secrets that you keep

by loveisawildthing

Chapter 2

Notes:

Yaayyy, part 2!! I can't believe this story has come to an end, I've been writing it since December and I had the idea even longer before that, so it's really crazy to me!

Also, just as a disclaimer, I totally made up how the Forsaken are created just for the sake of this fic. I'm sure it's different in the show/books.

I hope you enjoy part 2! Your feedback on part 1 meant so much to me :)

Oh and I forgot to mention: the title of the story comes from the song Secrets by The Weeknd!

Two things happened at once that sent the Downworld into an uproar.

One: news got out that the Clave had agreed that two of the Shadowhunters in the Lightwood family could continue to date two Downworlders (Simon and Maia, which had come as a shock to Magnus. Well, Maia had. Simon not so much.) as long as the third Lightwood never so much as thought about being with a Downworlder. That had resulted in much anger from the community, seeing as how the Clave hadn't even thought of consulting with any of the Downworlders before making their decision, and the heads of the Downworld (namely Lily, Raphael, Meliorn, Ragnor, and Luke) had declared a meeting with the Lightwood who had sworn off Downworlders. Magnus hadn't caught his name because he was too wrapped up in the second thing that had happened: a seelie had been murdered, drained for blood.

As soon as that news had hit, Magnus had been quick to act. He called all of the warlocks that he knew in the area and invited them to stay at his loft, as a way of protecting them. He'd had to call Alec and tell him that he would be out of town for the next week or so on business, which he hated to do, but he couldn't very well have him showing up to a loft full of warlocks.

Luckily, many warlocks had answered his call. Magnus greeted them all kindly as they poured into his loft.

He winked at Catarina as she walked into the room, and then Dot, and then Elias. He made sure to tell Elias how youthful he was looking, which was enough to warrant a glare from the other warlock.

"Very funny, Magnus," he told him.

"I'm being nothing but honest!" Magnus exclaimed, his hands going up in indignation.

He was brought out of his conversation when he felt a small hand tugging on the bottom of blazer. He looked downwards and felt himself break into a large smile.

"Zoe, my dear, it's so good to see you again," he gushed, kneeling down so he could wrap the little girl up in a hug. "How have you been?"

"Okay," Zoe said, her smile matching Magnus'.

"Yeah? I'm happy to hear it," Magnus said, very seriously, and Zoe burst into giggles. "And how about your lovely mother? Is she here?"

Zoe nodded. "She's in the kitchen, I think."

"I'll have to say hello to her." Magnus then checked the time on his phone and sighed when he saw it was just about time to go to the Hotel Dumort for the meeting with the Shadowhunter. "Well, when I get back, that is," he sighed.

"You're leaving?" Zoe asked.

"Only for a little while," Magnus told her, "I have an important meeting to attend. I'm putting you in charge while I'm away, Zoe. Think you can handle it?"

"Of course I can," Zoe said confidently, her smile radiant.

Magnus gave her another tight hug before waving goodbye and going to find Catarina. He told her where he was going and asked her to look after the place while he was gone, which Catarina told him she would do.

Magnus then locked the door behind him and thought to magic up a protective ward before he left. One could never be too safe, even if wards did tend to take up quite a bit of magic.

He texted Ragnor that he was on his way and started the walk to the Hotel.

However, he only made it a few feet before he saw something strange: a ravener demon, right there in the middle of the road, just...standing there.

Magnus wasn't too worried. He had taken out plenty of demons in his time, and with a wisp of magic around the vile creature's throat, it was gone.

Magnus picked up his pace as he continued his walk. It wasn't every day you saw a lone demon in the middle of the road, and raveners tended to hunt in packs, which meant...

Abruptly, Magnus came to a stop. There, a few miles up the road, was an entire pack of raveners, and they were all heading towards Magnus. He would be able to hold them off for a little while, but what happened when his magic ran out? Or if they overpowered him?

Magnus got his phone out with one hand, the other conjuring up blue sparks of magic.

There was only one person he could call.

***

Alec hadn't been surprised to be called into a Downworlder meeting. Izzy and Jace had been quick to offer to join him, but Alec had turned them down. If the Downworlders wanted to see Alec and Alec only, then that was how it would be.

Still, he couldn't help feeling anxious as he walked into the Hotel. What if the Downworlders didn't approve of the arrangement? What if they prohibited Simon and Maia from seeing Jace and Izzy, despite the Clave's wishes? What if Alec's sacrifice would be for nothing?

He looked around the room as he walked inside and was surprised to see so little Downworlders inside the room. He recognized Lily and Luke, but there were two other men whom he had never seen before. One was clearly a Seelie, based off of his ears and whimsical aura, and the other was presumedly a warlock.

"Alec Lightwood," he introduced, sticking out his hand, and the warlock gave him an unimpressed look without taking it.

Alec bit his lip and took his hand back. He looked to the Seelie to see if it would do any good to introduce himself to him, but he wasn't even looking at him.

"Alec," Lily greeted, her lips forming into an icy grin, "We've got to stop meeting like this."

Alec felt his stomach sink. "Lily, I—"

She held up a hand to stop him. "I'm not in the mood for any more apologies. Did you know about the illicit affair your brother was having with one of our vampires when I met with you?"

"Yes," Alec said, figuring there was no point in denying it now, "I had just found out that same day. But I...I couldn't risk telling you. You have to understand, Jace could have been deruned, or left to spend his entire life in prison—"

"No, I think you need to understand," Lily interrupted, "Whatever could have happened to your brother? It would have been ten times worse for Simon if it got back to him. He could have been killed. Did you ever think about that?"

Alec winced. He shook his head, averting his eyes to the floor.

"I didn't think so," she sneered, "I'm going to find Raphael so we can get this meeting started."

With those words, she walked off, disappearing deeper into the Hotel.

"Speaking of getting this meeting started," the warlock said, "Where is—"

He was interrupted by his phone ringing, which he was quick to answer. "There you are. Where are you? This is more than just fashionably late."

Alec watched as the warlock's face fell. "Where are you?" He repeated, this time with much more urgency.

"What's going on?" Alec asked, looking over at the Seelie and Luke, but they both seemed just as clueless as him.

"I'll be right there, just...just hold on, old friend. And hang up the damn phone, you need to be focused."

With that, the warlock hung up the phone and abruptly stood up.

"Ragnor—" Luke started.

The warlock, Ragnor, shook his head. "I have to get to him. He said there's an entire pack of ravener demons, and they're all heading for him."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go," Alec hesitantly spoke up.

The look Ragnor leveled him with was one of absolute disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me. My best friend for centuries is in danger and you're—"

"Hear me out," Alec pleaded, "The demons are probably going after him because he's a warlock, and that's the last breed of Downworlder they need. It wouldn't make sense to send another warlock straight to them."

Ragnor shook his head. It was clear he knew Alec had a point. "Then who do you suppose we send?"

"I'll go," Alec said, "I've been trained to kill demons all of my life, and I have both my seraph blade and my bow on me. It's...it's the least I could do."

Ragnor looked over at Luke and the Seelie, who both nodded. He then pointed a finger at Alec, his voice low as he said, "You better bring my best friend to safety."

Alec nodded once in confirmation and Ragnor told him the address that his friend was at. That was all Alec needed before he was hurrying out of the Hotel. He made sure to activate his stamina rune and then he was running, not thinking about anything but getting to the warlock in time.

Once he made it to the scene, his mouth dropped. He had never seen anything like this before. Ravener demons were absolutely surrounding the warlock from all sides. Although Alec couldn't make out his face, he could see wave after wave of blue magic pouring out of the warlock's hands as he demolished the demons. He looked like he could handle himself, but Alec knew that magic could be used up, and his undoubtedly would be if he had to kill all of these demons by himself.

Alec drew his bow and arrow and immediately began aiming at any demon that made its way a little too close to the warlock. As he walked closer, he disposed of his bow in favor of his seraph blade, stabbing at demons left and right. They had clearly noticed him by now, even though the warlock hadn't yet.

His back was to Alec, but when Alec saw a demon advancing rapidly to the warlock's left, he yelled, "On your left!"

The warlock sent a blast of magic to his left without even sparing a glance, but he didn't need to. He hit the demon where it needed to be hit, and it dissolved into ash.

That must have been when the warlock realized he wasn't alone because he quickly spun around, and that was when the entire Earth seemed to freeze.

Because the man he was facing wasn't just some nameless warlock.

It was Magnus.

"Magnus," Alec breathed.

"Alec?!" Magnus exclaimed.

Alec couldn't move, couldn't focus. He had been told plenty of times when he was younger that emotions were nothing but a distraction, but it was only now that he truly believed it.

How was he supposed to concentrate on the demons surrounding them when Magnus was a warlock? A Downworlder?

He couldn't...

"Did you come here to help me or did you come to stand there?" Magnus asked, although Alec could see that his eyes were trained on Alec's runes and blade.

Alec let out a breath and swiftly stabbed a ravener on his right side. It had gotten close, too close, all because Alec had let his emotions get in the way.

He noticed that Magnus' magic had shifted from blue to a yellow/orange and wondered what that meant, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it. There were only about ten demons left, but they were putting up a fight.

Alec was only a couple of feet away from Magnus now. He was preoccupied with a demon that just did not want to die when he heard Magnus urgently call his name.

Alec hurriedly looked over at him and noticed that he wasn't using his magic anymore.

"What is it?" He asked, taking a step away from the demon.

"I'm all out of magic," he said, his own voice disbelieving.

Alec nodded and switched from his seraph blade to his bow, in order to get to the few remaining demons that were surrounding Magnus.

"Stand still, okay?" Alec asked.

He saw Magnus swallow before he was nodding. Alec raised his bow, aimed, and shot down two of the demons that had been getting closer and closer to Magnus. There was only one demon left and Alec squinted as he prepared to make the shot. This demon was faster-moving than the others had been, probably because it realized that it was the last one to get the job done.

Just as Alec released his arrow, he heard Magnus frantically shout his name and then there a blur of orange and yellow to his right. Alec abruptly turned to his right and saw that the demon who hadn't been wanting to die hadn't died, and he had been about to sting Alec with his stinger when Magnus had killed him with his magic.

Alec looked over at him, his mouth gaping. "I thought you were out of magic," he said.

"I thought I was," Magnus breathed.

Alec then realized how weak Magnus looked and hurried over to his side, his arms wrapping around his waist right as Magnus collapsed against him.

"Hey, hey, Magnus, stay with me," Alec pleaded desperately.

Magnus looked up at him, but his eyes were unfocused and somewhere else. "You're a Shadowhunter," he uttered, before he promptly passed out from overexertion.

***

Magnus woke up in his own bed, with one of the worst headaches he'd ever had in his life. It didn't even begin to compare to any of the hangover headaches he'd had during his many centuries of existence: it was worse.

He opened his eyes and saw that Alec was sitting in a chair next to Magnus' side of the bed, one that he had probably pulled up so he could watch over Magnus. Right now, his head was in his hands, and he looked deeply troubled.

"Hey," Magnus whispered, his voice raspy.

Alec abruptly looked up, reaching out to take Magnus' hand in his own. His eyes were filled with worry as he said, "Hey, are you...are you okay?"

"Well, I'm alive," Magnus said, leaving his words open-ended. He stretched and was pleased to feel that his body wasn't in too much pain; just his head. "How long was I out?"

"A day," Alec told him quietly.

Magnus shot him a disbelieving look. "A day? You...you stayed here watching over me for an entire day?"

Alec let out a huff. "I wasn't about to leave you by yourself."

"I'm in a house full of warlocks," Magnus deadpanned.

"Still," Alec murmured, his shoulders moving in a sheepish shrug, "I could...I could go, if that's what you want."

Magnus tightened his grasp on Alec's hand. "No, that's not what I want. Not at all."

Alec looked down at their joined hands and he seemed as if he was about to smile, but then his face contorted into a pained expression.

"Magnus, I — I can't do this," he choked out, withdrawing his hand from Magnus'. "Maybe I should leave..."

"Why?" Magnus asked, sitting up in his bed. He ignored how much his head was protesting him. "Because I'm a warlock? A Downworlder?"

"Yes," Alec said, and Magnus gaped at his bluntness, but then Alec was letting out a curse and shaking his head, "But not...that's not the only reason why, there's more to it, I promise."

Magnus shook his head. He admittedly wasn't expecting much from Alec's response. If anything it would be a half-assed excuse that translated to Alec not wanting to be with him just because he was a Downworlder.

"My full name, it's. It's Alec Lightwood."

Magnus' eyes went wide in recognition. Oh. Alec was the Lightwood who had sworn off Downworlders.

"Alec—" he started, but Alec interrupted him, a small, self-depreciating smile on his lips.

"I didn't know," he said, and then, quieter, "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Magnus assured, "I get it. You made the choice to protect your siblings. I would do the same thing for the ones I love."

"I...I thought of you, when I did it. Remember when I told you that you had helped me make an important decision? That was it," Alec murmured.

Magnus couldn't help but inquire further. His interest was peaked. "How did I help you?" He asked.

Alec gave him a look that clearly said, 'Isn't it obvious?'

"I couldn't see myself being with anyone other than you for...a long time," he admitted. Magnus' eyes went wide at the confession but then Alec shook his head. "But it doesn't matter now. None of it does."

"Don't say that," Magnus whispered, taking Alec's hands back in his, "You still matter to me. This matters to me."

Alec removed his hand from Magnus' and stood up from his chair, even though it looked like it was killing him to do so.

"There can't be a this!" He exclaimed sadly. "I swore on my life that I wouldn't ever be with a Downworlder, romantically or sexually, and I've broken both of those promises now. I...I'm going to have to plead to the Clave that I didn't know about you being a warlock, and who even knows if they'll believe me. And if they don't believe me, then who knows what they'll do to my siblings, or to Simon and Maia..."

Alec had begun to pace around the room, his hands pulling at his hair. It was a painful sight to see. Magnus stood up and walked over to him, placing his hands on his shoulders to stop his pacing.

"You didn't have to get up," Alec said miserably.

"It's okay, I feel fine," Magnus responded, which was mostly the truth. "But, Alec, darling, listen to me. Even...even if we can't be together, things are going to work out for you. I know they will."

Alec closed his eyes and took a breath. "Warlocks can't predict the future," he whispered.

