Magnus woke with a quick feeling of dread seeping throughout his body. As he sat up the first thing he noticed was the immense noise down the hall. His first thought was that the Shadowhunters were being lively in their arguments, as usual. However, one look at the only other inhabitant in the room told him otherwise.
"What's going on?" Magnus asked, startling the boy who had been straining to hear through the door of their room.
Kit spun and stared at Magnus with wide eyes, fear quite visible.
"I'm not sure. Diego came in here not too long ago to take Kieran to the Scholomance."
"The Scholomance?" Magnus inquired, pushing himself into a standing position.
Even though he felt fine, Kit still lunged forward to help the warlock should he need it.
"Yeah. Diego said something about keeping him safe and how it was a favor for Cristina." Kit told him.
More shouting could be heard from the hall. Magnus pushed back Kit and opened the door only to be met with Mark and, in his hands, a limp Ty.
"What happened?" Magnus asked, pushing up his sleeves as Mark deposited the unconscious boy onto the previously occupied couch.
"He's fine. Physically. No magic needed." Mark informed him, stroking his brother's hair.
Magnus could see the anguish that covered Mark's face and the unshed tears in his eyes.
"What's going on out there?" Magnus asked.
Kit had moved to sit at Ty's head, his hand hovering over the boy's body as if unsure what to do, his eyes wide. When no one responded Magnus turned to walk out of the door but was stopped by Mark's hand.
"Don't." The half-faerie commanded.
Magnus stilled and looked into the boy's eyes. He had seen grief and guilt plenty in his lifetime to know that something horrible had happened.
"People are dead and Annabel is at fault. She has fled and the Cohort is out there making a rather horrible scene. I felt unwelcomed and yet I am still part of them. You will not be welcomed kindly." Mark warned.
Magnus gently shrugged his hand off. He had lived throughout the witch hunts and racism throughout different parts of the world during evil times. He had known prejudice from his magic to his sexuality. This would be no different.
"Who is dead?" Kit spoke up from the couch.
The boy had half pulled Ty into his lap, his face cradled against Kit's shoulder. Mark looked down at Kit's question, a few tears slipping down his nose.
"Livvy. Annabel was coming for Julian and Emma. She threw a sword to Julian and Annabel stabbed her through the heart with the broken hilt of the Mortal Sword." Mark whispered with great restraint.
Magnus was speechless as Kit gave a slight sob. The Mortal Sword broken? How was that possible?
"You said people are dead. Not one single person. Who else?" Kit asked, ever the observant one.
At his question Mark looked over at Magnus with such sorrow in his eyes, Magnus had to take a step back. His mind went to Alec but surely he would know, he would feel if Alec was dead.
"Robert Lightwood is dead."
Magnus felt horrible for the sudden rush of relief that filled his body at Mark's words. The realization then struck that, while his boyfriend was physically fine, he would be terribly upset.
"Where is Alec?" Magnus finally asked.
"Out in the hall with his father." Mark responded.
Magnus immediately turned and opened the door, ignoring Mark's cries of protest as he stalked to the Hall. Once he threw open the massive doors, he was met with the full on chaos of the room.
As soon as he stepped foot inside, he was greeted with the sight of Aline Penhallow holding up her sobbing wife, Helen Blackthorn. In front of the pair, on her knees, was a crying Dru. Out in the rows of seats stood a rather large bunch of Cohort supporters, shouting ridiculous things about Downworlders. Normally Magnus would just let the words slide off of him, yet he was exceptionally angry at the fact that this was not the time nor the place for such words. Especially once he caught sight of Emma, kneeling next to her parabatai whom was holding his little sister to his chest. He appeared to be whispering into her hair, his face scrunched up in pain while his clothes absorbed her blood.
Further down from the trio was another body on the ground and, hovering above him, was the one person Magnus had walked into this hellhole for. Alec. He strode through the masses, ignoring the nasty slurs that were tossed his way, as he made a beeline for Alec. He felt a slight pang as he walked past Julian, feeling as if he should stop and offer his condolences but knowing that right now, the only person that mattered to him was also in distress.
