There were no bells to wake them up out in the woods, so by the time Magnus stood up the sun was already standing tall. Alec had his head on his chest and both arms wrapped around him, so there wasn't any way for Magnus to get away without risking to wake him up. Not that Magnus wanted to move, he was more than happy right there.
He looked down at Alec, his boyfriend. His actual boyfriend, his lover. He was cute like that, sleeping and clining to Magnus like a koala. Magnus hummed and stroked his fingers through Alecs hair, it was so soft. He could do that every morning from now on, or every evening. All the time actually, and Magnus couldn't begin to describe how good that felt.
He played softly with Alec's hair till Alec started moving, and then eventually opened his eyes. "Good morning," Alec mumbled, turning his head to kiss Magnus's chest lightly. Magnus smiled at the soft touch, butterflies flapping around in his stomach as they so often did when Alec was around.
"Good morning," he answered. "Did you sleep well?" Magnus asked.
"Perfect. I've never slept this peacefully, and we're in a forest so that says something."
"I take that as a compliment, so thank you."
"It was a compliment. I sleep better around you than anywhere else. No matter where we are. It almost feels like there's some wall protecting us from the outside world."
"Huh. Me too," Magnus said, trying to ignore the fact that apparently Alec could feel his wards. Could he feel his other magic too? Did he know? Magnus wondered when he should tell Alec about this. He knew he had to tell him eventually.
"You have a very calming presence, Magnus," Alec hummed.
"Only when I'm actually calm. I can be very… upsetting when I'm mad. I kinda take it out on everyone."
"Really? I've never noticed you do that. Not that I've seen you mad that many times, but…"
"It's not really on purpose. You know, sometimes it just gets too much and I just kind of explode." Magnus meant that literally, of course. He'd blown up a cup once when he got mad. It hadn't been on purpose, and he'd felt awful for it after, but it had just felt so relieving at the time to just get everything out. "Or… after our fight, I locked myself up in my room for the entire week and I refused to eat and talk and everything. I took my anger and sadness out on Luke," he said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know… I'm sorry for hurting you like that Magnus."
"No, Alec I… I kind of understand it actually. It doesn't mean that it hurt any less, but I am not mad at you. Not anymore," he said. "Let's just forget that it ever happened, let's focus on the future."
"Yeah. I get a feeling it has something big planned for us."
"That is for sure, Alexander," Magnus mumbled, running a hand through Alec's hair again.
They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Magnus sighed. "Alright, let's keep moving," he said and kissed Alec before he crawled out of the sleeping bag.
"Yeah, you're right. We still have a long way till Dumort, I've sent a letter already so they should be expecting us."
"Come on, let's eat breakfast and feed the horses too," Magnus said, taking Alec's hand to pull him with him.
"We should at least get dressed first," Alec protested.
"Why? We have underwear on, it's not like we're naked. And there's no one out here, we're in the middle of the woods! And it's warm outside."
"Fine, fine. You're right" Alec chuckled.
"It also gives me more time to stare at you," Magnus said, grinning as Alec blushed.
They ate a simple breakfast and fed the horses some carrots and apples. They found a little stream of water where they refilled their bottles and let the horses drink. Then they got dressed, packed everything, geared up the horses, and set on their way through the woods again. Their first destination was a day away, without any delays they would be in Kingdom Dumort by sunset. Which fitted well, cause Dumort was known for being the night kingdom. It was weird, but most people there preferred to be out by night and sleep all day. From what Izzy told him that was one of the things that had caused the argument five years ago.
The leadership of this kingdom was confusing too. They had a king, which Alec had told him was named Raphael. But they also had a woman who came by from time to time and ruled the whole thing, like a temporary queen, almost. Her name was Camille, if Magnus remembered correctly. He shook his head, discarding the thoughts.
"So, why are we going to Durmont first?" Magnus asked after a little while.
"Because it's the closest kingdom and Izzy and I thought it would be the best to go to the closest ones earlier and then move further away."
