“But he would understand,” he said dazedly. “If we explained it to him. If we told him…he would understand.”

She made her voice as cold as she could. As calm. “Told him what?”

Will only looked at her. There had been light in his eyes on the stairs… And it was going now, fading like the last breath of someone dying. She felt as if she were watching the life bleed out of Will Herondale.

“Jem would forgive me,” Will said, but there was hopelessness in his face, his voice, already. He had given up, Tessa thought. “He would,” she said, “He would never stay angry at you, Will; he loves you too well for that. I do not even think he would hold anger toward me. But this morning he told me he thought he would die without ever loving anyone as his father loved his mother, without ever being loved like that in return. Do you want me to go down the hallway and knock on his door and take that away from him? And would you love me still, if I did?”

“Then…please, Tessa, don’t tell him what I just told you…”

“I will tell no one,” she said. “I swear it…”