Tessa: Wow, if I had a nickel for every time one of my kids tried to use necromancy to bring a Blackthorn back to life, I’d have two nickels—which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Here it is finally — James’ POV of the Whispering Room scene from Chain of Gold. I wanted to wait until Chain of Iron was released to give more people a chance to read the book, and also because what we learn in COI does inform the scene. I hope you enjoy!
The word echoed in Cordelia’s ears. Though she had clambered blindly into a fiacre with Matthew, though they were rattling quickly through some part of Paris, she still felt as if she were standing in front of the cabaret, hearing the guard refuse her entrance. I know what I know. You cannot come inside.
Because you are corrupted within, said a small voice inside her. Because you belong to Lilith, Mother of Demons. Because of your own foolishness, you are cursed. No one should be around you.
“Daisy?” Matthew’s worried voice seemed to come from far away. “Daisy, please. Talk to me.”
James wasn’t sure how he’d expected Lucie to respond to their arrival, but he was startled nonetheless at the fear that flashed across her face.
She took a step back, nearly knocking into the boy standing next to her — Jesse Blackthorn, it was Jesse Blackthorn — and flung her hands up, as if to ward them off. As if to ward off James, and her father.
Thomas nodded, not really paying attention. It wasn’t his fault, entirely. He knew that Christopher was simply working through his own thought processes aloud, and Thomas wasn’t really expected to follow along. More just produce the occasional encouraging “Oh, indeed.”
From upstairs, the doorbell chimed. Christopher, interrupted in the midst of explaining the science behind fire-messages, put down his stele, muttered about the interruption, and went upstairs to answer the door.
It wasn’t Thomas’s intention to eavesdrop. But when Christopher’s voice drifted down to him, and he heard, “Oh, hullo, Alastair, you must be here to see Charles. I think he’s upstairs in his study,” he found he could focus on nothing else.
Cordelia and Matthew stood, arm in arm, watching the river flow beneath the bridge. The Seine rolled on from here, she knew, piercing the heart of Paris like a silver arrow just as the Thames did London. “We are not here just to forget,” Matthew said, “but also to remember, that there are good and beautiful things in this world, always. And mistakes do not take them from us; nothing takes them from us. They are eternal.”
She squeezed his gloved hand with her own. “Matthew. Do you listen to yourself? If you believe what you say, remember that it is true for you, too. Nothing can take the good things of the world from you. And that includes how much your friends and family love you, and always will.”
“Don’t just stand there, Alastair,” said Matthew. “Thomas needs you.”
“Daisy, I know you think that I’ve never loved you,” James said, “and that therefore you can’t trust my feelings. But I want to show you something.”
“James took a deep breath. “Daisy,” he said. “I wanted to say — I never apologized.”
She turned, laid the striped dress on the bed. Stayed there, fiddling with its buttons. “For what?”
"Daisy.” Matthew spoke in a low voice, his hand tightening on hers. “I know you are lost in thought. But – listen.”
There was urgency in his voice. Cordelia turned to look behind them, down the long tunnel of the quai – the river on one side, the stone retaining wall rising on the other, the city above them as if they had retreated underground.
Shhhh. Not the wind in the bare boughs, but a hiss and a slither. A bitter smell, carried on the wind.
Demons.“
“Daisy,” James whispered. “Do you have any idea what it would do to me if something happened to you? Do you?”
"Dear Alastair, why are you so stupid and so frustrating, and why do I think about you all the time?”
Matthew laughed a little breathlessly. “I am saying that with you, I have no armor. I feel everything. For better or worse.”
only coherent thought i’ve had about chain of iron is the fact that grace/christopher is the perfect dynamic and i just…grace being told her whole life not to speak too much or have her own opinions (because men only want to hear themselves talk and she’s been groomed to seduce men since she was eleven) paired with christopher who always holds back his words because he’s afraid that others find them boring or annoying. the way that they’re both really interested in science and were able to talk about it easily. the way both of them have trouble navigating social cues and the way she didn’t use her power on him but she also didn’t know why she didn’t. the way that grace was worried that he thought she was weird and she didn’t know why she cared. the way christopher was shocked that she seemed to understand him so well and then didn’t mention her to matthew for reasons he couldn’t explain. the way grace falling in love with gabriel’s son is the biggest fuck you to tatiana and has a lot of dramatic potential….yeah just thinking thoughts
“In the end it had been Christopher, looking more frightened than he had during the demon battle, who had offered to take Grace back to Chiswick in his carriage-”
““Christopher - was everything all right, dropping off Miss Blackthorn?” He tried not to sound as if he were too invested in the answer. Matthew raised his eyebrow but said nothing. “Oh, perfectly,” said Christopher. “I told her all about culturing bacteria, and she was so fascinated that she never spoke a word!””
Christopher is simply an icon and no one can change my mind about it
““Miss Blackthorn! Miss Blackthorn, what happened?” It was Christopher Lightwood, of all people. Grace knew him mainly as Jame’s friend; he seemed the least alarming of the three.”
“Christopher laid a hand on Grace’s arm and began to steer her from the room. Normally Grace heartily disliked being stressed, but Christopher did it in a kindly, not a domineering, sort of way. “Are you all right?! he said as they reached the staircase. “I was startled,” Grace said, which she supposed was truthful enough.”
“The chapel doors opened a crack - everyone looked up, but it was not Cordelia; it was Grace, escorted by Christopher.”
Well, at least Christopher isn’t afraid of her anymore ;)
and she thinks he’s kind (which he obviously is!) <3
“She stepped inside - and jumped. There was Christopher Lightwood, perked in the corner on a wooden stool, turning a peculiar object over in his hand. What is he doing hiding in a corner? she thought furiously. Couldn’t he sit at the table like a normal person, where she could have spied on him properly?”
