Disclaimer: SOME of the dialogue in this chapter, all characters (but Grace and Philip), the main story line and settings belong to Cassandra Clare. Everything else like the rest of the writing and my own characters belong to me. I do not own The Infernal Devices as they belong to the brilliant and fantastic mind of Cassandra Clare.

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'Please don't stand so close to me
I'm having trouble breathing
I'm afraid of what you'll see right now
I give you everything I am
All my broken heart beats
Until I know you'll understand

And I will make sure to keep my distance
Say, "I love you," when you're not listening
And how long can we keep this up, up, up?'

- Distance, Christina Perri

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-*-*-*-*- Grace -*-*-*-*-

Leaning on the wall of the Silent City, Grace shivered and pulled her gear jacket tighter, but it wasn't the cold that was making her shiver. It was ten minutes to nine o'clock and she was waiting for the Silent Brothers to escort Philip into the chamber where his Marks would be stripped of his skin. The only greater shame was to become forsaken, but Philip's cooperation had spared him that fate. Although the alternative wasn't much better.

Clang!

The gate ahead opened and Brother Enoch entered, followed by another Silent Brother with Philip in between them. He looked miserable, his wrists and ankles shackled, his hair messy, his eyes bloodshot and his clothes torn. His eyes locked with Grace and widened in shock.

"Grace," Brother Enoch said. "I did not expect you to be here."

"I wasn't expecting to come," Grace replied, pushing herself off the wall. "May I have a few minutes with Mr Blackthorn, Brother Enoch?" The Silent Brother looked hesitant but nodded slowly, walking down the corridor with the other Brother. Once they were out of sight, Grace turned to Philip who looked nervous and unsure.

"I didn't think I'd see you again after..." he trailed off and looked down to the floor. "We'll, after you said you didn't want to see me again."

Despite everything that had happened, Grace hated seeing him like this. There was no spark in his emerald eyes anymore or any sign of his mischievous smile.

"How are you feeling?" Grace asked, taking a step towards him. She was almost close enough to touch him.

"I'm fine," he said. "It's what I deserve so I'm not complaining. It could have been a lot worse." He shifted from one foot to the other, the manacles clanking. "Is there a reason why you are here?"

"We've been through too much together for me not to be with you when it all ends," Grace said quietly. Philip looked are her, really  looked at her. His pupils dilated and his cheeks were glowing a slight red.

Before Grace knew what was happening, he had grabbed her arms and was kissing her. For one moment, Grace was too surprised to react but then her hands linked behind his neck and she kissed him back. He pressed her and her back struck the wall of the corridor. This was so similar to her dream but it wasn't a dream. It was real.

Despite his chains, Philip's hands grazed her sides. Her hands slid under his tattered shirt, exploring every scar, every ridge of muscle that mapped his feverish skin. He moaned softly against her mouth, murmuring her name. After forever of fighting her feelings, believing that Yanluo was tricking her, Grace realised that she was never being manipulated.

Her feelings for Philip were real.

"I forgive you," Grace whispered. "I forgive you, Philip." They broke away, both gasping hard. Grace took his hands in hers.

"Be brave," she told him. "Show them what real courage is." He nodded and took a deep breath.

"I love you," he said to her. He planted one last kiss on her lips before heading down the corridor Brother Enoch had gone.

"I love you too."

***

Running to get out of the rain, Grace tiredly trudged up the steps of the Institute, shaking off her rain sodden coat. Hopefully they were still having dinner upstairs because she was starving. She sighed, walking up the corridor to the dining room. She couldn't hear any conversation within though. With a shrug, she opened the door and froze.

Everyone was staring at her, their mouths open. Will was standing, his hands gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Um...I know I'm late but this is a slightly exaggerated reaction, don't you think?" Grace said. When they didn't reply, she realised that they weren't looking at her.

Just standing to her right, was a girl. Her hair was jet black and her eyes a luminous blue. She was wearing traveling clothes which were soaking wet from the rain.

"Oh, good evening," Grace said. "I didn't realise that we were expecting company. Who might you be?" The girl's eyes flashed as she looked at her.

"My name is Cecily Herondale," she said. "I've come to be trained as a Shadowhunter." Grace looked at Will who looked like he was going to faint and throw up at the same time. He gave her such a pleading look that it made her heart shatter. Grace turned back to Miss Herondale.

"Oh," she said. "Miss Herondale, please come with me before your brother throws up his dinner onto the carpet." And with that, she grabbed Miss Herondale's arm and dragged her from the room, shooting Jem a look on the way out.

Deal with Will and I'll deal with Cecily.

He nodded in understanding and stood from his seat, going around the table and laying a hand on Will's shoulder. Meanwhile, Grace had finally got Miss Herondale out of the dining room.

This was not how she thought this day would end.

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And that, my dears, concludes Clockwork Prince! Now, you may notice that I haven't included Tessa's rejection of Will as I chose to write about Philip and Grace instead. But, I shall be including that in Clockwork Princess for Wessa fans so don't worry! ;)

Anyway, vote and comment as always! The blurb for Clockwork Princess is below so let me know what you think of that as well!

So, thank you so very much for reading and supporting me! I really appreciate and I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am enjoying writing!

So, here's the blurb.

Clockwork Princess:

In the aftermath of the warehouse battle, Grace is still trying to fight Yanluo from taking control of her consciousness. It is becoming harder than ever as the demon's powers start to flow through her. She's terrified that, after all these years of fighting, she is actually becoming the demon she fears.

But that's not the only problem.

Mortmain is winning. He's buying up all the yin fen that is entering the country, depriving Jem of his supply. Grace, Will and Tessa must try and keep Jem alive while dealing with their own problems. But it may be too late. In one last desperate bid, Grace breaks all rules and finds a Downworlder who is willing to sell her the yin fen she needs, but for an extremely steep price. Jem would be furious with her if he found out, but if it meant keeping him alive, Grace would pay any price.

When Tessa gets abducted by the Magister's automatons, Jem and Will are frantic to save her from Mortmain's clutches. Grace is the only one with the power great enough to destroy him and his army, but it means leaving Jem alone to die.

Her brother is the only thing that matters to Grace, but with Mortmain closing in on world domination and the destruction of Shadowhunters, she may have to make a choice. Her family or the world? Saving one meant losing the other. It's up to her to decide.  

Ok guys, thank you so much for reading this so far! Stay tuned for Clockwork Princess!!!

Love y'all!

CricketCat