"Hm… yeah, that makes sense actually," Magnus nodded. He made Jem move a bit faster so he could catch up with Alec. Magnus tended to get lost in their surroundings and then get behind, at first Alec had stopped but now he seemed to be used to it and it didn't bother him too much.
"What are we gonna do when we've been to all the kingdoms? What if I still can't go home after that?" Magnus asked.
"Then we'll go to all the kingdoms again. I'm not returning to Idris without you, Magnus."
"But what about your siblings? Won't you miss them?"
"Of course, but I can write them and they can leave Idris if they want to so we could meet from time to time."
"Oh, that makes sense, of course."
"But I also hope that once I've succeeded in killing Lilith, that my father will then accept me and you by my side," he said.
"The prophecy says you will kill Lilith and save the shadow world. The shadow world is full of magic; vampires, werewolves, just magic. Your father hates all of that. I'm not saying he won't accept you, I'm just saying… you're destined to fight for what he's been trying to put an end to." Alec sighed.
"Good point. I guess I'll just have to hope he comes to terms with it."
"Sometimes hoping is all you can do."
"Yeah. But I wish I could do more, actually feel like I'm doing something."
"You can't change what your father thinks, Alexander. But for now you can change what many kingdoms think of Idris, focus on that."
"Yeah, let's focus on the things we can do something about. Like the fact that I'm getting thirsty. Hand me the bottle," Alec said. Magnus unfastened it from where it was strapped to Jem's saddle bag and gave it to Alec.
"Here you go and for the next time, it's 'hand me a bottle, please, '" Magnus said with a low chuckle. "I thought you were taught some manners, Alexander."
"Well, you're my servant. You should call me sire , or your highness. And yet I don't see you doing that."
"I grew up in a village. My only friends were the sheep. You think I have any manners?" They both laughed and continued their banter as they rode through the woods.
They stopped a few times on their way but soon they came closer to the kingdom Dumort, there were more and more houses, not only fields. Most of the fields were empty so they knew they were in the right kingdom. "It is a bit spooky, you know. That no one is out on the field during the day, don't you think?" Alec asked. He felt uneasy but he knew it would be fine eventually.
"Yeah. I can imagine it'll be even creepier at night when it gets full of people. They'll look like ghosts or something... How long do we have to stay here?" Magnus asked.
"Well, our meeting with the king is scheduled for tomorrow night. I gave us one night extra in case something went wrong."
"Hm, sounds good. So did you also find a place for us to stay in already?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's a little place close by the castle."
"Okay, let's get there then, these empty streets are giving me chills." Alec nodded and showed the way to the tavern. Blood hotel it said in big, red letters outside the tavern.
"That's not at all creepy," Magnus mumbled. Alec agreed with him silently.
"Let's just go in. I'll go pay for our stay and two places in the stable, will you stay here with Shadowhunter and Jem?" Magnus nodded, they got off the horses, Magnus took the reins and Alec went inside.
It was even creepier inside. There were no windows, the chairs and tables were all empty despite it being happy hour, and the woman at the reception looked like she was about to kill him. Alec put a fake smile on his face and approached her.
"Welcome to the blood hotel, how many I help you?" The woman said, not even looking up.
"Hello, I'm Prince Alexander from Idris. I have a meeting with your king tomorrow night and I'd like to book a room for two and two places at the stables, please"
"Twin room or double room?" The woman asked, looking up for once.
"Double room."
"How many nights?"
"Two." The woman wrote down something on a piece of paper before turning to him.
"That'll be 15 golden coins, here's your key," she handed him a big, heavy brass key. Alec took the key and handed her the money. "We don't serve food," she said before he could leave. "Food can only be bought at the little market by the edge of the city." Alec frowned. What kind of tavern didn't serve food? And shouldn't food be easy to get? In Idris there were markets in pretty much every street.
Alec shook his head and went outside to Magnus. "Come on," he said. "Let's get them in the stables." He took Shadowhunter's reins and lead him to the empty stables. Magnus followed him and they both got their horses ready for the stay.
"Alec… Have you been here before?" he asked. "Or anyone you know?"
