She awoke to the ice setting into her bones. Gasping for air, her eyes snapped open to a dark tent. The air wasn't cold - in fact, if she held a hand to her chest, her skin was hot. And yet, she was freezing, so much that her breathing was raspy. Her body shook with the effort of taking each breath. The sleeping bag was wrapped tightly around her and her pyjamas were warm, and yet it seemed that nothing could abate this aching chill that now consumed her.

Breathe, she told herself, but even that was hard. She twisted herself up as much as she could, trying to use the warmth of her skin as a source of heat. It was no use - despite feeling heat on her skin, the cold seemed to come from inside of her.

There was only one possible cause for this infernal ice - not magic, not demons, nothing supernatural at all. No. Isabelle Lightwood had a fever.

It had set in fairly quickly - she hadn't felt ill at all recently. In fact, her ankle had just stopped giving her trouble. And yet all of a sudden, it had struck her. She sighed. Oh well. Hopefully she was the only one who had it - it'd be a lot harder for them to find their way back if they were all sick.

She rolled over, hoping that Simon wasn't in the same predicament as her.

Except.

Except.

He was gone.

Panic rose in her throat, and she gulped down her next shuddering breath. It's okay, she told herself. He probably just realised you're sick, and decided to get some space. He wouldn't want to get sick too.

Yes. Perhaps she would open the tent door, and he'd be outside, wrapped in a sleeping bag, worried about getting sick but too polite to disturb her.

But his sleeping bag was still in the tent, next to her, where he should have been. She sat up, the world swimming around her as she did. She knew that she should lie down and sleep, in the interest of her own health, but she'd never fall asleep not knowing where Simon was.

It was still dark as she stumbled outside, meaning she couldn't see far, but from what she could see Simon wasn't there.

That was okay.

Everything was okay.

Simon was probably with Clary. And Jace.

No, that couldn't be right.

He was probably with Magnus. And… Alec.

Nope. Not after what happened two days ago.

Logic, Isabelle, she reprimanded, he's probably just… using the bathroom. Going for a stroll. It's okay. He knows what he's doing.

She hadn't realised, but her breath had stopped being shaky. Just like that. And she felt warmth again. And she realised how incredibly tired she was. It was like her body was not her own, as if some external force led her back into the tent, because despite her newfound panic for Simon, she fell asleep as soon as her eyes shut again.


When Magnus woke up, Alexander wasn't beside him. His momentary heart attack was quelled when he scrambled outside to find Alec sitting in front of a fire, making breakfast for them all. Without speaking, he handed Magnus his usual mug of warm water for the morning.

God, Magnus was in love.

"How are you?"

Magnus sat down next to him. "I'm… I'm well, thanks. And yourself?"

"I'm pretty good too. I mean… a change of scenery would be nice, but I have to admit. We should do this whole 'stranded in the wilderness' thing more often. I feel… wholesome. Like I've discovered something about myself. It's kind of nice to have to fend for yourself. And it's not like we've been… you know, karate-chopping bears in the face and wrestling with alligators to get to a half-eaten salmon carcass or anything… dramatic like that, but I do feel like I've accomplished something. Kinda."

Magnus leant his head on Alec's shoulder. "Yeah. It's been so hard, roughing it in these spacious tents, with all of these changes of clothes, and this food… God, Alexander, it's not organic. It makes me want to cry."

"Ha ha. Very funny. Next time I have a thought I'll just keep my mouth shut. Something that you, of course, would know nothing about."

Despite himself, Magnus snorted. "Okay. Good one."

Alec playfully shoved him, only for Magnus to lean right back in to Alec. "But seriously. Don't you feel a kind of… primal bond? Maybe I'm clutching at straws here, but surely you've got to kinda-sorta agree with me. It's like this experience has made us a unit, of sorts. Like… we're just now realising that we're all kinda annoying, but we're getting over it. You know?"

"Mm."

"I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we're all fostering a deep-seated hatred of each other, and I missed the memo."

"No, no, I agree." Magnus cleared his throat. "Yeah. I feel… more tolerant."

"Yeah. Me too. And coming from someone who's not very tolerant of people… I don't know. I just think that maybe, some good could have come of this mess."

"Look at you. My little silver-lining-finding ray of sunshine."

"I honestly can't tell if you're mocking me or not."

"I'm not. Don't worry."

Magnus didn't have it in him to say any more about Alec's optimism - not when he knew Alec was just trying to make light of a bad situation. A bad situation that could have been avoided.

He couldn't do this. Couldn't lie to Alec.

"Alec - "

"Simon!"

Isabelle crashed out of her tent. Magnus could think of no better way to describe it than crashing - it was so hurried, so frantic, that it could have been accentuated with the resounding clang of cymbals.

"Iz!" Alec was already on his feet, rushing to his sister.

"Simon - he's gone. He was gone in the night, and he's still gone now. He's - he's - "

"Iz, stop. Stop! Sit down."

