she steps forward – Mrs. Black steps in front of her. Will was looking for Cyril, hearing Sophie and Bridget cleaning up from breakfast, when he feels something on his chest. His ruby necklace pulsing. Sophie and Bridget look up at him and he tells them something is wrong. They need to get downstairs. An automaton wraps its arms around Tessa, pinning her own arms to her side, as Mrs. Black tells it to put Tessa in the carriage. Jem sees and attacks the automaton. He and the automaton tumble down the stairs together and at the bottom. Jem is hurt, dazed, and no longer has his cane. Tessa tries to grab it to throw to him, but Mrs. Black covers Tessa’s face with a cloth and she passes out. Will comes out to the steps flanked by Bridget and Sophie, who immediately join the fight. Will can’t see Tessa, but Henry is still guarding Jessamine and has been joined by Charlotte, Gideon and Gabriel fight together, and Cecily is next to the Silent Brother. Jem is at the bottom of the steps unarmed and backing away from an advancing automaton. Will runs down the steps to Jem’s sword and throws it to him. Jem catches it and destroys the automaton, but when Will smiles at him, Jem does not smile back. He turns and runs through the gates down the road as fast as he can. Will tries to follow but is stopped by an automaton that almost kills him but is dispatched by Bridget. Will turns when Bridget heads back into the fight and sees Jessamine reach out toward him, crawling over broken glass to get to him. Will runs to her and picks her up from the ground. He needs to get her inside, but they don’t make it that far before Jessie tells him to put her down. She was stabbed in the back and she is dying; she won’t make it. She tells Will that she always liked him more than Jem, even though Will was never kind to her. She liked that he didn’t pity her. She asks him to take care of her dollhouse and the dolls inside – especially baby Jessie. He assures her that she is not hated by anyone at the Institute and he will take care of her things, but she only partly believes him. Perhaps they wouldn’t have hated her if she had told them where Mortmain is. She can tell them now – he is in Idris. Will says they know that’s not true, but she only responds that he is a terrible Welshman before she dies. He gives her the Shadowhunter benediction and Charlotte sees. She starts to scream and collapses. The others gather and Cecily tells Will that Tessa was taken, Jem must’ve been running after her. He is about to go after Jem when Jem walks back through the gate. He wasn’t fast enough; he lost them and now Tessa is gone. Then Jem promptly collapses. Gideon and Jem are both hurt from the battle, but Gideon refuses any care other than a few iratzes. Jem is dying and Gideon won’t take the Silent Brothers away from him. Will and Charlotte hover around Jem’s bed with the Silent Brothers while Cecily watches from outside. She needs to speak to Will. Gabriel comes forward and tells her not to interrupt them. Losing a parabatai is like losing a spouse. Jem will draw strength just from having Will nearby, and he needs all the strength he can get just now. Cecily doesn’t think that Will would care half as much if it were her that were in that bed, but Gabriel disagrees. Will cares very much; it’s why he warns Gabriel to stay away from Cecily so often. Gabriel doesn’t like Will, they have disliked each other for years, but Gabriel is beginning to understand that things were not how he once thought they were - and Will is one of those things. When Cecily insists that what she has to say is very important, Gabriel goes to fetch Will for her. Better for Will to be angry at him than at his sister. Outside, Will is in his own head for a moment. He used to get very angry on his birthday and on the anniversary of when he arrived at the Institute. Those days reminded Will too much of his family. And Jem would always have something to do on those days. He was sick and needed care, or a very important errand - it was always something. And Will would accompany Jem, and Will would be so nasty. It took him years to realize that Jem was keeping him busy on purpose, to distract him. He doesn’t know how to be without Jem. And now Tessa is gone and Will is terrified, but he can’t go after Tessa while Jem needs him, and he can’t even discuss how scared he is because the only person who would understand cannot know that he is in love with Tessa. Cecily interrupts his thoughts. She was nearby when Jessamine said where Mortmain is. She thinks that Mortmain is in Wales, where the Herondales’ house was. In the shadow of the mountain called Cadair Idris. It’s just like Mortmain to take Tessa to the place that Will cannot go. Sophie takes care of Gideon, and he takes the chance to apologize profusely for the scones. He does not think less of her because of her position at the Institute. In fact, he thinks she’s one of the bravest people he knows. And he is sure they’re very good scones; he’s just never been a fan. She tells him to stop talking and drink his medicine. She smiles at him when he does as he’s told. His face brightens and she leaves to get him some sponge cake. Charlotte calls in the Consul and soon the Institute is crawling with members of the Enclave and Silent Brothers. But Josiah Wayland steadfastly refuses to listen to Charlotte. Even though everything points to Wales: Cadair Idris, there is also a lake called Tal-y-Lyn, Mortmain gave the Herondales the use of Ravenscar Manor, so they know each other fairly well, and there is a legend that the Wild Hunt lives inside the mountain, Josiah says it is not enough to convince the Clave. Benedict’s journals said that Mortmain planned to attack the London Institute (done) and that his hideout was near London. Wayland dismisses Charlotte and tells her that her disobedience does not make him trust her anymore. Tessa is not the Clave’s priority. Not even when Charlotte says that Tessa is a weapon in Mortmain’s hands. One that he wants very badly. She looks at Josiah and tells him that she will make sure that their discussion is on the record. Josiah finds Gabriel outside. Gabriel should be next to his brother’s bed but seeing Gideon bleeding reminded him of his father, and that he killed him. Josiah says that Gideon was injured because of Charlotte’s pride, but Gabriel insists that nothing they found indicated that Charlotte was doing anything wrong in the slightest. Wayland points out that evidence could be discovered (i.e. planted) and if Gabriel were to help him, he would ensure that Lightwood manor was returned to his family. But Gideon must not know this new plan. Charlotte brings Magnus to see Will, who asked him to come. Not because Magnus can help Jem, but because Will finds Magnus easy to talk to and Magnus will know what it is like to lose someone. Will can’t leave Jem. What if Jem wakes up and Will is not there and Jem thinks that Will didn’t want to be by his side. But then again, wouldn’t Jem want Will to go after Tessa. Magnus asks if Jem knows that Will is in love with Tessa and Will says no, it was not Jem’s burden to bear. Magnus tells Will to go after her. It is not being next to Jem now that is important – but that Will was there for Jem at every other moment. Magnus will stay next to Jem for Will, and he will do what he can to keep Jem alive until Will returns. He does not have any yin fen, but he does have magic - maybe that will be enough. Magnus tells Will that he has always treated him as a person, that is rare for a Shadowhunter to do, and that is why Magnus will help. Magnus goes to get his gloves as Will says goodbye to Jem. When Will stands to leave, Jem grabs his arm. He reminds Will that he’s not dead yet, there is no need for goodbyes. But what did Magnus mean about Will loving Tessa? Jem asks Will if he is in love with Tessa. Will can find no way to deny it and says yes, he is. But Tessa does not love him back. Will told her the day that he found out there was no curse, before he knew that they were engaged. Tessa responded that she loved Jem. Both of them feel foolish, neither had known how the other felt about Tessa, but they do not blame each other. Jem