"No. This place is really creepy. They don't even serve food here."
"What?" Magnus exclaimed. "What kind of tavern doesn't serve food?"
"The ones in Dumort, apparently. Let's get inside and sleep now. I'm exhausted, and maybe that way I won't be creeped out so much."
"Sounds great." They made their way inside again, the woman paid them no mind. Once they were upstairs Alec looked hesitantly at all the doors. Which one was theirs? He looked at the key to see if it said anything and found a number written on it. Five. Fifth door.
Magnus moved closer to Alec and took his hand. "I'm sorry but this is just really creepy and I hope we can get away as soon as possible."
"Me too," Alec said, squeezing Magnus's hand. The key fit right into the keyhole and the door opened with no difficulties. Alec opened the door and then let Magnus in first.
In a strange way the room was beautiful, still no windows but a huge bed, black satin and red velvet everywhere. The walls were painted in a dark brown and the bed was made from a very dark wood and appeared almost black.
"Wow… erm, yeah. Well this is our bed for the next two days," Alec said.
"Well, it's spacious at least. It's not too bad, except the fact that there's no windows. What do these people have against windows?!"
"You know what, let's think about that tomorrow. Now I just wanna sleep," Alec said. Magnus agreed with Alec, and they placed their bags by the door before locking it and stripping down to their underwear as they got into bed together.
"Good night," Alec said, placing his head on Magnus's shoulder.
"Good night," Magnus responded, running a hand though Alec's hair. As they had done the night before, they drifted off to sleep quickly, safe in each other's arms.
Magnus had no idea what time it was when he woke up, and the lack of window started bothering him even more. It could be in the middle of the night, it could be past midday, or barely any minutes and passed, and Magnus couldn't know because he had no damn window.
Magnus looked down at Alec. He would never get tired of this view. He wanted to wake up to this forever, and wanted to be able to run his hand though Alec's hair every day, all the time.
About ten minutes later Alec woke up, and Magnus greeted him good morning with a kiss. They spent almost an hour in bed, talking and kissing and cuddling before hunger drove them out of it. They ate a small breakfast, they wanted to spare their food because apparently they wouldn't be getting much here.
"We should go out," Magnus suggested after they'd eaten. "See what time it is and check on Shadowhunter and Jem." Alec agreed with him.
"Yeah. Let's do that, these windowless rooms are making me feel weird," Alec agreed and reached for his clothes.
Soon enough they were walking out of their room into the, unsurprisingly, empty hall. The same woman was downstairs at the reception, and Alec wondered for a second if she ever slept.
Alec and Magnus stepped outside and both sighed when the sun warmed up their skin. They hadn't been away from it that long, but sleeping in a room with no windows really made them long for the sun.
There wasn't a single soul out in the streets. Not one person. No one. Empty. It was like the whole damn kingdom was allergic to sunlight.
"Judging from the sun it's about ten o'clock," Alec said, pulling Magnus out of his thoughts. "That means we have fourteen hours to waste."
"In this abandoned place. That's gonna be fun, huh?"
"It's gonna be awful."
"Yeah."
"Let's feed the horses and go back to bed."
"Sounds like an excellent plan."
They did spend the whole day in bed, and only left it to go to the bathroom. Alec would do anything to be able to do this every day. To just stay in bed with Magnus, to not do anything at all and be close to his boyfriend
They'd kissed and talked, and just held each other close. They'd gotten heated a few times, tongues dancing around each other and hands exploring uncovered skin. But they'd stopped before they got too carried away. They still didn't know exactly how it worked between the two of them, and both of them agreed that they probably weren't ready yet.
Unlike Idris, Dumort didn't have a clock tower. And without windows they had to rely on instinct about what time it was. Alec was sure he'd seen a clock down in the lobby, but he honestly didn't want to get out of bed. Ever.
But after a while Alec felt like it was getting late, and he couldn't risk missing the meeting with Raphael.
"We should get dressed," he said to Magnus. "I have no idea what time it is, but I'm sure the sun has set. Or is setting right now." Alec moved to get out of the bed, but Magnus put his hands around his waist and pulled him back in.