She did not. She stood, swaying slightly, breathing deeply.

"Please, Iz. You look awful."

And she did. She looked pale, too pale, and there was sweat on her forehead, sweat that couldn't have been accumulated from her frantic entrance alone. Magnus got to his feet too, trying to approach her alongside her brother.

"Okay, first of all, piss off, I do not. I look hot. Second - "

"If by hot, you mean feverishly hot, then yes. Yes you do." Magnus put the back of his hand to her forehead, ignoring her halfhearted hiss. "Yep. Definitely a fever."

"We don't have time for this! Simon's missing!"

"Huh?"

Clary clambered out of her tent, obviously having dressed hurriedly. Magnus didn't feel it appropriate to point out that her shirt was on backwards.

"Simon… he's gone. I don't know where he is. I don't know when he went. But I woke up this morning and he was gone but I… I just fell back to sleep. Because I'm a terrible person."

"Iz, you're not a terrible person. You're a sick person," Alec said, helping her sit down.

"Gee, Alec, thanks for the comforting sentiment. I'm a sick and twisted person. That makes me feel great."

"No - I meant - goddamnit, Isabelle, I meant you have a fever. Of course you wanted to sleep. I want to sleep all the time and I'm not using energy fighting a virus - you must be exhausted."

"Stop focussing on me. Focus on Simon."

"Yeah, it's what he'd want us to do in his absence, I'm sure of it."

As a way of returning the charming greeting, Isabelle flipped Jace off as he exited his tent. He shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"Well, I'm just saying that Simon could be anywhere, and the more time we waste on something as stupid as a high temperature, the further he'll get. We need to find him. Now."

Clary nodded understandingly. "I know, Izzy, I know - I want to find him too. Trust me. But your health - "

"Simon could be hurt, or worse. Who gives a shit about my health?"

"Simon," Magnus said softly. She turned to him, a cross between accusation and heartbreaking sadness in her eyes. "Simon cares."

"I care about him, too. That's why I - "

"We know you care, Iz. But think of it this way - you're in no shape to go looking for him. We could split up to try and find him, but who knows how far he's gotten. It's far more important we deal with you right now. Okay?" Alec looked at her with such intensity that it almost softened her resolve. Magnus knew for a fact that Alec would get his way - Isabelle was in no shape to argue with him, not when he cared so much about her health.

"I agree with Alexander. We split up." Saying that startled even him, and the four others turned to him in confusion - even Alec, which wasn't reassuring. "We send out a search-and-rescue team, and the others stay here - with Isabelle - until she recovers."

"No. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing," she spat, getting to her feet.

"Iz," Alec said carefully, trying to coax her to sit back down. There was an unsteadiness to her, but she showed no signs of backing down.

"I refuse to just… to just…"

And then the colour drained from her face, and she dropped to the floor in a dead faint. Alec caught her torso, slowly easing her onto the ground.

"Shit. What do we do?"

"It's okay. We do as you said. If she's unconscious now, she won't object to a search party leaving without her."

Alec scowled at him. Magnus sighed. "Not the time for a joke?"

"Jace and I will go to look for him," Clary volunteered, putting on some shoes. "You two stay with Isabelle."

"No. We need as many people as possible looking for Simon. You'll cover more ground, even if you don't entirely split up. Magnus, you go with them."

Magnus faltered. No - he needed to be with Isabelle. Because if he were with Isabelle, he could use his magic to heal her. He had planned to do it when the others had their backs turned, to avoid revealing that he had his magic back, but if he left her alone with Alec…

Magnus crouched down next to him. "Alexander… you should go with them. She'll be okay with me."

Alec's frown deepened as he looked into Magnus' eyes. Magnus didn't need to say any more, because in a way that only he could, Alec read his expression, his tentativeness, his worry, and he understood everything. He understood that Magnus intended to heal Izzy with his magic.

And he understood that Magnus had been keeping something from him.

Before he could say anything else, Alec stood up and walked off. "Follow me," he barked, and Jace and Clary had no choice but to oblige. Alec, it seemed, had gotten dressed right after he'd woken up, and needed no reason to delay their operation any longer. The three of them got smaller and smaller as they walked away, leaving Magnus alone with Isabelle.


Alec hadn't said a word to the others and was striding ahead, his eyes focussed on the air in front of his face. He didn't like that he'd snapped in that way at Magnus. He didn't like being hostile towards him. But more than that, he didn't like that Magnus had his magic back and hadn't told him.

It took a lot of concentrated magic to heal a person, especially if the issue was not an external wound. Changing the flavour of a bowl of porridge was one thing, but if Magnus thought he could do this…

He shook his head, refusing to entertain his doubt. Maybe Magnus was just being optimistic. Maybe he had read him wrong, and Magnus just thought he was a more capable nurse than Alec was. Maybe.