never would have pursued Tessa and even would have called off the engagement if he’d known of Will’s feelings, but Will didn’t want him to do that. Now there is no reason to. Jem is dying. And he wants Will to leave. He cannot go after Tessa himself and he knows that no one else will, so he asks Will to save Tessa. For her, but also for him. Will doesn’t want to leave. He was going to, but that was when Jem was unconscious and Will didn’t think Jem would wake up. He can’t leave Jem now; he wants all the time he can get with Jem! But he finally relents and Jem asks Will to give Tessa a message. That he loved her always. She and Will can teach each other to have hope again. And Jem gives them both his blessing. Will sneaks out to the stables and puts on Balios’ tack. Cecily finds him. She wants to go with him, but he won’t let her. She threatens to follow him, or to go to wake up the rest of the Institute, but he asks her to stay there. He cannot be worried about Tessa and Cecily at the same time. If Cecily is at the Institute, he will know that at least one of them is safe. She asks why, as Tessa told her, he called out for her once. He explains that she was always his reminder. He could not save Ella but if Cecily was safe, than what he was doing was worth it. She knows why he won’t write to their parents. Because he will not leave his life as a Shadowhunter. It is a part of him, who he is meant to be. He cannot ask for their forgiveness at the same time as he tells them that he will not come home. He knows being a Shadowhunter is who Cecily is too. They make a deal. She will stay, but he will do his best to return and when he does, they will go together to see their parents in person and explain everything. Tessa wakes up on the carriage seat. She immediately starts asking questions, which Mrs. Black finds very annoying. They’re going to Mortmain because Mortmain still wants to marry Tessa. Tessa insists that she has nothing to offer Mortmain, but Mrs. Black says Tessa doesn’t understand a fraction of what her power can do. Mortmain will teach her. He will be far less lenient that the Dark Sisters were. Tessa asks why Mrs. Black is doing this. Mortmain is not to be trusted, he would be happy if Mrs. Black were destroyed – in fact, he sent Jem and Will to kill Mrs. Dark when she got in his way. Mrs. Black says that Mortmain can give her something that she would do anything for and she unfastens her cloak. Tessa sees that Mrs. Black does not have a body, just a metal column with metal sticks as arms, on which her head is mounted. Tessa screams in horror. Will rides Balios from dawn until nightfall, as fast as he can and with as few breaks as possible, while still making sure that Balios will not be injured. It’s a quiet breakfast at the Institute without Will or Tessa, but everyone assumes that Will is still next to Jem’s bedside. Cyril runs in saying that Balios is missing. Then, Charlotte finds Magnus napping and calls a meeting. Cecily and Gabriel both defend Will. Gabriel insists that Will is only doing what any good parabatai would do – what Jem would be doing if he were able. Gideon thinks they should ride after Will to help but Gabriel says that it would be detrimental. As only one person, Will can slip in, find Tessa, and slip back out unseen by Mortmain. Charlotte decides they’re both right. It’s better if they do not follow and they must also do what they can to help Will. He will need Jem’s strength, so they will turn their efforts to finding him a cure. Magnus is roped into helping and agrees to work in Henry’s laboratory. Henry says he could use Magnus’ help on his transportation idea – they may even be able to transport themselves somewhere to obtain more yin fen. Charlotte gives everybody jobs to do. Once Tessa stops screaming, Mrs. Black explains that Mortmain will give her a body again. Something better than a human body, but able to pass without notice as well, once he and Tessa are married. She confirms that Tessa’s mother was a Shadowhunter but explains no further – Mortmain will tell her more. As for Tessa’s little Shadowhunter friends, no one will be coming to save Tessa this time. Tessa decides to save herself instead. She springs at the carriage door, which bursts open. She falls into a ravine that she’d hoped was shallow, but it is not. She knows that she will probably die when she lands, and she just hopes it’s quick. Will wakes up from a nightmare about Tessa, one of many. He’s sore and in pain from a day in the saddle, he will need iratzes before setting out again. He thinks about what he will say to Tessa when he finds her. He hopes that if she can’t love him, then perhaps they can at least share their sadness when Jem is gone. Gabriel and Cecily head to the shops together to get supplies for Magnus. Gabriel is quickly becoming infatuated with Cecily. She makes him want to write poetry, but he’s sure it wouldn’t be good. And the whole thing with Tatiana and Will put him off poetry altogether. They arrive at a shop run by a satyr named Mr. Sallows. He’s familiar with Will. He’s not a fan of Shadowhunters, but Will keeps himself out of trouble, so Mr. Sallows doesn’t mind him. He looks in the back for what Magnus needs and grabs some orders for Benedict Lightwood while he’s back there. Gabriel is horrified by his father’s order. Gideon and Sophie search the library for anything that might be helpful to Jem. Gideon asks if Sophie has ever considered becoming a Shadowhunter. She’s a perfect candidate: one of the most skilled fighters he’s trained, already has the sight and is aware of Downworld, has worked at the Institute. She admits that she’s wanted that for a long time, more than anything, but she doesn’t want Charlotte to think she’s ungrateful for everything she’s done for Sophie. Sophie discusses how she received the scar on her face. Gideon has obviously noticed it, but he doesn’t think it’s ugly. It’s just a part of Sophie, and he thinks Sophie is beautiful. He nearly kisses her, but Charlotte bursts into the room. She asks Sophie to sit with Jem while he sleeps (Bridget has been doing it but Charlotte thinks her singing is giving him nightmares) and Sophie thinks she hears Gideon swearing as she leaves the library. Gabriel throws Mr. Sallows out of a window, and then into the canal, for revealing such disgusting pictures in front of Cecily - or so he says. Cecily knows he really lost his temper because of the reminder of his father. He left his father’s order on the desk before they left. Cecily is actually pretty amused. Magnus looks at Henry’s inventions and is impressed. He makes sure to tell Henry this, and the man is pleased and discombobulated. Mostly, people want him to stop setting fire to things, but Magnus assures Henry that failure is always a part of invention. A necessary step. He looks at Henry’s portal. Henry does not have a way to direct where the portal takes them and Magnus says Henry can’t do it with the runes from the Gray Book. He will need magic – and that’s something that Magnus has plenty of. Mr. Sallows gets back to the shop and patches up the window that Gabriel broke. Once he’s done, the door chimes behind him. He expects it to be the Shadowhunters again but instead, it is a tall, hooded figure. He wants information from Mr. Sallows, and Mr. Sallows would be smart not to fight him. Tessa falls toward the ground far below her but feels her necklace pulling at her neck. The clockwork angel has grown to the size of a person and holds Tessa’s body with its hands. It glides them down to the ground, where it deposits Tessa and then shrinks back to normal size. Jem wakes as Sophie sits next to him. At first, he believes she is Will, but then he remembers that Will went after Tessa. He admits he asked Will to go, but he thinks Will only agreed because he is in love with Tessa himself. Sophie can’t believe he knows that, Jem tells her he only just learned the truth. But he’s happy. They can have each other once he’s gone. Tessa may not love Will now, but Will is immensely loveable - Jem doesn’t think that she will be able to resist him for too long. Sophie remembers taking care of Tessa’s hand when she burned