CHAPTER EIGHT

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CHAPTER EIGHT
SWOON


*:・゚✧*:・゚✧

     Tessa was fast, but the three Shadowhunters following after her were much faster. Even with heavy skirts weighing her down, Evangeline caught up to her new friend quite quickly, the sound of their heeled boots loud against the stone floors. Evangeline fell into step beside Tessa, linking their arms together and slowing to Tessa's own speed. Charlotte had left the dining room with Tessa as soon as she had decided she would meet with Camille, so she was leading the way now, still holding a lamp made of witchlight to light the way. Henry's device hadn't just taken out the lights in the dining room; it seemed to have taken the light out of the entire Institute. No matter. Witchlight tended to fix itself after a time. After a moment, Jem and Will caught up to them, having let Evangeline take the lead—or having been forced to, considering they were afraid to step on her dress. Jem settled on Tessa's other side, and Will joined Evangeline on the other. Their arms brushed as they walked, and Evangeline glanced over to see excitement on Will's face. Like Evangeline, Will had a fascination with vampires, only his fascination was more aligned with the wicked.

"You didn't really think we weren't going to come along, did you?" Will asked. Light flared from his hand as he raised his own witchlight. The light caught Charlotte's attention, and she glanced back at them with a disapproving frown. Clearly, she didn't want any of them causing trouble with a powerful vampire like Camille. Evangeline flashed her a charming, sweet smile, and it made Charlotte huff and turn forward. She said nothing, however, didn't order the three of them to go back to the dining room—not that any of them would've listened—but Evangeline was grateful regardless.

"I know you can't leave anything well enough alone," Tessa grumbled, shooting a pointed look at Will. Evangeline found it an astute observation for a girl who barely knew any of them. "But I thought better of Jem and Evangeline." Evangeline faked a shocked gasp, her free hand flying up to press over her heart. Will nudged her arm, flashing her an amused grin. On Tessa's other side, Jem hummed.

"Where Will goes, I go," Jem said pleasantly, hardly affected by Tessa's small jab. "And besides, I'm as curious as anyone."

"And I have wanted to meet Camille Belcourt for ages," Evangeline pointed out, dropping her hand from her chest just to squeeze Tessa's arm. "You mustn't hold this against me, Tessa, really. What is a curious girl to do?" Tessa shot her a look. She must have meant to look stern and disapproving, but Evangeline could see the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She responded to the sight with a bright smile of her own. She was surprised when Tessa seemed to stumble a bit before righting herself and charging ahead. It was an effort not to lose her grasp on Tessa's arm.

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