Authors' Note: Well here we go. This is my first Mortal Instruments fanfic, so please let me know what you think. It's just a short little insight into a scene that I was very disappointed got left out. So this takes place during and after the battle at the end of City of Glass and is from Alec Lightwood's point of view. Hope you like it!
Alec was mid swing with his seraph blade when suddenly it felt like the world had fallen out from under him. All the air left his lungs and despite his Shadowhunter grace he stumbled clumsily. He completely missed the demon in front of him and was hardly aware of the demon reaching out to strike him. Luckily someone was watching his back and another Shadowhunter rushed forward to slay the demon in front of him.
"Get your head in the game, Lightwood!" the guy yelled at him as he jumped to the next demon with speed beyond that of even a Shadowhunter. Alec didn't even have time to register who the man was.
A moment later Alec shook himself from his daze just in time to drive his seraph blade into the face of a demon that was inches from tearing into him. His survival instincts kicked in and his arms moved almost without him thinking about what he was doing, keeping him alive even though there was only one thing on his mind. Jace.
The parabatai tie had always been strong between Jace and Alec. An unbreakable bond. But this was something he had never felt before. Instinctually he always felt when Jace was in trouble. But this was way worse than anything he had felt before. There was a pain in his chest, a dull burning sensation even though he had no injuries there. And surrounding that was an indescribable emptiness. Had he not been in the middle of one of the biggest battles of his life he might have collapsed in on himself from the weight of the emptiness inside of him. But he couldn't do that. If he did that now he'd be dead.
That's when it hit him. Really hit him. He knew then without a doubt what this feeling meant. Jace was dead.
Alec's grief was quickly smothered by a steely resolve to survive this battle as he continued to fight, fueling any feelings he had into his anger in order to drive him. He had to survive. After they had already lost Max he knew that now more than ever. He had to keep going. For Isabelle. For his parents. For Magnus.
As if he had read his thoughts, Magnus was suddenly at his side.
"Alexander!" he cried over the chaos of battle, looking at Alec with concern. He put his hand on Alec's shoulder, his other hand sprouting blue sparks. "What's happened?"
Alec wasn't sure how Magnus could sense his distress. Maybe it had something to do with the Alliance rune that they currently shared. Or maybe it was a different kind of bond.
"Jace," Alec gasped. "Something's happened to him!" He knew exactly what had happened but he couldn't put it into words. It would make it too real and he just couldn't deal with that thought here on the battlefield. This was not the place for teary confessions and comforting embraces.
Magnus met his eyes, a grim tension in his features as he seemed to hear the words that Alec was unable to say. Against all instinct Alec froze under that stare, meeting his eyes. Without breaking eye contact Magnus raised his free hand and the sparks shot out, slicing through a demon that had been coming for them much like Isabelle's whip, killing it instantly.
Then, very suddenly, something strange happened. The battlefield got quiet. Alec and Magnus broke eye contact at the same time to look around, though they still kept a hold of each other. The demons had stopped attacking and were fleeing without any obvious provocation. All the Shadowhunters, werewolves, faeries and vampires watched in astonishment and mild confusion.
As Alec stared up into the sky where the demons were retreating he was suddenly struck with a new feeling. In an instant the burning pain in his chest was gone and he felt whole one again. He was frozen, unable to move and unable to comprehend what just happened.
Suddenly Magnus had him by the hand and was pulling him. He was saying something to him, but Alec was hardly able to hear it, lost within himself. Very suddenly there was the whirling sensation of being pulled into a Portal. Just a minute later they landed together on the grass, still gripping each other's hands. Alec looked around and realized that they were near Lake Lyn. He quickly spotted two figures along the bank of the lake.
Alec had no time to wonder how Magnus knew where Clary and Jace were. As soon as he recognized them he had pulled his hand from the warlock's and was sprinting forward. Clary was sitting with her legs folded underneath her and Jace was laying with his head in her lap, his eyes closed and his body still.
"Jace!" Alec called as he dropped down at his parabatai's side. His clothes were torn, his hair was a mess and his skin was streaked with dirt and dried blood, but Alec couldn't see anything that looked too terrible. He reached up to his neck to feel for a pulse, his heart pounding wildly out of control in his chest, unsure what to expect. "Is he…?"
"He's okay," came Clary's voice. Her tone was shaky and she sounded a little surprised at her own statement. Alec looked up at her to find that her eyes were wide and her expression looked a bit like she was in shock. As he took in her appearance he saw that she looked in worse shape than Jace, her clothes soaked in blood, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes wide and haunted. "He's okay," she repeated almost to herself as she looked back down at Jace, running a hand affectionately over his cheek.
"What happened?" Alec demanded. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see Magnus standing over him, a sympathetic look on his face. It was at that point that he realized that his tone when he had spoken to Clary had an accusatory note to it. He couldn't help it. Clary couldn't protect Jace like he could. If Alec had been here he would have been able to protect Jace, he knew that without a doubt.
Clary looked up at him her eyes wide as she shook her head slowly. "I… I don't know," she stammered. Alec had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at this terribly unhelpful information.
Magnus crouched down next to them, reaching out his hands as they glowed softly with pale blue light, letting them hover a few inches above Jace's body. A strange look came across his face and Alec could feel his stomach fall but a moment later the look was gone.
"He'll be fine," Magnus assured both of them steadily. "His body is just exhausted. After a few day's rest he will be good as new."
There was a light moan that escaped the back of Jace's throat and his head shifted ever so slightly. Alec looked down at him, frowning. Despite being unconscious Jace's features were still held a distressed look to them.
"Are you sure?" Alec asked, a trace on anxiety in his tone. Jace certainly didn't look okay.
"Yes, I am sure, Alexander," Magnus stated.
"We need to get him back to Idris," Alec said quickly.
"He's not well enough to Portal," Clary said, a note of panic in her voice.
"Neither are you, it seems," Magnus pointed out, looking over at her critically.
Thankfully they didn't have to decide how to transport either of them. At that moment Alec spotted horses and carriages coming over the horizon, carrying Shadowhunters to where their group gathered. There was chaos for a few minutes as everyone tried to get the story of what had happened at the same time. Magnus was the one who stood and took charge, stating that both Jace and Clary needed medical care before they could tell anyone anything. Alec watched the warlock in awe, recognizing what a commanding presence that Magnus could have when he wanted to.
Alec stood on the edge of the lake, watching as Jace was taken to get medical attention in Idris. Magnus came up beside him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
Alec took a breath. "He's alive," he said quietly, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.
"Yes, he is," Magnus confirmed.
Alec shook his head and looked up at Magnus, confusion in his features. "There was a moment on the battlefield where I felt something. I could have sworn by the Angel that I felt him… die."
Magnus looked only vaguely startled at this statement. "You must have been mistaken. Clearly he's alright."
Alec nodded. Maybe that was it. Maybe he hadn't felt what he thought he had felt. Perhaps he had simply felt Jace being injured. In any case it hardly seemed to matter because as Magnus said, Jace was in fact alive.
Slowly Magnus wound his arm around Alec's shoulders. Alec leaned into the warlock for comfort. It was still a little strange showing this kind of affection in public, but he was grateful to be able to receive this comfort from his boyfriend. It did seem like everything was okay now. The battle was over. It seems that they had won. Jace was still alive. And here he stood by Lake Lyn with Magnus' arms around him.
Alec smiled lightly to himself, something he rarely did. He allowed himself to feel relieved as his muscles relaxed. They had all gone into this hardly expecting to survive the night. And yet here they were. They had done the impossible and for now that was all that mattered.