Magnus crouched down opposite his boyfriend, next to Robert's body. It was obvious that he had been stabbed through the stomach and the wound was what had killed him. Magnus assumed it had been with the Mortal Sword before it was broken. After inspecting the body he looked up into the face of his boyfriend, mildly surprised to find that he was staring back at him. Tears streaked his face and it struck Magnus that he had never actually seen Alec cry before this day. He didn't like it.
"Alexander – " Magnus began before he was cut off by no other than Zara Dearborn.
"Oh, look who finally woke up! Sleeping beauty has finally decided to grace us with his presence. You must be so relieved Alec, what we discussed earlier might not be true after all!" She yelled from her safety within the supporters of the Cohort.
Magnus furrowed his brows at her words. What had the pair talked about earlier? But from Alec's face, the conversation must not have been a pleasant one because before Magnus could react, Alec had shot up and flung himself towards the girl, dagger in hand. A group of Centurions moved forward while Zara stayed behind like the coward she was. Knowing more unnecessary blood would be spilled if he didn't intervene, Magnus spun around and grabbed Alec's arm.
Alec was in full on defense and turned to shove off his attacker before realizing who it was. His arm went slack before he shoved his weapon in his belt.
"Pity, a warlock having that much control over a shadowhunter." Zara commented from behind her bodyguards.
"Oh why don't you just shut the fuck up already!" Somebody yelled from the crowd and Magnus realized it was none other than Diana Wrayburn.
The two girls began shouting back and forth, a couple of other people joining in, but Magnus tuned them out in favor of Alec. He opened his mouth to speak to the boy but was interrupted yet again.
"Let's get out of here. I need to talk to my mother and somebody has to tell Isabelle before news gets out and it will travel fast because the Inquisitor is dead and I want to see the kids – by the angel! how are we going to tell them? I didn't think we'd have to have a talk like this for at least a few more years and – "
"Alec!" Magnus, this time, was the one interrupting. "Breathe. We can go and we will figure this out. Okay?"
Alec briefly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Let's go."
Magnus gave him a slight smile before taking his hand and pulling him out of the chaos of the room. They momentarily stopped by to check on Mark, Ty, and Kit before heading out to Lightwood Manor where Maryse was watching the boys. Upon entering the house, Max and Rafael ran straight to their parents, telling them everything that they had done and ate with their grandmother. Despite the fact that Alec's whole world was crashing down around him, Magnus watched in awe at the way he still engaged in his children's conversations, without dismissing them, before excusing himself to talk to Maryse.
Magnus sat in the living room with the kids while Alec and his mother were upstairs. At one point, Maryse's strangled sobs could be heard from the living room.
"Is everything okay?" Rafael asked.
Max hadn't even noticed the noise but was suddenly staring at Magnus with wide eyes, waiting on his response. Magnus knew that this conversation was one he should have with Alec, so he simply gave the boys a sad smile.
"We'll talk about it when daddy comes back." Magnus responded, mentally cursing himself because what kind of answer was that for a child?
"Okay papa!" Max said, turning back to whatever small toys he was playing with.
Rafael seemed more reluctant to drop the issue but still turned back to the book he was reading. Magnus noticed, with a small pain, that it was an old book of Max Lightwood's that he must have left the last time he was here. Footsteps alerted the trio that Alec and Maryse were heading back downstairs and Magnus realized he had been zoned out for quite some time, staring at the book his son was reading.
"Grandmother is going back to New York to visit Aunt Izzy so giver her love," Maryse said, her eyes a bit red, as she kneeled down in front of the kids.
Both Rafael and Max gave her hugs and kisses before she wished them all goodbye and headed out the door. Once it was shut, the boys turned back to stare at their fathers.
"Papa said there was something you guys had to tell us, daddy." Max said once Alec had sat on the couch.
