Alec could remember the day that he and Magnus met perfectly. Officially, they'd met in the vision that the Oracle had induced, but then they'd met in person. It had not gone well, partially because of Alec's mother's interference; partially because of the nature of the vision they'd shared; and entirely because they were both stubborn and willful, though Alec had no idea why they'd chosen that moment to demonstrate their forceful personalities.
Despite a rocky start, though, he and Magnus had gotten over themselves pretty quickly, and they discovered that they worked well together. In fact they worked so well together that they were one of the three groups who would be performing the sylléktairos ritual, and, after that – with Jace, who had not worked well with his partner at all – the polykéfalos ritual. Only Aline and Helen (and Lydia, Aline's parabatai), and Izzy and Simon (and Clary, who would be Izzy's parabatai) would be joining them. It was a very small percentage of students who'd been in their year who were doing the rituals, but strong friendships had formed, and several of the Mundanes had successfully become Shadowhunters, while others, like Simon, had opted to become Downworlders.
Alec shook his head and grinned at Magnus, who had just stepped through the door.
"Nervous?" Magnus asked, pressing a brief kiss to Alec's lips.
Alec shook his head. "How could I be? It's you."
Magnus' cat eyes flickered briefly and he kissed Alec again. "I know how you feel."
"I can't believe this is finally happening," Alec admitted, pressing his face against Magnus' neck before drawing away. Jace would show up soon, and it wouldn't do to get carried away.
Magnus hummed in reply. "This is everything we wanted."
"Almost," Alec said, arching an eyebrow. "I still want a wedding." There was a knock on the door, and Jace strode inside.
"Almost," Magnus agreed, smiling softly. "I love you," he added as Jace started barking at them to follow him.
"I love you too," Alec whispered.
They followed Jace to a small room, which was painted in a pale blue and whose golden accents glittered in the sunlight that spilled through the window. Brother Zachariah stood patiently inside, a stele in his hand.
Magnus and Alec stood in front of the window facing each other; Jace melted into the corner to watch.
"Magnus Bane. Alec Lightwood," Brother Zachariah began. "You have proven your ability to defend Mundanes, Nephilim, and Downworlders alike, and you have shown your willingness to protect each other from any enemies that may arise. You may exchange the sylléktairos oath."
Alec reached his hands towards Magnus, who grasped them and laced their fingers together before giving Alec an encouraging smile. Alec took a deep breath and said, "May the Spirit of the children of Zion rest upon me."
"And the Spirit of the children of Edom upon me," Magnus joined in. He met Alec's eyes and waited patiently for him to continue.
"So that thy blood and my blood may resist those who rise up against us."
"In thy defense will I call your enemies to account."
Magnus was beautiful and utterly possessed of himself. He was confident, and his voice was steady even though his green-gold eyes were full of emotion. Alec really, really loved him. "I will face thy trials alongside thee so that thou may rejoice and go in peace."
"May all ye here and the fathers of our blood bear witness between us," Magnus said.
"And may thy children and my children renew the oaths we speak today," Alec finished, and he dropped Magnus' hands.
He curled his fingers in the air and felt his bow form; he took three arrows from his quiver and glanced at Magnus once again. Magnus nodded at him and flicked his fingers. A black blindfold crept across his eyes.
Once Magnus was blind to the room, Alec nocked his first arrow and fired it. He followed it quickly with the other two, so that all three were in different parts of the room. Before he or Magnus could draw the Alliance rune on each other, they had to pass this final thing: it was inspired by the arrows Jonathan had fired before warning David of King Saul's plot to kill him. It was representative of a willingness to protect, no matter the cost.
Parabatai were modelled after Jonathan and David as well as Ruth and Naomi; sylléktairos were modelled after Jonathan and his servant, who had fetched the arrows Jonathan shot. Of course, sylléktairos were equals, unlike Jonathan and his servant, but the arrow ritual had been adapted from those historical passages.
If Alec could not guide Magnus – through words alone – to the arrows he had shot, then their bond wouldn't take, and they would be unable to mark each other with the Alliance rune. Luckily, he and Magnus had been practicing for this part of the ritual from the moment they'd decided to become sylléktairos, and it just as easy for Alec to direct Magnus as it was for Magnus to trust Alec.
Soon enough, Magnus had the third arrow in his hand, and he magicked away the blindfold before striding over to where Alec was standing with his arms behind his back.
"We did it," Magnus murmured, and Alec couldn't help but kiss him, then.
"You have exchanged oaths," Brother Zachariah said, "and you have shot and found the arrows. You may now use this stele to ally yourselves to one another."
Alec took a shaky breath and reached for the stele. Magnus unbuttoned his shirt sleeve and held out his right arm; Alec pushed the fabric up and placed the adamas tip against Magnus' skin.
Once he finished tracing the rune, he held out his own right arm to allow Magnus to draw the rune on his skin. It burned in the way the parabatai rune had so many years ago, and Alec felt something snap in place beneath his skin the moment Magnus withdrew the stele from his skin.
Relieved, they hugged each other tightly. Then Jace stepped forward. "Just one more oath, guys," he said gruffly, his mouth curving into a smile, his eyes glittering brightly.
Alec nodded and offered his right hand to Magnus and his left to Jace. The polykéfalos ritual wasn't as involved as the parabatai or sylléktairos ones. There was nothing involved beyond the oath, and as the person bonded to both Jace and Magnus, it was his duty to start it.
"May thou of Demon blood be my right hand, and thou who beareth the blood of the Angel be my left. So my family will be thy family, and thy kin mine. Thou who matches me will guard my body."
"I will guard thy body," Jace agreed.
"And thou who complements me will protect my spirit."
"I will protect thy spirit," Magnus said.
"And I who join thee will defend with my life thy souls."
"Thou who binds us will defend our souls," Jace and Magnus said in unison.
"Should the blood of the Angels wrong thee," he told Magnus, and turned to Jace, "or the blood of the Demons thee, I entreat that thou charge it to me."
"Believe me, I will," Jace grumbled, letting go of his hand. He grinned at Alec and Magnus and slung an arm over their shoulders. "Alright, guys. Now that we're all bonded, let's go get drinks."
Alec and Magnus lingered behind for a moment to thank Brother Zachariah; then they walked out of the blue and gold room to where Jace was waiting for them in the hall.