Chapter Ten

He could still remember when his love began to change.

Since the war had ended, Heylel had mellowed into a calmer angel, the steel and blood at his core hidden beneath gentle smiles and the general warmth he brought to those around him. Only when he lost his temper did the darker side of him resurface and even then, it was only for a moment. A flash of crimson in his starburst eyes, a brief sharpening of his wings, none of which ever amounted to anything but a sharp tongue-lashing or the starbringer storming off to cool down.

And yet, as he and their Creator began to focus more and more on the humans, on crafting and drafting the newest beings, Heylel began to withdraw, his bouts of temper becoming more prominent.

More dangerous.

Whispers began to spread, of rebellion, helped along by the way the stardust beauty drew and further and further from them, starburst gaze burning with darker unnamed emotions as each moment passed.

He'd wished he'd paid more attention.

Maybe then he would know why his lover was changing, his sharp wit so biting it was almost arctic. Why the younger angels began to tread around him, some carefully as if one wrong move would set him off, while others gazed at him as if he were the answer to everything they'd ever wanted.

He hadn't wanted to believe that his love, his Light had rebelled.

And yet, their creator had confirmed it, something knowing in Their gaze, yet trapped behind unwilling lips.

Casting him from the Silver City had been the most painful thing he'd ever endured.

Gazing down at the silent form lying before him, he couldn't help but think it was also probably the decision he regretted the most.

In the two days since his love had awakened, the younger hadn't spoken a word to him beyond his admission the first day. Instead, he lay almost completely still in the bed he'd been granted, crimson eyes locked on the ceiling, expression blank and wings wrapped around him, in a parody of a blanket.

He hadn't even attempted to escape, even with his grace roiling restlessly beneath his skin.

Even him talking to the boy hadn't garnered a response, not even a glance.

It was frustrating.

This should've been a victory for him. After all, his beloved was at his side once more, their grace once more intertwined and yet-

It felt so much like defeat.

Yes, his mate had returned but, something had happened in Edom to taint his grace leaving it twisted and sharp, tattered. He avoided his gaze, not even bothering to glare in his direction as defiantly as he had at the institute.

It was as if someone had sucked all livelihood from him, leaving him a shell of himself.

He didn't like it.

It stopped now.

Eyes burning with his own grace, he growled and stormed over to the bed where the other lay.

"Alexander," He snarled. "Look at me."

He was ignored.

"Alexander!" His grace slipped into his voice and finally, finally that crimson gaze moved.

His love blinked rapidly as if waking, then glanced at him, brow furrowing in the most expression he'd shown in the past few days.

"Yes?"

"You're ignoring me."

A single brow rose. "I was asleep. Besides, I'm your captive, Samael. Not your guest. I'm not obligated to entertain you."

He stilled. "Your eyes were open."

"And?"

"You said-" Shaking his head he let the subject go. Instead, he addressed the subject he'd originally come for.

"Our son," He began and the younger narrowed his eyes.

"My son."

"Where is he, Heylel? Why can't I sense him?"

Alec pursed his lips.

"Because before gaining my memories back, I knew how resourceful you were. I worked with the Silent Brothers and created something to hide him. From you and from the Clave. No magic, angel or demonic, can find him."

He gave a growl of frustration. "I'm doing what needs to be done! Those filthy creatures are a rot on the earth. They're the reason we were torn apart! The reason our comrades have fallen!" His wings shifted beneath their glamor, especially when his love snarled back, sitting up in the bed.

"No, you're the reason we were torn apart! Before, it was your obsession with the humans, your inability to look at the bigger picture and see the resentment growing in the ranks because why were they given Free will and we were not?! Then, in this life, you're a murderer! You keep asking about my son, you call me your beloved, but you nearly killed me!" His voice broke, anger, rage, and heartbreak clouding his features.

"Did- did you even love me? Or was I just a useful pawn for you to use against my parents?"

Everything in him screamed for him to tell the truth, to tell him that hadn't planned to fall in love with him. That he loved him, that they belonged together, their grace forever bound.

He didn't. Instead, he allowed his expression to twist into as callous and cruel an expression he could, watching as something in those burning eyes dimmed and shattered.

"As I told Maryse, you have always been mine and you will always be mine. To love is to destroy, Alexander." His voice softened against his will. "And the only one allowed to destroy you, is me. Therefore, the only one allowed to love you is me."

A tear escaped those eyes before they slid closed.

"I have never loved someone as much as I love you." Alexander whispered, the crimson draining from his gaze to leave cinnamon-tinted hazel in his wake. The devastation in his words just as clear as the resignation in them. "Even after you started to change, after I started to hate you in the darkest corners of my mind for making me feel so weak, I still loved you. I'd tell Max stories about the man you were when we got together, and sometimes in my weakest moments I would imagine you there with us. That you were proud of him…"

His brow furrowed, heart clenching tight in his chest. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," His love replied softly, locking eyes with him. "I want you to know that I love you. And if to love is to destroy, then I will continue to love you. Even as I slide my blade into your heart."

He narrowed his eyes, allowing his own grace to shine through, just as powerful as it had been before. His hand twitched, anger burning through him at the threat, even though the tone delivering it was still gentle.