"Hm, maybe not. But I have a good feeling about yours, okay?"

When Alec opened his eyes and looked down at him, Magnus realized how close they were. It caused his heart to ache in his chest and his breath to hitch in his throat.

"I don't want to leave you," Alec confessed quietly, like he shouldn't have been saying the words. "I really...I like you. A lot."

Magnus' face softened and he moved forward, his arms wrapping around Alec's waist and his head resting on Alec's shoulder. "I like you, too. Quite a lot."

Alec hugged him back tightly, and Magnus thought he felt him press a kiss to the top of his head.

"Is one more kiss off the table?" Magnus asked.

Alec backed away and paused for a moment, clearing determining if that would be okay, before abruptly shaking his head.

"Oh, screw it, I don't care if it is," he said, and then Alec's hands were cupping his cheeks and his lips were clashing forcefully with Magnus' own.

Magnus hummed in surprise but then his hands were reaching out to hold onto Alec's arms, his lips moving just as powerfully against Alec's own.

He didn't want this to be over. He hadn't felt like this in over a century, and now he would have to give up all of his feelings just because of a stupid deal the Clave had made.

Magnus slipped his tongue into Alec's mouth and felt the soft moan Alec breathed into the kiss. The kiss was rapidly becoming heated and messy as the two of them realized this would most likely be their last kiss.

"I'm sorry," Alec whispered against his lips, before leaning in for another, softer kiss.

"Don't be," Magnus murmured. He placed a hand on Alec's chest to stop him and gave him a small, sad smile. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

Alec swallowed and then he was gesturing to the door. "I should...go."

"You should," he agreed quietly.

Alec's eyes raked over Magnus' face as if he was trying to commit it to memory before abruptly walking out of the bedroom door and closing it behind him.

Magnus watched him go and then walked back over to his bed, plopping down onto it. He had felt plenty of heartbreaks in his lifetime, but he wasn't sure if they had ever felt quite like this.

***

Alec wasn't sure if he had ever felt this bad in his life. Not when his mom would scold him as a child for not perfectly landing his arrow in his target. Not when his dad had missed his first rune ceremony because "duty calls". Nothing compared itself to the dull ache that had settled into Alec's chest and seemed set on staying there for quite some time.

He spent that first night in his bedroom, unable to even think about seeing or talking to anyone. All he could do was lie there, lost in his thoughts about what had happened, about what would happen.

Alec would have preferred just staying there for the rest of his life and never moving again, but that next morning, there was a knock on his door.

Alec considered ignoring it, but then Izzy was walking into his room, her expression a mix of worry and anger.

"What the hell, Alec? We haven't seen you in, like, two days! Mom was about to send a squad out to the Hotel Dumort to check on you, which you know would have been disastrous," she said.

Alec grimaced. "You're right. I'm sorry." He wasn't in the mood for a fight, so he left it at that.

If Izzy wasn't worried before, she clearly was now. She walked over and sat on Alec's bed, her eyes roaming his face as she tried to find a hint of what was going on with her brother.

"What happened? I've never seen you like this before."

Alec considered, for a second, telling Izzy the truth. But then he realized he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Izzy that Magnus was a warlock, or Jace, for that matter; it would do nothing but make them feel bad about their own relationships.

But he also couldn't keep laying here feeling sorry for himself.

So he sat up, shaking his head with a small, forced smile. "Sorry, the Downworld has been a mess lately. During my meeting at the Hotel, a warlock was surrounded by ravener demons, so I helped him kill them. I then spent the rest of the day looking after him."

Izzy raised an eyebrow. "That was an awfully nice thing of you to do for a warlock you hadn't ever met before."

She sounded suspicious. Great, this was going to be harder than he had thought. Why did his sister have to be so smart?

"You know me, Mr. Nice," Alec said weakly.

Izzy narrowed her eyes at him, but before she could say anything else, Alec was standing up from his bed.

"Now, get up, I have a meeting with the Clave that I need to get ready for," Alec said, walking over to his closet to pick out what he was going to wear.

"The Clave?" Izzy asked as she stood up. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine, except for the fact that Downworlders are continuously getting murdered and the Clave isn't doing jackshit."

Izzy smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Since when are you so invested in the Downworld?"

Alec sent his sister a disbelieving look. "I'm not — it's — since they're getting killed, Izzy. All of the Downworlders that I've met have been..." He trailed off as his mind filled with thoughts of Magnus. "Wonderful, kind-hearted people," he said softly, "They don't deserve to be treated like this."

"Well, then I wish you luck," Izzy told him genuinely. "If the Clave suggests sending Shadowhunters out to look for whoever it is killing the Downworlders, I'd be more than happy to help."

Alec smiled at his sister. "Thank you."

Izzy winked at him and then she was walking out of the room.

In actuality, Alec hadn't been planning on meeting with the Clave yet. However, if he wanted to take his mind off of Magnus, then what better way to do it than by helping out the Downworld? The issue had been bothering him for a while, but now he felt like he could really do something about it.

With that thought in mind, Alec shrugged off his shirt and began to change.

***

Catarina must have let Ragnor know that Magnus had woken up, because later that day, Ragnor was opening the door to Magnus' bedroom and stepping inside.

Currently Magnus was lying in bed, Catarina next to him and stroking his hair as he stared blankly ahead.

"What happened?" Ragnor asked worriedly.

Magnus gave him a miserable look. "You know Alec?"

"Your Alec?"

Magnus shook his head, putting his head in his hands. He supposed Alec wasn't his anymore.

"Not anymore," he murmured, "He's Alec Lightwood. I never...I never even knew that he was a Shadowhunter, and he clearly didn't know that I was a warlock."

"Wait, that was him? The guy you've been seeing?" Ragnor asked, his jaw dropping open in surprise.

"You met him?"

Ragnor gave him a look that clearly said "seriously?". "Who do you think sent him to go save your ass?"

"Oh," Magnus said, because that made more sense than the scenario he had come up with in his head. He had just kind of assumed that, as a Shadowhunter, Alec had sensed the demons and come to help: not that he had already made it to the Downworlder meeting and Ragnor had sent him to help.

"Well, I suppose that's not the whole truth. He wanted to go."

"He did?"

"Yeah. Figured it was safer than sending me, which would have put another warlock in danger."

Magnus sighed and leaned back against Catarina, his head resting on her shoulder. "I can't do this anymore," he whispered sadly.

"Do what, dear?" She murmured, her hands going back to play with his hair.

"This...this whole thing. I opened my heart up to Alec. It was the first time since Camille that I had been vulnerable to another person. And all I ended up with was yet another broken heart."

Before Catarina could respond, Magnus was shaking his head, "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. My people are literally being hunted down and here I am, lamenting over a broken heart."

"Hey, you have every reason to be upset," Catarina told him sternly, "Getting your heart broken is painful. It always is."

Ragnor walked over and sat down on Magnus' side of the bed. "I just can't believe that the Shadowhunter I met was your boyfriend. I mean, I suppose it makes sense. He seemed your type."

"I don't have a type," Magnus disagreed.

"Hm, well, let's see. He was tall, handsome, innocence—"

"Definitely not innocent," Magnus intercepted, his lips quirking into a smirk at the unimpressed look that Ragnor leveled him with. "But, in all honestly, how...how was he? Did he act like he was superior to you just because he's a Shadowhunter? Because I swear, if he did—"

Ragnor interrupted, "No, he didn't act like that at all. I mean, he had that sort of cluelessness about the Downworld that all Shadowhunters have, but. He seemed nice. He even tried to shake my hand."

Damn it. Magnus had hoped that he'd been rude and treated the Downworlders as inferior — that way he would have been able to get over him easier.

"Of course he was," Magnus sighed, a small smile on his face as he thought of Alec. He then sat up, giving Ragnor a curious look. "Wait, what do you mean by he tried to shake your hand? Did you not take it?"

Ragnor shrugged. "I hate Shadowhunters. It would have been going against my principles to take his hand."

Magnus couldn't help it. He burst into laughter at the thought of Alec, standing there, holding his hand out for Ragnor to take, and Ragnor just...staring at him. Catarina and Ragnor soon joined him in his laughter, and Magnus was overcome with happiness that, no matter what, he would always have his best friends by his side.

***

As soon as Alec had gotten to Idris, he'd gotten directions to Victor's office and walked straight inside. He didn't bother messing around with a fire message, or even with scheduling an appointment. He was tired of the constant delay. The Clave needed to do something, now, and Alec was going to try and make that happen.

He ignored Victor's secretary frantically telling him that the meetings with Victor were appointment-only and shoved the door to his office open, abruptly walking inside.

Victor had been filling out paperwork at his desk. When Alec walked in, he looked up, his brown eyes going wide.

"Alec Lightwood. I wasn't expecting you. Did you have an appointment or—"

"No!" Victor's secretary exclaimed, giving Alec a dirty look.

Alec shared the sentiment with her.

"I didn't, but this couldn't wait. Something needs to be done about all the Downworlder deaths that have been happening recently. The longer nothing is done the more I believe that the Clave just doesn't care about the loss of these innocent lives," Alec said, his voice harsh.

Victor shrugged. "We've looked into it and found that there was nothing to be worried about. Whoever is going after the Downworlders doesn't seem to pose a threat to us Shadowhunters."

"That's what you're worried about?" Alec exclaimed. "Our own safety?"

"Are you not worried about our safety?" Victor asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alec shook his head. He had to chose his next words carefully. He didn't want to say something that could be marked as treasonous just because he was impassioned.

"Of course I am. I'm just worried that once the last specie of Downworlder is killed, this person will go after the Shadowhunters next. I mean, they have to have a motive. If we can stop them before they kill another Downworlder, we can prevent them from coming after us."

That wasn't what Alec truly believed. Well, he believed that even the Shadowhunters weren't safe from this person, but that wasn't why he was here. He was here because he didn't want another innocent life to be taken.

Victor stood up, his signature, smug smirk present on his lips. "Alec, I can assure you, there's nothing to be worried about. And if you're concerned for the Downworlders, well, don't be."

"How can I not?" Alec asked softly. "They're dying."

Once again, Victor shrugged. "That's not our problem. In fact, it has nothing to do with us. Shadowhunters and Downworlders have not been involved in each other's affairs for centuries now. Just because things are going a little poorly for them at the moment does not mean we have to put our lives at risk and intervene."

Alec felt something inside him break as he realized Victor and the Clave truly weren't going to help, that they would never help.

No wonder so many Downworlders hated the Shadowhunters. They didn't even care if the Downworlders lived or died, as long as they protected their own asses.

"Sorry for disrupting your paperwork," Alec said through gritted teeth, and made his way out the door, ignoring the pleasantries Victor aimed at him as he left.

Alec wasn't in the mood.

***

Defeated wasn't even close to how Alec felt as he walked back in the doors of the Institute. He was...devastated. Crushed, even. He still wanted to do something to help, but without the Clave behind him, what could he do?

He saw Izzy and went to go walk over to her, but to his surprise, she hurried over to Alec first.

"Alec, I just spoke to Mom," she said, her eyes wide and voice worried.

"About what?" Alec asked. "Iz, is everything alright?"

Izzy shook her head. "Another Downworlder was found, drained of blood. A warlock, this time."

And just like that, Alec felt his entire world come to a halt. He took a step back from Izzy in shock and then tried to even out his breathing, except...he wasn't breathing.

"Did she tell you a name?" He asked his sister frantically.

"No, I'm sorry—"

"I — I have to...excuse me," Alec said, and then he was all but running to his bedroom.

What if it had been Magnus? He'd already had demons going after him before, so it wasn't a stretch to think they might have gone after him again.

Alec couldn't think as he blindly closed the bedroom door behind him and dialed Magnus' number with shaking hands.

He started pacing his room as the phone began to ring. Every ring without Magnus answering made the lump in his throat grow even deeper, made breathing even harder. His heart had fallen all the way to his stomach.

It couldn't be Magnus. Even if Magnus wasn't his anymore, it didn't...it didn't matter. Alec couldn't imagine never seeing him again, or never hearing his voice again, his laugh.

He was just about to give up, maybe throw his phone across the room, when the ringing stopped, and there was a soft, "Alec?" on the other line.

Alec closed his eyes and held the phone closer to his cheek. Magnus was alive, and the feeling of his phone against his skin was a physical reassurance of that.

He could breathe again, but barely.

"Magnus," he whooshed out, all of his emotions making themselves present in just that one word, "I was told that a Downworlder, a warlock, had been murdered, and I—"

"Oh, Alec, I'm alright," Magnus said softly, "I'm perfectly safe."

Alec drew a shaky breath. "I'm — I'm sorry. For your loss."

Magnus was quiet for a moment before saying, "Thank you. I tried so hard to prevent it from happening, but this person is smart. Cunning. There really wasn't anything I could do."

"I wish I could help," Alec admitted, "I tried going to the Clave to ask for their help, but they're just so..."

"Stuck up their own asses?" Magnus offered.

"God, yes. I don't know how I never realized it before."

He heard Magnus hum into the phone. "You grew up thinking the Clave was everything. It's not your fault."

Alec walked over to his bed and laid down, closing his eyes as he listened to Magnus talk. It had only been a day, a day, but Alec had missed the sound of his voice.

"Were you...close? To the warlock who was targeted?" Alec asked softly.

"Mm, not really. I knew of her, but we hadn't ever met. For some reason she refused to seek shelter at my place. Claimed she was fine," Magnus said, his voice both frustrated and exhausted, "I'm just...I'm worried. What happens now?"

Alec let out a breath. "I wish I knew. Just today I met with Victor, he's the head of the Clave—"

"I know Victor."

Alec paused at that. "You know Victor?"

"Unfortunately. We met maybe five years back. He came to my club—"

"You own a club?" Alec asked in disbelief.

Magnus chuckled. "I do. It's called Pandemonium."

"And you never took me?!"

"Alec, dear, it's a Downworlder club. You probably would have been traumatized."

Alec huffed, even though Magnus calling him 'dear' had his heart beating faster in his chest.

"So, Victor. Did you know him well?"

"No, not well at all. He came to my club disguising the fact that he was a Shadowhunter — this was before he was head of the Clave — and we had a drink or two. Then one of my friends told me who he was and I kicked him out. I still don't know if he was there to spy on the Downworld or just for leisure, but either way, I never saw him again."