But maybe Magnus did have his magic back. Fully. Maybe he had had it all along, and was just forcing them to wait it out in this stupid forest to teach them some twisted Aesopian lesson, except the moral of the story still eluded him. Maybe Magnus was just a sadist who drew the line at febrile women. Who knew.

"Alec!"

Jace's shout brought him back to reality. He stopped and turned to face Jace, and was shocked to see that he was at least twenty paces ahead of the others who were jogging to keep up.

"Alec. Stop. Walking. So. Fast." Clary panted as she neared him. "I don't need this kind of exercise this early in the morning."

"Why are you going so fast? You were going at like… a hundred miles an hour… holy shit, I need a second to catch my breath," Jace muttered as he came to a stop before his parabatai.

Huh. Maybe in his concentration, he had sped up.

Clary, who had just caught up to them and was still breathing heavily, glared up at him. "Your legs… are at least twice as long… as my entire body… please be mindful… that some of us… have little legs… and cannot move… fast…"

"Sorry," Alec mumbled. In any other circumstance, he would have found this hilarious, and possibly doubled his pace just to spite them. But his heart wasn't in it. Not today.

Jace, sensing something was wrong, patted him on the back. "It's okay, Alec. She'll be okay."

It took him a second to realise that Jace was talking about Izzy, and a further second for him to remember that Izzy had just keeled over in a dead faint. Right.

"Right."

"Okay. Well. Just remember that Simon could be anywhere, and so it's not about getting places quickly, it's about observing. So you may want to slow down a bit, if only so we can keep up."

"Right," Alec said again.

"Good." Jace nodded. "Let's keep going."


Part of Magnus didn't want to do anything ever again. As soon as they got back, he'd lock himself in his apartment and live out the rest of his days as a hermit with an affinity for cats. However, considering 'the rest of his days' meant the rest of eternity, that didn't seem like such a great idea.

But despite its flaws, that plan had one solid principle that Magnus approved of : it meant never facing Alexander ever again.

Okay. Perhaps he was being a bit dramatic. Just a little over the top. That was okay, though - that was Magnus' 'thing'. Dramatic flair. And now that it was just him and Isabelle Lightwood, who was groaning to herself on the floor, it seemed like no one was about to tell him that he was being unreasonable. So there.

But his confidence was shaky, and that wasn't helped by the fact that all he could see was Alec's betrayed and disappointed look just before he stalked off. He should have told him before. He should have told him. He should have told him. He should have told him.

He should have told him in a different way - one where he could explain the circumstances, explain that he didn't fully have his magic back, that keeping it from him was to keep him from being disappointed -

But now, Alec was going to think his magic was as good as new. He'd assume the worst. He wouldn't want to - he'd try to convince himself of a better reality - but his doubt would get the better of him, and he'd assume Magnus had had his power hidden all along.

Great. Just great. Everything was just perfect.

"Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help me?"

Magnus jumped, and Izzy rolled her eyes. Even when indisposed, she had no time for his shit.

"Aren't you going to get mad at me?" Magnus asked, feeling his magic respond to its environment, preparing itself.

"For what? Getting rid of my fever? Yes - curse you, you meddling fiend, I had intended to waste away with a burning fever whilst my friends searched for my mysteriously missing boyfriend. My plans are well and truly foiled. How will I ever forgive you?"

Now it was Magnus' turn to roll his eyes. "I mean, aren't you going to get mad at me for not telling anyone about my magic?"

"Your magic? You already told us."

He paused.

"You said that it was coming back, but it wasn't strong enough, so instead of making cheeseburgers, you'd stick to resting." She hesitated, studying his face. "But that's changed, hasn't it?"

Shit. Now he'd have to tell someone else.

"Yeah. About that…"

His magic flared up in his fingers, blue sparks appearing as he shrugged. To her credit, Isabelle took it well - by throwing up.

"Really? Is it really that bad that I didn't tell anyone?"

"Don't take the vomit personally. I've felt nauseous for the past ten minutes. But that doesn't mean I'm not pissed at you lying to us."

"I didn't lie! I just didn't tell the whole truth."

"That's bullshit, and you know it. You had every opportunity to tell us you got your magic back - "

"I didn't! Not entirely, anyway. When I have it, it's strong, possibly strong enough to move people, but… it's fickle. It has a mind of its own. It doesn't like to be told what to do."

"Well, in that respect the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, considering your one job was to fix me and yet here we are, still sitting on the ground. Well. You're sitting on the ground. I'm lying here. Surrounded by vomit."

"Okay. Fine. We'll talk about this later. Just… be quiet. Please. I need to concentrate on healing you. Shh."

Reluctantly, Izzy shut her eyes and let Magnus, quite literally, work his magic. He focussed as hard as he could on Isabelle, on the fever that lay within her, and slowly used his magic to coax it out, stun it, and destroy it. It was… unsettlingly easy. He hated that it was so easy. He hated how unnecessary it had been to keep this from Alec - that really, if he had told everyone, if he had tried, they could have been out of there already.