herself after Will told her he loved her. She knows that Tessa sometimes yells out for Will in her dreams. She doesn’t think it will take long at all for Tessa to love Will, but she doesn’t say that to Jem. She just tells Jem not to give up hope. The others are looking for a cure as they speak. Will is starting to feel foolish for chasing Tessa alone and with very little of a plan. But then he spots the jade pendant that Jem gave to Tessa lying on the side of the road. He picks it up, calling for Tessa, but gets no answer. He puts the pendant in his pocket and continues toward Staffordshire – his resolve renewed. Charlotte comes in to see Jem speaking to Sophie and she asks Sophie to help Bridget in the kitchen. She gives Jem the rest of the yin fen in a glass and he drinks it all. He tells her that she will be a wonderful mother, and he thinks she would make a very good Consul. One of his only regrets is that he won’t get to meet the baby. She asks Jem to keep living and he tells her that he has lived for her, for Will, for Tessa, and for himself – because he wanted to be with Tessa. But he’s tired now. He will try, but it would not be his choice to live any longer. His choice was made when he asked Will to leave. He asks Charlotte to have everyone stop looking for a cure. Cecily is surprised by how entertained she has been by Gabriel. When they get back to the Institute, she tells him that what happened with his father was not his fault. Perhaps not, but he chose to be blind to what his father was doing and that’s bad enough. Cecily reveals that the only reason she came to the Institute was to retrieve Will. She had believed that Shadowhunters were monsters because that’s what her parents had told her. But they are not their parents, neither one of them. They enter the Institute to find Charlotte, Henry, and Gideon looking very morose around the table. They’ve summoned the Silent Brothers; it’s time to say goodbye to Jem. Cecily and Gabriel both hide together in the training room. Neither one is brave enough to go see Jem, and the Silent Brothers have now arrived. Cecily tells Gabriel that they had similar childhoods. Growing up without either of their siblings, losing their house, etc. Gabriel tells her what it was like when his father was in the last stages of the demon pox, how bad it was at their house. Cecily chose to leave her home and her family; she is braver than he has ever been. But she insists that his loyalty is commendable, even if his father didn’t deserve it. All good things can be twisted into something terrible. They just have to continue to make the right choices, and she has faith that Gabriel can do that. That he will do that. Do not dwell on what has happened in the past, look to what is coming in the future and do better. They watch as the Silent Brothers leave the Institute. Will pulls Balios into the Green Man Inn, a well-known Downworld establishment. He goes inside to see about getting himself a room and food. The Downworlders inside eye him suspiciously but then Will hears a familiar voice. Woolsey Scott – who thinks it’s very interesting that Will is here. Tessa heard Will call for her and tried to call back, but he did not hear her. Now she thinks she must’ve imagined it. She’s cold, wet, and injured from her fall, she starts walking downstream. Will is sitting in the Inn’s dining room eating and writing a letter to Charlotte. He tells her that he’s found evidence of Tessa and asks her to ask the Consul to send Shadowhunters to help. He pays to have the letter sent and then he feels his parabatai bond with Jem. At first, it grows unbearably painful as if it is squeezing his heart. Then he feels it snap. He stumbles outside and rips his shirt open to look at his parabatai rune which has begun to bleed and has changed from black to silver. He knows that Jem is dead. Tessa has walked for miles without any sign of humanity, but now she has found a small cottage. It is empty inside. She is too tired to change out of her wet clothes so instead, she finds a metal farming tool to use as a weapon, wraps a blanket around herself (wet dress and all), and falls asleep on the moldy bed. A group of five werewolves find Will outside. They blame him, and all Shadowhunters, for Mortmain using the werewolves and plying them with yin fen – for killing them. They intend to make Will pay. But Will is hurting and lost in his grief, and he’s ready for a fight. He kills at least one werewolf by the time Woolsey Scott comes out and orders the werewolves to stop. They run off. Woolsey guesses that Jem has died and now Will is trying to get himself killed as well. He lost his own brother; he knows how that feels, and he is still trying to live up to what his brother wanted for him. Will asks what he’s supposed to do now that Jem is gone and Woolsey tells him to do what Jem would have wanted him to do. Charlotte writes to Josiah Wayland, asking him to send the Clave to Cadair Idris. She even includes Will’s letter for him to read himself. Tessa has nightmares about both Jem and Will dying, and when she wakes, she hears a scratching at the window. Worried that it is the automatons looking for her, she uses the blanket to Change into the cottage’s owner. Now appearing to be an old woman, she stumbles into the main room of the cottage. She finds an automaton and Mrs. Black. She demands that they both get out, she has nothing to steal, but she forgot about her necklace. Mrs. Black spots it and orders the automatons to grab her. Will wakes up on the ground. After fighting with the werewolves and speaking to Woolsey Scott, he took off on Balios and rode until he fell out of the saddle from exhaustion. The pain he felt through the bond is now gone and instead, he feels hollow. He kneels on the ground and takes a dagger that belonged to Jem. He holds the blade in his hand and makes a vow – the two of them are bound together. They will find each other again, not even death will keep them apart forever. He leaves the knife there; the blade covered in his own blood. That spot, with Jem’s knife and his blood, will forever be theirs. Consul Wayland responds to Charlotte. He is amazed that she would take the word of such a reckless boy as Will Herondale. He reminds her that he is Consul, he commands the armies of the Shadowhunters, and he will not be told what to do. She should focus on keeping track of her own Shadowhunters. Charlotte receives an unexpected visit from Aloysius Starkweather. He has information about Mortmain and Tessa. He explains that he has never believed in the Accords. Demon blood is tainted; he should be allowed to collect spoils and kill Downworlders as he sees fit. The Accords never stopped him, he (and others like him) just had to be more careful about getting caught. They did not like the Shades because they, as warlocks, had no right to raise a human child. The Shadowhunters fabricated a story and raided their house with the intent of killing them and taking the child. But the boy disappeared and they were unable to find him. John Shade used to call Axel his “clockwork prince” and taught him all about his tinkering. Aloysius figured the whole situation was over when they couldn’t find Axel, then he had a granddaughter, Adele. Adele was born healthy and strong. Soon after, Aloysius’ daughter-in-law went to see the baby and screamed that this baby was not her child. They thought she’d lost it. Sure, the girl’s eyes had changed from blue to gray, but that was not uncommon. They raised Adele as any other Shadowhunter child, but she was more sickly and weak then she had been. When Adele’s first Mark was applied, her body revolted. The Silent Brothers were not able to save her. Aloysius found out that his granddaughter had been switched in the cradle by faeries, but he could not find the child they’d stolen. Not until Tessa walked into his Institute – the spitting image of his daughter-in-law. He has been asking questions again and has found out from Mr. Sallows that his granddaughter by blood was exchanged with a human child that looked like her, she was raised as a mundane. She later married a man named Richard Gray. Tessa Gray is their daughter. Aloysius