Alec hadn't been expecting that, but he then remembered Victor telling him that he had once known a Magnus.

Had Victor known that Alec had been talking about the same Magnus he had once known? Warlock-Magnus?

It wasn't like Magnus was the most common name in the world.

"He said that he knew you — when I was making the pledge to never be with a Downworlder. I told him I already had a boyfriend and told him your name. Do you think...do you think he knew?"

Magnus' voice was low as he said, "I wouldn't put it past him."

Alec shook his head. The thought made him sick to his stomach, but it also reminded him that, no matter how nice this conversation had been, he could never have Magnus.

"I should probably go," Alec murmured, even though it was the last thing he wanted.

"Yeah, me too," Magnus agreed.

It was quiet for about a minute and Alec checked to see if Magnus had already hung up, but when he saw that he hadn't, he put the phone back up to his face.

"If you or, any of the Downworlders, for that matter, ever need help," Alec whispered, "My siblings and I will be there for you. I know that's not offering a lot, but without consent from the Clave..."

"I understand," Magnus said softly, and Alec wondered if he was smiling, "I appreciate it, Alexander."

Alec's heart fluttered at the name and he threw his head back, wondering why the hell this was so hard.

"I'll...I'll talk to you later," Alec said.

"Yeah. Be safe."

"You too."

Alec heard the click that signaled the phone call had come to an end and stared blankly at his phone.

That was when Izzy walked into the room, her hands on her hips.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" She asked.

Alec didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with an angry Izzy after the day he'd had. He gave his sister a tired look.

"You're the smartest person I know, Izzy. Of course I don't think you're stupid."

"Then why are you hiding the fact that you're seeing a warlock from me?"

Alec abruptly sat up in his bed. He felt himself pale. "W-What? How did you...I'm not...Who told you?"

"No one told me! No one had to tell me, because I'm smart and capable of putting the pieces together. First you rescue a warlock and spend the entire day with him while he recovers, then when you come home you're a mess—

"Hey—" Alec protested weakly.

"You were. And finally I tell you that a warlock's been drained of blood and you run to your bedroom to call someone. I'm going to assume that you were just on the phone with the warlock you're seeing, based off of the miserable look on your face?"

Alec shook his head. "We're not together anymore," he rasped.

"What about Magnus? I thought things were going so well between you two."

Alec gave her a blank look.

"Oh. Oh, Magnus is the warlock," Izzy said, the realization dawning on her face. "Why didn't you tell us? We never would have allowed you to—"

"I didn't know."

All of Izzy's resolve crumbled and she hurriedly walked over to sit next to her brother, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Alec rested his head on his sister's shoulder and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to get his emotions under control.

"Why didn't you tell me? Or Jace?" Izzy murmured.

"I didn't want you to feel bad about being with Maia, or for Jace to feel bad about being with Simon, just because of me. You two deserve to be happy."

"So do you," Izzy said earnestly.

Alec shrugged. "I will. Eventually. Just...it might take awhile."

"I'm so sorry, Alec."

"It's not your fault."

Izzy kissed his head, and they stayed there for a while, silently comforting each other.

***

About a week later, Izzy and Jace somehow talked Alec into joining in on a double date with the two of them, Maia, and Simon. Jace had claimed that it would allow him to "get to know them better", and Izzy had told him that it would "take his mind off of Magnus", which. Well. Alec didn't see that happening anytime soon, but he still agreed to go along on the date.

"Are you sure I won't be third-wheeling?" Alec asked as they made their way to the restaurant. It was a small mundane cafe within walking distance of the Institute.

"Bro, of course not. Simon is, like, super excited to meet you. You're practically his hero," Jace told him.

Alec couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because of what you did for us and for Izzy and Maia. Simon really appreciates it, obviously."

Alec's eyes fell down to the ground. Yeah, he supposed that made sense.

Still, the thought of that entire compromise did nothing but turn Alec's stomach.

He was quiet for the rest of the walk until they made it to the cafe. As soon as they walked inside, Simon was hurrying over to them, his hands coming up to cup up Jace's cheeks as their lips joined together in an eager kiss.

Alec had to look away, his cheeks heating up. Maia was next to walk over to them and only had to take one look at Jace and Simon before laughing.

"Dear Lord, you two act like you've not seen each other in years," she told them.

Simon sheepishly pulled away from Jace at the same time that Maia sweetly leaned in to kiss Izzy hello.

Alec was beginning to think this had been a bad idea. It wasn't that he didn't like seeing his siblings happy, of course he liked that, but being surrounded by happy couples only a week after ending his own relationship? It wasn't easy.

"Alec, this is my boyfriend, Simon," Jace introduced, a wide smile on his lips.

Alec turned to face him and that was when he finally saw his face. "Oh. I know you," he said, "You're — you're Magnus' friend, right?"

He watched as realization dawned on Simon's face. "Yeah! And you're Magnus'..." He trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing. "But how does that..."

Alec shook his head, looking at Jace and then back at Simon pointedly. Simon, thankfully, seemed to get the hint.

"Well, it's good to see you again," Simon told Alec genuinely.

Alec nodded and was about to return the sentiment when Jace said, "Wait, you two have met before?"

"Yes," Alec and Simon said at the same time, and left it at that.

"Do you guys have a table?" Alec asked Maia and Simon, and the two of them led everyone over to where they were sitting.

***

Despite Alec's initial qualms, the dinner went by well.

It was nice getting to know Simon and Maia better. Yes, Simon talked a lot (something Jace often teased him about), but he seemed like a genuinely kindhearted person, and he clearly made Jace happy. Alec wasn't sure that he had ever seen Jace laugh or smile as much as he did when Simon made a joke or started rambling.

And Maia was amazing, so witty and sharp. He had liked her when they'd first met, but he liked her even more when she was just being her genuine self: not trying to intimidate him or Izzy.

It was also nice to see that Simon and Maia seemed to be good friends. It made Alec wonder if Magnus was a part of their friend group, if they had ever hung out.

He wanted to ask, but he couldn't in front of Jace. Still, it made Alec's hands tingle with how much he wanted to inquire about Magnus, with how much more he wanted to learn about him.

There was so much he didn't know about him...that he might never have the chance to find out.

That was...a depressing thought. Here he was, wrapped up in thoughts about Magnus on the night he was supposed to be forgetting about him.

"You okay, Alec?" Izzy asked him, a kind smile on her lips when Alec glanced over at her. Her hand was intertwined with Maia's.

Alec nodded. "Yeah, I just...it's kind of hard, being surrounded by relationships when I'm not. Um. In a relationship myself."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jace said, holding up a hand, "You and Magnus broke up?! When?"

"Magnus?" Maia asked, her eyes going wide.

Damn it.

Why did Alec have to open his big mouth?

"About a week ago, it's not a big deal," Alec said quickly, even though it kind of felt like he was dying inside.

He didn't want Jace to feel bad or to ruin everyone's evening by being a downer.

He looked over at Izzy and Maia and saw that Izzy was whispering something to Maia, probably explaining Alec and Magnus' situation to her. Alec supposed that was fine, as long as she didn't say anything to Jace.

Based off of the sympathy-eyes Maia sent him once Izzy was done whispering to her, Alec figured that was exactly what they had been talking about.

Simon suggested they go to a cute little ice cream shop just down the street once they had all finished their meals, and everyone gave him a confused look.

"What?" He asked.

"You can't eat, babe," Jace told him, as if it were obvious.

Simon shrugged. "It was my favorite place before I got turned. It'd be nice to just...go there, you know."

The look on Jace's face after those words were said made it clear there wouldn't be any debating: they were going to that ice cream shop.

As they were walking out of the cafe, Alec asked how Simon had been turned, anyway, because he looked rather young.

He noticed the way Simon's face fell for a second and was quick to backtrack, saying, "Unless you don't want to talk about it. I'm — I'm sure it's personal."

"Oh, no, it's. It's okay," Simon assured, "I was with my friends Maureen and Clary, celebrating Clary's eighteenth birthday, and we just happened to go to Pandemonium. There was...a vampire there, and she was beautiful, like...absolutely stunning. She got me alone from my friends and made me think that she was interested. So I kept hanging out with her. She used encanto on me so she could suck my blood without me protesting."

Alec watched as Jace took Simon's hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He hadn't ever seen his brother be so...soft with another person before. It was nice to see.

"One day Raphael found out what Camille, that was her name, what she was doing, and he threatened to lock her up if she didn't stop. So she..." Simon trailed off. "Killed me. Claimed that it was so she wouldn't be tempted by me anymore."

"That's awful," Alec whispered.

Simon hummed. "She was an awful person," he agreed, "Raphael buried me and brought me back. He felt awful about it, that I didn't have a choice in the matter, but. There wasn't any way I could have consented. I was...dead."

Simon then plastered a smile onto his face. "But, either way, I'm happy to be alive. Well, alive-ish. Undead? Is that the term?"

"I think so," Maia said, and smiled when Simon gave her a finger gun.

"Honestly? The worst part is not being able to eat human food. I hate blood," Simon complained.

"Tell me about it," Maia groaned, "I haven't been able to eat chocolate since I was turned."

Izzy gasped. "You can't eat chocolate?!"

When Maia shook her head, Izzy reached out to stroke her cheek, murmuring, "Que lástima."

Both of Alec's siblings were too wrapped up in their significant others to notice the three figures starting to emerge from the road up ahead. It was at that point of the night where it was practically impossible to see anything not right in front of you, but the streetlights made it possible for Alec to make out the figures.

He got out his bow on instinct, which caught everyone's attention.

"What are you doing?" Izzy asked him.

"Look straight ahead. What are those things?" Alec murmured, trying to make them out for himself.

"Alec, I'm sure they're just people out on a stroll. It's actually pretty nice out for a March night in New York City," Jace said.

Alec pursed his lips and gestured for everyone to stop walking. He got out his stele, activating his night vision rune, and...

Immediately took a step backwards. His mouth dropped open.

"Alec? What are they?" Izzy asked frantically.

Alec shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it. They look like...zombies."

"Zombies?" Simon exclaimed, his face lighting up in a mixture of both fear and excitement.

"I mean, they're not, but they're definitely not human. Their skin looks pale and sunken in, bruised, and...fuck. They're coming right towards us."

"What do we do?" Jace asked.

Alec drew his bow and arrow, his body taut. "We do the only thing we can. We fight."

Jace drew his seraph blade as Izzy's whip ran down her wrist, making its way to her hand. Alec looked over at Maia and saw that her eyes were glowing green, and Simon had his fangs out.

Alec focused back on whatever it was those creatures were and then released an arrow. It lodged itself in one of the creature's stomachs, and Alec expected it to cower, for its body to fall, but it...didn't even affect the creature. It actually pulled the arrow out and kept walking.

"Shit," he hissed.

They were getting close now. It was clear that everyone could see the creatures now without having used a night vision rune.

"What if they can't be defeated? What if they're, like, invincible?" Simon asked.

Alec shook his head. "Now is not the time to be thinking like that."

"Do you think they have to do with the Downworlders whose blood was drained?" Maia asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Izzy murmured.

As soon as the figures were only a few feet away, Alec watched as Maia shifted completely into wolf form and charged. That was all it took for Izzy to run after her, her whip lashing out to wrap around one of the creature's ankles. The creature stumbled, not fully falling over, but clearly distracted. Maia took this opportunity to attack, ripping into the creature like it was no one's business.

Alec focused back on the creature who was making its way toward him. He attempted shooting another arrow, this time in the creature's heart (if it had one), but as soon as the arrow was about to lodge itself in its chest, the creature caught the arrow.

It caught the arrow.

It then snarled at Alec and began running over to him. Alec wanted to get out his seraph blade because clearly his bow and arrow wasn't doing much good, but he didn't have time. The creature had already advanced far too much on him.

Alec used his bow to hold some space between himself and the creature and then called out to Jace for some help.

Only a second later, Alec watched as a seraph blade lodged itself in the creature's stomach. The creature stumbled and turned around, diverting its attention from Alec to Jace. The arrow and blade must have done nothing but made the creature angry because, abruptly, it began swiping at Jace, snarling with blackened teeth at him.

Jace just narrowly avoided being hit, and he managed to get a couple of hits of his own in, but then Alec watched in horror as the creature kicked Jace in the stomach, forcing him to fall on his back.

Alec felt Jace's breathlessness from the force of the fall through his parabatai bond. The creature was clearly about to lay the final blow, his foot on Jace's chest to hold him down, when Alec snuck up behind him. He did the only thing he could think of in the moment: with his senses heightened from adrenaline, he reached out and snapped the creature's neck before it even knew that Alec was behind him.

The creature fell forward and Jace let out a disgusted noise, quickly rolling out of the way before the creature could fall on top of him. Simon then ran over to him, falling to his knees and cupping Jace's cheek.

"Are you okay?!" He asked, checking for any injuries.

Jace smiled at him, sitting up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just got kicked in the stomach." He then assessed Simon. "Are you okay? What happened to the third creature?"

Simon shrugged. "I encantoed him. He should be on his way back to his master to tell him to go straight back to hell where he belongs."

Jace raised an eyebrow. "That's kinda hot," he said, his voice low.

Alec shook his head with a smirk and made his way over to Izzy and Maia. They had torn the creature into pieces and were holding onto each other.

"You two okay?" Alec asked them.

They both nodded.

"Are you?" Izzy asked. "And Jace? And Simon?"

Alec smiled. "Yeah, we're all good. Jace received a blow but he'll be alright."

"I think I'm gonna go home," Maia murmured, "That was enough excitement for one night."

"I'll go with you," Izzy said quickly, "To, um, make sure you're alright."

Maia chuckled at her but didn't make any attempt to argue. They told Alec goodbye, waved at Simon and Jace, and then made their way back to Maia's apartment.

Simon, similarly, said he should get going. He wanted to get back to the Hotel to let Raphael know about what had happened. After sharing a brief kiss with Jace and telling Alec goodbye, he was out of sight, leaving just Alec and Jace.

They began the walk back to the Institute, both of them hoping not to run into any more of those creatures.

"What the hell do you think those things were?" Jace asked, his voice quiet.

Alec shook his head. "Wish I knew. Did you...did you notice that our weapons didn't work on them? Like, my bow and arrows didn't do shit, and neither did your seraph blade."

