Chapter Thirteen
They'd gotten together shortly before their final battle with the Darkness.
At the time, there hadn't been a precedent for their type of relationship, hadn't been any of the conventional means that mortals would use to tie themselves together, so instead they'd officiated their marriage by tying their grace together.
By binding them so tightly around each other that, at the time, he'd believed nothing would ever part them.
As the universe expanded and the fledglings came into existence, their bond had remained, a steady hearth beneath his breast even when his mate was off with their Creator. It was Michael's grace that stayed the worst of his rage, the burning warmth a balm to the icy grip of his own. It had been what dragged him from the spirals that Amara's Darkness had sent him down and when he'd been cast away, their bond had been torn away as well. It had left a gaping, festering wound where the warmth had been and for so long he'd believed their mate bond was gone.
So why did his chest burn the way that it did?
Why was his mate staring at him with those wide dark eyes, one of Raziel's Nephilim blades piercing his heart?
Why did it hurt?
"Sa-Samael?" He breathed, terror palpable as the darkness in his own gaze faded to his normal starlit crimson and the older angel smirked slightly, blade falling from numb hands.
"Looks like you were right, mio angelo."
Dark eyes fell shut, body tipping forward and before he could think about what he was doing he'd caught the man.
"Why did you do that? Why did you save me?"
The body in his arms shrugged. "I love you. The…the only one allowed to hurt you…is me…"
Around them everything, even time, froze, and he stiffened as he felt a familiar presence appear, invisible to all but him.
"Let him go, Heylel."
He swallowed, the feel of that familiar voice in his conscious startling yet as much as he wanted to hate it, hate them, he couldn't. His words echoed his thoughts.
"I can't."
"I can save him, Little One. Though if I do, he will be remanded back to the Silver City to answers for the crimes he ha's committed."
The body in his arms went still, the warmth of the other's grace beginning to cool.
To dim.
His beloved was dying, and it should've been easy to hand him over to the one promising to save him and yet-
"The mortals?"
"He will be dead to them. It will be centuries before he is to set foot outside of the Silver City again." The voice softened. "Perhaps in that time you can both heal."
He swallowed thickly, looking down at the man that had caused him so much pain, so much anger, yet. The one his foolish heart stubbornly held on to.
"I don't want to love him, anymore." He confessed, turning his gaze onto the being that had created him, had cast him from his home. "I don't want to love you anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore. I just wanted it to be over."
Something almost like hurt crossed those indecipherable features. "I know."
Staring at the being, he finally handed over the body in his arms, fighting back the urge yank the man back. Their creator cradled the bodySamael gently, gaze softening as he moved like he was going to take his former mate back. Staring at him, knowing and pained, their Creator the the body in his arms and then before he could day anything else, the two were gone and time had started back up.
"None of this was ever done to hurt you, My Light Bringer."
The angel flinched. "I Fell. Your Light Bringer is no more."
Sending him one last look, his creator stepped back then vanished.
No.
No.
It wasn't supposed to hurt.
It wasn't supposed to hurt like this!
Time restarted and Heylel-
Heylel shattered and…
F
E
L
L.
*/*
"Who threw that?"
The question was a mere whisper on the wind and yet every mortal on the ground heard it, each shivering at the burning rage in those vermillion eyes, the deadly black wings arched threateningly behind their owner only making him more terrifying.
It escaped no one's notice that Valentine was gone and yet as they stared at the being hovering in the air above them, it didn't seem to matter. Instead, their focus was on the sharp spindles of ice slowly growing around them, only Isabelle, Jace, and Maxwell being spared.
Valentine's son raised his head defiantly.
"It wasn't meant for father." He snarled, leaving little doubt as to who he'd been aiming for.
Alexander's gaze slid away from them to focus on the boy, then hummed softly, landing in front of the boy.
"You- the son of the Fairchild and my mate. And yet," His gaze intensified. "You have the blood of my demons in your veins. It is only that blood that stills my hand. But you have taken something of mine and so shall the deed be returned." The younger flinched away, yet not quick enough to avoid the archer's grasp.
With a gentleness that contrasted the pure rage in his eyes, he held the boy's face in place, frost dusting the skin beneath his fingertips. For a moment it seemed that nothing had happened, even as those eyes glowed.
Then, Valentine's son screamed.
A vivid vermillion light flashed beneath the angel's hand then he stepped back, wings vanishing.
"Alec?" Jace question ignoring the screaming boy and his parabatai blinked dazed, then collapsed. Magnus caught him before he could hit the ground.
