Cassandra Clare shares cut Emma and Julian scene from ‘Queen of Air and Darkness’ (original) (raw)

Good morning, afternoon or evening!I know everyone is eagerly awaiting the release of the first The Last Hours book – Chain of Gold is published in 16 days – but let’s go back to The Dark Artifices for a moment. The trilogy ended more than a year ago, but Cassandra Clare took to her tumblr yesterday to share a cut scene that many of her readers have been waiting for: a Julian and Emma R rated scene. 😉
Make sure to read what Cassie shared before reading the Jemma scene:

SO! I posted about this earlier on Twitter — I haven’t had the time or the mindspace (I’m fully, mentally, in the world of Last Hours) to do what I wanted to do, which was expand and polish an existing Jules/Emma scene from Queen of Air and Darkness. So I’m going to post a scene that was cut: in the original version of QoAaD, Emma and Julian slept together early on in the book, when they were both emotionally very raw. I wound up cutting it and changing it — they still kiss, but they’re interrupted. For me, sex scenes/intimate scenes are about changing dynamics between characters, and advancing plot and characterization. This scene was about an expression of their shared grief over Livvy, and the different ways they were coping: Emma by reaching out, Julian by seeking annihilation of the self.

I cut it for several reasons — sex scenes deepen intimacy and implied trust between characters, and I was concerned that Julian’s actions in cutting off his emotions after this would tip over into being too unfeeling/too painful for Emma. So consider it an AU. When authors cut scenes, we often cannibalize them for other purposes, so you may see sentences in it you recognize from other parts of Queen, wBut there’s definitely a lot you won’t. 😉 My sex scenes, even unedited, aren’t that explicit, but I’d definitely call this an R.

Emma/Jules: Starts on page 30 of my copy of Queen of Air and Darkness.

…Julian had left the rest of his clothes in a pile on the floor. He was standing in the shower in just his underwear, letting the water run down over his face, his hair.

Swallowing hard, Emma stripped down to her panties and camisole and stepped in after him. The water was scalding hot, filling the small stone space with steam. He stood unmoving under the spray, letting it streak his skin with the pale scarlet of light burns.

Emma reached around him and turned the temperature down. He watched her, wordless, as she took up a bar of soap and lathered it between her hands. When she put her soapy hands on his body he inhaled sharply as if it hurt, but he didn’t move even an inch.

She scrubbed at his skin, almost digging her fingers into his skin as she scraped at the blood. The water rank pinkish-red into the drain. The soap had a strong smell of lemon. His body was hard under her touch, scarred and muscled, not a young boy’s body at all. Not anymore. When had he changed? She couldn’t remember the day, the hour, the moment.

He bent his head and she worked the lather into his hair, stroking her fingers through the curls. When she was done, she tilted back his head, let the water run over both of them until it ran clear. She was soaked to the skin, her clothes sticking to her. She reached around Julian to turn the water off, and felt him turn his head into her neck, his lips against her cheek.

She froze. The steam rose up around them. Julian’s chest was rising and falling fast, as if he were close to collapsing after a race. Dry sobs, she realized. He didn’t cry — she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him cry. He needed the release of tears, she thought, but he’d forgotten the mechanisms of weeping after so many years of holding back.

She put her arms around him. “It’s all right,” she said. The water fell on and over them, and his skin was hot against hers. She swallowed the salt of her own tears. “Julian —“

Read the rest of the scene on Cassie’s tumblr!

Wow! That was hot yet also heartbreaking. My favourite line was “This was the relief he could only allow himself like this, in the annihilation of shared desire.”
I just love Julian and Emma and this scene made me realise that I seriously need to reread the trilogy. Thank you for posting this, Cassie! ❤
What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments below!

The paperback collection of The Dark Artifices is published on 28 April and you can get it now!