The Last Hours

30: James

It had been a day since that awful Council meeting, and Matthew and I were walking aimlessly around Alicante. I had been furious when the Inquisitor had said that about my mother. My father had been too, because for the entire walk to the house where we were staying, he kept going on about how he would kill the Inquisitor for saying such things.

Of course, my mother acted as if the whole did not bother her. She kept reassuring my father that everything was alright, and that it did not bother her. Though, I heard my mother crying a bit that night, to my father. Not for herself, but for Lucie and I. She had said we would always been looked down upon, because of the warlock blood we got from her.

That made me feel very bad for her. My mother couldn't have controlled that. I knew that she had always worried for Lucie and I, about us being teased for being different. I knew that it had particularly killed her, when I had been expelled from the Shadowhunter Institute.

"James? Are you listening?" Matthew asked.

"Um, yes?" I tried.

Matthew sighed. "You need to stop thinking of yesterday's fiasco."

"I know, but how can I Matthew? You heard what he said about my mother." I said, while kicking a pebble to the side.

"I know, I wanted to punch him as well." He said bitterly. "It'll be alright, my mother will have him punished for what he did, though, I think you punished him yourself with that broken nose."

At that, I laughed and so did he. We had now stopped on a bridge that was over a little river.

"I've never liked the Morgensterns." I said.

"Me neither, they're too married to old ways." Matthew said.

"Yes, and they are hard on the eyes to look at." I said, half joking.

Matthew laughed. "Well, at least--"

He then broke off. He was staring at something behind me, with a cold expression. I turned around, and almost gasped. There stood Grace Blackthorn. She was wearing a long white dress, and her light blonde hair was falling gracefully. She was looking at me, blankly, had hands folded together.

"James, can I speak with you?" She asked.

My eyes widened in surprise. Why did she want to speak to me? Against my will, I nodded my head.

"James? Why are you--" Matthew started, surprised.

"He agreed to come, Matthew." Grace cut him off.

I gave a weak smile to Matthew, and turned to follow Grace. We walked in silence all the way to a bench, far away from the centre of Alicante. Once we reached the bench she said:

"Sit."

"I would prefer to stand."

"Alright, you stand. I will sit."

She then sat, and gazed up at me with her gray eyes. Where my mother's gray eyes were filled with love and kindness, Grace's were filled with hate and unhappiness.

"Why did you bring me here?" I demanded.

"To warn you." Grace said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Do not try and turn Jesse into one of you. He will never be like you." She sneered.

"Why do you care?" I demanded.

"Because, I love him. He is my brother." She stated.

I laughed dryly. "That may be true, but you do not love him. You know nothing of love."

"And you do?" Grace said venomously.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"At least I am not the one, who is in love with someone who is already engaged." She sneered.

"What? How--" I started, shocked.

"Do not think that I cannot tell that you love Cordelia, James, for it is written all over your face when you look at her." Grace said mockingly.

"At least I am capable of loving someone. You will never be able to. Your heart is made of stone, I would know." I snapped.

At that, Grace smirked. "Still crying over that are you?"

"I stopped caring for you a long time ago, Grace." I snapped.

She stood up. "Then why are you here? If you did not care about me, and did not care of what I had to tell you, why are you still here?"

At that, I did not know what to say. Why was I here with her? Grace smirked at my silence, and stepped closer to me. She was close enough that I could smell the scent of her. Lavender and vanilla.

"Don't be a fool, James." She whispered in my ear, and I tensed. "You still love me."

"You sound as if you want me to love you." I said a bit nervously

Grace pulled away from me, so we were face to face. "And if I said I do, would you?"

In my mind, I then saw Grace as a little girl, wearing a light pink dress and ribbons in her hair. I saw her as a ten year old, laughing with me. I saw her standing beside her mother, obediently, when we had been thirteen. Finally, I saw her standing with me at Hyde park, laughing in my face as I told her I loved her. Somewhere along the way, she had become cold and heartless. She would never love me back.

"No." I said while taking a step back, away from her. "No, I would not."

"I will also have you know, that Jesse is already one of us." I said.

At that, Grace's fair face went red with anger.

"How dare you, all of you--" She started, angrily.

"And, I am most certain that he and Lucie have fallen in love." I smirked.

"Your father would never allow them to marry. He hates the Blackthorn's." Grace snapped.

"And there is the difference between our parents." I said. "My father and mother, know how to forgive and forget, unlike your mother, who only knows revenge and hate." I said.

I then spun on my heel and walked away, leaving Grace staring after me.