The Dark Ones

Chapter Eleven

I closed my eyes, scouring every crevice of my brain and my thoughts to find some remnant of emotion when it came to Jace. I thought of when we first met, our first kiss, Magnus Bane's party, when he cheated on me... And I felt nothing.

I stood up, taking a deep breath and I was unable to hide the smile on my face. I felt liberated, as though there was nothing in this world that could bring me down. I walked out of my bedroom and into the hall with a lightness that I hadn't felt in a while. I looked up to see Noah walking out of his room, and I felt an indescribable emotion stir from within me. It caught me off guard, but I regained my composure and my smile returned.

"You're out so soon?" He asked, and my gaze shifted up to his tousled, now dried, hair.

"What?" I asked, my gaze meeting his. "Uh... I was just going to..." I had nothing to say. What could I have said? That I was going to strut around the Institute as I relished in the feeling of not feeling anything at all?

"I'm heading to Illusion, if you want to come." He broke the silence, relieving me of the obligation to divulge my previous plan.

"What's that?" I asked, tilting my head.

"It's a club we go to for hunting sometimes," he told me. I took notice to his clothing, which differed from what he had been wearing before. Now he was in a black button up shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Are you going hunting, or heading out for a date?" I looked down at his clothing once again.

"I'm not hunting, and I've got my hands full with taking care of you," he responded. "I put some dresses in your closet. Why don't you go get changed and come on with?"

"If you insist," I replied, turning on my heel and heading toward the closet. I pulled a string in the center of it and a light came on, illuminating the countless dresses that were hung up. Some were elegant, and others were not. I chose a navy blue dress that when I put it on, fell just above my knees. The only downside was that it was slightly form-fitting and had a deeper neckline than I liked, but it was the least revealing dress out of all of them.

In the back of the closet was a shoe rack where I found various pairs of heels and combat boots. I inwardly sighed, pulling out the shortest heels and pushing my feet into them. I decided that I would need to discuss the idea of sneakers with the guys just before grabbing my leather jacket, stele, and phone. Then, I made my way back to Noah.

"Whoa," I heard Noah say, and I had to bite my lip to hold back my smile. "You look nice." I looked up at him, tilting my head slightly.

"Why, thank you." I said in response. I glanced down at the dress which had hugged my body in a way that made me look like I had curves. I held onto his sentiment as he took out his stele and walked toward the hallway wall.

"You sure you want to go?" He asked.

I pulled on my leather jacket, putting my belongings in the pockets, "yes." I rolled my eyes, but I was touched by his concern.

"Alright," he replied, turning toward the wall. He began to draw different runes until a portal was gleaming at us. He held out his hand, a smile playing on his lips, "together?"

"Can't picture us ending up at the same place any other way," I said with a grin, and he took my hand before jumping through.

Before I could stumble, Noah's hand snaked around my waist and steadied me. I looked up, smiling in appreciation before turning my attention to the large building looming before us. A sign with the shimmering word "Illusion" was in the center, glowing brightly and illuminating the darkness around it.  Noah pulled me along, and we both walked in without so much as a single glance in our direction.