I know I promised this chapter for Friday, but when I got home I was super tired and yesterday was a bit chaotic. But here it is! I really hope you like (though I know you're going to kill me). Anyway, I won't say much here, just enjoy it :)


Chapter 13

Alec gathered the rest of his clothes and looked around the room to make sure nothing was missing. It was not that he had a lot of possessions, but he didn't want to leave anything behind. The cabin would soon be occupied by someone else and he wouldn't have the opportunity to recover anything once that happened.

Satisfied with the quickly inspection, he walked to the nightstand to extinguish the single candle that illuminated the room, but stopped once he reached it. There was something he had to take care first before joining Magnus...the folded piece of paper that seemed to burn from inside his pocket—the gift that Camille had given him.

With all that had happened with Magnus in the past days, Alec had completely forgotten about it, so he hadn't even had the chance to see what it was. It looked like some sort of map, so he opened it carefully and gasped a bit surprised. It wasn't a map like he had first thought, but a text, and for some reason the handwriting seemed oddly familiar, though he didn't know why.

He started reading the first sentence and immediately knew why he had recognized the handwriting, it was Raphael's, and what Camille had given him was what looked like a copy of the transcript they had been working on for weeks.

Alec rolled his eyes.

He was almost certain that Camille had thought he had been left in the dark with all the legend about the treasure and that was why she had asked him to remember who had helped him once he knew what there was to know, but she had been wrong. He already knew about the treasure, so he took the piece of paper and put it on the flame. The bottom right side began to burn, and as he watched it being consumed by the flames, his eyes landed on the very last line.

"...embrace death since this will be your grave."

Alec frowned in confusion and extinguished the fire before it could consume the text. He didn't remember that line as part of the original transcript, and suddenly, he was curious to know why this one ended differently than the one he had, so he read it.

"Upon my many travels I have been fortunate to hear countless of stories describing the existence of powers beyond any man's beliefs." Alec started reading. It was the same introduction he had read countless of times in the past few weeks. "For years I have denied their authenticity thinking that what can't be proved mustn't exist; it wasn't until I experienced one myself that I started to believe them.

"Hidden in an island in the middle of the sea lies a treasure whose power is so great that only God Himself could have created. People call it the treasure of all treasures, but it's actually the treasure of an angel. Before God named the seven archangels—Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Ramiel and Sariel—there was one that out-stood from them all, his name was Raziel. He was the Keeper of Secrets, the Angel of Mysteries. Among his many responsibilities, he was in charge of protecting a treasure that God had entrusted him—the most powerful and dangerous treasure of them all. The treasure consisted of the combination of three incommensurable forces: the power of man's will, the vitality of all living beings, and the force of nature itself. Whoever had the good fortune to possess it would be able to control and change the world at will.

"For years, Raziel watched over and took care of such precious possession until one day, when Lucifer betrayed God and was cast out of heaven, his secret was revealed and the existence of the treasure was exposed. Fearing that its location had been compromised, Raziel decided to hide it among mortals, but since he couldn't hide such powers in plain sight, he created a set of instruments—mortal instruments that contained in themselves the destructive forces that God had entrusted him: the power of man's will in the form of a Sword, the vitality of all living beings in the form of a Cup, and finally, the force of nature itself in the form of a Mirror.

"Carrying his instruments and under God's protection, Raziel traveled to the mortal world looking for places to hide them, but no place on Earth seemed to be suitable for the task. To his eternal relief, and after roaming the mortal world for years, Raziel finally stumbled across the rightful place to hide his secret. 'Fortified by nature and designed to curse anyone who dares to take possession of it, the treasure lies hidden within one of its very own forces.' The combination of the other two are the key that the Angel gives to those whose intentions are noble. 'That who is worthy of the love of God is worthy of this treasure and must look inside His Mouth to find its possession. Let the Star of Bethlehem to guide your path and you'll find both ingress and egress.'

"According to Raziel, when Lucifer defied God, the good Angels who resisted temptation were admitted into the immediate vision of God and became firmly rooted in virtue, making a permanent and indelible choice to submit to the love of God. Only someone of pure heart and whose blood has been blessed by the Angel himself will be worthy of this treasure. Betrayal brought these powers to the mortal world, so it's from betrayal that the one who is worthy to hold the power to control the world at will must be born; if wrong hands try to take possession of it the Angel himself shall descend from heaven and send a curse upon them. 'That who steals and compels by greed, by greed would be consumed.'

