As night fell over the city, Alec was thankful for the cloudless sky. There were other ways of getting where he wanted to go, but this was by far the easiest. Walking through Central Park, he tried to push down the growing uneasiness in his stomach. Get over it, he told himself. I bet Jace wasn't nervous the last time he did this. Thinking of Jace led to thinking of Izzy and Clary and everyone else who was probably worried sick about him. He pushed the thought away. It was no use dwelling on things that couldn't be changed.

The moon's reflection was clear in the pond in front of him. He was standing in the middle, the water up just past his ankles. The fish in the pond moved quickly away from him. He shivered, the water was cold. Alec took one last glance around to make sure he wasn't being followed, and then turned around and stepped backwards into the moon's reflection in Turtle Pond. It was time to go to the Seelie Court.

He landed on his feet on the hard packed dirt without stumbling. Water ran down his back. His clothes were soaked through, and they weighed a ton. He pushed his wet hair back from his face as he waited for someone to come for him. He only had to wait a few moments before Kaelie Whitewillow, the Queen's maidservant and also the fey representative on the Council, came through the curtain of vines to his left. She brought a very faint smell of flowers with her. He tried not to shiver. He'd forgotten how cold it was down here.

"You have a lot of audacity coming here, Nephilim." Her voice was bitter. The fey did not forget, and they rarely forgave. The sanctions placed upon them at the end of the war had hardened their hatred of the Clave. "What is your business here?"

"I wish to ask your Queen a question." He kept his eyes downcast and his voice reverent. It would not be easy to convince the Seelie Queen to help him.

"This is not something to be taken lightly. The Queen is not to be used as a simple search tool!" She didn't shout, but her anger was clear.

"I am aware. I am also aware this … favour will not be free. I still stand by my request." The formal words felt foreign coming out of his mouth, but he knew that the Fey appreciated formality from their guests. Or rather, in Alec's case, their unexpected visitors.

Kaelie let out a short, angry sigh. "Very well. Follow me." Kaelie led him out through the curtain of vines. He paid no attention to his surroundings, even though it might be important in the future. His mind was focused only on how to get what he needed at the least cost to him. The uneasy feeling in his stomach from earlier returned. He knew he would likely leave with the information he wanted, but at what cost?

Kaelie led him through another set of vine curtains. Alec found himself in a plain chamber whose walls were covered with pale fabric. Gentle lights bobbed inside glass jars around the room. The Queen herself sat on a low couch. Her eyebrows arched up when she saw Alec walk in behind Kaelie.

"He says he has a question for you, my Queen." She said with a bow. "He is willing to pay your price." Alec stiffened at this. He hadn't agreed to any price, just said that he expected one. Hopefully, the Queen wouldn't interpret Kaelie's statement the wrong way. The Queen nodded and Kaelie left the room though Alec doubted she'd gone any further than just outside the curtain.

"My lady," he said with a slight bow. Breathe, he told himself.

"I would not have expected any Nephilim to come here of their own volition anytime soon, in light of our less-than-friendly past. Your visit intrigues me, Alexander Lightwood. What could be so important that you'd risk my anger?"

"I have but a simple question for you, my lady. Though you may not like the subject matter." This was where it got tricky. The Queen was looking at him with an expression that told him to continue speaking. Alec figured it was best just to get this over with. " I wish to know the way into Leviathan's realm."

Alec was expecting the Queen's sharp intake of breath, and the look of anger that slowly settled on her face. The Clave's sanctions had been placed on the Seelie Court in part because of the assistance she gave to Sebastian in getting to Edom. To imply that she knew how to enter other demon realms and give that information to a Shadowhunter, well, it was risky to say the least.

"I've known that the Nephilim can be bold but this …" She paused. "What is your explanation for this line of questioning?"

"I am sorry if I offended you with my question. I simply could not think of another way of getting this information. If I may speak frankly?" The Queen nodded slowly. She did not bother to hide her curiosity. "It is for Magnus, my lady. He is very sick and the only way to cure him is through Leviathan's realm."

"I don't much like the idea of helping any Nephilim right now, to be frank. Or a warlock, for that matter." The Queen's voice held a tone of finality that made Alec uneasy and afraid.