"Alexander," He growled warningly and Alec sat up, one calloused hand coming up to cup his cheek. He caught it before it could touch him, stiffening when, instead of pulling away, Alec leaned forward and kissed him.

For a moment, he kissed back, feeling almost like he'd been transported back in time. The feel of those plush lips on his own, the warmth of the body pressed against his, even the spicy scent he'd always associated with his love, all of it was like being back in the small apartment they'd once shared. It was as if he were just coming home to find the younger man waiting, all gentle smiles and soft words.

Then, Alec pulled away, and the present caught up with him.

This wasn't their apartment, it was his ship.

Alec wasn't his lover, he was his captive.

And yet...Alec had kissed him.

"You've forgotten my domain," Alec whispered softly and he scowled only for his eyes to widen in surprise.

"Wai-"

Somewhere on the ship, an alarm sounded and unbeknownst to all outside, ice began to creep up the side of the ship.

*/*

Something was wrong.

Jocelyn frowned as she watched Maryse pace around her office, eyes burning with a fury she hadn't seen since her friend had first joined Valentine all those years ago.

After waking her earlier that morning with the Book of White, she had been dragged to Maryse's office and interrogated thoroughly about everything she knew about where Valentine had kept her. All she'd been able to remember was the fact that there had been alot of water, and that despite what she'd thought, he had been less interested in her than she'd believed. She told Maryse that while she'd been sleeping she'd heard him saying the name Heylel, and that even before she had originally left him he would often say the same name.

They'd scoured the Angel codex, but there had been no angel, shadowhunter, or demon by that name.

There was nothing for them to go on.

She'd asked her own questions in turn and had been stunned to find that the boy she'd once seen as her nephew had once entered a relationship with her former husband, leaving his family none the wiser. Though...it had explained the lessened obsession he'd had with her.

"Maybe we should call Luke. If anyone would know, it wo-"

"Actually," Another voice cut in and she turned to find Magnus Bane standing in the doorway of the office, Maryse's youngest son standing beside him, kaleidoscope colored eyes staring directly at her.

"I know someone who may tell us who Heylel is and what their relationship is to Valentine and Alexander. Though it will not be free."

"Who?" Maryse asked, desperation in her voice and the warlock sighed. "A greater demon by the name of Asmodeus."

"The current king of hell?"

He nodded, stepping aside as Maryse's husband and her other two children (one of which looked familiar) entered the room, Clary trailing behind them.

She expected her friend to say no, to demand that he think of another way but she didn't. Instead she only nodded, dark eyes calculating.

"Do you know how to summon him?"

"You can't seriously be thinking of summoning a Greater Demon in the middle of the Institute! Are you trying to get yourself deruned?"

Maryse glared at her, then turned her gaze back to Magnus. "When can I talk to him?"

"If we portal to my loft, I can summon him in twenty minutes."

With a sharp nod, she turned and retrieved a few files before turning to Robert.

"Keep an eye on things. Valentine still has spies all over, even here."

He nodded, never a man of many words, and Jocelyn watched as Magnus, Maryse, and Maryse's two sons portaled away. Once they were gone, she was left wondering just what had changed and how everything had changed since she'd left the shadow world.

*/*

Only two demons still remembered that he hadn't always been Edom's king. While the former King had only been gone for a millenia, few had ever seen him in person to begin with so they assumed that Asmodues had always been the King. After all, he had been the closest to the Fallen Angel, being the highest ranking angel that had fallen after him, a cherub that had believed too strongly in free will and power. He had been the first angel created after the Archangels, and watching the mate bond between Michael and Lucifer splinter then tear, had enraged him.

Lucifer had been his favorite of the elder angels even as he became more prone to anger, his gentle nature and generally warm nature drawing people to him. When they'd been cast into Edom, he had tried to help, holding on to just enough of his nature from Before that he was able to keep a single strand of compassion.

He'd had no qualms attaching it to the Angel that had been there to teach him in his fledgling days. And, when Lucifer's madness took over, he used that compassion to try and draw him back. He had never been successful and when the older Fallen fallen had suddenly faded...he hadn't even been surprised.

This said, very few knew of Lucifer's existence, or that he'd faded.

Fewer knew that before becoming Lucifer he'd had another name. Once struck from history.

One he'd never expected to hear again, especially out of his own son's mouth.

"Magnus," He rumbled, stunned to have been summoned by his waywards son. Very rarely did the boy summon him, and never had he done so in front of Raziel's pet projects. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting a call this century."

His son shifted, uncomfortable but trying to hide it. One of the nephilim, a mere child, stepped forward, his appearance familiar yet not.

"We have a couple of things to ask you, Asmodeus."

"And you think I will answer freely?"

The child shook his head. "No,we know you won't. Name your price."

He chuckled, amused, especially when he sensed the magic centered around the bracelet on the child's wrist. Magnus took over.

"If you answer, I will spend one week a year in Edom for the next decade."

His lips curled into a smirk despite himself. "Ask your question."

His son glanced at one of the older Shadowhunters, then sighed, yet his question stilled him in his tracks.

"Who is Heylel?"