Ugh.

Why was everything so complicated?

"Is everything okay?" Isabelle asked, watching him scowling.

"Yeah. No. Just… be quiet."

In fact, he was almost done. He didn't need silence, but he wanted it. He wasn't in the mood to talk. But Isabelle, the human polygraph test, cleared her throat.

"Magnus. You're going to need to talk to Alec."

"Uh huh," he mumbled under his breath, his heart not in it.

"And when you do, he's going to be mad."

"Yep."

"As he has every right to be."

"Hmm."

"But you're going to sort things out, like you always do."

"Sure."

"And when you do sort things out, you're going to use your magic, no matter how limited it is, and you're going to get us out of here."

"Mhmm."

"And then we'll all live happily after. The end."

"Right. Seems simple enough."

"Exactly."

Except it wasn't. Not at all. Not in the slightest.

"Magnus… I know that everyone's going to be pissed at you for not telling them, but… you have to tell them. It's not fair otherwise. It's our only way out."

But.

But.

It wasn't.


"Simon! Simon!"

"If he could hear us, I'm sure he'd have come out by now. It's not like he's hiding from us or anything."

"I'm just trying to help, Alec. You don't have to snarl at everything I say."

"I'm just saying. It's futile to yell. We're making enough noise as it is."

"Simon's a mundane. He doesn't have Shadowhunter hearing. Besides - I think it'd be more comforting for him to hear someone calling for him than a bunch of random footsteps walking his way."

Alec muttered something indistinguishable, and Clary sighed. "You're impossible today."

"Stop fighting, you two. We're on a mission here."

Alec, expression still sour, nodded curtly. "Right. Well. In that case, let's split up. We'll cover more ground."

"Alec, that's a terrible idea."

"How?" He positively dwarfed Clary, and his foul mood made his height even more intimidating, but she didn't back down.

"Because if we split up, it means there'll be someone else wandering the forest alone."

"And why is that bad?"

"They might get lost."

"Might. But also, might not."

"Why are you so determined to prove me wrong?" Clary snapped at him. Jace, wanting to intervene but afraid of Clary's and Alec's ire, watched from the sidelines.

"Just… just…" Alec fought for the words he wanted to say.

Just stop talking, he wanted to yell.

Stop being right.

Stop knowing what to do.

Stop.

But he did not want to yell any of that, because that would make him look pathetic. Instead, he threw up his hands, and yelled: "Just shut the fuck up!"

"Alec," Jace hissed, but Clary threw out a hand. Let me deal with this.

"You know what?" Clary's voice was high, as if she was in hysterics. "I don't care any more. We'll split up. Jace and I will go one way, and you'll go the other. If you get lost, it's on you."

Was he wrong to have said that? Definitely. Was he wrong to have asked them to split up? Possibly. But was he going to back down? Never.

"Fine," he spat, and he turned on his heel and left the others where they were.


Jace watched his parabatai go, a helpless expression on his face. Clary stood between the two of them, her red hair bright against the green surrounds. Her small frame was heaving as she took deep breaths, clearly fuming at Alec's outburst. Jace couldn't blame her - after Alec's pissy mood, he too was annoyed at his parabatai.

"Thanks for the help, Jace. For someone who usually doesn't shut up, you didn't say much at all."

"I didn't want to have to choose sides."

"Wait, so you actually considered Alec's side worth defending?"

"No, I - I just didn't want to gang up on Alec. He's in a bad mood for some reason."

"Well, now that bad mood is going to get him lost, too."

"Should we go after him?"

"No way. I don't want to spend a second longer with that insufferable prick. Not today. I just want to find Simon and be done with it."

"Don't you think you're… I don't know, over-exaggerating? Just a little?"

Her outraged glare silenced that thought quickly. "Over-exaggerating? You saw him. He stormed off in a huff over nothing. You can't accuse me of over-exaggerating."

"I'm just saying. You seem kind of tense too. Not that that's an excuse for his actions, but… you know. Are you feeling alright?"

"Jace… you can't… you can't accuse me… You're as bad as him."

No. Something was definitely wrong. Through her livid scowl, he could see her falter. But whatever it was, she didn't want him to know, so she spun away and began walking in the opposite direction to the one Alec had gone in. Jace frowned. He was torn between his girlfriend and his parabatai. Both were annoyed at something, something that escaped Jace, and he knew he'd have similar luck getting it out of either of them. He looked to his right, where Alec had gone. He could no longer see him. With a reluctant groan, he turned and left the way Clary had, following her bobbing red hair through the trees.


"Feeling better?"

Isabelle sat up. "No nausea. No vision blacking out. I'd say that's a start."

"Good. Excellent. Fever is always hard to get out, but - what are you doing?"