"Just a little bit more," he begged, looking at Alec with those adorable puppy eyes and snuggling into his chest. And how was Alec supposed to say no to that?
"Fine," he sighed. "Just a little bit more."
A little bit more turned out to be over half an hour. Not that Alec would ever complain. They got out eventually, and that was all that mattered. They got dressed, Magnus in his normal clothes and Alec in his tunic and Lightwood cape. After some insisting from Magnus he put the crown on too. Alec had brought it to use it, of course. But it just didn't feel right to have it on. It didn't feel like he deserved it. But Magnus had told him it looked good on him, and had wanted Alec to wear it, so he did.
Alec also strapped the belt with the soulsword around his waist, and he made Magnus bring the dagger. It wasn't right for a servant to be armed, but the dagger was subtle, and since they were traveling it would be accepted. An entire sword though… Alec didn't know how the knights and other people in the castle would react to that, and he didn't want to find out. So he slid the scabbard of the sword off the belt and gave the belt to Magnus so he could fasten it around his waist. When they were both done they headed downstairs.
The tavern was now fully packed. There wasn't a single available chair. It was definitely night.
No one was eating anything, but they all seemed to be drinking a weird, red substance. Maybe wine, or some kind of red beer?
"Alexander, is it just me or does it look like they're drinking blood?" Magnus whispered beside him.
"Of course they're not drinking blood," Alec said, discarding the thought immediately. Yeah, it was a weird, dark red liquid, but that didn't automatically make it blood. "Just because no one here goes out in the sun, no food is served at the taverns, and there are no windows doesn't mean the whole kingdom is full of vampires or anything. Vampires barely exist anymore, there can't be an entire kingdom of them without anyone noticing." In Idris, if someone suspected you were a vampire you would be tied to a stake in a market a few hours before sunrise. If you caught on fire you were a vampire and would die, if not you would be released by midday and the people who suspected you would be punished with a fine.
Idris had killed most of its vampires in the first few years after the war like that.
Alec tried to ignore all the people and looked over at the clock in the corner. They were going to meet Raphael at midnight. In half an hour.
"Let's get out of here," Alec said, taking Magnus's hand. Magnus squeezed his hand and followed close to him, their shoulders touching. It was chilly outside, and the moon was standing tall in the sky. It was almost full, Alec was sure they would get a full moon one of the next few days.
They walked together through the now busy streets, Magnus's hand warm in his. Alec kept getting surprised over how Magnus was always so warm. He could swear he literally never got cold. He didn't mind though, not at all. It made him excellent to cuddle with, especially on cold nights. And it kept Alec's hand warm as they made their way to the castle.
They were stopped by the guards outside the can castle. "State your business," one of them said.
"I am prince Alexander Lightwood of Idris. I'm here to speak with your king."
"And who is that?" The other guard asked, nodding towards Magnus. Magnus was about to speak, but Alec beat him to it.
"Magnus Bane. My servant," he said. The guards nodded and let them pass.
"King Raphael will be waiting for you in the throne room. Right down the hall."Alec nodded and thanked them, and then followed the red rug on the floor, straight down the corridor like the guards had said.
"Why did you interrupt me back there? I'm capable of introducing myself," Magnus said after a little while of silence.
"I know, Magnus. But it's formalities, a servant shouldn't speak unless they are spoken to. And that guard asked me who you were. I know it's stupid, but those are the rules."
"So I'm not supposed to talk at all."
"Unless someone speaks directly to you, no."
"I'll keep my mouth shut then." They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Alec noticed yet again the lack of windows.
At the end of the corridor there was a big door made from dark wood. There were two guards at the door here too. "State your business," they said again, just like the ones outside.
"I am Alexander Lightwood, prince of Idris. This is my servant, Magnus Bane. I have come to speak to your king." Once again the guards nodded and opened the doors, letting them both past.
Inside the room was dark, and a red rug showed the way up to where a throne was standing tall, and a pale man sitting in it. The king stood up and both of them bowed to each other.