Alec took a deep breath to calm his nerves.". "I don't wish to sound pushy, but I would like to remind you that Magnus was the only representative that stood with the Seelie Court during deliberations of the sanctions." That was it. That was his trump card. If that couldn't convince the Queen, it was likely that nothing could. The Queen did not speak for a few moments. Alec felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The Queen held the key to everything right now. With one word, she could potentially shatter all of his hope of saving Magnus.

Finally, she spoke. "I will answer your question. It will cost you just one small favour to be called in at any given moment in the future." Alec tried not to gape. That was a very steep price. She could ask for anything. Even …

"I will agree if you can concede that I will not have to harm any of my loved ones as part of this favour."

The Queen smiled. It was not a comforting smile. It was all harsh angles and promises of pain and malice. "Very well, Lightwood. You will not have to directly harm anyone you care for." Reluctantly, he agreed. There was no other way. Alec didn't miss the Queen's delighted look as she told him what he had come for. He couldn't help wondering if it was a huge mistake to agree to her terms.

…

It was nearly midnight as Jace arrived. During the day, this part of the city was crowded with tourists but now in the dead of night, it was mostly empty. As empty as anywhere could be in New York. He had no idea why Alec would have come here. The famous Apple store was in front of him, its surface glittering in the little light there was. He spotted Alec across the square from him. Alec had obviously already seen Jace because he was glaring right at him. Jace was in front of him in just a few seconds. His Parabatai didn't look angry to Jace from this distance. If anything, he looked... scared?

"What are you doing here?" asked Alec. His voice was soft and expressionless. To Jace, he sounded like he'd given up. Good, thought Jace. He should know he can't get away from me that easily.

"Right now? Standing, mostly." He chuckled when he saw Alec's glare. "At least, you still have the same attitude to my sense of humour." Jace got serious. "So much else about you has changed."

"What—" Alec cut himself off. He remembered that he shouldn't be encouraging Jace right now. But he'd already spoken and Jace knew him too well.

"What do I mean? Well, let's see." Jace tone suddenly got more bitter. "You've run away, nearly beat me up, and hurt Izzy, Clary, Simon and I while in your weird little trance. That's not different to you? The Alec I know would never do anything to hurt us. Never. So you're going to tell me what's going on and you're going to tell me right now."

Alec sighed. His voice was whisper quiet. "I—I was trying to protect you. All of you."

"You have a funny way of protecting." Jace pushed up his sleeve and showed Alec a bruise from their fight. Alec flinched and sunk into a nearby chair.

"You don't understand. You couldn't. You didn't see his face when I— I was trying to protect you from Leviathan, can't you see that?"

"Protect us from Leviathan? Why? What makes you think he even cares about what happens to us?"

Alec ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Not you. Me. I saw it in his eyes, the moment I … asked him not to kill Magnus." He was not going to tell Jace about how he'd begged. "In that moment, I could tell he was no longer interested in Magnus at all. Just me. I think I … intrigued him or something. But you have to understand. He's a demon, he lives off of pain. My pain mostly, right now. So, it would certainly suit his interests to put me in as much pain as possible. That's why." He hoped he wouldn't have to spell it out for Jace. Just telling him this much was hard. He watched as the realization settled on Jace's face.

"Oh. You're worried that he'll come for us, to get... a reaction out of you."

Alec picked at a fingernail absentmindedly. "Yeah, well, it worked once, didn't it?" He let out a short, bitter laugh. "I wasn't in a trance when I pushed you guys away. I was talking to Leviathan and I was completely aware of what I was doing. I was trying to convince him that in my anger and determination, I no longer cared if I hurt you or not." He looked away from Jace at the ground. He mumbled the rest. "Whatever. It's not like you actually care about my fears right now. You're not going anywhere, are you?"

"No," said Jace sadly. "As much as I'd like to do whatever would make you feel better right now, I can't do that."

"Fine. Then you can help me. "Alec got up from the chair with a determined look on his face. It was then that he realized that Alec was in battle gear and he had his bow and arrows on his back. "We're going to Invid."

"Where?" asked Jace. He wasn't familiar with the name.

"Leviathan's realm." said Alec, with a slight smile. "You might even enjoy this part. It involves killing some demons. Just follow my lead. And stay close. We'll only have a few moments."

Jace had no idea what was going on, but he trusted his Parabatai with his life. And as he ran after him, Jace knew Alec felt the same.

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

TheArkAngel: I'm not done being mean to him yet! *evil laugh*

Guest: I appreciate the enthusiasm!

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