Jace grimaced. "I noticed. And some of the moves they did, it...it was oddly reminiscent of how a Shadowhunter would fight."

Alec took a moment to think this over. What if they had been Shadowhunters? At least at one point in their lives? But what did that have to do with the Downworlder blood sacrifices that had been made...

"We'll have to tell Mom about this," Alec said, his voice less than enthusiastic, "And file a report."

Jace groaned and sent Alec a look. "You think that's why Izzy went to Maia's? To get out of paperwork?"

Alec thought of the way Izzy had been holding onto Maia, the look in both of their eyes. He then chuckled and shook his head.

"Amongst other things, I'm sure."

Jace thought for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. Alec smiled too, and then they delved into silence.

A part of Alec wanted to tell Jace about Magnus, partially because he really wanted to talk about him, but also because he hated keeping things from Jace. It just felt...wrong.

"Jace," Alec said abruptly, and Jace quickly looked over at him, "I need to...talk to you. It's about Magnus."

"Yeah, what happened, man? You were so happy, I could feel it through our bond, and then it just...stopped."

Alec pursed his lips. He was more than well aware of just how suddenly things had ended between himself and Magnus. It still hurt so badly, and it didn't seem like it would be getting better any time soon.

"Magnus," Alec started, "Magnus is a warlock."

Jace stopped walking and Alec watched as his face just...fell.

Alec continued to talk, more anxious this time. "I didn't realize he was a warlock when we made the deal with the Clave. I don't know what's going to happen with the Clave now, but Magnus and I thought it would be best if we stopped seeing each other. Well. We didn't have much of a choice."

"Alec," Jace breathed, running a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry—"

"No, you don't have to be—"

"You thought you and Magnus were going to be together for a long time, and I ruined that—"

"You didn't, Jace, listen to me," Alec said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder so he would look him in the eyes. "This wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, except maybe the Clave's for making the stupid deal in the first place."

Jace shook his head. "This isn't right. What if we asked the Clave to switch places, so I'd be the one—"

"Jace," Alec scolded. "Don't even say that. You and Simon are in love, I'm not going to come in the way of that."

"Well, weren't you and Magnus?" Jace asked. "And when Shadowhunters fall in love, it's for life, so I can't imagine what..."

Alec's cheeks flushed. "I'm not — we didn't — we're not in love. We only dated for, what, a month and a couple of weeks? You can't fall in love in that short amount of a time."

They continued their walk to the Institute.

"I don't really think there's a timespan on how long it takes for two people to fall in love. It just sort of...happens," Jace mused.

Alec rid the thought from his mind almost immediately. The thought of love was a slippery slope, one he didn't want to go down for fear of hurting himself even further.

"Have you and Simon told each other?" Alec asked. He figured asking Jace about Simon was the best way to distract him from Alec's own love life.

Jace smiled softly. "When I got back from the City of Bones, yeah. There's something about almost losing the one you care about that really makes you reevaluate what they mean to you, you know?"

Alec had a feeling he did. He smiled, weakly, and said, "Yeah, I think I do."

***

Magnus had no idea what to expect when Raphael called a meeting to the Hotel Dumort on the basis of Simon saying something about a fight with zombies.

Things had been so strange recently that Magnus didn't even question it. Zombies...why not?

Magnus walked into the Hotel and was quietly pleased to see that Meliorn and Kaelie had returned for the meeting. Sure, their blatant honesty could be a bit...much, at times, but Magnus was still relieved that nothing had happened to either of them.

"So what is this about zombies?" Magnus asked as he sat down, taking a sip of his coffee.

Simon's eyes lit up. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, and apparently Alec, Jace, and Izzy hadn't either..."

Magnus stopped with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. "You were with Alec?" He asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah. A triple date." Magnus almost crushed the styrofoam cup in his hand, but Simon kept talking. "Except for Alec! He didn't have a date. He just went along with me and Jace and Maia and Izzy."

Magnus went back to drinking his coffee. He hadn't been jealous. He was the High Warlock and had been alive for over three hundred years, he didn't get jealous. Just the thought of Alec going out on a date with someone else after such a short amount of time was...upsetting.

Luckily, Simon had simply misspoken.

"I didn't leave the safety of the Seelie realm to hear about you and your Shadowhunters' love lives," Meliorn said, his eyes narrowing at Simon, "So can we please get to the descriptions of these — what did you call them?"

"Zombies," Raphael supplied.

"Yes, zombies."

Simon shook his head. "They weren't really zombies. They were tall, muscular, pale. They looked like they used to be men, but their skin was sunken in and bruised. There were three of them. I encantoed mine, but the others...they weren't hurt by the weapons made from Shadowhunters."

Magnus raised an eyebrow at that. "Explain," he said.

"Like, Alec's arrows didn't hurt them, and neither did Jace's seraph blade. If anything, their weapons just made them mad."

"That's...unusual," Ragnor murmured.

"Could they talk? Did they tell you anything about where they came from?" Luke asked.

Simon shook his head once again. "No. Mostly they just grunted a lot."

"What ended up happening to the, um, Shadowhunters?" Magnus asked, trying to keep his voice nonchalant.

"Izzy went home with me," Maia piped up. "I'm not sure about Jace and Alec."

"I talked to Jace. He made it home safely," Simon said.

Magnus rubbed his fingers together. That was all fine and well, but he hadn't been asking for them.

"And Alec?" He wondered softly.

Simon pursed his lips. "I'm not sure. I mean, I'm sure he's fine—"

"You don't know?" Magnus asked.

"I'm sorry, no—"

Magnus spared a look Ragnor's way. His friend was looking back at him, his face concerned.

"Magnus, if he said he thinks Alec is fine, then I'm sure he's alright," Ragnor whispered to him.

Thinking Alec was alright was not the same as Alec actually being alright. Magnus didn't want to dwell on it, and the meeting was still going on, but...

"I'll be back," Magnus said, before abruptly standing up and walking off to a back room in the hotel.

He hadn't wanted to make a scene, especially not in front of most of the Downworld leaders, but that was exactly what he had done. He just...he had to make sure Alec was okay. That was his primary concern right now, not embarrassing himself in front of his friends and acquaintances.

Once he had made it to a back room, he stretched out on one of the plush couches and dialed Alec's number.

He didn't have to wait for long: Alec answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Alec, hey, I...I heard about your encounter with those zombie-things. Simon told me he wasn't sure you made it back safely, so I wanted to check in on you."

"I'm fine," Alec said brusquely.

Magnus' eyebrows furrowed. He hadn't ever heard Alec talk like that, and especially not to him.

"You don't sound fine," Magnus admitted softly, "Are you sure everything's alright?"

There was silence on Alec's line of the phone, and Magnus drummed his fingers on his knee, anxiously awaiting his response.

"I don't think we should talk to each other anymore," Alec said. His voice was so quiet that Magnus had to strain to hear him, but when he did, his mouth dropped open.

"And why is that, exactly?" Magnus asked, not bothering to keep the venom out of his voice.

"It...it hurts, okay? Hearing your voice. I'm trying to move on, and then I hear your voice, and it's like. I'm right back to where I was before."

Magnus took a deep breath. He wanted to be angry, and he was, a little, but. Mostly he was just hurt.

"You think it doesn't hurt for me?" He asked. "Because it does. A lot."

"Then why did you call?"

Okay, forget only being a little bit angry. Magnus wanted to throw his phone across the room.

"Because I wanted to make sure you were okay! I didn't realize me worrying about you wasn't allowed."

Alec let out a sigh. "That's not what I said, I just, I don't want you to worry about me. I wish you didn't."

Magnus felt like his heart broke all over again at those words. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then mustered all the strength he had to say, "Well, don't worry about it. I won't be calling anymore. And I also won't be worrying about whether your life is safe or not, since that's what you want."

"Magnus—" Alec started, but Magnus had already hung up. He stared at his blank phone for a while, unseeingly, before tossing it across the couch.

He knew Alec was just trying to protect himself and move on, and yet...maybe Magnus didn't want him to move on. Maybe Magnus wanted Alec to hold out hope that one day they would be together again, because that was exactly what Magnus himself was doing.

Magnus put his head in his hands. He'd been stupid, wanting Alec to come back to him. It wasn't going to happen. Their fate had been sealed before either of them had even realized what was happening.

He pocketed his phone and then made his way back to the meeting, ignoring Ragnor's (once again) worried look. Magnus would tell him later what had happened. Over cocktails, or, no, over whiskey. Whiskey sounded heavenly right now.

"He okay?" Ragnor whispered to him.

Magnus shrugged. "Fine," he said, and dropped the subject.

***

Alec hadn't wanted to tell Magnus to stop talking to him. It was the last thing he had wanted, but he had to get over Magnus. If they weren't ever going to be together again, then there was no reason to hold out hope that they would be, and his conversation with Jace had put a lot of things into perspective.

The only problem? It didn't work. Alec still thought about Magnus all the time; if he was safe, what he was doing. The only difference now was that Magnus hated him.

Maybe that was for the best. There were so many things happening in the Shadow World at the moment, and Alec couldn't handle any distractions.

More and more Shadowhunters had been witnessing the creatures that Alec, his siblings, and their significant others had seen. They began to be called "the Forsaken", because it was found out by Izzy in her lab that the creatures possessed all four types of Downworlder blood, as well as Shadowhunter blood.

It was now known that the objective in draining the Downworlders' blood was, in fact, to go after the Shadowhunters. Alec wanted to be smug that he had called it, but he couldn't be; not when his people were getting killed left and right.

All the Institutes stayed on high alert. It seemed like everyone was just waiting for something to happen, for someone to step forward, and that was exactly what happened with Valentine Morgernstern.

He was an ex-Clave member who had been sent to prison in Idris for various infractions of the law. Apparently he had looked up to the Circle, and it showed in his cruel outlook on the Downworlders (different from the ignorant pacivity that most Shadowhunters had towards them). He had escaped from prison years ago, which the Clave had somehow forgot to mention.

Alec had watched the video multiple times. Valentine, in Idris, proclaiming war on the Clave, who he believed had wronged him. He was surrounded by Forsaken and demons as he told everyone that he had created the Forsaken to be a new breed of Shadowhunter, who would wipe out and replace the old breed.

Following that announcement, Alec and his family had been quick to pack up and head to Idris. It was mandatory; all able Shadowhunter families had to aid the Clave in a time of war.

Simon and Maia had come to the Institute to tell Jace and Izzy goodbye, and Alec had watched the scene with a sinking heart. At least he didn't have to say goodbye to Magnus.

Somehow, the thought wasn't very comforting.

***

The Downworld had varying opinions on what was currently happening in the Shadow World. On the one hand the Shadowhunters hadn't ever done anything for the Downworlders, which made some Downworlders pleased to see that what they'd had coming for a long time was finally happening to them. On the other, it wasn't like this "Valentine Morgenstern" and his new breed of Shadowhunters were any better. If anything, they were worse.

Luke quickly ushered the heads of the Downworld to the Jade Wolf the night after Valentine had made his war declaration. Everyone knew they had to act fast in making their decision.

Currently, Magnus was sat with his favorite Maia-made cocktail in hand, both Catarina and Ragnor by his sides. He listened as Luke began to speak.

"I know that the Shadowhunters have been less than helpful to us, and that they're painfully ignorant, and they have a superiority complex the size of Texas, and—"

"This could take all day. We get it, the Shadowhunters suck," Raphael interrupted, gesturing for Luke to get to the point.

Luke leveled Raphael with a stony glare before continuing. "Anyway, yes, the Shadowhunters suck, as Raphael put it, but I spoke it over with my pack and we're willing to fight against Valentine and aid the Shadowhunters, if they are accepting of our help."

"That's biased bullshit," Meliorn spoke up, "You only agreed to that because Maia is dating a Shadowhunter."

Kaelie nodded in agreement while Maia's mouth gaped in indignation.

"I am only one person in a pack," Maia said, her voice harsh, "You really think I have that much authority? I don't. The entire pack came to that conclusion, not just me."

"How did you reach your conclusion?" Ragnor asked.

Luke shrugged. "It was fairly easy. I used to know Valentine."

There were some gasps around the table. Magnus, however, had already known this.

"He was an awful, awful man, and he hated the Downworld. It came as no surprise to me that he was the one who was behind the murders of the Downworlders."

"Would he be worse than the current Shadowhunters are now?" Catarina asked.

Luke nodded. "Without a doubt in my mind."

"Plus this 'new breed' of Shadowhunters will follow him mindlessly. That makes him even more dangerous," Maia said.

Magnus had been taking everyone's thoughts into consideration. Finally, he spoke, saying, "While I agree that we should fight against Valentine, I also don't think we should do it without any kind of benefits afterwards. We deserve compensation for our efforts."

"What were you thinking? Money? Because I have plenty of that, as do most immortal Downworlders," Lily said, her voice bored.

"No," Magnus murmured, "I was thinking more along the lines of an end to the neutrality between us."

There were some whisperings, some shaking of heads, but Magnus raised a hand to get everyone to be silent.

"Listen, I know everyone at this table is not too fond of Shadowhunters as a whole, even if a couple of us are romantically involved with some," Magnus said, sparing a glance at Simon and Maia, "But we have to think of the benefits of ending this neutrality."

"Which are?" Raphael asked.

"I was getting there," Magnus responded, "First off, whether you believe it or not, one of the Shadowhunters' main objectives used to be to look after the Downworld and protect it."

Ragnor nodded. "I can attest to this."

"If that had still been the case today then maybe the lives of the innocent Downworlders killed by Valentine wouldn't have been lost. Plus we could lose even more lives, if Valentine keeps using more of our blood for this new species of his," Magnus said with a shudder.

Lily and Raphael shared a look. It was clear they were thinking about it.

"What happens if they don't accept our offer? We're forced to live with Valentine?" Lily asked.

Magnus shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted, "I feel like we have to prioritize here. Even if the Shadowhunters don't accept our offer, fighting against Valentine would be in our best interest. We just have to act like we're not going to do it until they accept our terms."

"Lily, Simon, and I are in," Raphael said begrudgingly, "If they accept our terms. If not, then we're back out again."

"Same with me and Kaelie," Meliorn said, "At least, we'll ask the Queen and then get back to you with what she says."

