"At least we know that if we die, we lived with passion."
Cartel, "Burn This City"

My mother doesn't even bother to knock on the door. She just opens it and walks right in. This isn't usually the case, which is why I'm comfortable kissing Zachary in my bedroom. When I hear her enter, I pull my lips off of Zachary's and throw daggers with my eyes at her. "Mom, we're kind of busy," I say, clearly hinting with my voice.

My mom ignores this. She doesn't hesitate to speak. "Genevieve," she begins. That's when I realize that there is something wrong. Her tone is both panicked and resigned, her face colorless, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "The demon towers have fallen."

Zach finds his voice first. "What?" he demands, his voice like the air that leaves your body when the wind gets knocked out of you. He turns to me, a mix of absolute fear and fierce protectiveness in his eyes.

The demon towers have fallen. The intangible protection we've had for a thousand years in Alicante is gone, leaving us completely vulnerable. What does this mean for us? "So, what, we're all going to get killed by demons now?" I ask. As soon as it's out of my mouth, I hear how petulant it sounds. But it's what I know is true, even as I'm saying it. The demons will be eager to pounce on Alicante, a place they have never been allowed into in the past. There will be too many of them, and too few of us. Maybe the strongest of the strong will survive, but I already know I'm not among them.

Zachary's black eyes harden in determination, any uncertainty fleeing from them. His arms tighten around me, as if holding me closer can save me. "No. Don't think like that. We're going to kill them." I don't know if he's saying this for my benefit or for his own.

"Zachary," my mother says gently, "there are too many. They're already on their way. The best we can do is hold on just a little longer." Then she comes over to me and kisses my forehead. "I love you so much, Genevieve," she tells me. "I will always love you." She smiles sadly. "Come downstairs when you're ready." As I hold her gaze, I see the tears that swim in her eyes. She knows, too, that I'm going to die. Then she turns around and leaves the room without looking back at my emotionless face or Zachary's disbelieving O-shaped mouth, shutting the door behind her.

"We're all going to die," I turn to Zach and say, testing the words. "Our days were numbered, and now we're out of numbers. Is that it?"

"Genny," Zachary says urgently, his hands searching for mine, "don't think like that. We can take them. We're strong." But his words don't hold as much force in them. He's doubting our real strength. We've never had to doubt ourselves in the past. We've always been the big scary Shadowhunters, able to kill demons and save the human race from certain annihilation. But even in these few moments, both of us have realized we're not superheroes. We can't be expected to survive this. We won't survive this. We're strong, but just not strong enough.

"You're strong," I correct him. And he is. I've always kind of relied on him to protect me. I've never been good with runes and attack mechanisms and weapons and everything that came along with being Nephilim. And that, I conclude, will be the downfall of me tonight. "I'm going to die tonight, Zach." I realize that I sound terrible and pessimistic, that with every word I speak I'm hurting Zachary, but it's just the truth. I am going to die, and there's nothing either of us can do to stop it.

"No," he says, and leans in and kisses me harder. I breathe him in, drinking in his smell and taste and the way he feels as I slide my hands under his t-shirt. This is our last kiss. I will never be with Zach again the way I am now.

Soon it's just me and him, nothing in between us, nothing between our lips and shoulders and chests and hips and knees, like he is the other half of me that I've been waiting to find, my perfect match in the world. It will be consoling to me when I die to know that I lived with passion.

yeah...Genevieve's a bit of a downer but i'd be thinking the same thing. for every review i get i will do a happy dance, if that's incentive.