Magnus noticed Alec's face was pale, his eyes too were red, and he looked exhausted. Still, he reached down and picked up Max, settling him on his lap. Magnus patted his own knee for Rafael to sit on.
"Sometimes, " Alec began, clearly looking for the right words to say, "Sometimes people get hurt or sick and they can't get better."
"Even if a warlock tries to help them?" Max asked, stretching out his blue fingers.
"Yes, even if a warlock tries to help them." Magnus responded.
"What about a silent brother?" Rafael asked.
"Yes, sometimes a person is too far gone for even a silent brother to make them better." Alec told him.
There was silence for a minute as both boys processed this before it was broken.
"Who died?" Rafael asked.
Magnus couldn't help his eyebrows raising in shock at the sheer bluntness of the question, but he assumed the saying that kids had no filter really wasn't a saying. Alec seemed less shocked and looked down at Max's wide eyes staring back at him.
"Your grandfather." Alec whispered, hoping to leave it at that.
"How?" Max asked after a moment.
"He got hurt really bad." Magnus offered as an explanation.
"How?" Rafael asked.
Magnus could tell Alec was struggling with how to respond while keeping his features from crumbling.
"It's not terribly important how boys, but it is important to know that it is okay to be sad. Your grandfather was a great man and we know you guys loved him. And he loved you. Okay?" Magnus said as he thumbed away a tear from Max's face.
Both kids nodded, Rafael seeming to process the information more internally while little tears had begun to stream down Max's face. The blue warlock turned to look at his big brother before asking him a question.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Max whispered, as if neither of their parents could hear him if he asked quiet enough.
Rafael gave his brother a small smile before nodding his head.
"Why don't you guys tell your daddy goodnight and I'll tuck you both into bed." Magnus suggested, noticing how quiet Alec was being.
The boys told their father goodnight before following their papa up the steps to their room. Alec walked around the house, turning off lights and making sure windows and doors were locked, before heading upstairs to his room. Magnus came in shortly after, closing their door and stripping down to his boxers before climbing into bed next to Alec. He then pulled the other boy, who was equally as naked as he was, into his arms and allowed him to rest his head on his chest.
"I wish we would have gotten along sooner." Alec whispered into the dark room.
Magnus said nothing as he held his boyfriend closer, feeling the wet tears fall onto his bare chest.
"I wish he would've accepted me and you sooner. I wish we wouldn't have been at each other's throats so often when I was growing up. I wish he could've seen how strong of a shadowhunter Rafael is going to turn out to be or how amazing of a warlock Max will be." Alec continued to say.
"The important thing is," Magnus began after Alec didn't say anything for a while, "is that he came around at all. He was able to be a part of your life during the important moments. He was a better man to our kids."
Alec merely nodded, his tears beginning to lessen as he snuggled deeper into Magnus' embrace. He kissed his boyfriend's chest, succumbing to the pull of sleep after such an emotionally draining day.
"I love you." He mumbled.
Magnus bent down and kissed the top of Alec's head, smelling the unique scent that was just Alec with a hint of Sandalwood.
"I love you too."
Before Magnus was able to be pulled under the tempting waves of sleep, he thought about the people lost today. He thought about Robert Lightwood and how, whatever came after death, he was surely reunited with his son now. He thought of Livvy Blackthorn who would be with her parents and her uncle Arthur. He thought of Ty, the poor boy who would be waking up soon to the devastating realization that his twin was gone. Of Julian who would forever mourn the death of his sister, the girl he had raised and he had held during her death.
Magnus closed his eyes against the sting of tears. Mortals died, that's just how life worked. Yet he thought of Tessa and himself, both sick with something no warlock knew what it was, and feared that maybe he too would be just another body in the ground. Before he could dwell on that subject any further, he felt Alec stir against his chest in his sleep. Everything could wait for in the morning, Magnus decided.
Tomorrow would be a dreadful day, but at least it was coming.
Ave atque vale, Robert Lightwood and Livvy Blackthorn.
Ave atque vale.