Everyone born into the shadowworld is born with numbers on their chest. Ever changing numbers that countdown until you meet your soul mate. For mortals the numbers are never very large, for immortals the numbers could mark lifetimes.
Magnus started to mark lifetimes by when people died. The first lifetime he marked was only ten years, when his mother died. He started thinking of lifetimes as centuries when he met Camille, he had given up waiting for his soul mate after fifty years of being alone. One long string of people who faces when the next lifetime started, but ended when Camille left him broken.
With over a century left to wait for his soul mate he started resenting the idea. Decided that a soulmate wasn't worth waiting multiple lifetimes for, that whatever expectations now rest on his or her shoulders they would never live up to it. Countless lives had past and Magnus had met every type of man, woman, Seelie, Warlock, Shadowhunter, even a Werewolf or two. He knew what he wanted, and one person could never be everything he needed.
He was tired. Too many people but never the one he wanted. He entered the twentieth century and closed his heart. There was enough pain in this century without becoming attached to the mortal world. He grew rich on jewels and favours from the mundane and down worlds, until in the early fifties a mother came and asked for him to save her son.
Raphael was the first person to enter Magnus's heart in almost a century, Magnus saw his numbers with a strange sense of curiosity and resentment. They were meant to meet their soulmates within days of each other. Raphael looked at them in wonder, hearing Magnus's explanation seemed surreal, who was meant to love the undead.
Their bond was strengthened whenever someone they knew met their soulmate, and when someone lost their soulmate. Raphael's temperament over the years changed until very few people would chose to be around him, Magnus became more flamboyant as the twentieth century came to a close. He hid his sadness and resentment behind magic, makeup and the era of freedom.
Raphael and Magnus brought in the new Millennium with his other Warlock friends, Catarina Loss, Ragnor Fell and Tessa Gray. They sat in his apartment in Brooklyn and watched the fireworks, the conversations drawing back to soulmates, as it always does when thinking of a world's new beginning.
"It's not always painful," Catarina says, "Many people would say you were given a gift by your turning. Mortals will never know if they've met their soulmate." She swirled her glass of red wine and looked at her blank wrist.
"But what's worse, knowing that you will never have one, or spending centuries waiting for them?" Ragnor asked, his neat scotch reflected the lights in the sky.
"I'll always joke that the soulmate I could have had was better suited to Tessa."
The room fell silent, waiting to see what reaction Tessa would show this time. She smiled and took a sip from her glass and reached to the table beside her to set it down.
Magnus broke the silence, "Soulmate or no soulmate, as immortals we cannot rest all our hopes on fate. How many lifetimes will we live, where we do not have fate interfering with freewill?"
"Just because you have had the longest to wait, doesn't mean that you won't eat your words, when you meet him or her?" Tessa had opted to be in a joking mood, or perhaps Magnus had simply made her martini's too strong tonight.
Magnus stood from his place on the couch and ruffled Raphael's hair as he moved to the fridge. He didn't need anything but the conversation was starting to follow the same pattern it had for the last fifty years. Ever since Raphael had joined their group he kept asking questions, wanting to understand why, when he was turned, did he get a soulmate.
"I never had one, it seemed like the best thing that could happen to me," Ragnor said loudly, so Magnus could hear him. "Honestly, it seems like having one is more complicated than necessary, if Tessa and you two never had those numbers these conversations would never happen, too much heartache."
Magnus returned to the lounge and fell back into his spot.
"I've mourned them, Will almost as long as I knew. Jem, longer still. It's hurts, sometimes every day and sometime I can go days where their memories only make me smile. Two soul marks has only meant that I could get hurt twice." Tessa took a sip and a breath. "But, the happiness, love, my children. A whole life that I do not regret. That I could not regret."
"I've haven't yet waited fifty years to meet this person, I cannot imagine waiting several lifetimes. I'm nervous enough as it is, waiting a few more years." Raphael shook his head. "I'm starting to think that fate makes us wait just to piss us off."
"I guess fate thought I'd been through enough that I got two in the span of days." Tessa let out a little giggle and Magnus thinks he definitely made her drink too strong.
"I never understood why you had two at once, if fate knew that Jem would leave, why not just have Will as your only soulmate?" Catarina asked.
"Maybe fate doesn't exist, or maybe it's just an asshole. Raphael's right, if fate does exist, it's spent my entire life pissing me off." Magnus folds further into the couch, bring one leg to rest under his other. "It's been a bloody long life waiting for this person, and I'm tired. Ragnor, Cat, I'm envious. You don't live your lives waiting for some person to be the love of your life, there's nothing telling you who, what, how you're meant to live. Fate is as ass and soul mates are bullshit. Whoever this is," Magnus points to the open part of his shirt, just hiding his soul mark, "if they're as old as I am I will curse them! If they're mortal, I'm not getting my heart broken when they die, as they will."
Magnus waves his hand and everyone's drinks disappear. He closes the balcony doors and walks to his room, leaving his guests to let themselves out.
Three portals open in the living room, Ragnor grabs the pile of jackets from the back of the couch and hand Raphael his and Tessa's. Helping Catarina into her jacket Ragnor says, "When he meet this soul mate, I want to see how fast he eats his words. Raphael, keep an eye on the old guy, would you? You'll know when the time is getting close."
Without waiting for a reply Ragnor enters his portal to Idris.
Tessa smiles after him, turning to Raphael she pats his cheek. "I loved two mortals, the pain hurts, there's no denying that. But they gave me more happiness in a few years than I thought I could have." She gave a look around the room. "I've known Magnus for most of my life, he deserves someone who will love him heart and soul. I just hope he won't push them away." She waved and entered her portal to London.
"Would you like a lift back to Hotel Dumort?" Catarina asked, gesturing to her portal.
"No, thank you, the sun won't rise for a few hours." Raphael kissed her cheek and left through the loft's front door.
Catarina walked to Magnus's room and opened the door. He slept with his face plastered to the pillow and his legs half off the bed. She conjured a glass of water and some pain relievers on his bed side and left. For as long as she could remember, she treated Magnus like the child she would never have.
"Sleep well, dear friend. I feel when your soulmate arrives, we will all need a good night's rest." She returned to the waiting portal and left.