Magnus nodded, diverting his gaze to Luke. "Would you want to go to Idris with me tomorrow? To discuss our terms with the Clave?"

"Absolutely," Luke said, "If that's alright with everyone else?"

Everyone around the table nodded. It was clear that Luke and Magnus would be the best choices since they were the only ones who could be firm in their stances without being openly hostile to the Shadowhunters.

"Great. Luke, meet me at my loft at nine tomorrow morning and I'll portal us to Idris. As for the rest of you, Luke and I will let you know what happens," Magnus said, and with parting words of safety and good health, the meeting was adjourned.

***

Alec had never fought in a battle like this before. He had killed countless amounts of demons and even fought with other Shadowhunters, but he had never experienced actual fighting while in Idris, surrounded by his fellow Shadowhunters.

It was...terrible.

For one, Alec felt like he had to keep a constant eye on Jace and Izzy, which more times than not resulted in himself getting injured. Secondly, Alec felt helpless fighting this fight. There didn't seem to be a point. All of the Shadowhunters' weapons were rendered useless and they were miserably outnumbered. Valentine had continued to portal demons in from the demon realm to fight alongside the Forsaken, so their numbers had been quick to overtake the Shadowhunters'.

Alec could handle the demons, but the Forsaken were another story. They required an extensive amount of physical combat to be defeated since weapons didn't work on them. Sure, Alec was highly trained in physical combat and was probably one of the best Shadowhunters there was, fighting-wise (he was right there next to Jace), but it was still exhausting. It seemed like the flow of Forsaken and demons was never-ending and there just wasn't enough of the good guys.

Izzy ended up ushering Alec over to a safe house that Maryse had found a spot for them in after a full day of nonstop fighting had passed. It didn't seem to matter: there were more Forsaken, more demons, and a countless amount of Shadowhunters had already lost their lives.

Alec had almost gotten sick as he had passed multiple lifeless bodies on his way over to the safe house. Seeing death always made him wonder why it had happened to other people and not to himself.

"I can't believe you, Alec," Izzy was saying, and Alec blinked, coming back from his zone. He saw that they had made it to the safe house and Izzy had sat him down on a sick bed.

"What did I do?" Alec asked blearily.

Izzy shook her head. "You're all banged up. It's like you don't even care what happens to you."

"If a few cuts and bruises is the price I have to pay for you and Jace to be safe, then so be it," Alec murmured.

"My point exactly," Izzy said, sounding less than pleased.

She washed out one of the cuts on Alec's arms and then wrapped it in a gauze, Alec wincing all the while at the sting of it.

He had quite a few cuts and scratches that still needed to be tended to, so he had a feeling he would be in here with Izzy for a while. He figured he should at least pass the time with some conversation.

"How was Maia when you told her you had to leave?" Alec asked quietly.

Izzy was silent for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, uncharacteristically not meeting Alec's eyes. "I don't know. Upset? How else would you expect her to be?"

Alec shook his head. "I wouldn't know. Hopefully optimistic, maybe?"

"This is Maia we're talking about," Izzy said with a snort, "If anything that would be more along the lines of Jace and Simon."

"Do you...do you have the feeling that this whole war and all this fighting is just...pointless?" Alec asked, keeping his voice low so no one else would overhear. "I feel like there's no way we could possibly win."

Izzy leveled him with a sober look. "Hey, it's only our first day of fighting. Don't be so quick to give up hope."

Alec nodded. He supposed she had a point. As she fixed him up, he dozed in and out of consciousness several times, the stress and physical exertion from the day catching up with him.

"Get some rest, hermano. I'll be back in the morning to check on you," Izzy whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead before leaving the room.

Alec moved so his back was lying on the bed instead of sitting. He was tired, but his mind was going at a mile per minute. He wondered where Jace was, if he was still fighting. Wondered if Izzy was getting some rest or if she had gone back into the fray. He hoped it wasn't the latter.

He hadn't seen his parents since he had arrived to Idris, so he wondered about them too. Since Maryse had been the one to find them the safe house, Alec had to assume they were okay.

And lastly, he wondered about Magnus. News had to've reached the Downworld by now that the Shadowhunters were at war. Alec wondered what Magnus thought of it all. Did he even care? He thought back on how many words Simon and Jace had murmured between them, foreheads pressed together, and how long Maia and Izzy had held onto each other, whispering their goodbyes. Would that have been Alec and Magnus had they not broken up?

He told himself he was being foolish. There was no use running over 'what if's in his mind, not at a time like this. Maybe Magnus didn't even care that Alec's was now risking his life every second he was fighting in this war. After all, Alec had told him not to worry about him anymore.

That memory caused Alec to squeeze his eyes shut in pain. Why had he told him that? To get over him? That hadn't done much good, because here he was, still thinking about him. Almost constantly.

He opened his eyes back up, and almost as soon as he did, he saw someone walk into the room, going around to check on the sick beds.

A chill went down Alec's spine at who it was: Victor. It felt like a cruel joke that Alec had just been thinking of Magnus, and now Victor was here.

Maybe if Alec closed his eyes, or covered himself in blankets, Victor wouldn't notice—

"Alec Lightwood. You have looked better."

Damn it.

Alec sat up in his bed. So much for getting any rest.

"Injuries do tend to happen when you're fighting in a war," he said, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his tone.

Victor walked over to him, considering him all the way. Something about his gaze made Alec feel like he was a prey and Victor was the predator. It was...highly disturbing.

"It's been just about a month since you last swore on the soul sword. Did you know that?" Victor asked.

Alec swallowed. This might have just been the most worried he had been since he'd arrived in Idris.

"I didn't, actually," Alec said, "Seeing as how we're, you know, in a war."

"Well, now is as good a time as any, I suppose. Guards? Could you escort me and Mr. Lightwood to the courthouse?"

Alec's mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened again. He had thought that the war would buy him some time, but he should have known better than to underestimate Victor.

"Are you kidding me?" Alec exclaimed, eyeing the guards wearily as they walked inside the room. They were...huge. "This can't wait until after we're done fighting?"

Victor shook his head. "You made a promise to me and the entire Clave. You have to follow up on it, or else—"

"Okay," Alec said, not wanting to hear the 'or else' that Victor had in mind. "I'll go."

He followed Victor out of the safe house, both of the guards surrounding them. He wondered why they were needed and what Victor would do to him once he figured out Alec had unintentionally broken their deal.

He couldn't think about that for too long. He was already nervous, and that train of thought wasn't doing much to help.

The courthouse seemed bigger without his siblings beside him. The soul sword also seemed more menacing now that he had something to hide, but Alec supposed that made sense.

Victor stood on one side of the sword while Alec stood on the other. He was looking down at him, and when Alec looked up, Victor gestured for him to get on with it.

Alec went to reach for the sword, hesitated, and then placed both of his hands back by his sides. "I...I have a confession to make."

"Go on," Victor told him.

"At the time we made the deal, I was...I was seeing a warlock, Magnus. I had no idea what he was until, well, until after the deal. We were romantically and, um, sexually involved."

Victor's lips pulled down into a frown. "I see."

"If — if you were to ask me the same questions, I wouldn't honestly be able to give you the same answers."

Victor was silent for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "That's not a problem. I'll just ask you different questions. How does that sound?"

Alec nodded, letting out a breath of relief. That sounded good to him. He then placed his hands on the soul sword and braced himself for Victor's questions.

"Is it true you had no idea Magnus was a warlock while we were making our deal?"

"Yes."

"What happened once you found out?"

Alec thought back to that day, frowning in remembrance of all the heartbreaking feelings it had brought about.

"We broke up the next day."

"When did you last communicate with Magnus?"

Alec was silent for a moment as he did the math in his head. "Two weeks."

"And the last time you saw him?"

"Three weeks."

Victor hummed. "So a week passed before you communicated with him again. Why is that?"

"There was — a warlock, who had been drained of blood. I thought it might have been him, so I called him. Just to make sure it wasn't."

"Hm. That makes it sound like you still have feelings for him. Do you?"

Alec spluttered. "That was — that was two weeks ago."

"You're not answering my question, Mr. Lightwood," Victor said sternly.

Alec tried to form the word no, but it got stuck in his throat. He couldn't say it, because it wasn't true.

"Yes. I do."

Victor frowned at him. "Alright. One more question, then." He looked Alec straight in the eyes. "Do you still have hope that you and Magnus will get back together again, despite your promises to the Clave?"

Alec knew this was the make-or-break question. He had to say no, or he would be forced to find out what Victor had meant when he had said 'or else'.

He tried to convince himself that he didn't want to get back together with Magnus. It wouldn't be the same, he told himself. Their time together had been nothing but a whirlwind romance that had ended up sizzling and burning out. Plus, Shadowhunters and Downworlders were so different. Would Alec and Magnus even be able to get along now that they knew what the other was?

(They were weak excuses and Alec knew it.)

He tried once again to say the word no, but he realized with growing anxiety that his mouth wouldn't form the word. Fuck.

He told himself that Magnus hated him, that he wouldn't ever take him back, and tried to say the word again, but it didn't work. It didn't work.

Alec had tried so hard so many times to say that one word that his eyes had teared up from his efforts. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and that he wouldn't be able to until he answered the question truthfully.

As he gasped out the answer to his question, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

It had been a yes.

Victor was looking at him pitifully as Alec composed himself. He rapidly removed his hands from the sword and wiped the wetness off his cheek, trying to focus on getting his breathing back in order. The weight of the sword was off of his shoulders, but he still felt a sort of heaviness inside of him.

"That was all I needed to hear. Guards? Arrest Alec Lightwood for openly disobeying the Clave's orders."

Alec gaped as the guards began to walk over to him. "What?!" He exclaimed, slowly backing away from them and from Victor. "You can't do this!"

"I can and I will," Victor told him, "In fact, I already have."

The two guards seized Alec by the shoulders, holding him back. Alec tried his best to shy out of their grasp, but they were strong. He knew it was no use.

"What about my family? I have to protect them, fight for them, I can't just sit in a prison cell—"

"You should have thought about that before falling in love with a Downworlder," Victor admonished, his voice harsh.

Alec tried to protest those words, to say that he wasn't in love with Magnus, but it felt like his hands were back on the soul sword again.

Alec loved him. He loved him like he hadn't ever loved anyone else.

The thought caused his breath to hitch in his throat. He loved him, and he wouldn't ever get to see him again.

"Oh, and speaking of your family, your siblings will no longer be able to see their Downworlder significant others. I'll inform them of this in the morning."

Alec's realization quickly formed into anger, and he tried with a renewed sense of strength to free himself from the guards. "No, you can't do that, you promised—"

"You also promised, Alec, but clearly you did not follow your own words. Therefore, I will not follow mine. That's how the world works."

Alec felt more anger than he had ever felt before. He figured that he was already going to spend a lifetime in prison, so he didn't have any qualms about shouting at Victor.

"You planned this!" He accused. "You knew from the start that I was seeing a warlock and that my siblings would have to break up with their loved ones. This so-called "deal" was a scam from the start!"

Victor crossed his arms over his chest. If anything, he looked smug. "You can't prove anything."

Alec opened his mouth to respond, to maybe yell some more, but it was then that he was being dragged out of the courthouse by the guards and into the crisp night air.

He knew he was on his way to the Idris prison. He just hoped that his family would be okay, and that they wouldn't hate him for destroying their relationships.

He hoped the Clave wouldn't go after Magnus either.

***

Magnus arrived to Idris bright and early the next morning with Luke by his side. He had wanted to get there as soon as possible, seeing as how there wasn't any time to be wasted.

He cast a protection spell over himself and Luke as they walked through a war zone to the main Clave building. Magnus couldn't know for sure, but it looked like the Shadowhunters were being slaughtered. There was still a good number of them fighting, but there was also a good number that were currently residing lifeless on the ground.

That thought brought Alexander to his mind. Was he alright? What would Magnus do if he were to see Alec, on the ground, not moving...

He stopped walking for a second. His breath had hitched in his throat and he felt like he couldn't breathe, couldn't move at just the mere thought.

"Magnus?" Luke asked him. "You alright?"

Magnus let out a breath. There was no use upsetting himself over Alec. It wasn't like he knew for sure that something terrible had happened to him, but it was just like Magnus to assume the worst.

"Sorry," he apologized to Luke, "It's all a bit...much. We can keep going."

Luke nodded and they continued their walk over to the Clave building. Once they reached it, Magnus unlocked the door with magic, and saw that there were Shadowhunters bustling all around.

He had no idea how he was supposed to find Victor or any other important members of the Clave.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to search for long. Victor was right in the middle of the room, a blonde-haired woman next to him, looking over some papers. Magnus gestured for Luke to follow him and walked right up to him.

"Aldertree," he said.

Victor looked up at him, and the pure shock that overtook his face was immediately evident. "Magnus," he responded in the same tone, "What exactly are you doing here? I don't remember Downworlders being able to stop by Idris whenever they so pleased. Especially not in times of war."

"That's what Luke and I wanted to talk to you about. It's important, so I'd prefer if we talked somewhere a bit more...private," Magnus murmured, glancing pointedly at all the Shadowhunters surrounding them.

Victor looked less than enthusiastic, but he eventually nodded, leading Magnus and Luke to his office, followed by the blonde woman.

Victor sat down behind his desk once they reached his office and gestured for Magnus and Luke to take a seat as well.

"Please, speak. I'm all ears," Victor said.

Somehow, even when he was being serious, he managed to sound sarcastic.

"Here's the thing," Luke started, "We know that you guys need all the help you can get. Your weapons are useless against the Forsaken, so that's where us Downworlders could come in and help."

Victor opened his mouth to respond, but Magnus held up his hand to silence him.

"That's not all. If us Downworlders are going to help you out, we expect just compensation in return."

"What would you like? Diamonds? Rubies? Emeralds?" Victor asked.

Magnus shook his head. "Not that kind of compensation."

Victor's brows creased. "What, then?"

"We want for the neutrality to end between Shadowhunters and Downworlders," Luke said.

"It's been going on for too long," Magnus agreed. "And for what? Some prejudices that were formed two hundred years ago?"

Victor shook his head. "Absolutely not. If that's the price we have to pay then we can fight this war on our own."

"Victor—" the blonde spoke up for the first time.

"Lydia," Victor responded, his voice firm. "There's no debating this. It's a ludicrous proposition."