"What the-" Alec continued reading. There were parts in this text that he had never read before. Only someone of pure heart and whose blood has been blessed by the Angel himself will be worthy of this treasure? What did that even mean? He sighed, resuming his reading.

"To err is human and the Angel knows that forgiveness is born of repentance, for if you forgive others when they sin against you, God will also forgive you. So those whose shoulders bear the brunt of the curse already, shall be blessed with a gift—a gift whose value is greater than the three forces combined. 'If you're looking for forgiveness, let my blood to wash your sins. No matter if Eve or Adam, the blood is the same alike. Place it where it was hidden and return all what was lost, but remember that only the firstling will be gifted by the grace of God."

Alec stopped. The text had never made much sense when it came to describing the treasure, it was clear that over time Jonathan had lost some of his lucidity, but still, there were things that were very clear to him. Only the firstling will be gifted by the grace of God…the firstling…the firstborn. He thought.

"No, no, no, no, no." Alec shook his head, resuming his reading. Before drawing conclusions, he had to finish reading, there were just a couple of sentences left.

"Blood calls to blood, so let Raziel's blood to help you find the way back; ask a creature of nature for a brew, for they can point what the stars overlook. And if like myself from the curse you're still a slave, embrace death since this will be your grave."

Alec reread the text several times to make sure he had understood everything.

"This can't be." He whispered to himself.

His mind and heart refused to believe it. According to this text, things were very different from what he had been told. Valentine didn't need Jace's blood to break the curse, but Alec's, and he needed it because Alec was Robert's firstborn—the blood of the Angel himself coursed through his veins. Jace's kidnapping had been a mistake, usually the position of Commander of the Clave Guard rested on the shoulders of the firstborn, so if something happened to his brother it would be Alec's fault. He had turned down that position.

"Oh, God."

There was also the fact that the potion that Camille had given them could only work with Alec's blood. He could track the treasure because blood called to blood and he had Raziel's blood.

"No, no, no, no, no." Alec shook his head, still refusing to believe it. Magnus would never hide any of this from him, right? This was certainly some kind of trick from Camille. She was jealous and wanted to separate them. But in that moment all the warnings he had received about Magnus flashed through his mind.

Catarina had advised him to be careful and to never trust him completely, "don't forget that he's a pirate." She had told him. And for some reason Camille's words kept coming back to him. "He's a pirate. He's selfish...he never acts out of compassion. He always has to get something in return. He's not the good person you think he is."

Alec felt his heart breaking into pieces. How could he be so blind? All the signs had been there, but he had refused to see them. He felt so stupid. He had given Magnus his trust and his heart, and the pirate had just played with both. He had betrayed him and used him as a part of his sick game.

Alec crumpled the piece of paper and slammed his fist against the small table. He was so angry with himself and with Magnus that his first instinct was to go and face the pirate, demand an explanation, but he stopped before reaching the door. He knew that face him would not change anything. They would just follow the original plan and go to the island where Valentine was, and now that Alec knew he couldn't trust Magnus, he wasn't going to risk his brother's life for him; it was clear that Magnus only cared about his stupid ship.

"You have to calm down." He whispered to himself. He knew he had to calm down in order to concentrate and think of what to do. He had no other option.

Alec took a deep breath and tried to think. He wasn't sure how yet, but he wasn't going to let Magnus play with him. He wasn't going to act impulsively as he had been doing. He would find a way to make this work in his favor.

"Two can play this game." He whispered when an idea came to him. It was crazy and it would require a lot of luck, but if he managed to pull it off, it would not only ensure rescuing Jace, but preventing the death of innocent people.

But, how was he going to do that? He didn't think he had it in him. It was not part of who he was to use people for his own benefit, but he had to do it, for his family...for himself.

Alec took a deep breath and put his act together. "You can do this." He encouraged himself. "You can do this." He said one last time, closing the door and heading to Magnus's cabin.