"Alexander Lightwood," the king said.
"Raphael Santiago," Alec replied.
"Let's move to somewhere else. Here is not a fitting place to discuss anything," Raphael moved down from the podium the throne was standing on and Alec followed him as he left the room. They made their way through windowless corridors until they arrived at a room with a big table and many chairs around. Probably the room all the meetings were held in in this kingdom.
"Take a seat," Raphael said, sitting down himself. "I understand that you're here on behalf of your father to discuss the peace between our two kingdoms"
"Yes, I am. And I want to assure you that we do hold on tight to every contract we make, the break in the last one with the… was a one time only excuse. Because some feelings got in the way," he said, even before he sat down. He gestured for Magnus to take a seat next to him and then focused back on Raphael. Raphael looked intently between the two of them before smirking lightly to himself.
"I see," he said, nodding. "You seem like a trustworthy prince. The biggest problem between our kingdoms is your father. After the scandal five years ago there have been no contact between the kingdoms."
"That's what I'm here to change. Dumort is a powerful kingdom, and should a war come we would like to have you on our side. We will, of course, support you too, if we come to an agreement. We will not back down from the contact without discussing it with you and coming to a new agreement," Alec said.
Magnus had zoned out after a while. It was mostly just Alec and Raphael discussing, and it got almost tiring after a few minutes. He heard their voices, but he didn't register what they said as he drifted away with his thoughts.
He found himself thinking about the future. His future. With Alec. Would it work out for them? He wanted to believe that it would, but there was no guarantee. If they ever ended, broke up, what would Magnus do? Would he stay as Alec's servant? Probably not. He would probably leave, he wouldn't be able to hold the pain. He hoped that would never happen.
Magnus was shook out of his thoughts when the door slammed, and he looked behind him to see a woman come into the room.
"Camille," Raphael said, disdain in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Can't a queen be part of the discussions of her kingdom?" the woman said, a sweet, seductive voice. Magnus disliked her already.
"We're in the middle of a meeting. You're interrupting," Raphael said. "Is there anything you need?" Camille ignored him and sauntered over to them.
"Three pretty boys all together? It must be my lucky day."
"Camille, if you're gonna be here, at least be professional," Raphael said and stood up. "They aren't here to play games with you."
"They are in my kingdom, isn't it fair that I get to use them?" Camille was standing very close to Magnus, close enough that she could touch him without even reaching out. Magnus had to fight himself to not flinch away.
"It's my kingdom."
"I simply borrow it to you. And you lead it because I don't have time for that."
"How can it be yours if you would rather be out there fooling around than here taking care of it? This is an important matter Alexander and I are discussing, so please leave. Unless you want to join the discussion." Raphael raised an eyebrow.
"I think I'll just stay here, enjoying the view." Raphael looked like he was about to burst, and Alec didn't look much better. Magnus had started wondering whether it would be rude or not to tell Camille to move away from him. "After all, you three make quite a good one."
"You've made the decision to stay here, then please be quiet or add useful things to the discussion," Alec requested in a friendly tone before he turned back to Raphael. "Now… where did we stop?" This time as they were back to discussing, Magnus didn't pay attention again. Not because he was bored, more because the hand on his arm now was very distracting. The way Camille was looking at him made him uncomfortable, and her touch didn't help at all. He should tell her to stop. But he was just a servant, and she was… whatever she was. He couldn't risk being rude to her or insult her. He just had to bite his lip and try to ignore it.
Camille took a seat next to him, the chairs much closer than what was necessary. Magnus tried to shift as far away from her as possible in his own chair. Her hand was resting right under his elbow, and it seemed to have stopped. He could deal with that. He avoided her eyes and looked at Alec and Raphael instead. They were discussing money and trades now, and Magnus tried to pay attention. He really did. He didn't manage to do it, but he tried. That had to count as something. At least it distracted him a bit from Camille, and her again travelling hand.
Magnus had to bite back a yelp when he felt her hand on his thigh. Two heads shot up to look at him, Raphael annoyed and Alec worried. "Are you okay?" Alec asked. Camille's hand was hidden by the table, but it was traveling up his thigh. He should tell her to stop, he wanted her to stop.