"Is it, though?" Lydia, the blonde, asked. "Our people are getting wiped out like flies. And these two had a point when they said the Downworlders wouldn't have the same weapons disadvantage as us. If ending an ancient neutrality that none of us in this room were even alive for—"

Magnus coughed. Lydia looked over at him and corrected herself.

"Okay, that only one of us was alive for, is what it takes to save our people, then I say so be it."

"That's not up for you to decide," Victor said.

"No, but I can absolutely take this matter to the rest of the Clave and have them vote on it." Lydia directed her gaze back over to Magnus and Luke. "I'll be back. This shouldn't take long."

She then walked out of the room.

Victor looked over at Magnus and Luke in disinterest. However, his eyes lingered for a moment on Magnus, and his lips slowly moved up into a smirk.

"You know, I learned a lot from your little Shadowhunter friend last night. It's crazy how much someone can talk when the soul sword is involved."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. At the mere mention of Alec his heart had sped up in his chest. "What are you talking about?" He murmured.

"Well, first off, I found out about the relationship you were in while Alec promised not to be in a relationship with a Downworlder—"

"He didn't—"

"Know? Yes, I am aware. He told me that as well. Don't worry, I made sure that he was taken care of," Victor said, and stood up from his chair. "If you'll excuse me. I have more important matters at hand."

Magnus stood up as well. "What do you mean, 'taken care of'? Where is he?"

Victor didn't respond except for a smile and a wave, and then he was outside of the room. Magnus made to go after him but was held back by a hand to his chest. He looked over and saw that Luke had stood up as well, preventing him from going after Victor.

"He's trying to get to you. I'm sure Alec — is that his name?"

Magnus nodded numbly.

"I'm sure he's fine."

Magnus sat back down, his heart in his throat. He doubted that Victor would have just made that stuff up. Alec probably really had confessed more than he'd wanted to because of the soul sword, but what had Victor done to him afterwards? He couldn't be gone...the Clave didn't kill fellow Shadowhunters, right? Or did they?

"I wish I knew for sure," Magnus mumbled, and then shook his head, "There's more important things to be worried about right now. I don't know why I'm so concerned."

Luke shrugged. "You care about him. It's understandable to be worried about his wellbeing."

Despite the fact that Alec didn't want him to be.

Another twenty or so minutes passed before Lydia walked back into the room. Magnus was glad to see her: he had been spending his time doing nothing but worrying.

Both Magnus and Luke stood up to face her. Magnus tried to delve into what the response had been by the look on her face, but she remained straight-faced.

"I'm sorry, that took longer than I expected," she apologized. "After much debating, we finally reached a decision. The Clave has decided to abide by your request."

Magnus and Luke shared shocked looks amongst each other.

"However, there are some terms and conditions."

Damn it. Magnus should have known that the Clave would never make things that easy.

"What are they?" Luke asked.

"Well, there's really only one," Lydia corrected, "And it's that our neutrality will come to an end only if the Downworlders help us win the war. If we are to lose the war, the neutrality will still be in effect."

Magnus took a moment to think those words over. It was kind of a shitty condition. If the war was lost, the Downworlders would have to lose men and be forced to live under Valentine without any form of protection from the Shadowhunters, since the neutrality would still be in place.

Still, Magnus thought the Shadowhunters had a good shot at winning with the Downworlders by their sides. The risk seemed to be worth it. He looked over at Luke once more and saw that he was already nodding.

Magnus held out his hand to Lydia, as did Luke, and they both shook her hands.

"You have yourself a deal," Magnus said. "I'll alert the Downworlders, and we should be back to Idris by noon today."

Lydia smiled at them both. "Sounds good to me. I'll see you two then."

She walked back out of the room, and Magnus made a portal for himself and Luke back to New York City.

He had a lot of people to spread the news to.

***

While many Downworlders had not been pleased by the Clave's 'condition', most of them were just surprised that the Clave had agreed in the first place.

When Magnus arrived back in Idris, this time with his fellow warlocks and Downworlders, he could see exactly how badly the Shadowhunters needed their help. He had portaled everyone right in the middle of the fighting, and it seemed like Magnus could see more Forsaken and demons than he could Shadowhunters.

The Downworlders were quick to split up, though some fought together in pairs, such as Luke and Magnus. Before Luke had shifted into his wolf form, he had told Magnus that he would be more than happy to rip some Forsaken into shreds, if Magnus could just hold them back using his magic.

Magnus had agreed, and he was glad that he had, because the method worked beautifully. Magnus didn't use up too much magic doing this and neither of them had to worry about the Forsaken recovering once Luke was finished with them.

They were getting ready to get started on their fifth Forsaken of the day, magic activated and teeth bared, when a blond Shadowhunter made his way over to Magnus. He looked frantic, with a rather nasty cut on his forehead.

"Are you Magnus Bane?" He asked, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath from abruptly running over to him.

Magnus spared a look Luke's way, but saw that he was too busy with the Forsaken to notice the Shadowhunter.

"Yes, I am. Can I help you?"

The Shadowhunter let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I'm Jace Wayland, but I also go by Jace Lightwood."

With only those two words, everything clicked into place. This was Alec's younger brother.

"You're Alec's brother," Magnus said, just to make sure, and Jace nodded. "Is he — is he okay? I talked to Victor and he said that he was taken care of. I wasn't sure what that meant..."

Jace's lips pulled down into a frown. "My brother was arrested last night and sent to prison here in Idris without so much as a trial or a jury."

All the worry Magnus had been feeling over Alec's life suddenly flowed out of him. Alec was alive. He hadn't died in battle, or been 'taken care of' in the way Magnus had assumed. Sure, prison was bad, but they could get him out of that. Death? Not so much.

"What can I do to help?" Magnus asked.

A Shax demon came charging towards Jace before he could answer, and he quickly lodged his seraph blade into the creature's back. He then looked back to Magnus.

"Think we could talk some place a bit safer?" He questioned pointedly.

Magnus blew out a breath. "That might be for the best."

He found Dot and got her to assist Luke before going off with Jace. Once they had made it to a more secure part of the city, Jace began to talk.

"There's no way I could take on the guards all by myself. There's usually two or three, and I'm only one person. But...I thought that if I had a warlock on my side, there'd be better odds, and that you might like to help since you and my brother used to care for one another."

Used to. Magnus could have laughed at the words. Obviously he still cared about Alec, even if Alec didn't care for him back.

"Do you have an Invisibility rune?" Magnus asked. When Jace nodded, he continued. "Draw that once we get to the prison. I'll distract the guards while you get the keys from them. Sound good?"

"Yea, that sounds good," Jace agreed as they started the walk to the prison, "Thank you. For helping me. I was so worried about Alec when I heard the news—"

"So was I," Magnus said with a small, sad laugh.

Jace looked over at him with something akin to surprise. He then smiled slightly. "You know, when Alec was with you, he was the happiest I'd ever felt him. We're Parabatai, so I could feel it through our bond."

Magnus' heart fluttered in his chest. He wasn't exactly sure why Jace was telling him this.

"He made me happy, too. Happier than I've been in...centuries."

He watched as Jace's smile turned into a frown. "I'm sorry, about what happened. But...if it makes you feel any better, he still cares about you. A lot."

Should Magnus have been glad to hear it? He supposed he was, in a way, but mostly he was just reminded of how much he wanted Alec, and how much Alec apparently wanted him back.

He wondered what would happen once the neutrality was broken. Would Shadowhunters and Downworlders be able to date?

Magnus quickly shook the thought from his mind. Thinking like that was a dangerous path that Magnus didn't want to tread on.

Once they made it to the prison, they both stopped, standing for a moment to take it all in. Magnus was aware of the consequences if their plan went wrong. They could end up in prison right alongside Alec, or, in Magnus' case, he could be sent to death. Magnus knew the Clave wouldn't hesitate to kill a Downworlder, especially one who had been active in bringing about an end to the neutrality.

Still, it seemed worth it. None of the consequences seemed to matter if Magnus could see Alec again...

"You should probably activate that rune now," Magnus told Jace, who looked like he had been wrapped up in his own thoughts.

Jace nodded, got out his stele, and drew the rune onto his forearm. Then he was gone.

"Stay behind me and don't go after the keys until I signal you to, okay?"

There was silence.

"Jace?" Magnus asked worriedly.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I was nodding," said Jace's voice from somewhere behind him, "Don't worry, I'll do that."

Magnus huffed out a quiet laugh and then finished making his way to the prison. He opened up the doors, lingering for a bit so Jace could slip inside as well, and was almost immediately met by two guards.

"What are you doing here?" One of them asked him in a harsh voice.

Magnus purposely looked around the prison. There wasn't much to see, except a staircase that apparently led to the prison cells. The lighting in the room was terrible.

"Ohhh, this isn't a bathroom," Magnus said, putting a hand to his chest as he fake-laughed. "You know us warlocks, we're terrible with directions."

The guards had looked confused and somewhat disinterested as Magnus had spoken, but once he confessed to being a warlock, he knew he had their full attentions. He gestured behind him with two fingers for Jace to go ahead and take the keys from one of the guards' belts.

"You're a warlock?" The other guard asked. "I know you're apparently helping us out, but you're still not allowed to be down here. You're going to have to come with us."

Magnus hummed, watching from the corner of his eye as the keys began to move in midair.

"See, that's not going to work for me. I'm afraid that someone who is very dear to me was placed down here last night, wrongfully so, and I'm not leaving until I get him back."

The guards looked at each other. "You're talking about Alec Lightwood, aren't you?" One of them asked.

Magnus smiled brightly. "How'd you know?" He asked.

"We were told by Victor Aldertree to be on watch for a warlock asking to see him, said that it wasn't to be permitted. I'm sorry, but you're definitely going to have to come with us."

"I'm sorry too, but I'm not going to let anything stand in my way of him."

The guards began to close the space between themselves and Magnus, so Magnus hurriedly threw up a stand-still spell, freezing them in place. He had been planning on using a magical chokehold until they both passed out, but they had been surprisingly not as ignorant as Magnus had expected. He wouldn't have felt right harming them.

However, the spell had a time limit to it. He and Jace had fifteen to twenty minutes to get Alec the hell out of here before the spell wore off.

Magnus didn't see the keys anymore, so he assumed Jace had already made his way downstairs to find his brother. Magnus followed after him, his heart in his throat at the fact that he was getting ready to see Alec again.

It had only been about three weeks since Magnus had saw him last, but it felt like centuries. He just hoped Alec was as glad to see Magnus as Magnus was to see him.

***

Alec had given up hope on trying to yell for help. The cells were so far down in the ground that no one could hear him.

Once he had truly given up, Alec had slid down the wall of his cell, resting his head against the cool, hard concrete. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

However, trying to fall asleep had been a mistake. He hadn't known that the prison brought out Shadowhunters' worst fears while they slept, but he had quickly found that out by dreaming of both Izzy and Jace coming down to rescue him, only to be killed by Valentine. He knew, logically, the dream didn't make any sense, but he had still woken up gasping, tears in his eyes.

He hadn't tried to sleep after that.

Alec wasn't sure how long he had been down here when he heard footsteps walking down the long hallway, passing the prison cells. He opened his eyes and stood up, staring in the direction that the footsteps were coming from. For some reason, Alec had been placed in a cell faraway from the other prisoners, so if someone was down here, they had to be down here for Alec.

He tried his hardest to spot someone, but there was no one to be seen.

Maybe it was Valentine or a Forsaken, come to put him out of his misery.

Okay, realistically that made about as much sense as the dream had.

"Alec," a voice said, and Alec's eyes went wide.

"Who's there?" He asked shakily.

He heard a curse, and then Jace was standing there, right in front of his cell.

Alec grabbed onto the metal bars, taking in Jace's appearance. Had Alec fallen asleep again? Was he going to have to watch Jace be yet again brutally murdered right in front of him?

"Are you real?" Alec whispered.

Jace's eyebrows crinkled. "Bro, of course I'm real." He jangled a pair of golden keys in his hands. "I've come to break you out."

As Jace inserted a key into the lock, Alec backed away, watching in amazement as the door swung open. He was quick to exit the cell, practically trembling with how glad he was to be out of there. He kept wondering when he would open his eyes and wake up.

"How did — how did you take out the guards all by yourself?" Alec asked Jace, not even try to hide the awe from his face.

"I wasn't by myself, in fact—"

"Most of that was me," said another a voice.

Alec quickly turned his head in the direction of the voice and his mouth dropped open at who it was.

"Magnus," Alec breathed.

Magnus smiled slightly. He looked...unsure. "Hello, Alexander."

Alec's eyes raked up and down Magnus' form, just taking him in. He was dressed in a navy blue button up, covered by a black, suede, double breasted coat, black pants, and black fingerless hand gloves. His hair had fiery, blood-red streaks in it and his eyes were covered in charcoal black.

He looked like he was ready for battle.

Before another second could be wasted, Alec threw himself at Magnus, wrapping him up in a strong hug. He heard Magnus' breath hitch before he was hugging him back just as tight.

Alec buried his head in Magnus' neck. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he choked out.

Magnus pulled away for a second, their faces close enough that they could feel each other's breath. Then he reached out, holding Alec's cheek in his hand. Alec immediately leaned into the touch, his eyes slipping shut. He felt like all of his troubles and worries had gone away from just that one touch alone.

"I thought the same," Magnus whispered, and Alec opened his eyes to look at him. "Victor made it sound like you had...like you had died."

"I'm here," Alec responded immediately, "And you're...you're here. I can't believe you're really here."

Magnus smiled at him, his thumb brushing over the skin of Alec's cheek. "I missed you," he admitted, his voice soft.

"I missed you too," Alec echoed, not missing a moment, "I'm sorry for how awful I was to you. I was trying to get over my feelings for you, but I. It's not like it worked."

Magnus raised a curious eyebrow and Alec took a deep breath.

"Magnus, I—"

"Guys, I hate to ruin the moment, but I'm afraid we have a little problem on our hands here," Jace said.

Alec's shoulders sagged as Magnus stepped away from him, looking behind him. Alec did the same and felt his eyes widen when he was met with the sight of an entire pack of ravener demons making their way down the prison's halls.

"How the hell did they get down here?" Alec hissed.

"I'm guessing they sensed Shadowhunter blood," Jace said, his lips turning down into a frown. "Alec, where's your weapon?"

