Mark shares a kiss with someone in new ‘Lord of Shadows’ snippet

It’s March so spring is coming and Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows is getting closer and closer! Who’s excited? 83 days until the second The Dark Artifices book is published! We got a cute Julian and Emma snippet at the beginning of the week and the snippet that Cassie just shared on her tumblr is the opposite of cute – it’s a little steamy:

“Please,” said Cristina, “please, don’t fight. We need to be on the same side in this.”

Kieran turned puzzled eyes on her. Then he stepped close to Mark; he put his hands on Mark’s shoulders. They were nearly the same height. Mark didn’t avert his gaze. “There is only one way I know that you cannot lie,” Kieran said, and kissed Mark on the mouth.

There was no way Mark could reject the kiss, not without rejecting Kieran and severing the delicate chain of lies that kept the faerie prince bound here.

If, indeed, Mark didn’t want to kiss Kieran back. Cristina couldn’t tell; he returned the kiss with a fierceness like the fierceness Cristina had seen in him the first time she’d glimpsed him with Kieran. But there was more anger in it now. He gripped Kieran’s shoulders, his fingers digging in; the force of the kiss angled Kieran’s head back. He sucked at Kieran’s bottom lip and bit it, and Kieran gasped.

They broke apart. Kieran touched his mouth; there was blood on his lip, and triumph in his eyes. “You did not look away,” he said to Cristina. “Was it that interesting?”

“It was for my benefit.” Cristina felt odd and shivery and hot, but refused to show it. She sat with her hands in her lap and smiled at Kieran. “It would have seemed rude not to watch.”

At that Mark, who had been looking furious, laughed. “She understands you, Kieran.”