"Yeah... Yeah, I- I'm fine," he mumbled and tried to move his head into her direction so Alec might understand what she was doing. Alec could tell her to stop.
"Are you sure? You don't look fine." Alec looked over at Camille, but her sweet, innocent smile had him looking back at Magnus, frowning. "You look sick. Do you need some air?"
"I... If you could come with me?" Magnus asked.
"Yes, of course." Alec turned to Raphael. "Will you give us a minute? We're not used to rooms without windows… the air here is getting hot."
"That's not the only thing that's getting hot," Camille smirked. Raphael shot her a pointed look.
"Of course, let's take a small break."
"Thank you. Erm, could someone please lead us outside?" asked Alec as he stood up and moved towards Magnus. Magnus stood up, shaking Camille's hand off him. Raphael stood up too, opened the door and yelled a name. Barely a second later a girl appeared. Magnus was amazed by how that worked, how fast she'd come and how she'd heard him. She had probably been passing by.
"Lead these two to the garden," Raphael said. Then he turned to Alec. "We meet here again in fifteen minutes. Lily will show you the way. Camille, I want to talk to you," he said.
Alec followed the woman, and Magnus followed Alec. They were led to a garden, big trees and beautiful flowers filling it. They both settled down by a tree.
"Thank you, I... I couldn't tell her to stop, I wanted to, but I don't think I'm in a position that allows me to do that," he mumbled and took Alec's hand.
"What? Tell who to stop?"
"Camille."
"Camille? What was she doing?"
"She was… touching me. In an uncomfortable way."
"What?! Magnus, you can always tell someone to stop if they're making you uncomfortable, no matter who they are."
"I didn't want to interfere with your negotiations, and I'm just a servant, she's kind of the queen."
"It doesn't matter who the hell she is! And the negotiations can wait. You are a person, Magnus. Not a contract, not something people can just use. You and your feelings are valid, so if you're not comfortable then whoever is making you uncomfortable needs to stop."
"You're a prince, it's easier for you."
"It doesn't matter. I can tell her to stop if you want, but I just want you to know that you can always tell people to stop."
"Thank you," Magnus smiled and leaned in to kiss him gently. "And yes, please tell her to stop. I don't like her and I..I only want you to touch me like that"
"I'll never let her touch you again. She won't even sit besides you," Alec assured him.
"Thank you, Alexander," Magnus smiled and kissed Alec quickly.
"Are you ready to go back inside?" Alec asked. Magnus nodded.
"Yeah, lets get this over with."
They were led back inside by Lily, and once again they were back in the room. Camille and Raphael joined them a minute later, Camille looking smug and Raphael like he was wishing to die. Alec immediately glared at Camille, especially when she stepped close to Magnus.
"Don't you dare touch him," he told her immediately and stepped between them. Camille faked an innocent look.
"Me? Touch him? What makes you think I would ever do that?" It was almost believable, if it hadn't been for how happy she looked with herself.
"Camille, if you don't behave I'm gonna have to make you leave the room," Raphael said.
"Fine," Camille said with an exasperated sigh. "I won't touch the boy."
"Thank you," said Alec and sat down again, he made sure Magnus was sitting next to him and far from Camille. "Now, let's continue," he said and turned to Raphael with one last glare at Camille.
The rest of the meeting passed relatively quickly, they had written a contract, agreed on trades and peace and support and everything. The contract was signed by both Alec and Raphael, and then Raphael called for a servant to make a replica so Alec could bring one back to Idris so Robert could read and approve.
In the meantime Alec and Raphael talked, finishing their business before parting ways, the contract would be delivered to their room in the tavern later.
"This went rather wel, I'd say," Alec smiled and stepped closer to Magnus. "I mean, it went a lot better then what happened between my dad and him," he grinned.
"You are an excellent peacemaker. And you'll be a great king," Magnus said.
"Thank you, Magnus."
"No need to thank me, it's just the truth."