She got to her feet. "Standing up. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You need to take it way slower than that. I'm not sure if I've gotten rid of it completely."

"Come on. It's a random fever that I've had for a few hours. It can't be that difficult."

Magnus ignored her, checking her forehead. "Well, at least you're not burning anymore."

"Great. Let's go find Simon."

"What? No. We're not leaving. You're not well enough."

"You just said I was fine!"

"No I didn't! I explicitly said you were not fine!"

But Isabelle was not listening. She pulled on her shoes as Magnus watched helplessly.

"Isabelle - hear me out."

"No. I want to find Simon."

"What if he makes his way back to the camp?"

"Then he'll have the sense to stay put until we all get back."

"Isabelle. Come on." Alec was already mad at him - he didn't need losing Isabelle to be another black mark against his name. But she wasn't having it - she had already hobbled away. Shit. She wouldn't last half an hour in her incapacitated state - the fever was stunned, but not gone. It'd be back soon enough, and Isabelle would be all alone when it struck.

Unless, of course, he went with her.

Which meant abandoning their post and leaving the camp completely unattended, so that if Simon managed to find his way back, he'd be completely alone.

As Isabelle stumbled further, Magnus sighed and followed after her. Simon would be alright - if Isabelle thought he had enough sense to stay put, then maybe he would. All that was left for Magnus and Izzy was to find the others - but that wouldn't be too hard, would it?


Alec was seething by the time he found a rock to sit on. He hadn't been looking around for Simon, or attempting to make noise for Simon to hear. Instead, he had been so caught up in his thoughts that, for the integrity of the mission, he thought it best he sat down.

He wasn't even pissed at Magnus anymore. Okay, that was a lie - he was. Very much so. But to be honest, he didn't care all that much about the fact that Magnus hid his magic from him. He probably had his reasons.

Probably.

No, what was bugging Alec now was that Magnus hadn't used his magic. He didn't care whether or not he knew about Magnus' magic being back to normal, so long as it meant he could get out of the forest. It would have been fine if Alec had woken up back in New York with no memory of ever being here. But Magnus had known his magic was strong enough to take care of Iz, and for no reason that Alec could think of, had decided to bottle it up and ignore it. Didn't Magnus want to get out too? What could he possibly enjoy about this infernal wilderness? Even the positives he had managed to brainstorm that morning had long since disappeared - the unity he thought had formed had cracked under pressure. Everything had fallen to pieces in the timespan of an hour for no valid reason except -

Simon. He was pissed at Simon too.

Simon, who, for some reason, decided to wander the woods alone early in the morning without so much as a 'goodbye'. Simon, who was the least prepared out of any of them to handle anything remotely challenging. Simon, who, if he had shared a tent with Izzy, could quite possibly also have a fever, and could be hallucinating his way off a cliff by now.

Oh, shit.

That was a good point.

Maybe Simon was sick, and maybe he had wandered off due to that. Alec made a mental note to tell that to Magnus when he got back.

And then, of course, he remembered that he didn't particularly feel like speaking to Magnus. He'd figure it out by himself. Unless, of course, that was another thing he already knew about.

Ugh. He hated holding grudges against Magnus, especially when Magnus was currently healing his sister with the magic that he could have used to track Simon -

Track Simon. Of course. Why hadn't anyone thought of that?

Alec jumped to his feet and, figuring he wasn't helping their cause much anyway, started jogging back to their campsite.


"Is that a footprint?"

"No. It's too small."

"I don't understand… how could he have gotten so far in so little time?"

"We could be going in the completly wrong direction. He may not have come this way at all." Jace ran a hand through his hair, considering their options. "I don't know, Clary… finding him's going to be near impossible. Our best bet is to get back to camp and hope he turns up."

"But something could have happened! He could be hurt!"

Jace stared at her, powerless against her determination. He knew she'd never give up, never go back to that camp, so long as Simon was still out there. Perhaps he wasn't. Perhaps he'd made his way back to the camp already, and was waiting with Izzy and Magnus. Perhaps Alec had found him, and the two of them were meandering between the trees. Perhaps this whole search was in vain.

But Clary would never give in. Not when Simon was on the line.

"What's that?"

He stopped debating how to let her down gently and looked up. She was pointing to something that he couldn't quite make out. Before he could warn her from wandering off, she had scrambled over to whatever had caught her attention.

"Clary - "

"I… I think it's a shirt…"

"A shirt? Is it… is it Simon's?"

She picked it up, examining the muddied material. It was indeed a shirt, and it only took one glance at the design printed on it ('Insert Witty Pun Here' in block blue letters) to confirm that it was Simon's.

"So what… Simon's just running around… half naked? That can't be right."

"But this… this is his shirt! I know it is! He impulse bought it from eBay at 2 AM during a sleepover with me. And that little stain is from where I got paint on him when he snuck up on me. It has to be his."