Behind them, Jonathan Morgenstern fell silent, blonde hair bleeding into a snow colored white.
*/*
"What the hell just happened?"
Maryse shook her head at her daughter's question stepping forward as Bane adjusted the limp form of her eldest in his grasp.
"I-I don't know." Reaching forward, she activated her strength rune and gently took her son from the man, her heart aching as she remembered the last time she had seen him so still.
That horrible night when she had thought she had lost him to another's rage. Another's careless disregard of her son.
"We need to get back." She murmured quietly, and Bane nodded, opening a portal to Alec's office. In another situation she would've asked how he was able to open a portal into their institute, especially since warlocks were forbidden to portal directly in and yet she couldn't bring herself to care. Not with Alec lying still in her arms, and Max beside her clinging to his hand.
Not with Bane eyeing her son with a mixture of sadness and grief.
Not when her own heart was screaming trying to make sense of all that she had learned over the past few days.
No, she just felt relieved.
Stepping through, she paid no mind to who followed, nor to who was present in the office, laying her son down on the window seat, then turned to face Robert, Jocelyn and the others.
"The war is over."
Robert's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Valentine is dead. Jonathan killed him." She gestured to the limp form Jace was carrying, watching her adopted son's face twist in disgust.
"He tried to kill Alec. Valentine-" He flinched. "Took the blade instead. Alec killed most of the ci-"
"All." The boy in his arms interrupted and Jace dropped him like he was on fire. The man yelped in pain but didn't attempt to escape. Instead, he stared at Alec's sleeping form with a mixture of terror, awe, and hatred.
"All?" Jocelyn asked and he sneered at her.
"Yes, mother. He killed all of father's men. We were all on that ship and he destroyed it from the inside out. I only survive because he let me."
He barked out a laugh. "The devil let me live!"
Max stared at him. "Not for long." He replied conversationally and Jonathan stilled.
"What the hell did you say?"
The youth shrugged. "He said he spared you because of your blood then he took something away. I doubt he left you alive for lone. Especially if your father is dead."
Jonathan snarled. "He's your father too, little brother. I heard what he said."
Jocelyn gasped. "What?"
"Oh yes," Her son purred, malicious delight in his eyes. "Father loved Lightwood more than he ever loved you. All he could ever talk about was getting his beloved back. But when he found out about the brat," -he gestured to Max who was watching him stoically- "He was furious. Wondered how Lightwood planned to keep it hidden, especially when Maryse was found to be barren after the birth of Isabelle. He became even more obsessed with getting Lightwood back. More obsessed with the brat."
He paused. "He even killed that girl. The one that kissed Lightwood at his wedding. His best spy, murdered out of pure jealously." He clucked his teeth.
"He was weak."
"If he was as obsessed with Alec as you said, why did he take my mother?!" Clary yelled in disbelief and Jonathan shrugged.
"She was part of the plan, but as soon as Lightwood became involved the plan sort of when off the rails. Been that way since they first got together. We would make a plan, then father would get a message or something from Lightwood and the plan was suddenly changed to accommodate whatever plans they had. He actually"- his face twisted in disgust- "loved Lightwood."
"He nearly killed him." Robert growled and the snowette shrugged.
"To love is to destroy." He replied and Jace flinched reminded of the way the man had hammered that idea home during his childhood.
For a moment they all went silent. Then Magnus sighed.
"So…what are we going to do with him?"
Maryse scowled slightly, but didn't look away from Alec. "Place him in the holding cells until Alec wakes up. Robert set up a meeting with Inquisitor Herondale and the Silent Brothers. Everyone else…go rest."
Each sending the slumbering form on the window seat a glance, they began to disperse leaving only Bane, Max and the Lightwood Parents.
"Who's watching the cells?" Robert asked and Maryse smirked.
"Underhill."
Magnus frowned.
"Why does that matter?"
"I don't trust Jocelyn or her daughter not to do anything stupid. The shadowhunters here are loyal to Alec above all else, none more so than Underhill. He will ensure that Morgenstern gets no visitor, mother or otherwise until Alec makes his decision."
Magnus smirked and found himself warming just a minuscule to the people in front of him.
Behind them a single crimson eye opened just a slit before falling closed once more.
Down in the holding cells, Jace, Isabelle and Clary found themselves jolting as Jonathan once more began to scream, this time just as loud as before.
Only Jonathan heard the soft whisper the echoed in his mind, furious, grieving, and mad yet deceptively gentle.
"I assure you, child. We are far from done."
White hot pain set his nerve endings alight unlike anything he ever felt.
He screamed.