"Not if you ask my dad," Alec said sadly.
"I'm sorry to say this but your dad is an arse."
"I know. You're right. But he's not the only one. There are more people who think like him… I'm scared Idris won't want me as their king."
"How could they not want that? When you come home with dozens of peace contracts and trading agreements? They will love you, Alec."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just have hope, Alec. You should too."
"Yeah, I should. Thank you for helping me do so." Alec looked at the clock again as they entered the tavern. Four in the morning, it had taken four hours. The tavern wasn't as full as it had been when they came, but there were still some people there, still drinking that same, weird liquid.
Alec kept his eyes down and walked past the people quickly, up the stairs. He unlocked the door and let Magnus in before going in himself and closing the door behind them.
"Let's go to bed," Alec said. They had spent all day in bed, but these four hours had been exhausting and he wanted to sleep while he could.
They slept for hours, much longer than intended. They only woke up when the woman from the reception came up to knock at their door and insist they had to either check out or pay for another night. They'd gotten out of bed and packed their things quickly before walking down the stairs to give the key back.
"I swear that woman never sleeps," Magnus said once they were outside. She was there all the time! When they arrived, whenever they went downstairs, now that they left, always.
"Maybe she has a twin," Alec suggested. "Or maybe there's three of them." Magnus chuckled.
"Maybe."
They got the horses fed and ready, and then mounted them, ready to continue their trip. "Where to now?" Magnus asked as they rode out of the city.
"Red Hook," Alec said. "We slept for a little longer than anticipated, so we're gonna have to sleep in the woods again. But we'll be there tomorrow by midday, probably."
Magnus nodded, and they broke into a fast canter, he was very glad to leave this city behind, it was just very weird and creepy that nobody was awake during the day and there was no food or something to drink expect this red liquid which looked like blood. Magnus found it very possible that those people would be Vampires, especially since he himself was a warlock, so he knew that there were a lot of supernatural things in this world. Why not Vampires as well? But no matter what, they had these contracts and could now happily leave this city behind and go to the next one, where Magnus expected things to go as smoothly as they did in Dumort.
They were halfway through a forest when the sun started setting. Magnus and Alec looked around and it didn't take them long to find a small clearing where they started setting up their camp. This time Magnus was the one who went looking for wood while Alec made their tent.
Magnus made sure to not lose sight of the clearing as he looked for sticks and fallen branches. There hadn't been rain in a few days so most of the wood he found was dry. It would be a lot harder if it wasn't. He also seemed rather lucky because he found a lot of firewood nearby the camp.
Magnus soon had his hands full of wood and was on his way back to the clearing when something caught his eye. Magnus frowned, looking at the small stone. It was mostly covered, almost completely under the dirt. Just a little part of it was peaking out. But what made it so special to Magnus was the fact that it was glowing. Blue.
He'd seen something like that before, what felt like a lifetime ago. In that underwater cave, in the clearing with Alec. There had been an entire cave full of these diamonds, and Alec had been right in his superstition. He'd said they were taking energy from somewhere, and Magnus had felt weaker and weaker the longer he stayed in that cave, it had looked amazing and beautiful but Magnus had felt he couldn't spend a lot of time in there and so they had left it rather quickly.
Magnus had almost forgotten about it, but seeing this stone had brought the memories back.
Magnus put down the wood he had in his arms and crouched down by the stone, digging it up. It wasn't big, it could easily fit in his pocket. And Magnus didn't feel tired and nauseous like he had last time. This was just one small rock. The question was, how had it ended up there? Did these stones just exist as normal stones? And why did they glow when Magnus was nearby? They couldn't just be ordinary stones, not if they could channel Magnus's power like that.
Magnus stared at the stone, wondering what to do with it, what to do about this, how to get answers for his questions. After a few minutes he heard Alec yelling for him from the now set up camp. He looked at the stone one more time, put it in his pocket, grabbed the wood, and hurried over to Alec.
"Sorry I took so long," he said as he laid down the wood in the middle of the clearing. "Let's get this fire burning."