Alec cursed. "I don't have it. I left it back at the safe house, and it would have been confiscated anyways..."

Magnus squeezed Alec's hand for a second and Alec turned to look at him. "Stay behind me, okay? I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Alec felt his heart pick up pace at the words, but he shook his head. "I don't want to feel like a liability."

"Then consider it me making things even between us," Magnus said, a smirk forming on his lips.

Alec smiled too, ducking his head as he remembered saving Magnus' life from another pack of ravener demons. Jace went to stand next to Magnus and Alec stood behind them, hating the feeling of being helpless but knowing that he didn't have a choice.

***

Fighting the ravener demons hadn't taken long, but it had used up a lot of Magnus' magic. Alec could also see that Jace had overexerted himself as well.

"Let's go back to the safe house," Alec suggested, "You both can get some rest and I can pick up my weapons."

"I'm fine," Jace said, and Alec sent him a dirty look.

"You're clearly not. You're coming with me and Magnus. Hopefully Izzy will be there and she can mend that gash on your head," Alec said, his eyes raking up and down the wound worriedly.

"Izzy," Magnus repeated, "Younger sister, right?"

Alec smiled over at him. "Sure is. She's going to be so excited to meet you. Well, if she's there. I hope she is."

There seemed to be double the amount of Shadowhunters at the safe house since Alec had last been there. It made his stomach drop to see how many of his people had been injured, and to think of how many more had been killed.

His thoughts were interrupted by a girl running over to him and wrapping him up in a big hug. He didn't even have to look to know that it was Izzy.

He hugged her back, just as glad to see her as she was to see him.

"Jace told me what happened. I was so worried," she murmured, her voice muffled by Alec's chest.

Alec ran a hand through her hair. "It's alright. I'm here," he reassured her, "Izzy, there's someone I want you to meet."

Izzy moved out of his arms, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion before Alec tilted his head towards Magnus. She looked over at him, and Alec could've swore he saw her eyes actually go starry.

"Izzy, this is Magnus. Magnus, Izzy."

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you!" Izzy exclaimed, holding her hand out for Magnus to shake.

Magnus, however, went a step further, placing a light kiss to her hand. "The pleasure's all mine," he told her.

Izzy giggled at him and looked over at Alec, her expression suddenly deathly serious. "I love him," she whispered, in a 'if you do anything else to mess this up I will end you' sort of way, and then smiled back at Magnus.

"I was actually hoping you could take a look at Jace?" Alec asked her. "We were attacked by a pack of ravener demons, and he'd already had a gash on his forehead."

Izzy took one look at Jace and clucked her tongue.

"I'm fine," Jace said, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest.

"If your head wasn't injured I'd smack you upside it," Izzy told him sternly, "You are not fine. Come with me."

She pinched his ear and dragged him by it, Jace's "ow, ow, ow's" audible until they rounded a corner out of the room.

Alec looked back at Magnus now that it was just the two of them and saw that he was laughing.

"She's amazing," he told Alec, "But I didn't expect anything less from what you told me about her."

"Do you want to...I can show you where I'm staying. So you can rest," Alec suggested.

Magnus nodded and followed behind Alec as he began to walk. He was suddenly overwhelmingly happy that Maryse had found this place early enough that she had been able to get Alec his own room. Not that Alec wanted to pull anything, both he and Magnus were worn thin and this was hardly an appropriate time or place, but. He just...wanted to be alone with Magnus. They hadn't truly been alone together since they'd said their goodbyes and had their last kiss.

Alec opened the door to his bedroom and held it for Magnus to go inside before walking in after him. He lightly shut the door behind him and watched as Magnus sat down on Alec's bed, humming delightedly as he did so.

"Oh, this is heavenly. I don't know why I expected Shadowhunter beds to be stiff and uncomfortable," Magnus said.

Alec breathed out a laugh and walked over to him, hesitating once he was right in front of him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked quietly.

Magnus pursed his lips as he thought about it. "I used to...I had heard stories, long ago, of warlocks being able to gain their magic back faster by latching onto Shadowhunter energy. I'm not sure if it's true."

"How would I be able to give it to you?"

"The energy could be passed in any way that the Shadowhunter and the warlock were connected." Magnus then shook his head, diverting his gaze down to the floor. "That sounded dirty. I'm pretty sure just doing as much as holding hands should do the trick."

Alec looked down at where Magnus' hand was resting on the bed and took a step closer, slipping his hand into Magnus' own. His eyes never left Magnus' face as his eyes widened slightly and his breath hitched.

"Is it working?" Alec asked, even though he thought he could feel it: a slight tug in his veins as he transferred his energy to Magnus.

Magnus nodded, his lips moving into a small smile. "Yea, it absolutely is. I'm not sure how I never noticed this before. Maybe you have to be willing to give your energy to me?"

"I'm not sure," Alec whispered.

"Well, whatever it might be, thank you," Magnus muttered, "I appreciate you doing this for me."

Alec wanted to say he would do anything for Magnus, but he (luckily) caught himself before he could. God, he was embarrassing, but Magnus was right there for the first time in so long, and Alec...Alec loved him. This was the first time they had been together since Alec had realized that.

"Magnus," he breathed out, and was surprised to hear how heavy the emotion was in his own voice. "If something happens to either of us—"

"Hey," Magnus interrupted sharply, "Don't talk like that. We're going to be fine."

"Maybe, but...maybe not," Alec said, no matter how much it pained him. "And if something does happen, I need to know that I said it. That I...told you this."

Magnus reached up with his free hand, cupping Alec's cheek for the second time that day, and Alec held onto that hand as well, wanting to hold onto Magnus as much as possible.

"I'm all ears," Magnus told him softly.

"When — when Victor told me that I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison, I thought I'd never see you again. And it...it made me realize something, something important." Alec let out a shaky breath. "Magnus, I...I love you. Like I've never loved anyone else in my life."

Magnus' eyes went wide at the confession, his lips slightly parted in shock. They turned into a small smile as he pulled Alec closer, their lips just a breath away from each other.

"I love you, too, Alexander," he whispered, and then he was leaning up and locking their lips together.

The angle was immediately awkward, so Alec moved to sit down next to Magnus, never breaking the kiss. With the better angle Magnus was able to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping into Alec's mouth and Alec shivering in his arms.

God, how he'd missed this, the feel of Magnus' lips pulling at his own, his hands moving to Alec's shoulders to pull him closer, their chests pressing together as the space between their bodies closed.

They only broke the kiss once they absolutely had to take a breath, but their eyes remained locked.

"This is probably a bad idea," Alec whispered, "I'm technically a criminal now."

Magnus wiggled his eyebrows. "That's kinda hot," he said lowly.

Alec huffed out a laugh and smacked Magnus teasingly in the chest, Magnus giggling to himself all the while.

"You mentioned that if we won the war, the neutrality between Shadowhunters and Downworlders would end. Would that...include them being able to date each other, or?" Alec asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of his own voice. He sounded pathetically enthusiastic, but he wasn't just thinking of his own relationship. He also had Jace and Izzy's to think about.

"I'm not sure. I would assume so, but with the Clave it's hard to tell."

Alec nodded. Magnus had a point there. "If we survive this—"

"When."

Alec rolled his eyes. "When we survive this, I'll most likely still have a trial against me. I might have to go back to prison."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Magnus protested.

"The Clave thinks I lied to them. Plus, you know, there's the whole breaking out of prison thing."

Magnus yawned and sleepily patted Alec on the chest. "We'll deal with that when it comes our way." He then toed off his shoes and laid back on the bed, letting out a pleased moan. "What are these things made out of? Angel wings?"

Alec snorted. "Pretty sure that would be illegal," he said, and then leaned down to press a quick kiss to Magnus' lips.

Well, what he intended to be a quick kiss, but then Magnus was pulling him closer and rolling them around so his body was on top of Alec's, pressing him into the sheets.

Alec let out a breath as Magnus' lips moved from his mouth, to his cheek, and then to his jaw, resulting in feather-light kisses that had Alec giggling softly.

"You should sleep," he told Magnus, but threw his head back when Magnus' lips started moving down his neck. "Mm, I'm — I'm serious."

"I haven't seen you in weeks, Alexander. I have needs."

Alec snorted. "And those needs can be met after we win this stupid war."

"Not if you go to prison," Magnus said, obviously trying to keep his tone lighthearted, but when Alec looked up at him, he wasn't meeting his eyes.

"You could always break me out again," Alec teased, though he then sobered at the genuinely upset look Magnus gave him. "Look, Magnus, I don't...I can't promise that I won't end up in jail, but I don't think I will. The Clave will be mad when they find out Victor arrested me without a trial and without any other reasoning except my feelings for you. That shouldn't be enough to send me to jail for the rest of my life."

Magnus moved so he was no longer on top of Alec, instead lying down next to him.

"I'll go to your trial. If you have one," he murmured, and when Alec nodded, he leaned in to press another lingering kiss to Alec's lips.

Alec wasn't sure how long they kissed like that, just slow and lazy and not going anywhere, but it seemed like awhile. Eventually Alec pulled away, repeating that Magnus should get some sleep.

"Will you stay with me?" Magnus whispered.

"Of course."

Magnus moved to his side and rested his head on Alec's shoulder, his arms wrapping snugly around his waist. Alec rested his head against Magnus' own and listened as his breath evened out almost instantly in sleep. The fact that Alec himself hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours combined with Magnus' warm body and the softness of the bed had his own eyes slipping shut, and within only a few seconds, he was asleep.

***

There was something kind of exciting about fighting with Alec by his side. Magnus wasn't sure what it was: whether it was that he always had someone by his side, someone who loved him, looking after him, or the fact that Magnus could watch after Alec at the same time.

Plus, it was clear that Alec was quite competitive. When things got boring, he'd make a game out of who could kill the most demons and Forsaken between them. Magnus clearly had the advantage with the Forsaken, but Alec, being a Shadowhunter, was very skilled at killing demons.

It was kind of hot, too, seeing Alec dressed all in black, his biceps making themselves very well known as he drew his bow, shooting demon after demon.

Magnus could tell that Alec felt the same way about him, too. He had been dealing with a particularly nasty Forsaken that just wouldn't die, so Magnus had used his magic to put him in a chokehold, slit his throat, and then kicked him backwards.

He had heard a thump only a few seconds afterwards and looked behind himself, seeing that Alec was on his back with a ravener demon on his chest. Magnus had cursed and quickly disposed of the demon, offering Alec his hand to help him up.

"What the hell happened?" Magnus asked him.

Alec still looked a bit dazed. "Um," he'd said, scratching at his neck. "You really, uh, showed that Forsaken who was boss."

And Magnus had laughed, throwing his head back before pulling Alec into a brief kiss.

"Keep it in your pants, Shadowhunter. We're in the middle of a war," he'd told Alec, purposely making his voice come off as scandalized.

Alec had smiled and rolled his eyes, and they had then gone back to fighting, side by side.

***

To almost everyone's surprise, the war ended just about as quickly as it had started. A Clave member named Hodge Starkweather had been revealed to be an informant for Valentine, and it hadn't taken much to get him to talk. He revealed where Valentine was hiding and a group of Shadowhunters had gone after him, not hesitating to bring him into custody.

After that the constant stream of Forsaken and demons had stopped, and it had only been a matter of time before the last remaining ones had been killed.

Alec had been thrilled: of course he had. He and Magnus were still alive, and both Jace and Izzy were okay, too.

The two of them had immediately run over to him once the war had been won and they'd all crushed each other in a strong hug, both Jace and Alec spinning Izzy around as she laughed cheerfully.

Alec had looked over Magnus' way, seeing that he was surrounded by three people: Raphael, the warlock Alec had met at the Downworlder meeting (Ragnor?), and a woman whom Alec had never met before. He assumed she was a warlock, as well.

But that feeling of joy hadn't lasted for long. Alec had been so consumed in his siblings' happiness and his own that he hadn't noticed Victor walking over to him until he was right there next to him, Lydia by his side.

"Alec Lightwood. What a surprise to see you out here," Victor said.

Alec pursed his lips. "You put me in prison without a trial or a jury. That's illegal."

"So I'm assuming a fellow Clave member was the one to release you?" He asked, and when Alec didn't respond, he nodded. "No? I didn't think so. You're going to have come with us."

Alec was surprised that they hadn't brought any guards with them, but then Lydia was bounding his wrists together in handcuffs locked by runes, and he wasn't as surprised anymore.

"Alec—" Izzy started, moving to go after him but being held back by Jace.

"Iz, it's alright. I'm gonna be fine," he assured her.

He looked over at Magnus and saw that he was looking right back at him, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. Alec offered a small smile and Magnus tried to smile back, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

As Alec was led through the courtyard, he felt multiple pairs of eyes on him, as well as some whisperings. He was uncomfortably reminded of just how much Idris loved to gossip, and knew he would be all they could talk about for weeks if not months.

Once he got to the courthouse, he saw his mother, and she immediately rushed over to him.

"Alec, what did you do?" She asked, her voice terrified.

It was nice to see her alive and well, too.

"I'm afraid it's a rather long story, Mrs. Lightwood," Victor told her, "Alec will be having a trial here in Idris tomorrow. You'll be able to find out a little more about what your son has been up to then."

Maryse just stared after them as they walked away, her mouth agape. She looked as if she didn't know whether to be furious or concerned.

One of the only good things about having a trial tomorrow was that Alec got to be placed in a holding cell and not the hellhole he had been placed in by Victor before.

"We'll be seeing each other again tomorrow, Mr. Lightwood," Victor told him, and Alec gave him the nastiest look he could muster before he walked out of the room.

He then sat down on his bench. He was going to be here for a while.

***

Alec's trial was at eight o'clock. Magnus had no idea why it was so early in the morning, but he didn't mind. It wasn't like he had slept much, anyway.

Catarina had spent the night at his loft the night before the trial, knowing without say that he most likely didn't want to be alone. Magnus had gotten her to help him pick out his suit for the trial (a black pinstripe suit with a long-sleeved white button up and magenta tie, as opposed to the velvet suit he had been thinking about. Catarina had told him that he would probably draw too much attention to himself in the latter, since Shadowhunters and the Clave all dressed so drably, and Magnus hadn't been able to argue with her on that.) and they had spent the rest of the night chatting.