"But… I don't think I've ever seen this shirt before. Not in the past few days, at least."

"So?"

"So, he must have gotten changed before he left. And if he left early in the morning, that meant he got changed at some ridiculous hour. Which means…"

"He left… by choice…" Clary trailed off, staring at the grey shirt in her hands. "None of this makes sense. At all."

"I know. I'm confused too. But at least we know we're heading in the right direction, right?"

"Right," Clary mumbled, but she didn't seem convinced at all. "I just… I don't get why he would take his shirt off. It's freezing."

"Well…" Jace shrugged. "I wouldn't say it's freezing. Just… a little on the chilly side."

"I don't care, Jace. At all."

"Ah. Right. I see. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Mhmm," she muttered, walking away from him and clutching the shirt tightly. Let it be, Jace told himself. She's just… distracted. But he couldn't shake that niggling feeling that something was wrong. He wanted to sit her down, to talk about what was bothering her - other than the fact that her best friend had vanished, because he could tell there was something else - but before he had a chance to do so, his thoughts were interrupted by Isabelle crashing through the trees.

"Izzy?"

Her face was pale, and her lips were almost the same shade as her skin, but the fierceness in her eyes instantly alerted Jace to why Magnus had let her go. Assuming, of course, that Magnus had, in fact, let her go. By the way that Magnus stumbled after her, his hands held out as if ready to catch her if she fell over at any moment, Jace deduced that he had not.

"Have you found him?"

"No, but we found this." Clary held out the shirt, and Isabelle took it. Maybe she was delirious from the fever, but she leant in and sniffed it. As if she was a hound, chasing after Simon's scent.

"This is definitely his. And he was wearing it recently."

"You can tell all that from one whiff?" Jace didn't know whether to be disgusted or impressed.

"It smells like sweat. Do you think he'd pack a sweaty shirt to go on a camping trip?"

"Fair point."

"Where did you find it?"

"Just there," Clary said, pointing to the floor where it had been.

"Okay. We need to search around it, in all directions, looking as closely as possible for any indication that Simon was there. For whatever reason, he decided to take off his shirt and discard it here, so if you see anything that would explain that, it'd help."

Clary had a sudden, deeply unsettling realisation. Why would Simon have taken off his shirt and left it here? He loved that shirt, and seeing as there was nothing remarkable about their environment, it didn't seem likely that he'd be able to find it again after he left. Unless, of course, he had left it for them to find. But why would he be leaving a trail for them to follow? Was this a game he was playing, or… was there someone holding him hostage?

It seemed like a long shot, but Clary could see the scene playing out in front of her - some foul creature had crawled into Simon and Izzy's tent, grabbing Simon and stifling his screams somehow. Izzy, in her fevered state, hadn't noticed his writhing around. In a last-ditch attempt to hold onto something, Simon grabbed at his bag, only to find his grip snared on a shirt as he was dragged away. He had been hauled through the forest somehow, and in an effort to leave a trail, he threw the shirt he had grabbed (and had held so tightly that it was now sweat-drenched) onto the forest floor. She gulped.

Isabelle gave out some more directions, and began to comb the floor with her intense gaze. Magnus held out a hand to steady her, but she waved it away. With a sigh, Magnus lowered his hands, and looked at the others. Clary noticed how reluctant he seemed - as if he didn't want to acknowledge there were others there, but he had to. However, once he had looked at Clary, and then at Jace, he went rigid.

"Where's Alexander?"

Jace swallowed, and looked to Clary. She stared pointedly back at him before helping Isabelle search the surrounds. He turned his attention back to Magnus, who had fixed him with a steely glare.

"He wanted to split up."

"And you let him?"

"I had to." The rest of the sentiment went unspoken. It was him or Clary.

"Unbelievable," Magnus muttered, wringing his hands. "You say he's your brother - no, closer than your brother - and yet you allow him to be so… reckless?"

"He's not a baby. He can handle himself." Of course Jace was against Alec walking off. Of course, if he could have, he would have prevented it. But now that Magnus had attacked Jace, he couldn't help but defend himself.

"I know that he's not a child, but he's… he's got a lot on his mind right now. Couldn't you tell? I'd bet you anything that he only wanted to split up because one of you annoyed him."

"What does he have on his mind that I don't? Yes, Izzy's sick, but she's my sister too. And I don't think he cares that much more about Simon than I do. I've got shit on my mind, but that doesn't mean I get to storm off in a tantrum for no good reason."

"It's more complicated than that," Magnus hissed. "At the end of the day, however, you should have known something was wrong, and you should have stopped him. He could be anywhere."

That cold reality hit Jace like a slap to the face. He was no longer just 'over there', somewhere Jace was within earshot. This wasn't their normal splitting up. He really had just… left. Alec could have been anywhere. The worry that seemed to wrack Magnus began to set in.

