“Later, when his father left him, the boy cried over his pet, until eventually his father sent a servant to take the body of the bird away and bury it. The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.”

Cassandra Clare is an American author of young adult fantasy. She gained prominence for her *Mortal Instruments* series, blending urban fantasy and gothic romance, and later expanded her world with the *Shadowhunters* novels. Her work explores themes of identity, destiny, and hidden supernatural communities.