believes that Mortmain hired Richard specifically to get close to Elizabeth and set an Eidolon demon upon her, disguised as her husband. Charlotte argues that Shadowhunter and demon children do not survive, but Aloysius thinks that is because of the Marks. A Shadowhunter would be Marked; all Shadowhunter children are – even if it’s only with a Voyance rune. But Elizabeth never was since she was still a baby when she was taken. Tessa’s Shadowhunter blood makes her different than other warlocks and whatever it is that she can do because of it, Mortmain believes that it is the key to destroying the Shadowhunters. Aloysius has come to Charlotte because she cares for Tessa. He does not trust the Clave, especially when Tessa has demon blood in her. He knows what some of the Shadowhunters will think of her. He asks Charlotte to speak to Consul Wayland – he will be forced to send the Clave after Tessa with this information. It isn’t just Tessa at risk anymore, but all the Shadowhunters. Wayland will have to act. Charlotte is not optimistic. Aloysius asks one more thing. When Charlotte finds Tessa, tell her she is welcome to the name Starkweather. Gabriel writes to the Consul. He listened to the conversation between Aloysius and Charlotte and relays the information to Consul Wayland. He goes on to say that Aloysius is not sound of mind and cannot believed, and that both he and Charlotte spoke poorly of the Clave and Consul. He recommends that Wayland think carefully before sending Shadowhunters to Cadair Idris on the word of a madman and a hysterical woman. Gabriel thinks of Charlotte and how she asked Gabriel not to betray her trust; of his brother Gideon, who would be aghast at what Gabriel is doing; and of Cecily, who believes he can make good decisions. But he reasons with himself that Charlotte’s safety is not in jeopardy, only her position, and he needs to make sure his own brother and sister are safe. And that his birthright as a Lightwood is restored. Charlotte does, in fact, request help from Consul Wayland and gives him the information she received from Aloysius, although she doesn’t mention Aloysius by name. Tessa wakes up in a bed in a strange room. She tries to walk across the room but is stopped by an invisible wall. Mortmain has her trapped in an invisible cell. He tells her that he has worked hard to create an army of clockwork creatures to destroy the Shadowhunters. All they need now is Tessa, the key to it all. She’s sick of hearing this but not being told how she is the key. Mortmain explains everything. Starkweather was hated by the Downworlders because of how he treated them and how he thought they were expendable. When he attacked the Shades, the faeries helped Mortmain to disappear. They hid him in their court for years. When Adele was born, it was Mortmain that stole her from her crib and replaced her. Institutes are protected from Downworlders – but not from mundanes, or automatons for that matter. Mortmain watched over Elizabeth as she, unknowingly a Shadowhunter, was raised by mundanes. He sent her a demon to get her pregnant. Not a regular demon, a Greater Demon. When Elizabeth realized that something was wrong with her pregnancy, Mortmain gave her the clockwork angel and told Elizabeth it would save her baby. John Shade had made it for his wife, and it was supposed to be keyed to protect Anne Shade, but John Shade didn’t finish it. It contains the soul of an angel within it. Mortmain finished the necklace to keep Tessa safe, because he needed her. She is not like other warlocks, she can do magic, but she is not infertile. He wants her to have his children. As a willing participant would be most favorable, but not absolutely necessary. He also wants her to use the pocket watch to become his father. Other warlocks can change the way they look, but only Tessa becomes the other person with access to their thoughts and memories. And Mortmain wants to speak to his father. If she takes the pocket watch, Mortmain will send all of the yin fen that he possesses to Jem. Will thinks he hears Tessa’s voice calling him, jolting him to alertness in the saddle just before Balios collapses. Will has run him too hard. They are in Wales, probably less than twenty miles from where they need to be, but they will need to slow down. Both he and Balios are exhausted. He coaxes Balios back to his feet with some oats and walks him toward the next village. Tessa sits at a desk between two automaton guards and grabs the pocket watch. She changes into John Shade. But what she thought would be a heartfelt meeting between father and son is actually a trade of information. Mortmain has everything else ready; he only needs the binding spell his father came up with. Tessa tries to exit the Change, but she cannot. This has never happened to her before! John Shade picks up the pen and writes down the binding spell. Tessa can do nothing to stop him. Once he’s done, Tessa is released from the Change and returned to her room. Gabriel is called to speak to Charlotte. She wanted to check on him, to see how he was doing after his father’s death. She knows that a lot has happened, but she didn’t want Gabriel to think she had forgotten about him in all the chaos. He can’t believe that’s true. She must want something else. He starts to speak; words start to pour out. They all want him to hate his father, but he can’t! Charlotte tells him that he didn’t kill his father, his father was already dead by then. She thinks that Benedict Lightwood loved Gabriel too. And when she gives Gabriel a hug, he comes close to crying. He realizes that Charlotte is made of iron, he can’t believe he ever thought she was weak. Consul Wayland responds to Charlotte’s message. He asks her to stop harping on about Cadair Idris and does not believe her “informant” is anyone other than herself. Moreso, he tells her not to ask any other members of the Enclave to help her in this matter. If she does, it will be taken as the “gravest disobedience” and he will respond accordingly. Charlotte receives the response from the Clave while they Institute is gathered to eat. She isn’t sure what to do. She wants to help Will but if she goes against the Consul, she can be removed from the Institute and what protection that she can give to Will she will no longer have. Gabriel stands up, it’s time for Charlotte to know the truth. He tells her what the Consul offered to him and Gideon, and how they responded to it. Sophie backs them up. They had been threatened to have their names struck from the rolls and Tatiana turned onto the street, but they never gave the Consul any real information against Charlotte. Gabriel goes on. Wayland then came to Gabriel with a different offer. Gabriel told Gideon that the Consul was annoyed enough to give up on them, he did not know of the second offer. But Gabriel spied on her conversation with Aloysius Starkweather and wrote the Consul a letter. He never sent it. He has realized that Charlotte is worth following, that he shouldn’t put bloodline over principal. The reason he is telling Charlotte this is so that she understands that the Consul is not going to send her help. He thinks women are weak and unable to run an Institute – he put Charlotte in charge only to prove his theory so women wouldn’t be put in charge again. But the opposite has happened and Charlotte has proven herself to be a capable leader. Now Wayland wants, needs, Charlotte to be removed from the Institute. He will not help her. Charlotte makes a decision. She asks when the portal will be ready (the next day, Henry promises that he and Magnus will work through the night). They will use it to get to Wales as soon as it’s ready. They will need to act quickly, before the Consul removes Charlotte from office. Because she intends on writing to the entire Clave and ask them all for help. Everyone at the Institute volunteers to join her, but that’s only six fighters. Sophie interrupts. It’s only six Shadowhunters but she, Bridget, and Cyril will join them as well. Charlotte is hesitant about letting Sophie come since she’s not had much training, but Gideon says that Sophie is very gifted. In fact, he thinks that Sophie should Ascend. Charlotte is stunned. She had no idea that was what Sophie wanted but as soon as they get back, she will submit Sophie’s name for consideration to Ascend. Gideon thinks that is a perfect idea. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be allowed to marry. The look on Gideon’s face tells the others that he didn’t mean to say that last part out loud. Cecily herds the others out of the room, leaving Gideon and Sophie to talk alone. Once outside, Charlotte and Henry go toward the drawing room but Cecily puts her ear against the door. Gabriel chastises her for eavesdropping before drawing a rune on his wrist and placing his hand on the door. Now he can hear everything that’s being said. He’s disappointed to announce that Gideon is not being very smooth. Cecily asks how he feels about Sophie. Gabriel thinks having Sophie marry into their family will bring honor that the Lightwoods desperately need. Cecily thinks that Gabriel will bring some honor back as well. He tells Cecily if she takes his hand, she will be able to hear as well. She holds his hand and listens in. Gideon explains to Sophie that he admires her, but his feelings go far beyond that. He has an affection for her: for her kindness and beauty and generosity. But she should not feel bound to say yes to his proposal just because he was clumsy enough to do it in front of the whole Institute. She tells him that he hasn’t even proposed. He has stated his intention, but he has not asked her to marry him. Gabriel is delighted by Sophie’s response. Gideon kneels at Sophie’s feet. He adores her, a feeling that only grows stronger with each day that he knows her. He does not deserve her, but would she still consent to be his wife? She says yes. Gabriel removes his hand from the door but does not let Cecily’s go. When Cecily notices, she flees the room. She writes to her parents. Cecily tells them that she has had so much trouble writing to them – at first because of homesickness, then because she realized that Will was where he belonged and did not want to tell them, and then because she felt that same belonging herself. But she assures them that Will is loved here and that he still loves them and that he has not changed. And before she signs her name, she tells them to remember her, because she will always love and remember them. Charlotte pens a letter to all of the Enclaves. She has given incontrovertible proof to Consul Wayland that Mortmain is in Cadair Idris, yet the Consul refuses to act on it. She and those of the London Institute will be going to Wales post haste. She cannot force any of the others to act, but she hopes they will come too. Tessa dreams of Will standing on a cliff. He holds his arms out before stepping off the edge. Mortmain wakes her. He wants to show her what they’ve created together. He shows her a clockwork creature. It moves very smoothly and introduces himself. He is Armaros. One of the demons who had been held in the Pyxis. Mortmain gives a little demonstration. He holds a seraph blade, one of the Shadowhunters’ runed weapons which they use to fight demons. He stabs Armaros and pulls the blade out. Not only is Armaros fine, but the blade itself crumbles into ash. She believes that Mortmain has been lonely for years and tries to use that to her advantage, saying that she will agree to stay with him if he stops this. But he retorts that he cannot live while Shadowhunters exist in this world. He explains that she has been asleep for hours, it’s already afternoon. He asks her to come outside with him and see what they’ve made. Inquisitor Whitelaw writes to Consul Wayland about Charlotte’s letter. He wants to know if what Charlotte said is true, he does not believe that Will is a liar. The Shadowhunters must be able to trust their Consul. He demands that Josiah call an immediate, emergency meeting of the Council or he will resign and make sure that everyone knows why he did it. Will walks Balios to the nearest town and pays for a room. He wakes up in the night to townsfolk screaming. Thinking it’s a fire, Will runs to the stable. As soon as he opens Balios’ stall the horse bolts past him. Will goes back outside and finds automatons murdering anyone they can find. One of them is giving orders to set fires and flush out anyone hiding. This automaton spots Will – who draws his seraph blade. But as soon as he plunges the blade into the automaton, it dissolves into ashes. The automaton laughs. They now have bodies the Shadowhunters cannot destroy, and the world will be theirs! Will is sure he’s about to die but Balios comes out of nowhere, running directly at them and knocking the demon filled automaton away. Will just manages to grab Balios’ mane and pull himself onto Balios’ back before the horse takes off again. Mortmain takes Tessa to a stone outcropping to watch the automatons destroy the village. She tries to make him stop but he has no mercy to give. He’s delighted by the destruction. These clockwork creatures have no mercy either – but they do strategize and they are indestructible! She watches as a single horse and rider are able to break out of the village and ride away. Once she’s taken back to her room, Tessa removes her clockwork angel necklace and breaks it with a fire poker. The spirit of the angel comes out. He asks why she tries to destroy him when his job is to protect her. She explains that she doesn’t want to be protected – she wants to destroy herself. He tells her that he cannot let her die and that his name was Ithuriel once, when he was an angel. She tries to touch Ithuriel to comfort him, but she doesn’t make contact. He fades and she wakes up on the floor in front of the fire with the poker still where it’s supposed to be. It was all just a dream. Will stands at the top of Cadair Idris and prepares to jump into Llyn Cau. He believes that this is the way to where Mortmain is hiding – the mountain is said to be hollow inside. He pats Balios, telling the horse to go back to the Institute if Will doesn’t return. Consul Wayland writes to Charlotte to tell her that she is no longer head of the London Institute. He will come to London the next day, he expects them to already have their things removed by then. Will falls through the water back to solid ground. He’s in an underground cavern. He walks the tunnels and almost thinks he hears something behind him, but he sees nothing. Then there are doors. The first two open on empty rooms but in the third one he finds Tessa. He’s so relieved to see her that he walks to her without thinking and she throws herself into his arms. Then she calls him an idiot. Of course Mortmain didn’t leave her unguarded in an unlocked room – Will is now trapped with her in the invisible box. He does remember a weird feeling of resistance while he walked toward Tessa. She says they will just have to wait for whoever came with Will to find them, and Will is forced to explain that he is there alone. She reads between the lines. If Jem were alive, he would have come with Will. He sits with her on the ground and holds her as she cries. They grieve together, the two halves of Jem’s heart. Will wishes he had not failed Jem – he had promised to rescue Tessa and bring her back home safely. She doesn’t think all hope is lost though. Now that they are together, there are more possibilities. If anyone can find a way to get out, it’s Will. He’s amazed at her outlook, how she can still be optimistic in a time like this. To have such faith in him when he doesn’t deserve it. But he has saved her repeatedly. From the Dark Sisters, from himself when he thought he was cursed. He is a good man. One of the best she’s ever met. She tells him that they are very alike. He looks at her and he sees her. He reads the books she reads and loves the poetry she loves and there are things that she thinks but can’t say that he says out loud. He is not that good of a man, and he cannot forget that he is in love with her. When she speaks like this, he forgets that she is Jem’s. She tells him that she loves Jem still, but she does not belong to him. Her heart is hers alone and no one can control it, not even her. She asks what Will thinks will happen when Mortmain finds them and Will says