His heart was in pieces and he felt like dying, but during these past weeks he had learned to lie and cheat like pirates did, and that was exactly what he was going to do...act like a pirate and deal with the consequences of his actions later.

o-o-o-o-o

Magnus was reorganizing the few drawers they had when Alec entered the cabin. The boy was carrying a sack with his clothes over his shoulder. "What do you think of this? Left side for me, right for you." He announced with excitement. "We can change them if you want." He added promptly, when he noticed that Alec was still silent. He looked pensive, distracted.

"Is everything okay, Alexander?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...just tired." Alec said, but Magnus noticed how strange the boy was acting.

"What's wrong?" Magnus asked. "If you're having second thoughts and you don't want to stay here, it's fine...you don't have to. We can take all your stuff back to your old cabin."

Alec shook his head. "No, it's fine...I'm just tired." He said, busying himself with the clothes he had brought.

Magnus shrugged and just helped him. They remained silent just putting Alec's clothes inside the small drawers. It was such a domestic activity that Magnus couldn't help smiling. Pirates, and especially pirates who lived permanently aboard their ships, weren't very domestic, so sharing a cabin with someone else was as domestic as they could get, and Magnus was happy to be sharing that with Alec and only Alec.

"Now it's official!" Magnus announced when they finished folding the pile of clothes. "This is now our cabin." He said with a smile.

Alec smiled back, but Magnus saw that there was something different about it—it didn't reach his eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course, I'm just tired." Alec said. "You mind if I just go to sleep?"

"No, not at all. Let me join you." Magnus said. "Ragnor and Raphael will be here with the new crew after dawn, so we can sleep for a few hours."

Alec just nodded, taking off his boots and coat, and getting into bed. Magnus joined him, and a bit hesitant, lay down beside him. Alec was acting a bit strange and suddenly Magnus didn't know what to do, but when Alec didn't flinch or turned around to avoid him, Magnus relaxed. Maybe Alec hadn't lied and he was, indeed, just tired.

"I'm cold." Magnus said, snuggling closer to Alec and leaving a kiss on his neck.

Alec's eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly, as if he were already asleep, but Magnus knew he was not.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine."

"I don't know why, but I don't believe you. Is the wave of the impending battle against Valentine finally hitting you as well?"

"Yeah…something like that."

Magnus smiled. He knew something was bothering Alec, he knew it. "Well, I'll use your own words. 'There's nothing to worry about. We have each other's backs, so stop worrying.' Nothing bad will happen...I promise."

Alec didn't reply and they just fell into a peaceful silence that lasted for a few minutes until Alec finally spoke.

"Can we go see the sunrise from one of the docks before sailing?"

"Of course, my love." Magnus said with a smile. "If that's what you want, we certainly can."

"Thanks."

"Sleep tight, Alexander."

"Hmmm, you too."

o-o-o-o-o

Alec had been awake all this time just pretending to be asleep. It had taken a huge sacrifice on his part to pretend that everything was fine between them. Every moment, every touch and every word from Magnus were like knives plunged into his heart. He hadn't felt this kind of pain before, but he couldn't dwell on it too much. He had a plan to put in motion.

Being careful not to wake the pirate, Alec got out of bed and tiptoed his way outside. The night was at its darkest part, so he knew that dawn was near. And if dawn was near that only meant that he had to prepare everything for what he had in mind. He knew he would have only one shot to make it work so he had to be very, very careful.

Quietly, he walked to the armory and took what he needed from there, making a couple of stops on his way to Magnus's cabin. Some members of the old crew were already boarding the ship, so he had to be cautious not to reveal his plan yet.

Alec entered the room and allowed himself a few seconds to just look at Magnus. The pirate was completely asleep. He looked so innocent, so harmless that Alec's heart broke even more. How was it possible that Magnus had played with him like he had? He couldn't believe it. After all they had lived together, after all they had shared.

Alec shook his head.

"Magnus, wake up." He whispered, poking him gently. "It's time."

Magnus blinked a little. "Good morning, Alexander."

"Good morning."

Magnus frowned. "You smell like rum, have you been drinking?"

"Maybe…" Alec admitted. He had, in fact, taken a few sips on his way there just to have the courage to do what he had to do.

"Why? You don't like rum."

"I needed it to wake up." He lied.

"Well, it was your idea to go see the sunrise, my love." Magnus pointed out, getting out of bed.

"I know."

They both got ready as fast as they could and headed to the docks. Alec had already expressed his desire to go see it from the farthest one, so Magnus was just following him while they skirted around all the docks. It was a small island, but it had more docks than many other cities, including Alicante.

