City of Secrets

Chapter 17: As Long As I Can Dream

Clary was sitting on her throne of bones and gold, her loved ones kneeling at her feet. Her heart contracted painfully in her chest and a cold feeling of dread spread through her entire body, numbing her fingers, toes, and lips and chilling her to the bone.

No! Stop! she wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out through her lips. Her brother ran up the steps to the throne and drew her down until she stood in front of him, and for once she was at eye level with him.

"You accept it," Sebastian eagerly said to her. "You accept your choice?"

"I accept it," she heard her herself say through her numb lips. It felt as if she had no control over herself- she was trapped. "I do."

"Then kiss me," he murmured. "Kiss me like you love me."

Clary's stomach twisted with disgust, and she hesitated.

"Prove yourself, Clarissa," he urged her, and his hold on her wrists tightened. Clary gasped and wrenched herself away from his grasp, finally taking control of her body.

"Please," she said hurriedly, afraid to enrage him and destroy her entire plan. She saw him shiver as she leaned towards him, and the look in his black eyes was that of desire mixed with disgust, as if he knew what he was about to do was wrong. "Put your arms around me."

His arms circled around her, and she laid one hand gently on his shoulder as he pulled her close. Her other hand slid down to her waist to reach the hilt of her sword, and the hand on Sebastian's shoulder moved up to cup the back of his neck, where her fingers drifted through his silver hair and stayed there. She leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his cheek. She could see the way his pulse beat wildly in the vein in his neck, could almost even hear it.

"Hail, master," she whispered against his feverishly hot skin, and saw the way his onyx eyes widened as she pulled Heosphoros free and slammed it down into his chest.

"Clary," he gasped out as he staggered back. In his eyes was a look of shock and betrayal, but it was soon replaced with rage and even sadness. "You should know better," he said as he started towards her. Clary backed up as he walked towards her until she fell back into her throne.

"I can't be hurt," Sebastian continued saying, "not by any weapon under Heaven-" He broke off in mid-sentence, and then his screams filled the room as he blazed up in flames.

Clary shielded her eyes from the white fire that enveloped her brother. "And I will give him the Morning Star," she said. She could very faintly make out her brother's silhouette in the flames. He had fallen onto his knees and was clawing at his chest screaming until he yanked the sword free from his chest. He threw the it out of the flames and across the room, where it skidded to a stop at the foot of her throne. The blade was slick and glistened black with Sebastian's blood.

The heavenly fire eventually subsided along with her brother's screams, and Clary lowered her arm. Everyone who had been kneeling had suddenly disappeared, as if they had never been there in the first place.

She descended from her throne and calmly walked down the stairs to where her brother lay in a broken, crumpled heap on the ground.

"Clary," he croaked.

She kneeled next to him and helped him sit upright with numb, trembling hands, and gasped as she saw the massive gap in the middle of his chest. His face was stark white and rigid with pain, and he regarded her curiously with pained, wide emerald eyes- her eyes, their mother's eyes.

"You put heavenly fire into the sword," he whispered. "It was cleverly done."

"It was just a rune," Clary replied in a small voice. "Sebastian..."