Fool For You [2]

Chapter One

         It had been nearly a fortnight since Mortmain invaded the London Institute; and now, he was nowhere to be found. His estates had been emptied and now stood abandoned. But he was certainly still out there, lurking in the shadows and waiting for the opportune moment to try again. The only problem with that is now everyone is on high alert; now everyone knows how far he is willing to go to achieve his self-proclaimed destiny. And no one was more alert to any potential attack than Will Herondale. He blamed himself for everything that transpired that night; he blamed himself for being so easily fooled by a pair of mundanes. He had disliked Nathanial Gray from the very moment he laid eyes on the fair-haired boy. There was just something about him that Will had found untrustworthy. That was the whole reason Will had pushed to have him taken away from the Institute. Something inside of him had always known that Nate was going to betray them. And now, he would be ready for their next attack. It would come sooner or later. Although Will suspected that it would be later. Mortmain would wait until everyone let their guard down; he would wait for the day that Tessa thought she was safe. And then he would make his move. It was the only possibility that made sense in Will's mind. Mortmain would be a fool to try again so soon after his failure. With a disgruntled sigh, Will allowed his mind to wander away from the subject of Mortmain. There were more important matters; matters that could change everything. Such as the meeting of the Council scheduled for this afternoon. There were many questions that would need answering. And almost all of them would be about Mortmain. The members of the Council would want to know everything that occurred in excruciating detail, which meant Will was in for a rather boring day. They would also be questioning Tessa. Everyone had been buzzing about the young warlock girl, and many people were interested in meeting her. However, Rosalie was not permitted to attend the Council meeting. 'This is a private affair', a letter from Consul Wayland had read. That was just a diplomatic way of saying no mundanes allowed. She had been outraged, of course. She had trouble letting Tessa out of her sight; she was fearful that as soon as she was separated from her younger sister, something terrible would happen. At least that was Will's guess. Rosalie had not spoken to him since that night in her bedroom. Her resolve was impressive; she had resisted all of his attempts at conversation. It seemed that he had finally succeeded in driving her away.
"Will," Charlotte called from her seat at the dining room table. "I am begging you to behave yourself today." she went on to say.
Will looked up from his plate of untouched food and grinned. "Now Charlotte, you know I am always on my best behavior."
"I am in no mood for your jokes right now." Charlotte exhaled deeply. "Today is going to be hard enough without your dramatic flair."
At this, Jem looked up from his own plate of food and sent his parabatai a warning look. Will could all but hear his words as if they had been spoken aloud. Everyone knew that Charlotte could potentially lose her position as head of the Institute over what happened; and as such, she had been under an enormous amount of pressure these last few weeks. The last thing she needed was Will causing yet another problem for her to deal with.
"I still don't understand why I have to stay here." Rosalie said with a frown. Will watched her as she placed her head in the palm of her hands, a look of defeat clearly displayed across her delicate face.
"Unfortunately, the Consul is correct that this is a private matter." Charlotte began slowly, her eyes shifting away from Will to rest on Rosalie. "Since it is Tessa that Mortmain is after, the Council wishes to speak only to her. In their minds, you hold little relevance to the story."
Upon hearing Charlotte's words, Rosalie's cheeks flared a bright red. "Little relevance?" she repeated hotly. "He may be after Tessa, but that certainly didn't stop the Dark Sisters from-"
"I know," Charlotte frowned, her body tensing slightly. "I disagree with their decision, Rosalie, but now is not the time to be going against the Council. Everyone here knows just how important you are."
"And we will tell you everything that happened the moment we return." Jem promised with a reassuring smile. "It will be like you were sitting there yourself."