Before Magnus could portal to Idris the next morning, Catarina stopped him, taking both of his hands in hers.

"You look great," she told him earnestly, "Alec won't know what hit him."

Magnus nodded, his lips turning up into a small smile. "Maybe, if everything goes well, you could meet him. And Ragnor, officially this time."

"I'd love that. I've heard enough about him," Catarina teased, and Magnus rolled his eyes before blowing her a kiss and stepping through the portal.

It was amazing how much...cleaning up had taken place since Magnus had last been to Idris. The streets were pretty much all the way clean, save for some blood and black ichor.

Magnus made his way over to the courthouse, took a deep breath, and then opened up the double doors. His stomach swelled up with nerves when he saw the courthouse was already filled with Shadowhunters, just about all of whom turned their heads to look at him. Magnus held his head high and clenched his jaw as he made his way down the aisle. The only problem was that he didn't exactly know where to sit.

Luckily for him, a certain brunette Shadowhunter hurriedly got up from her seat and walked over to Magnus: Isabelle Lightwood. She was dressed in a long, sleeveless red bodycon dress, and her dark hair was done up in an intricate ponytail.

"Magnus," she greeted, her smile bright despite the clear worry on her face. "I'm so glad you could make it, do you...would you like to sit with Jace and I?"

"I'd love that," Magnus responded, and Izzy led him over to where her and her brother sitting, towards the front of the room. Jace greeted him once he sat down, but the worry on his face was just as evident as Izzy's.

Magnus didn't take that as a good sign. Jace and Izzy clearly knew the Clave better than he did, and if they were worried that Alec would be found guilty...

Not much time passed before the double doors were opening again, this time with two Silent Brothers, the Inquisitor, and, of course, Alec. He'd been able to get changed for his trial and was dressed in a light gray suit, his hands restrained in handcuffs as the Silent Brothers led him down the aisle.

As he passed Magnus' row, his head turned to the side and his eyes widened at the sight of Magnus. Magnus raised his hand in a slight wave and Alec smiled at him, looking visibly relieved, before focusing back in front of him.

His hands were uncuffed so he could place them on the soul sword as the inquisitor took her seat at the front of the room.

"Do you swear on your life to tell the truth and nothing but the truth during this trial?" She asked Alec.

"Yes, I do," Alec responded.

He was then led to sit to the right of the Inquisitor, facing all of the Shadowhunters in the room. Magnus' eyes raked over his face. He wondered if he was nervous. He had to be, right? There was a good chance he would be spending the rest of his life in jail...

The thought had his stomach turning once again. He could not wait for this entire thing to be over with.

"Let's start with the very generous offer the Clave made for you and your siblings. Do you personally feel as if you broke that deal?" The Inquisitor asked.

Alec shook his head. "Not intentionally. I had no idea I was with a Downworlder at the time that I was swearing off all Downworlders."

"How could you not know? Did he not see your runes? And you his mark?"

"I often glamoured my runes, as he did with his mark. We both thought the other was a mundane until..."

"Until?"

Alec's eyes trailed downwards as he clearly remembered the time. "It was only about a week after the deal was made. He was surrounded by ravener demons, so I saw his magic, and he saw my runes."

"How long after this did you continue to see each other?"

Alec shook his head. "We didn't. We broke up the next day."

The Inquisitor's lips turned down into a frown. "So if you were no longer involved, then why did Victor place you in prison?"

"Because..." Alec trailed off, his eyes meeting Magnus' in the crowd. Magnus offered him a small, reassuring smile. "Because the feelings were still there. I admitted to wanting us to get back together, despite the Clave's wishes."

There was some murmuring around the room. Alec's head dropped.

"And would you have?"

"Would I have...?" Alec asked.

"Continued your relationship with the Downworlder, despite the Clave's wishes?"

So that's what Magnus was now: "The Downworlder".

"No," Alec said, which was followed by some gasps around the room, "I knew that I had made a deal, and I wouldn't have let personal feelings get in the way of that. Not if it meant risking my siblings' own relationships."

Magnus saw both Izzy and Jace smile out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't surprised by Alec's confession: he knew that Alec tended to put family above himself, and he would never be able to be in a relationship that jeopardized his siblings' happiness.

"Did Victor ask you the same question I just did?"

Alec shook his head. "No."

"Then why were you placed in prison following the start of the war?" The Inquisitor asked, her eyebrows drawn together.

Alec shrugged. "Personal animosity, maybe? I'm still not entirely sure. I never meant to break our deal, and I thought Victor knew that."

"So you don't believe you broke our deal, but there's still the matter of you breaking out of jail."

Magnus saw Jace grimace and quickly divert his eyes to his lap. Magnus kept his own eyes on Alec, not wanting to look away for a moment, just in case...

"I had to help my family. I'm the first born, its always been my job to look after them, and if something had happened to them while I was just sitting around..."

"You weren't just sitting around. You were incarcerated," the Inquisitor corrected, her voice stern. "Did you believe your reasoning for escaping was more logical than any of the other countless escapees we've had in the past?"

Alec gaped. "I didn't even have a trial and jury. I was wrongly placed in jail, and you know it!"

"I do not know anything, Mr. Lightwood, and I would prefer it if you did not make assumptions on my behalf."

The room had gone eerily silent. Magnus looked over at Jace and Izzy and saw that their smiles were gone. They looked pale as sheets.

"What's happening?" Magnus whispered to them.

"You don't talk back to the Inquisitor," Izzy told him.

"It's a death sentence," Jace added.

Magnus looked back at the front of the room and saw that the Inquisitor and Alec were still arguing, but he couldn't hear them. Not anymore. He'd thought the trial had been going well, but just like that, the tables had turned, and now it wasn't looking so great...

"I believe I've conducted enough information. The jury will be out with the verdict momentarily," the Inquisitor announced, before walking over to that said jury.

Magnus tried to imagine sitting here while Alec was declared guilty, tried to imagine what he would do...but he couldn't. He couldn't so much as think about sitting here while the man he loved was sentenced to a life in prison.

He knew that Alec had been glad to see him, but Magnus couldn't stay here for another second. He felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest from the anxiety.

"I'm sorry, I have — go," he apologized to Jace and Izzy, shaking both of their hands. "If you get to talk to Alec be...beforehand, tell him I'm sorry, and that I love him."

The two Lightwoods looked confused, but Magnus didn't know how to explain to them that it felt like his heart was breaking all over again, so instead he rose from his seat and made his way back down the aisle.

He could practically feel Alec's eyes on him as he did so. Magnus wanted to mouth an apology to him, anything, but he didn't have the strength.

Instead, he opened the double doors and made his way out of the courthouse.

***

As soon as Magnus had started to walk away, Alec had stood up, wanting more than anything to go after him. Of course, the Inquisitor had quickly scolded him to sit back down, and that had been the end of that fantasy.

As the jury deliberated, Alec wondered what had made Magnus leave. Was he alright? What if Alec never saw him and never properly got to tell him goodbye?

Alec closed his eyes. He hoped the jury was quick in their deliberations.

Much to Alec's surprise, the jury actually didn't take too long. It was only a few minutes later that the Inquisitor was walking back to the front of the room, her face grave.

Was that a bad sign? Would she have shown some happiness if Alec was found not guilty? Probably not. She seemed like a rather emotionless type of person.

"The jury finds Alexander Lightwood to be...not guilty," she announced.

Alec's mouth dropped open and his eyes immediately found his siblings', who he saw were smiling and hugging each other.

"The ruling was that he never intentionally broke his deal, and that he does not deserve to live a life in prison for simply trying to help his family."

"So...I can be with Magnus? And my siblings are allowed to pursue their relationships again?"

The Inquisitor hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Now that the neutrality is over, the three of you can be with...whoever you please."

Alec smiled, unable to contain his happiness. The Inquisitor announced that the case was over and Alec immediately hurried over to his siblings. The room was buzzing with conversation, so it was rather hard to hear them, but Alec tried his best.

"I was so worried about you," Izzy exclaimed, wrapping Alec up in a hug. Jace soon joined in, the three of them taking in the fact that they wouldn't have to say goodbye to each other any time soon.

"I was worried, too. Do you...do you happen to have any idea where Magnus went?" Alec asked.

Jace and Izzy shared a look before shaking their heads.

"He said that he was sorry," Jace said.

"Oh, and that he loved you," Izzy added, a small smile on her face at the words.

Alec nodded, wondering if it would be rude to leave his siblings in the hopes of finding Magnus. Izzy must have seen the conflicted look on his face because she placed a hand on his arm, meeting his eyes.

"Go to him, hermano. It's alright. Jace and I understand, right, Jace?"

Jace nodded. "Absolutely. You and Magnus deserve this, after everything you've been through."

Alec smiled and wrapped them both up in another short hug. "Thank you," he whispered to them, and then all but ran out of the courthouse.

It hadn't actually been that long since Magnus had left the courthouse — that's what gave Alec some hope that he would be able to find him.

"Magnus!" He called out, running down the steps and looking through the courtyard for him. Had he already portalled back to his loft?

God, Alec hoped not. He wanted to see him, and he wanted to see him now.

He turned back around to face the courthouse, debating whether or not he should go back inside to tell his siblings that he'd be leaving Idris for Magnus' loft.

Just as he was about to do so, he felt a hand on his arm and quickly spun around, his heart soaring when he saw that it was Magnus. Alec didn't hesitate in pulling him in for a hug, burying his head in his neck.

"I was about to portal home when I heard you call for me," Magnus told him, "What...what are you doing outside of the courthouse?"

Alec pulled away from the hug to look at him, his face breaking out into a grin. "I don't — I was found not guilty. I'm free to go."

Magnus' jaw dropped, his eyes going wide. "But I thought...everyone was making it sound like..."

Alec shook his head. He was smiling was so wide that his face was starting to hurt. "No, I'm free to go. To...be with you."

Magnus smiled too and then he was pulling Alec in for a kiss, his hands going to Alec's cheeks. Alec's arms wrapped around his waist so there was quite literally no space between them, wanting Magnus as close as possible.

They kissed until Shadowhunters began pouring out of the courthouse, sending scandalized looks their way at how intimately the two were connected.

Alec was the one to pull away, laughing quietly in disbelief that he could do this now, he could kiss Magnus whenever he wanted to.

Magnus was touching his bottom lip with his thumb, looking as if he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Let's go home," Magnus suggested, and Alec looked at him, immediately seeing the loaded look in his eyes.

Alec swallowed thickly. "Yeah, let's — let's do. That," he said, very eloquently.

Magnus laughed openly at him and then magicked them up a portal, taking Alec's hand in his before pulling him through it.

***

It wasn't like things were suddenly perfect once the end of the neutrality came to be. There were still a lot of negative feelings between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders, but everyone was at least trying to be better. If a Downworlder needed help, a Shadowhunter was there, and the Downworld hotspots were made open to Shadowhunters.

It was a start, and Magnus much preferred this to being hostilely neutral towards one another.

Things with Alec were...amazing. Magnus didn't know how else to describe them. It was so nice getting to be with him while a war wasn't going on: it was something that Magnus never thought he'd be able to have.

He introduced Alec to Catarina and Ragnor. Alec and Catarina immediately took a liking to one another, though Ragnor was a little more hesitant in accepting Alec.

At least he shook his hand this time.

Magnus also went out on a triple date with Alec's siblings and Maia and Simon. It was a lot of fun, and it was clear to Magnus just how much everyone cared about each other at their table. For some reason Alec had held onto Magnus extra tight that night, and when Magnus had asked about it, Alec had told him that there had been a time he'd gone out with his siblings and their significant others and hadn't had Magnus by his side. Magnus had smiled sadly and kissed Alec a little extra that night, too.

It had been about a month since the war's end when an idea came to Magnus' mind. He told Alec to pack up a suitcase and meet Magnus outside of his loft. Alec had been confused at first (adorably so), but he had ultimately done as Magnus had asked.

"What's this all about?" Alec asked the next morning, eyeing Magnus' own suitcase curiously.

"Well, now that everything has calmed down, I thought we could take a little vacation. If that's okay with you, of course."

Alec's eyes lit up. "Really?" He asked, not even trying to hide his giant smile.

Magnus smiled, too. What could he say? Alec's smile was contagious.

"Really. I know you said you always wanted to travel, so."

"Yeah, yes, absolutely," Alec exclaimed, "Where to?"

Magnus winked at him. "That's a secret, Alexander." He used his magic to create a portal for them and then held his hand out for Alec to take. "You ready?"

Alec nodded quickly and placed his hand in Magnus', the two of them walking into the portal.

They arrived inside of a lavishly decorated apartment. Magnus set down his suitcase and looked over at Alec, watching his reaction as his eyes took in the panoramic windows.

"Oh my God," he murmured and made his way over to the windows. "That's the Tower Bridge. We're...we're in London."

Magnus smiled and walked over next to him, taking in the view of the city from his window. He hadn't been here in years, and the sight of the city never failed to take his breath away.

"That we are," Magnus told him.

Alec tore his gaze away from the city and looked over at Magnus, his eyes starry. "And this is your apartment?"

"Sure is."

"Wow," Alec breathed, "It's beautiful. And the view is...incredible."

Magnus kept his eyes trained on Alec, on the excitement and happiness that was clear as day on his face. It was a beautiful sight, something that Magnus hadn't ever seen quite so openly on Alec's face.

"Mine's not too bad, either," Magnus said.

Alec looked back over to him and laughed when he saw that Magnus was still looking at him. His face then sobered and he took a step closer to Magnus, cupping his cheek in his hand.

"Thank you for this. I can't...I can't believe you remembered," Alec murmured.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remembered. I promised you, didn't I?"

"You did," Alec whispered, before leaning in for a sweet kiss. Magnus tried to deepen it but Alec pulled away, his lips in a smirk. "There's no time for that. We have a city to explore."

He took Magnus' hand in his and then all but ran to the door, Magnus following after him with cheerful laughter.

Notes:

I had to have Alec visit England, it was his dream ;)

I hope you enjoyed this story! Feel free to leave comments on what you thought and kudos if you liked (they fuel me lol)

And as always, you can find me on tumblr at iconicbane!

Notes:

here's the tumblr post if you enjoyed! :)
http://iconicbane.tumblr.com/post/158283340171/secrets-that-you-keep-chapter-½-words