Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your wonderfully kind reviews- it means the world to me! Hope you enjoy Izzy's POV, Magnus and the final chapter is next.
~ xx Lady Knight xx
What have I been doing this weekend? Watching Alec fall apart. It started when he came home sobbing. Now, here's the thing. Alec doesn't cry. Ever. I mean, the guy can get stung by a Greater Demon and he might pass out quietly, but I mean no tears were shed then. He locked himself in his room and wouldn't open it until Jace threatened to break it down. Alec has always been fond of his door hinges.
Jace has been lurking around Alec all weekend, hovering like a shadow but unsure what to do. He's shoved hairbrushes at him, brought him ENDLESS cups of tea (the one thing Jace knows how to make,) brought our cat Church into Alec's room, threatened to hold him under an ice cold shower…Alec doesn't react. Jace can't get under Alec's skin because it's like he's not seeing any of it, like he's not here with any of us. I haven't seen him eat since he came home. How is he supposed to fend off Ravener demons when he a strong gust of wind could sweep him away?
Robert- I stopped calling him Daddy when I was seven- is oblivious. Nothing new there.
Mom is anxious but not sure what to do, she thinks it's a funk that he'll snap out of. She's already lost one son. If she knew how upset Alec is, then I know she'd be frantic at the thought of losing another to a broken heart.
And me? All I want is to fix it, make it better. He has always been so protective of me, yet hides away his own feelings. I can't understand why he does that. He seems to think that despite the fact that I've been in multiple relationships, demon fighting classes etc. etc. that I am a fragile flower. Sigh. Boys. When I was little, I thought Alec knew everything, that he would always take care of me. Now, I take care of myself and I just wish that Alec would let me take care of him sometimes, too.
Magnus. That blue-haired, glittery, no-good warlock. I've left him seventeen voicemail messages, stood under his window and screamed, left threatening messages carved into his door, and shoved Post-It's with the words: "Take Alec back! Right now!" under his door. I've also told all his mundane neighbors what a jerk he is. They had no idea who lived there before, though they did notice the interesting party guests. I would just break down his door, but he's a warlock cheater and put spells on it so I can't.
This means war. This means drastic measures. This also means I must send Jace to Taki's for takeout, because both of us will brainstorm better while eating pancakes.
I called Simon, Clary, Maia, everyone that Magnus IS talking to right now. I also may have impersonated Maryse and Church on the phone in voicemail messages…what? I was pretending Church wanted to see the Chairman! Duh. Anyway, nothing. I guess the next step, since I can't ransack Magnus's apartment for clues about what happened and Alec is staring at the wall and won't talk about it, is to search Alec's room. I'll get Jace to take him for a walk. This should be interesting.
After wrestling Alec into a jacket while he attempted to curl into a ball and lay on his bed, we finally got Alec bundled up and out the door. Jace promised to keep him outside for as long as he could.
I search Alec's room quickly, knowing that Alec likely wouldn't know if things had been moved but being careful all the same. Shuffling through snapshots of him with Magnus, old movie tickets, random bric-a-brac, his phone tucked in the corner of his desk drawer. No new text messages, but I try MAGNUS as the password and surprise, surprise, it opens. Showing outgoing calls to Magnus at…3 am in the morning? Nothing useful here.
Moving on to what's on the desk itself. Three blue pens, one brand new, one completely used up and one half full, lie in a pile. Shoved under several books, are a few pieces of parchment paper.
"WE'RE HOME" I hear Jace yell from the front hall, making me jump. By the Angel. That was ten minutes, not the leisurely half hour I was looking for. Grabbing the papers and smoothing the cover on the bed, I fold them in half and- Alec comes storming into the room, making directly for the bed.
"What're you doing in my room?" he mutters, head already on the pillow, facing the wall.
"Uh…neatening up. Your room is a mess." I say quickly, holding the papers behind my back and edging towards the door.
"Looks the same to me." Alec mumbles before closing his eyes. Phew. My normally observant brother would definitely have seen me with the papers. Or maybe he just doesn't care.
"SO?" Jace whisper-yells behind me. "Did you find anything?" I shush him, and it's only when we're buried deep in the library that I show him the papers I found, written in clear blue ink with dried tears toward the end of one page.
We read them, of course. It might be an invasion of privacy, but drastic times call for drastic measures. It's clear to me once we finish reading that there is only one person who needs to read this letter and it isn't "to the one who loves him next." It's Magnus. There isn't going to BE a next. Alec is falling apart and I will do whatever it takes to make him whole again.
Magnus's POV next…leave a review if you'd like! :)