Where are you, Alexander? Magnus scanned the area, hoping to see him loitering on the horizon, watching from afar. Where are you?

Breathing, heavy breathing, heart thudding in pace with the rapid footfalls. Crunching leaves underfoot, batting away branches, ducking under low-hanging plants. Running, deadset on one destination.

Magnus stepped backwards in his shock. His breaths were measured, as if he, too, was running. Jace looked at him with concern. "Are you… alright?"

"Running. He's running."

"Who's running?"

"Alec."

"How do you know?"

"I…" Saw it? Heard it? Felt it? "I just know, okay?"

"Fine. Don't tell me. Why's he running? Is he being chased?"

Magnus shook his head. "He didn't seem… afraid. He just seemed focussed. As if he thought of something, something important, and he's running to find it."

"Wait… you could hear his thoughts?" Clary had stopped searching and was staring at him in confusion. "How…"

Isabelle peered up at him. Even in her infirm state, she shot him a cautionary glance, warning him to keep his mouth shut. He could read her expression perfectly: this is strong magic, Magnus. They'll know your secret.

A cursory glance at Clary, the realisation of what this meant slowly dawning on her, confirmed Izzy's prediction. Magnus shook his head, denying the unspoken accusations.

"I don't know how this happened. It must be… some sort of residue from when he was lost. From when I was t-"

Tracking.

The word came to his mind in a flash, but the voice that said it so clearly was not his own. It was Alec's. Tracking. Of course. Of course. Track Simon. Magnus could have almost kissed Alec. That must have been where he was going - to get something of Simon's so they could track him.

Genius.

"Magnus? Are you okay?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, and with a manic grin, looked around at the others. "The shirt. Track Simon with the shirt."

It was perfect. Like a jigsaw piece falling into place. It made Clary's stomach turn.

"Magnus - you have to do it. We didn't bring steles."

Jace took the shirt from Izzy and handed it to him. But the second the garment was in his hands, Magnus didn't want to. He didn't want to track Simon. Nothing against the mundane, of course, but if he was to track Simon, he'd reveal how powerful he really was. And even though everyone present but Jace knew already, and even though it could mean finding Simon, he still felt hesitant. Isabelle watched him nervously, trying to read his expression so she could know his decision before the others. Jace was looking sullen, trying to figure out what was taking so long. And Clary -

"How are you so selfish?"

Jace turned to her in alarm, turning his attention from her outrage, to Magnus' panic, to Isabelle's shock, piecing together what was happening.

"Clarissa, I - "

"Do you think that anyone here would care? Do you really think we'd hold it against you?"

Isabelle turned, wide-eyed, to Magnus. "She knew?"

"Knew what?" Jace looked between the three of them, still trying to work out what was happening.

"Yes, she knew, but - "

"Now's not the time! Simon could be… could be anywhere, and you're prioritising your… reputation? Your image? Over… over him!"

Magnus shook his head, but his words failed him. He looked at her anger, and he did nothing. Nothing but grip the shirt in his hands tighter. He flicked his gaze to Isabelle, who nodded slowly. That was all the encouragement she could offer.

With a sour taste in his mouth, Magnus closed his eyes and focussed on tracking Simon.


Alec had thought through every possible conversation he could have with Magnus. He had figured he'd be prepared for every situation, so as not to look foolish and be caught off guard. He didn't have to be this well-equipped when confronting anybody else - it was just Magnus. Magnus, who had to power to strike him speechless. Magnus, who surprised him by saying the most ridiculous, outlandish and yet endearing things. Magnus.

Alec decided that whatever direction the conversation went in, it'd be brief. Not now, he'd tell Magnus; there are more important things right now. Not only did that show Magnus that this issue wasn't at the forefront of Alec's mind (it was it was it was), but it also reminded Magnus that there was an issue that needed discussing, just at a later date. Plus, Alec liked how authoritative it sounded. So he jogged up to the tents, mentally flicking through his repertoire of nonchalant dismissals.

He had to be prepared for anything

And yet upon his arrival at the campsite, it became evident that Magnus had done it again and found some way to catch Alec unawares.

There was nobody there.

He looked inside tents and around the area, but there was no sign of anybody. He stopped looking and, still huffing from his jog, folded his arms in annoyance. How dare Magnus leave? How was Alec supposed to confront (and consequently dismiss) him now? How was going to find out how little Alec cared?

He could have gone to find you, a little voice thought. Nonsense. That would be a decent thing to do, and Alec could barely stay mad at Magnus for being an asshole, let alone being decent.

And then Alec remembered Izzy, his sister, who, last he'd heard, was unconscious. Well, if there was no trace of her here, it meant that Magnus had healed her and she'd volunteered to go off in search of Simon - there was no way Magnus would force her if she was unwell.

Alec sighed impatiently. Why did Magnus have to be right about healing Izzy? Why did he have to make it harder for Alec to be angry at him? Why couldn't he be like Jace, who you could love and hate simultaneously and have both emotions constantly justified?