what they’re both thinking. That Mortmain will have the automatons kill Will. But he’s not afraid. There are worse things than an honorable death. She wants that to, so she will remove her necklace and take a weapon up herself. They will die together. It’s one of two things she wants. The other thing is for Will to kiss her again before they die. She will not force him to if he does not want it, but that is what she wants, and he doesn’t need to be asked twice. It’s not gentle, at least not at first, but they move to the bed, and she doesn’t tell him to stop. Not even when he asks her if she’s sure. She wants this as much as he does. She wakes up with Will still asleep next to her. Her head had been on his arm with the clock work angel resting between them against Will’s shoulder. When she moves, she sees that the angel has left a pale white scar on Will’s skin. Henry and Magnus show the others what they’ve been working on: the Portal. Everyone is impressed. Unfortunately, it has not yet been tested. Now everyone is more wary and concerned, less impressed. Henry explains that they visualize where they’re going and Cecily will be able to do that. She has climbed to the top of Cadair Idris with her father and can still see the peak of the mountain in her mind. Magnus intends to go with them but asks for some gear. Charlotte goes to find Sophie, who will get the gear, and Bridget and Cyril. When she returns, she has three Silent Brothers with her: Brothers Enoch, Micah, and Zachariah. They have come to fight with the Shadowhunters. They were Shadowhunters before and Shadowhunters still, and they are allowed to fight should they choose. However, no one else will be showing up to help. Consul Wayland has called an emergency meeting for all Shadowhunters - not attending was punishable by law. What an ass. The meeting has been called to expel Charlotte and Henry from the Institute. Even Magnus says that Wayland is a fool if he thinks Charlotte cannot lead – but she stops everyone from talking. Now is not the time. Cecily stands in front of the Portal, visualizes the top of the mountain, and walks through without hesitation. Gabriel is amazed by her bravery and refuses to let her go alone. He follows her immediately. Meanwhile, the entire Clave has been summoned and the Council chamber is full to bursting. Shadowhunters are arguing and the place is bedlam. Some demand to know where Charlotte is (only the London Institute is missing), she was supposed to be there to explain her letter and there are those who do not want to hear an explanation from the Consul, but from Charlotte directly. Inquisitor Whitelaw looks tired and stares daggers at the Consul; likely he’s one of them. Alyosius stands up for Charlotte and Charlotte’s aunt Callida calls this meeting a disgrace. The Consul is insinuating that Charlotte cannot lead because she is a woman, and that she is being hysterical because she is pregnant, Aunt Callida isn’t having any of that. But then Tatiana stands and says Will and Charlotte are responsible for her husband’s death. At that, Inquisitor Whitelaw stands. He’s not about to let that slide. He tells the Council everything that has happened, including the seizure of the Lightwood estates, was because of what her father did. If it weren’t for the actions of Will, Charlotte, and Tatiana’s brothers, the Lightwood name would have been stricken from the Shadowhunter rolls altogether. When Consul Wayland asks if anyone steps forward as Charlotte’s replacement, the Inquisitor is furious. There is no proof yet that Charlotte was wrong and what they should be doing is sending reinforcements after her. They clearly went to Cadair Idris alone. The Clave should be helping her! Consul Wayland is about to scream about how there will never be aid for those who… there are a lot of potential endings to this but likely it’s ‘those who can’t follow orders blindly’, we will never know because a clockwork creature springs up and beheads the Consul. Aloysius laughs in the crowd – Charlotte tried to tell them this would happen – an automaton grabs him by the throat as the doors to the Council chamber open and clockwork creatures flood the room. Magnus finds Will and Tessa first and advises them to get dressed quickly. He throws them some gear and Tessa quickly changes. He gives them a brief explanation of who he is with and how they are at the mountain and that the others are still searching for them. They have time to make themselves presentable. After Magnus leaves the room, Will kisses Tessa again. He loves her and he has waited so long to tell her that. He has so much more to say to her, but it will have to wait until they’re home and safe. All she need to know right now is that he loves her. Sophie discovers a room full of inanimate clockwork creatures. Not all of them were inanimate - Cecily has already killed one, but the others lay on the ground unmoving. There are so many. Henry opens one automaton to look at the inside and sees there is an ouroboros carved there. Same as the symbol on the outside of the Pyxis. He is sure now that they were trying to bind the demon energies to the creatures and make them somewhat independent and capable of thought. When Henry touches the symbol, the creature comes to life. It grabs him and cracks his spine, throwing Henry away. Henry does not move. It then grabs Brother Micah and, though Micah fights back, it tears the Silent Brother’s throat open as it laughs. Cecily – who is always so brave – begins to scream. Will, Tessa, and Magnus hear Cecily’s scream and follow it to the chamber. The Shadowhunters fight in the center of the room against a few of the automatons. Tessa spots two Silent Brothers fighting but is distracted by Charlotte, who is kneeling next to Henry’s body. Will screams at the others not to use seraph blades and watches as Cecily fights one of the creatures. He tells Magnus to stay with Tessa as he fights his way to Cecily. He’s not fast enough. The creature disarms Cecily, but then she is knocked out of the way by one of the Silent Brothers, who hits the creature hard enough to dent its chest. Another automaton grabs the Silent Brother from behind and lifts him, causing his hood to fall back. Tessa sees his silver hair and knows who it is. The Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah, is Jem. All Tessa can see is Jem, who is apparently not dead, as he tries unsuccessfully to fight the automaton. She rips herself away from Magnus and runs toward him, intent on saving him, but she will not get there in time. Instead, Will rises up and slices off the creature’s legs. He tries to catch the creature but isn’t fast enough, Jem falls and the clockwork creature falls on top of him. The creature crushing him may have killed him before, but now Jem is only stunned. Jem hits it in the head as Will continues to chop it into pieces and pulls it off of Jem’s body. Will can’t believe that Jem is not dead. Jem would have told him, but he had no way to do so. Will thought Jem was gone forever, but he is still here. They fight together again, one last time. Tessa is grabbed by Armaros. She informs him that the angel will protect her, but he retorts it will save her only from death. He can still hurt her – a condition of being human. But should the necklace ever fail, Armaros will be waiting. He carries Tessa to a shadowy alcove. Cecily fights her way to Charlotte, who leans over Henry as they’re protected by Bridget. Cyril is crumpled on the ground, but everyone else is still fighting. Cecily tells Charlotte they must retreat, but they can’t make a Portal without Henry. Charlotte insists that he is not dead – she can feel a pulse. Cecily gets Magnus - who does some magic and is able to wake Henry. Henry cannot feel his legs. Magnus tells him that unfortunately there are some things that magic cannot fix. Charlotte explains the situation. Everyone is here, Will and Tessa included, but they must get out. Henry can draw the Portal but they don’t want any of those creatures coming through to London. He gives Cecily a box and instructs her to throw it when he’s ready. As soon as he has made the doorway, she throws the box and the creatures