✓ | Hushed Whispers ⋆ Will Herondale [2]

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: ANCIENT

◤Gideon, you are my brother, but you need to understand that I am not going to hesitate in beheading you if you continue sticking your nose into my business.◢

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CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: ANCIENT

GABRIEL Lightwood threw a book across the room, a loud yell breaking against the walls of the Lightwood manor. His long fingers were knotted in between his brown locks, threatening to pull the messy strands out.

For hours he had been hidden away in his family library, exchanging one book for another, searching for a ray of hope that would help him find a solution as to how he was going to assist Marie in erasing the darkness that freely roamed within her body.

Up until then, his research was fruitless. No ancient book of Lightwoods' contained anything on reversing dark magic and using it for good. Then again, why would it? From what Gabriel recalled from his Shadowhunter studies, no Shadowhunter ever carried that kind of darkness within themselves.

The thoughts of impossibility and failure pissed him off. How was he even supposed to find a solution to something that history hasn't witnessed before? How was he supposed to save the one person that cared about him from something he couldn't even begin to understand? How was he supposed to look her in the eyes and tell her that her life could not be saved?

Another yell slipped past Gabriel's lips as he kicked a chair that he had previously occupied. The piece of furniture hit the wall, clashing against the ground ruthlessly.

He hated feeling this way. He hated not succeeding in his tasks. He hated the solution slipping out of his fingers. Most of all, he hated the fact that Marie wouldn't even be mad with him if he failed her. Sure the girl had put her own life in his hands and sure she had entrusted him with an unsolvable task, but hadn't that had to count for something?

Of course it counts for something, Gabriel thought. She trusts you and you're letting her down. You're letting her down and you're failing. You're probably going to continue into failing everything good that walks into your life because you're a selfish, incapable piece of-

"What did the poor chair even do to you?" Gideon's collected voice reached Gabriel's ears, making him turn toward the door of the library. Against the wall and dressed in a black pair of trousers and a white shirt, Gideon observed his brother's unsuccessful management of his anger issues. "And the yelling? It's as if someone's skinning you alive."

"Gideon," Gabriel shut his eyes, sighing deeply. His arms finally let go of his hair, dropping to his sides and clenching into tight fists. His nails dug deep into his skin, his knuckles becoming pale due to the pressure he applied. "You are my brother, but you need to understand that I am not going to hesitate in beheading you if you continue sticking your nose into my business."

"Well," Gideon pushed himself off the wall he was slouched against, approaching his little brother. He occasionally stopped to glance at the various book titles his family owned. "That's not how you treat someone who is here to help."

"And how can you help me, huh?" Gabriel provoked, shoulders shaking as his anger prevailed. "You know next to nothing about Marie's condition. No one does. There is nothing about Shadowhunters carrying darkness within themselves. So, do tell me, how are we supposed to destroy something we don't even understand?"