"I've always loved sunrises." Alec said when they reached the last dock. It was hidden away behind some wracked ships on the far side of the island. There was no one around, it was completely deserted.

"Why?"

"Because they represent new beginnings." He confessed, trying to keep his emotions at bay. Doing what he was about to do required all his self-control.

He moved toward Magnus and grabbed his hand, Magnus immediately got closer and hugged him. Alec couldn't help but react willingly to the contact. His mind was telling him to step back and focus, but his body was telling him otherwise. He wanted Magnus, despite everything, he still wanted him, so when the pirate put his lips on his, he didn't complain and just kissed him back, allowing himself to get lost in the feeling for a moment. This was going to be their goodbye kiss, so he poured everything he had into it.

Magnus groaned, and Alec took that as his cue to proceed with his plan, so taking advantage of the position, he took Magnus's hands and put them behind the pirate's back. He felt Magnus smiling in triumph and intensifying the kiss. Alec knew that the pirate was thinking they were going to do something very different, so he let him believe that until he had him trapped against the dock's railing and Alec's own body.

"I like it when you take control." Magnus said between kisses.

"I know." Alec replied, slowly pulling from his pocket a set of handcuffs and securing them around Magnus's wrists and the railing.

"Alexander, what the-"

"How much of my blood do I need to pour in the potion to make it work?"

"What?"

"You heard me." Alec said. He had taken a few steps back to stay away from Magnus's reach. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted again. He had to ask fast and go. He had to take over the Avenger before Ragnor and Raphael returned to the ship. That was his plan. He was going to steal the ship and go on his own to rescue Jace.

"Alexander, this is not funny. Release me."

"Answer me!" Alec demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about, you're not making any sense." Magnus said. He looked disturbed and surprised.

"I know the truth!" Alec snapped, throwing Magnus the copy of the transcript that Camille had given him.

"How did you-?"

"Get this?" Alec completed the question. "You ex gave it to me. I think she's more honorable than you after all."

"Stop, please stop, let me explain."

"Explain what!?" Alec shouted, losing his temper. "That you lied to me? That you used me?"

"That's not true."

"Of course it's true! You only wanted me to get your ship back, I was just a bargaining chip for you, wasn't I?"

"No, I-"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not lying, at first yes, you were, but then things changed." Magnus said. "Alexander-"

"Nothing changed, Magnus! You used me!"

"Alexander, please don't...remember what I told you yesterday's morning? You promised you wouldn't forget how important you are for me."

"And, how am I supposed to believe you if you've been lying to me all this time?"

"I was afraid of your reaction, okay? I screwed up, but don't-"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I don't want to hear you." Alec said. He couldn't bear to hear the distress in Magnus's voice. It was painful and just made everything more difficult to handle.

"You have to let me explain." Magnus cried out. "Yeah, at first my plan was to trade you for the Danube. My ship was all I cared about, but that changed, Alexander, you are the only thing that matters to me, only you."

Alec shook his head and walked away. He couldn't stay there listening to this man's lies. He had to go and never look back.

"Where are you going?" Magnus asked desperately. He was trying to free himself, but Alec had made it impossible without the key.

"To get my brother back."

"Alexander...Alec...you can't go on your own. He's going to kill you!"

"I don't care, I have nothing to live for."

"And, what about us?"

"There's no us…" Alec said, feeling how those words ended up breaking what was left of his heart.

"Alexander!"

"Goodbye, Magnus." He said, looking at the pirate one last time and walking away.

"Where's my pistol?" Magnus shouted in a desperate attempt to draw Alec's attention before it was too late.

"I'm not leaving you to die." Alec replied, remembering that when you left a pirate to die, it was tradition to give them a pistol with a single shot so that they could end their life if necessary.

"You are, Alexander. You are..." Magnus said, "aku cinta kamu."

Alec stopped dead in his tracks. He knew what those words meant. He remembered that Indonesian poem that Magnus had translated for him perfectly.

"For what it's worth," Alec said in a low voice, he knew that Magnus could still hear him, "I think I do too." He added, walking away and leaving behind his heart, and the pirate who had stolen it.


I'm sorry! Don't hate me, okay? I'll fix this, I promise.