The world is not as safe as it seems. That is the lesson Rosalie Gray learned after crossing the sea with her sister, Tessa. The world is also full of dark, mysterious secrets.
With her world turned upside down, Rosalie Gray feels as if she has now...
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The witchlights glowed brightly inside of the dining room, and the sound of conversation could be heard; it was Jessamine, complaining about Will. As Rosalie entered, she saw one thing out of the ordinary: Will standing on one of the sideboards and fiddling with the gasolier. "You really ought to get Thomas to do that! A gentleman-" Will, ignoring her suggestion, glanced down at Jessamine and said, "Is that blood on your sleeve, Jessie?" Jessamine's eyes widened considerably at this, and she hurriedly covered her sleeve with her hand. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" Jem asked with a worried look. The conversation regarding Jessamine's bloodied sleeve ended as quickly as it had begun when Henry burst into the room, brandishing what Rosalie thought looked like a copper tube with a singular button on the side. "I've done it!" he cried out triumphantly. "No one has any idea what you're talking about." Will said as he climbed down from the sideboard, seemingly abandoning his efforts to fix the gasolier. "What precisely is that, Henry?" Rosalie queried, her eyes fixed upon the item in his hand. Henry's pale face seemed to come to life; it wasn't often that people asked him what his inventions were. He knew that most people thought him to be mad, and many of them told him as much. "I've finally gotten my Phosphor to work." he said before going on to explaining its function. It worked very similarly to a witchlight, but it burned much brighter. "So it's a very bright witchlight." said Will, sounding unimpressed. "Is that useful?" it was Jem who spoke this time. There was no ill intent behind his words. "After all, witchlight is just for illumination. It's not as if it's dangerous..." "Just watch." Henry beamed, and pushed the button on the side before anyone had time to object to his demonstration. A very bright light filled the room, accompanied by a loud whooshing sound, before the room turned black as night. "Am I blind?" Will asked, the annoyance behind his disembodied voice evident. "I'm not going to be too pleased if you've blinded me, Henry." "It seems that the Phosphor has turned the lights off." Henry sighed. The frustration was clear in his voice, and Rosalie didn't have to see him to know how disappointed he looked. "Perhaps this could still be useful," Rosalie said, while fumbling blindly through the dark room in search of a chair. "It may not illuminate a room... but one never knows when they'll need to turn the lights off." it was a pitiful attempt at cheering Henry up, she knew that, but she still felt the need to try.
Dinner passed by slowly for Rosalie, her mind was in a whirlwind from the events of this morning. She had every intention of forgetting Will, but he had made it perfectly clear that doing so would be next to impossible. That doesn't mean you can get rid of me so easily, his words echoed inside her head. Rosalie had grown very tired of Will and his mind games; he was infuriating in every sense of the word. He claimed he did not hate her, yet refused to explain why he treated her so shamefully. How long and complicated could his explanation be? And did he think she was too stupid to comprehend it? No, that couldn't be it. There was something else going on here, some unknown reason preventing him from opening up to her. That was the only thing that made sense in her mind. And she would discover precisely what that reason was. She had to. "There is someone here who wishes to speak with you Tessa." the voice of Charlotte ripped Rosalie away from her plotting, and a concerned expression came over her face. "With me?" Tessa asked in surprise. "Who?" Rosalie frowned at Charlotte, who was standing in the doorway." "Lady Belcourt." she said in response, "I contacted her before dinner in hopes that she would have information about de Quincy." "de Quincy?" Rosalie repeated, her tone laced with confusion. "Who in the world is that?" "I asked Will to tell you, but I can see he has not done so." Charlotte sighed and shot Will a pointed look. "Oh, never mind then," Rosalie, too, gave Will a pointed look. "What does this Lady Belcourt want with my sister?" "Despite our best efforts," Charlotte began, her body visibly tensing, "it would appear that word of Tessa's ability has begun to spread through the Downworld. And Lady Belcourt is... interested." All eyes were fixed on Tessa, who sat in her chair with wide eyes. "Who is Lady Belcourt? Is she a Shadowhunter?" "She's a vampire." Jem answered. He sounded as calm and collected as he always did, and Rosalie couldn't help but feel envious. She would never master her emotions the way he had. "You must be insane if you think my sister is going to have a little chat with a vampire!" Rosalie scoffed and rose from her seat. "God only knows what she could want from Tessa!" "We can send her away..." Charlotte offered, her eyes scanned over the eldest of the Gray sisters; her body was rigid, her hands fisting around the fabric of her maroon skirt. It was clear that Tessa would always be fiercely protected by her sister, and she would surely need such ferocity by her side. "No." Tessa shook her head before turning to address her sister, "I would like to meet with her, Rose. You are more than welcome to come along if it would make you feel better." Rosalie said nothing as she frowned at her sister. What on Earth could possess her to want to meet with a vampire? She knows her sister has read enough books to know about how dangerous they are... and surely, she was smart enough to know that she needed to be staying away from any potential dangers. "Tessa, I don't think this is a wise idea." Rosalie attempted to sound calm as she spoke, but the fear in her voice was evident. "I have never met a Downworlder, aside from the Dark Sisters." Tessa explained lightly, her eyes fixed upon her sister. "And I would like to." there was no indication of worry or fear behind her words, nor could it be seen on her face. The only evident emotion was determination. Tessa refused to allow Rosalie to make this decision for her; if she wished to meet with Lady Belcourt... she would meet her. "Tessa-" it was Jem who spoke up, but Tessa was already following Charlotte out of the dining room with Rosalie following closely behind her.