start to convulse. It’s a kind of Pyxis he has been working on to separate a demon spirit from its body. He was concerned about this happening when Mortmain stole the Pyxis. It isn’t perfect, but it was worth a shot. Magnus calls the Shadowhunters to him so he can finish the Portal and they can travel through, but Will cannot find Tessa now. She’s gone. Then they hear someone scream at them to stop. A bolt of light explodes through the room, and Cecily looks up to see Mortmain. Mortmain demands that Tessa be brought to him, Armaros escorts her up the stairs. As she walks, the Shadowhunters watch helplessly – two in particular look terrified. Tessa can see Henry, who looks so pale, and Cyril, who is injured but is now kneeling. She thinks about her necklace and the spirit of the angel it holds within it. She wonders if it would be possible to Change into Ithuriel. Long story short, it is. Her body grows and lengthens and sprouts wings. The Shadowhunters cannot bear to look at her. She grabs Mortmain’s body, killing him as she holds him in just one fist. When Mortmain dies, his automaton army dies around him. She turns to the Shadowhunters, who shrink back from her. But she’s just happy they are safe; she would never hurt them. She struggles to find her way back to her own body. She cannot speak. She’s burning with heavenly fire, and it hurts. She loses herself to the heat and falls into the light. Will tries to wake Tessa but she dreams of her body turning to ash and blowing away. After rushing from Mortmain’s fortress as it locked itself around them, they made it back to the Institute to find more Silent Brothers waiting for them. Charlotte now stands next to Tessa as she writhes on the bed. The Heavenly Fire must leave her body in its own time, but Brother Enoch is optimistic that Tessa will survive. She has survived this far. She even survived becoming an angel, due to her unprecedented lineage and the angel in her necklace, who has since been freed of his prison. Enoch says that Tessa is a new kind of Shadowhunter, and that is not a bad thing. They even tried to use Runes on her. The runes didn’t work, but she didn’t die either. Charlotte asks how Jem is settling in, but Enoch won’t tell her anything about the Silent Brothers. Most Silent Brothers sever all ties to their mortal lives before entering the Brotherhood, but Charlotte worries about Jem (now Brother Zachariah) since he was unable to do that. He is unlike the other Brothers in that way, and in others. Will reads poetry to Henry, who is not impressed. Henry is designing a chair for himself since he’s been told that he will never walk again. He’s very focused on making it able to go up and down stairs without help. Will, on the other hand, feels unmoored. With Tessa not waking up, he had looked for Jem. But Jem had left to return to the Silent City without even a goodbye. And now Will doesn’t know where to go or what to do. Thus, the poetry reading. Charlotte has just joined them when Inquisitor Whitelaw comes with an urgent message for Charlotte. Gabriel finds Cecily in the stables. She came to the Institute to bring Will home and now that it is clear that Will is not going to leave – not with Tessa here and Jem still technically alive – Gabriel wants to know if Cecily is leaving. Is she going to return home to her family? He doesn’t want her to return to them. Quite the opposite, he is afraid that she will leave. She tells Gabriel that he taught her something. He was not given a choice in his family, and his father’s demands broke them apart. Her father made his choice and Will is making his. What is most important is that they are able to make the choices that will make them happy. She thinks she will stay. Gabriel kisses her. Will relieves Sophie and sits next to Tessa’s bed for a while. Sophie’s opinion of him has changed completely. She knows now that while Will was cruel before, he was trying to do his best to protect the rest of them. As he sits, Tessa talks in her sleep. She calls out for Jem, blaming herself for his becoming a Silent Brother because Mortmain withheld his yin fen. Will tells Charlotte that Tessa needs Jem. Charlotte protests. Jem won’t be allowed to come. But Will insists that she try. He brings up the fact that Jem never got to sever his bond with Tessa. He needs to return so that he can do that. Gideon checks on Sophie, who is concerned for basically everybody at the Institute. Especially Charlotte and the baby. Charlotte is so stressed that Sophie doesn’t think she’ seating enough. Gideon advises her to speak to Charlotte. Not as her maid, but as her friend. When Sophie speaks to Charlotte, Charlotte shows the letter she received from Inquisitor Whitelaw. It asks Charlotte to become Consul and encourages her to accept the position. But Charlotte has her doubts. How can she send Shadowhunters to their deaths as she would be expected to do as Consul. Just seeing Henry hurt at Cadair Idris was too much. But Sophie argues that it is not just taking lives but saving lives. How many would have been killed if they’d not stopped Mortmain. Already, so many of the Clave were killed in the Council chamber before the automatons fell – including Aloysius Starkweather. Charlotte thinks about this. IF she’s to become Consul, she has three conditions. 1. She be allowed to lead from the London Institute for the time being. It will allow her to train her replacement anyway. 2. Her replacement must be Will. 3. Charlotte doesn’t tell Sophie what her third condition is. She won’t tell anyone until it is accepted by the Council. Jem is able to wake Tessa. Charlotte called for him and he did not want to come, but he came anyway. Tessa is amazed, but she can tell that Jem is not quite the same. More distant, more aloof. He explains that he did not think that he could become a Silent Brother because the yin fen would not allow it, but he had Charlotte call the Brotherhood and they applied the runes at the last possible moment – just as Jem died. It was a risk, he could have died in immense pain if it had been unsuccessful, but it worked. Yet, he will never be like the other Brothers. He can still speak and see (at least for now), and he won’t be as strong as the other Silent Brothers. There are runes his body will never be able to handle. But he is still alive, in a way, and sorry that he couldn’t tell Tessa and Will what was happening somehow. Speaking of Will, Tessa wants to tell Jem the truth about what happened between her and Will, but Jem doesn’t want to hear. He asks Tessa if she really loved him and she did. She swears it. She will always love Jem, that will never change, but she also loves Will. Her love for one does not change her love for the other. Jem doesn’t ask her to explain further. He only tells her that Will is going to need her. Jem cannot come to the Institute during his training as a Silent Brother and even after, he should not come. If he does, it will be infrequent. Tessa isn’t willing to accept that and finally, Jem relents. He loves her still, but differently. He agrees to meet her on Blackfriars Bridge once a year for an hour. Just that, in the place where he first realized that he loved her. But she must tell no one. Jem, of course, comes to find Will too. He will always take the chance to see Will. Will didn’t think he would after leaving without saying goodbye to go back to the Silent City. But Jem doesn’t know how to tell Will goodbye. They are bonded, more than just as parabatai. Will isn’t sure what to do without Jem, but Jem tells him to have faith in himself and to know they will never truly be separated. He is changed, but he lives still. Will will never be alone, because Jem will always be by his side as long as Will is alive. He wants Will to live too, and to be happy. And if Will wants to marry Tessa, then do not let Jem’s memory stop him. Jem tells him he left his violin in case some future Shadowhunter wants to use it and gives Will his box. The box that held his yin fen which used to be his mother’s. The goddess on the box comforts all suffering hearts. Once Jem leaves, Will collapses in on himself - alone again. But it isn’t long before Charlotte finds