Teaser Thursday: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2) by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices Book Two)

Author: Cassandra Clare

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Synopsis: In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Sneak Peek

A dark shape stepped out from between two monuments. As Tessa blinked in surprise, Jem said, in a tone that resigned amusement, "Will. Decided to grace us with your presence after all?"

"I never said I wasn't coming." Will moved forward, and the light from the windows fell on him, illuminating his face. Even now, Tessa never could look at him without a tightening of her chest, a painful stutter of her heart. Black hair, blue eyes, graceful cheekbones, thick dark lashes, full mouth--he would have been pretty if he had not been so tall and muscular. She had ran her hands over those arms. She knew what they felt like--iron, corded with hard muscles; his hands when they cupped the back of her head, slim and flexible but rough with calluses . . .

She tore her mind away from the memories. Memories did one no good, not when one knew the truth in the present. Will was beautiful, but he was not hers; he was not anybody's. Something in him was broken, and through that break spilled a blind cruelty, a need to hurt and push away.

"You're late for the council meeting," said Jem good-naturedly. He was the only one Will's puckish malice never seemed to touch.

"I had an errand," said Will. Up close Tessa could see that he looked tired. His eyes were rimmed with red, the shadows beneath them nearly purple. His clothes looked crumpled, as if he had slept in them, and his hair wanted cutting. But that has nothing to do with you, she told herself sternly, looking away from the soft black waves that curled around his ears, the back of his neck. It does not matter what you think of how he looks or how he chooses to spend his time. He has made that very clear. "And your not exactly on the dot of the hour yourselves."

"I wanted to show Tessa Poet's Corner," said Jem. "I thought she would like it." He spoke so simply and plainly, no one could ever doubt him or imagine he said everything but the truth. In the face of his simple desire to please, even Will didn't seem to be able to think of anything unpleasant to say; he merely shrugged, and moved on ahead of them at a rapid pace through the abbey and into the East Cloister. (pgs. 11-12)

Another Sneak Peek

"Will," she said softly, sleepily. "Last night--" You were kind to me, she was going to say. Thank you.

The glare from his blue eyes stabbed through her. "There was no last night," he said through his teeth.

At that, she sat up straight, almost awake. "Oh, truly? We just went right from one afternoon on through till the next morning? How odd no one else has remarked on it. I should think it some sort of miracle, a day with no light--"

"Don't test me, Tessa." Will's hands were clenched on his knees, his fingernails, half-moons of dirt under them, digging into the fabric of his trousers.

"Your sister's alive," she said, knowing perfectly well that she was provoking him. "Ougntn't you be glad?"

He whitened. "Tessa--," he began, and leaned forward as if he he meant to do she knew not what--strike the window and break it, shake her by the shoulders, or hold her as if he never meant to let her go. It was all one great bewilderment with him, wasn't it? Then the compartment door opened and Jem came in, carrying a damp cloth.

He looked from Will to Tessa and raised his silvery eyebrows. "A miracle," he said. "You got him to speak."

"Just to shout at me, really," said Tessa. "Not quite loaves and fishes."

Will had gone back to staring out the window, and looked at neither of them as they spoke.

"it's a start," said Jem, and he sat down beside her. "Here.  Give me your hands." (pgs.132-133)