“- when Christopher turned and blinked at her. “Oh! It’s you,” Christopher said with his usual sunny smile. “I thought it might be rats again. Hullo, Grace.””
““But - aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?” Grace asked, approaching the worktable. “Why would I do that?” Christopher seemed genuinely puzzled. “You’re affianced to Charles - surely you have a right to be here.””
““Would you like a quick tour of the laboratory? I dares it’s the best-equipped scientific workshop in London.” Grace was nonplussed. She hadn’t compelled him to offer her the tour; he’d come up with that on his own.”
“She didn’t like using her power, really, she thought, as he led her a series of shelves containing tiny jars full of colorful substances and started telling her about a table of chemical elements…”
“She didn’t quite follow, but she surprised herself by wanting to know more as he talked about the purpose of various objects and instruments, the experiments he and Henry conducted, the things they discovered. Grace was reminded of the time he had given her a ride homeroom a picnic last summer during the demon attacks. He’d told her then about his love of science without being the least bit condescending, as her male admirers often were, or self-important in the way Charles always was. Christopher treated her as an equal whose enthusiasm for science was not only similar to his own but unsurprising.”
“Christopher blinked his unusual violet eyes. “Just because it looks like a stele doesn’t mean anything - especially if its purpose was meant to be disguised for some reason.” “Hold out your arm,” Grace said impulsively.”
“She touched the tip of the pithos to his skin and hesitated, suddenly unsure of herself. She momentarily wished she had used her powers on him; she was sorely in need of the confidence they would bring her. Slowly and awkwardly, she drew the enkeli rune, the rune most Shadowhunters learned to draw fist. Angelic Power.”
““This Creation rune here on your arm,” she said. “Are you terrible fond of it?” “No, not really -” Grace took the pithos and, with the tip, traced the Creation rune on Christopher’s arm. He watched her with interest, and then some surprise as the Creation rune shimmered - and vanished. Christopher’s eyebrows shot up into his hair. “What ho,” he said, sounding pleased-”
““No, I mean-” Grace wished she hadn’t said anything. “I only meant that you didn’t seem surprised to see me out a rune on myself.” “Why would I be?” Christopher asked, obviously confused- “You’re a Shadowhunter. It’s what we do.” Grace’s heart sank- Now Christopher probably thought she was completely peculiar - and for some reason, that bothered her.”
“Christophergave her a sheepish grin. “I’m still in the early hypothesizing phase of my investigation.” He gestured excitedly as he talked, his hands - covered in stains and burns and scars - slicing the air.”
“Suddenly he stopped, looking stricken. “I’m sorry, Grace, this must be tremendously boring for you.” Grace gathered that boredom was the reaction Christopher was accustomed to from most people. But Grace wasn’t bored, not in the least. She wished he would keep talking”
“Very well,” Christopher said. “I am in your debt for helping me discover this device’s purpose, and happy to oblige.”
I have so many thoughts on this scene I’m probably going to do a separate post about it, just imagine me squealing and jumping up and down while reading this
Also, next to him being a huge science nerd, Grace seems physically attracted to Christopher, too : D
I think this is the only time we actually see Grace self-conscious
But Grace, confoundingly, seemed to see Christopher clearly. Talking to her had been so easy that he’d forgotten to filter everything he said, going over it to make sure it would come out right before speaking. He would tell anyone about her sneaking into the lab, not until he’d had more time to think about it.”
“- not the way Grace seemed to be. She’d been so eager to look through the microscope at the gunpowder compounds he’d been studying; so curious to see the contents of his journals. But it was silly to dwell on it. Grace would likely never visit the lab again. It was too bad - many great discoveries had been made by teams working in tandem. Look at the Curies, who had just won the Nobel Prize for their experiments with radiation. Perhaps if he told her about the Curies…”
Aaaaand Christopher likes her too <3
I’m so ready for a Shadowhunter science duo
So, any ideas what kind of scenes I should filter out next? Also, please tell me your opinions, theories, etc, about this lovely pair! I’d love to read them<3
Y’all, CC is really doing something with her commentary on women’s power (or their lack thereof) in the 1900s.
Tatiana tells Grace: “My child, as a woman, you will be at a disadvantage in this cruel world. If you marry, your husband will own everything and you nothing. Your very name will go away, in favor of his … We must take all the power that is available to us, for we are so far below others. We must take it just to have a chance to survive at all.”
Lilith tells Belial: “But as a woman I am well accustomed to using methods other than brute force. With a paladin and Cortana at my disposal, the oath cannot stop me.”
And Belial says to Lucie: “You, girl, do not matter … When I heard you were born, I wept tears of fire, for you were female, and you could not see the shadow realm.”
And yet. And yet Tatiana gave Grace the power to influence men to gain control over their futures and get what they want most: Jesse back. And yet Lilith played everyone in COI like a fiddle and came out with an advantage over Belial to get her realm back. And yet Lucie’s power is the one thing that derailed Belial’s plan.
Feminism is a theme in all of the TSC books, but it’s most prominent here. Here there are women recognizing their institutional lack of power, and there are women being berated just for being women. Here there are women being clever and doing what they can to survive. Here there are women winning.
Okay, but if my man doesn’t love me so much that he BREAKS the bracelet enchanted by a Prince of Hell meant to keep him in love with someone else then WHAT IS THE POINT
Shout out to Christooher Lightwood for being 100% drama-free and not knowing what miscommunication is. Everyone’s relationships are falling apart all around him and he’s just vibing