him. Will was right. Tessa woke up to speak to Jem. Their engagement is now ended. And she’s asking to see Will. When Will sees Tessa, they speak of Jem. Their minds are eased but their hearts still hurt. Tessa insists that Will has done nothing wrong and that this is the best they could hope for. To still have Jem alive in whatever capacity they can, though not the same as the Jem they knew. She knows that Will feels like he must propose to her now after what they did in the cavern. She does not regret it, but she does not want Will to propose to her either. Not right now, when they are both overwhelmed by everything that has happened. Neither of them are in any state to make decisions right now. He agrees not to do anything rash but does not want to leave her either. She decides he can read to her and he grabs David Copperfield. In the Council room, Tessa joins Will, Gideon, Gabriel, Cecily, and Henry as the new Consul, Charlotte, does the Ascension ceremony with Sophie. Sophie makes her oaths to live as a Shadowhunter and then she drinks from the Mortal Cup - the most dangerous part of the ceremony. She and Charlotte are ringed with blue light and when it fades, Sophie takes the new name of Sophie Ashdown. She is a Shadowhunter now. Tessa had watched Will for weeks, intent on helping to mend his broken heart, and her own in the process. She had to tell Charlotte to stop coddling Will and send him on missions with Gideon or Gabriel again. That definitely helped, but weeks went by before Will finally asked Tessa to go for a carriage ride so he could woo her properly. He was awkward until she had an argument with him, insisting that he act like himself and not be so polite. That evening, he leaves a copy of A Tale of Two Cities outside of her room. Inside is a beautiful inscription detailing how much he loves her. When she asks him about it, he admits that he wrote it the day that his curse was broken but had hidden it away when he found out that Tessa and Jem were engaged. At the Christmas party that year, Will and Tessa meet Jem’s uncle Elias Carstairs. Elias shows them Cortana, which he was supposed to give to Jem on his eighteenth birthday. He wants Will to have it now, but Will says no before leaving Tessa and Elias alone. Tessa explains that Will does not need anything to remember Jem by, Jem is not dead and they are still very much a part of each other. Some bonds cannot be broken. She suggests that Elias save Cortana in case he has a child of his own. Will goes to sit on the front porch, where he is visited by the ghost of Jessamine. She has been charged with protecting the Institute until it no longer needs to be protected and although she did not want to be a Shadowhunter in life, it does not bother her to watch them from afar and do her best to protect them now. She has tried several times to talk to Will before, but he is always in the courtyard with someone else and she cannot yet enter the Institute. She will be able to enter at some point, but she is not strong enough now. But she has still been able to see as Will made a mess of his courtship. When is he going to get around to proposing to Tessa? A woman cannot profess her love until her beau makes his intentions known. But Will is afraid that Tessa will tell him she cannot love him like she loved Jem. Jessamine scoffs, of course she can’t. Will and Jem are not the same person. Tessa can only love Will as himself, not as she loved Jem. She disappears just as Magnus comes out of the Institute. He tells Will that he’s leaving to go to New York and he’s taking Church with him. Church bites everyone, so no one is too sad to see Church go. But Will is sad about Magnus, he is tired of losing people. Magnus says he’s leaving Will in good hands, Tessa’s, and tells Will that he is a bright star. In fact, he burns brighter than most. Magnus will miss Will too. Tessa comes to find Will outside. They talk about Sophie’s Ascension and if Tessa would have wanted to Ascend at some point, if she could have. She can’t because of her demon heritage. But her Shadowhunter heritage allows her the right to stay at the Institute and to claim her grandfather’s name of Starkweather, if she wants it. Will takes a deep breath. She should take a Shadowhunter name but not Starkweather – Herondale. There is not a part of her that he can imagine not loving, and he will love her until he dies. His story started with her and there will never be another for him. He asks her to marry him. She tells him that sending him away from her the day she told him she was engaged to Jem was the hardest thing she’s ever done. She loves him too and yes, she will marry him. Charlotte agrees to let Will and Cecily use the Portal to visit their parents, who are still at Ravenscar Manor, to introduce them to Tessa and Gabriel. She insists it is only a one-time visit that no one can know about. Except maybe on Christmas. And maybe birthdays. Will’s parents are overjoyed to see their children again. The year is 2008. Tessa arrives at Blackfriars Bridge five minutes early to her scheduled visit with Jem. She’s never been able to think of him as Brother Zachariah. She still wears the pearl bracelet that Will gave her for their thirtieth wedding anniversary. They had become good friends with the Lightwoods – Gabriel marrying Cecily and Sophie to Gideon. By the time Will had died in the summer of 1937, they had been surrounded by their friends Charlotte, Sophie, Gabriel, and Cecily (Gideon and Henry had passed already by then), their children and grandchildren, their nieces and nephews, and the Fairchild children. They told stories of Will’s life - how he loved books and had written several Shadowhunter histories after retiring from fighting, but his poetry had always been terrible. And he never grew out of his fear of ducks. Once the family filed out, Jem had come in. Jem went to the violin that Will and Tessa had saved and played it for Will. He played the story of the three of them, then went to hold Will’s hand. Will smiled at him, his hand in Jem’s and Tessa’s head on his shoulder and then Will was gone. Tessa left too. She did not die, but she could not watch her children die. The first thing she did after leaving was a task that Will had asked of her. She went to the tree and found the dagger he had placed there. She showed the knife to Jem when they met at the bridge that year but kept the knife with her. Jem could not take it to the Silent City with him. She is lost in her memories when she hears someone say her name from behind. A voice she has heard before - but not for decades. Not Brother Zachariah, but Jem – slightly older than when he joined the Brotherhood and now with black hair and dark brown eyes and two dark scars on his face where he received the first runes of the Brotherhood. He explains that a cure was found and he is no longer tied to the Brotherhood, a story he will tell her though it is not a short one, so not right now. Where he goes from here depends on her. He has loved her for over one hundred years, but he knows of the life she built with Will and how much she loved him. What Jem wants to know is if she still loves him too, but he can’t finish the question. He sees the bracelet she wears and declares himself a fool. He starts to flee from her, walking quickly into the crowd of people. She chases after him and when she catches up to him, she demands to know what he was going to ask her. When he says that he is terrible with words and can’t get them straight, she takes over. Yes, she has loved someone other than Will. She has always and will always love Jem too. Her love for one never diminished the love for the other. In fact, she thinks it made her love them both even more. It isn’t just the bracelet she continues to wear; she pulls the jade pendant out from inside her shirt. She has worn it all these years but was careful to keep it hidden so it did not cause Jem any pain, to remember a promise he’d made to her that he was unable to keep. He tells her that he is not the boy she knew. He has changed, but she insists that she has too. She asks him to come with her and be with her and stay with her. He tells her yes and kisses her.