✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER NINETEEN: GRUESOME

◤What is this? This... this... thing?◢

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CHAPTER NINETEEN: GRUESOME

TUCKED away in the comfortable interior of the black carriage, Shadowhunters and Tessa quickly fell into the busy flow of Yorkshire traffic. With no time to explore Yorkshire station, Tessa seemed to surrender herself to her curiosity, taking time to thoroughly question Jem on every topic that sneaked into her unresting mind. Jem, as a polite gentleman who was shamelessly drawn to the Gray girl, answered each question of Tessa's with a smile on his face.

To Marie, it seemed that Tessa was the one person who possessed patience for Jem's brilliant explanations; she made him feel important and truly gave him every ounce of her attention. The connection between the two made Marie's heart swell with warmth. She was glad that the two found refuge in each other.

And while Tessa and Jem seemed to be content with each other, Will Herondale remained silent. His slim, elongated fingers tapped a nervous pattern on top of his knees, his ocean blue eyes locked on something distant, unreachable.

The aloof behavior of the obsidian haired boy concerned Marie for some reason, so she leaned over his shoulder, careful not to touch him. The brunette followed his gaze through the dust-stained window, catching sight of the long graveyard. Just before the gray walls of the city of York, was a resting place of cholera epidemic victims. It was a tragedy, truly. Marie remembered the stories; the disease didn't choose its victims - it only scythed whatever the world offered.

"Are you all right?" Marie snatched her opportunity to ask Will, seeing that his eyes have adjusted to her features.

"Aren't I always?" The boy tilted his head to the side, focusing on the girl.

Marie tucked away a lock of her hair that fell out of its place due to the constant shaking of the carriage. "I'm serious, Will. I can see that something is going on in the mind of yours. You're more quiet than usually."

"I just have an odd feeling about this, you know?" Will bit his lower lip, surprising Marie with his sincerity. Out of the three Shadowhunters, Will was always the one who carried himself with pride and strength. Often, he appeared as if he had his nose stuck in the clouds, but Marie knew better. He wanted to appear untouchable, unapproachable, incapable of feeling. The truth was, even though his mind often lacked the troublesome thoughts, the boy was the same as his peers. Young and scared.

"Believe it or not, I understand how you feel," Marie whispered. "It's almost as if something is breathing down your neck."

The brunette Shadowhunter told the truth. Ever since arriving at the York Station, she couldn't shake off the feeling of danger that was thickly woven into the air they breathed. The appearance of Aloysius' servant didn't calm the girl's doubting mind in the slightest. What if Aloysius had no intentions of helping them? What if they lost everything? What if they weren't capable of defeating Mortmain?

Question after question, fear roamed through Marie's brain. They rang as loudly as a church bell on an early Sunday morning, making Marie reach her hand for Will's.