Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and Will was alone, did not want to know when his first day as a Shadowhunter without a parabatai truly began. And if the place over his heart, where his parabatai rune had been, flared up with a sudden burning pain as the door closed behind Jem, Will told himself it was only a stray ember from the fire.
This excerpt from Clockwork Princess poignantly captures the deep emotional turmoil and loneliness that comes with loss and change. Will’s closing of his eyes represents a desire to avoid facing a painful reality, to close off from the moment when he can no longer feel the presence of his parabatai Jem. The parabatai bond in the Shadowhunter world isn’t just a friendship but a profound connection, one that brings strength and...
