Author: Majesta Moniet
Fandom: The Mortal Instruments
Status: Work-In-Progress
Chapters: 11
Word Count: 68,531
Summary: Jace and Clary return from the battle in Idris victorious...and as brother and sister. They must confront their forbidden feelings while living in the shadow slowly descending upon New York. Jace/Clary. Post-CoG AU
WARNING #1: This post contains spoilers if you have not read The Mortal Instruments series up to City of Glass (book 3).
WARNING #2: This story involves perceived incest, in which the characters are tricked into believing they are related, but the reader understands they are not.
Teal
If you’ve read Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, then you know the drill... If you don’t, then here’s a quick synopsis:
Clary and Jace fall hard for one another. Not long after, they are deceived into believing they are brother and sister, but that doesn’t eliminate the connection they feel to one another. On a few risque, angsty, and guilt-ridden occasions, they give in and share an emotional kiss or longing embrace. Later, they discover they’ve been lied to, all a part of an elaborate game, and they can finally be together.
That’s where Majesta Moniet flipped the script in this taboo and incredibly sexy story. In her version, Clary’s mother, Jocelyn, was never woken from her magic-induced coma, and therefore, Clary and Jace never learned the truth. Still, they give in to their overwhelming feelings - physical and emotional - and pursue a secret relationship together.
But his letter—the one she's read over until she no longer needs to read in order to hear the words in her mind—is burning a hole in her back pocket. "You meant it. Didn't you? The things that you wrote—"
"Of course I meant it," he says abruptly, and for a moment she thinks that he might wrench his hand from her, but he doesn't. "I can't tell you 'I love you' and not mean it. And I can't say it and mean it the way I should."
"Then why are we—"
"You know why."As to be expected, things get a little sticky. The characters are still under the assumption that they are brother and sister and must hide their love from the world. The reader, however, understands this is untrue. So, as readers, Majesta Moniet artfully leads us through the turmoil of loving seeing this couple together and feeling torn by what they believe to be the truth, despite the way they carry on with one another. They both try so hard, seeking distraction but always being drawn back to one another...drawn back to the bond, the allure, the inescapable need to be near. It’s not familial love, and they both know it. It’s more, and it’s actually easy to understand how they could give in to everything they’re feeling. It’s said in the original books that Shadowhunters experience love and attachment more intensely, and that also seems to ring true for Clary and Jace. When they finally give themselves up to what they truly want, it’s like an explosion.
She's got a hand fisted in his hair and the other is dragging dull nails down his back hard enough to hurt. Their hips rock together as she hitches a slender calf up behind his thigh.The passion and tension of Jace’s thoughts and all he experiences is palpable to the reader. It’s sexy, exciting, and in its own way, dangerous.
"Fuck, Clary," he groans, and the part he can't say is your body is the best thing I've ever felt. "Why are we doing this?" If she were anyone else, he wouldn't care. He would take what he wanted from her, and the 'why' would be insignificant. But she's Clary. She's his sister. And he knows himself well enough to realize that this can't be a one-time thing. He needs to know that this isn't some fluke, that tomorrow night she won't be back in her own bed, not needing him as much as he needs her.
Slowly he pulls out and then sinks back in. He repeats the motion, gaining speed and depth with each careful thrust. And the pace is surreally satisfying—torturous in that it's not getting him where he wants, but completely mind-blowing because if he could move like this with her forever, he would. He doesn't take his eyes off Clary. Her face is carefully neutral as he moves inside of her. Jace wishes she could experience half of what he's feeling. He promises himself that he'll make it up to her.
Soon, the tight grip she has on his shoulders begins to ease. Her hands slide down to the small of his back. She's relaxing beneath him. Her hips begin moving to meet his so that the combined thrust is deeper, stronger, more fulfilling. As he quickens his tempo, she moves to accommodate him. Their short, panting breaths begin to outpace the rain on the window and the steady creak of the bed beneath them. They find their rhythm and move together.
Jace is in awe. This is what making love feels like. He didn't expect it to actually feel any different; the motions are the same. He's taking her body the way he's taken other girls' bodies, but it's never been this damn good, this satisfying. He wants to disappear inside of her entirely.
I love this fic because the characters still feel so close to their canon selves. We’ve all seen when this doesn’t hold true in stories, and it can be a distraction. Keep the Next Breath, however, feels like it could have been slid between the pages of a non-YA version of Clare’s books, which is a truly remarkable feat. Anyone who has ever written fanfic, no matter the universe, can attest to the challenge of developing believable characters that do justice to the originals. With each chapter, I’ve truly been impressed by Majesta Moniet’s ability to do so.
More than that, this fic does not simply focus on the tumultuous and clandestine romantic relationship between the main characters (as many stories have the tendency to do); instead, there is still the action, adventure, mystery, and battle against evil that has been carried out in each of the novels. The plot is unique and exciting, with detailed descriptions of demon hunts, mishaps, and many unexpected events that bleed out into the lives of their friends and family. While Clary is momentarily paralyzed by the sight of the demon looming above them, Alec doesn't hesitate to jump, seraph blade raised, and strike at the demon's exposed sternum. Dust rains down from the resulting wound. With a thunderous cry, the demon gives a powerful flap of its wings, and Isabelle's strength is no match. As the demon careens upward, Isabelle is jerked from her place on the roof. Although the whip is still secured to the demon's foot, the tension isn't enough to save Isabelle from a nasty impact with the ground. After landing on her feet, she falls immediately to her knees, her whip falling in graceful spirals around her.
Executing a swift backwards loop in the air, the demon lets out another screech. This time Clary forces her body into motion. Pulling out her stele, she draws an accuracy rune on the palm of her right hand. Her skin is still stinging with the rushed Mark when she pulls back her arm and sends the seraph blade hurdling through the air.
His left hand dips between her legs and finds her clit. He brushes her just so with his thumb and her entire body goes taught. Jace presses his lips to her ear. "You can be quiet for me, baby, can't you?"
Clary can't find her voice, so she nods desperately, already moving over him again. He lowers his lips to her chest and sucks on her nipple through the thin cotton of her sundress. Clary's hands move from the upholstery to his mussed hair, holding his mouth against her.
She can still hear Maryse and Isabelle moving through the library, but their voices are distant and muffled by the blood rushing in her ears and the feeling of Jace moaning against her breast. She sucks in a sharp breath just as Jace goes tense and pulses beneath her. He works her clit as she rides his release, and she's coming undone within moments. Her teeth close around his shoulder to keep her from screaming.
Bit-by-bit the orgasm subsides, Clary going soft and pliant against Jace's chest as the rest of the world comes back into focus. First, she hears Jace's slowing breaths and then, beyond that, Maryse and Isabelle's unassuming conversation. Clary sighs in relief. Her nose brushes Jace's as she tips her face down to his. "You're crazy," she whispers against his cheek.
"And it's entirely your fault."
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