Why… why did Magnus freaking Bane have to be so perfect?

Not perfect, Alec reminded himself. Not at all. Perfect people don't hide things from people they love. Involuntarily, his mind wandered back to all of the things he'd hidden. All of the feelings and words that he bottled up and kept from the people he loved most. Alec groaned. Magnus was not perfect - not in the slightest - but neither was he.

Which meant Magnus was perfect for him.

Part of him was disgusted at how cheesy and pathetic that sounded. The other, smaller part of him kinda maybe sorta thought it was cute. But that little part was very little. Very very little.

For a fleeting moment, he forgot why he had dashed so intently back to the camp at all. He was so caught up in how futile being mad at Magnus was that Simon's entire existence slipped his mind.

But, as if some celestial force was bent on Alec staying on track, he was swiftly reminded of why he was there in a rather dramatic way.

"Simon!"

Alec spun around to face the source of the cry. Clary, Isabelle and Jace lurched into his field of vision, led by none other than Magnus freaking Bane himself. The dismay they all evidently felt at seeing Alec was almost offensive.

"You're not Simon," Clary said, having the nerve to sound disappointed. Stay calm, Alec, stay cool and sarcastic as per usual.

"Yes. I've realised."

Clary and Izzy shot him withering glares, and began to search the tents. Jace seemed very confused, but helped the girls anyway. In fact, the only one who showed a semblance of appreciation for his wit was Magnus, who smirked.

That smirk.

God fucking damn it.

"I don't get it… you said he was here. You tracked him here." Clary was even angrier than when he'd left her. Alec had never known someone to be so full of concentrated fury. It was almost as if… as if she was using her bitterness to compensate for something. He knew she was pissed at him for being a twat, and she'd probably be generally frustrated at Simon's disappearance, but underneath all that… It was almost as if she was forcing herself to be annoyed. Hmm.

"I know what I said. I know where I tracked him. And I know that he's supposed to be here." Magnus was still looking at Alec - he could feel his gaze as he observed the floor at his feet. Alec honestly couldn't care less about Simon. Not right now. He just wanted Magnus to say something so that Alec could tell him to stop talking and focus on Simon.

God, he was a hypocrite.


Magnus knew Alexander was avoiding his gaze. It wasn't that difficult to figure out. As Izzy, Clary and Jace scurried around them, looking through tents and behind trees, the two of them stood perfectly still, only a metre or so apart.

Look at me, Alec, Magnus willed, but Alec wouldn't. He was waiting for Magnus to say something, but if Magnus didn't know better, Alec would shut him down before he'd said so much as two words.

Fine. If he was going to force Magnus' hand, Magnus would just going to have to oblige.

"Alec - "

"Alexander Gideon Lightwood!"

Alec jumped at Izzy's shrill summons, and any hope Magnus had of talking to Alec disappeared as Izzy stomped up to him. Still pale and swaying slightly, she managed to draw herself up until she seemed to be taller than him.

"Where's Simon?"

"How would I know?"

"Magnus tracked him here. He has to be here. You were here before the rest of us. Where is he?"

"I don't know, Iz."

"Yes, you do! You have to."

"Be logical here. Why would I hide this from you? Why would I hide something so important from somebody I cared about, particularly when others' safety was involved?"

Ouch. Whether or not it was aimed at Magnus, that last sentiment certainly hit its mark.

"But… I just don't understand…" Isabelle's voice dwindled as she searched in vain for an answer in Alec's unreadable face. "Where is he?"

Alec wrapped his arms around her, and she was immediately swallowed, her intimidating figure collapsed in a second. Magnus exhaled slowly, looking around the campsite for an explanation.

He hadn't lied. His magic did tell him that Simon was at the campsite.

Didn't it?

He closed his eyes again, focussed on the thread that had appeared in his mind, focussed on where it was pulling him, and it was pulling him towards the campsite. But… but something was off. Something felt wrong… distinctly un-Simon. Magnus pulled at the thread, hoping to reveal something, anything, and in response, he got a very clear image of Isabelle.

There was nothing about that that seemed un-Simon-like - in fact, Magnus imagined that anyone lost in the woods who had a warrior for a girlfriend would probably be missing her. But it was almost worrying how clearly Magnus was able to see the image. Images were usually only this clear when the person being tracked could see them, too. And Simon couldn't see Isabelle, could he? Magnus snapped his eyes open and looked around, checking once more for Simon. He was nowhere that Magnus could see, and, judging from the increasingly frantic searching of Clary and Jace (though admittedly, the latter was less enthusiastic), he wasn't in their campsite at all.

Magnus cursed beneath his breath, and tried again, though before he shut his eyes he saw Alec's blue eyes observing him. What was Alec going to think? That he was completely incompetent? Or… or perhaps, he was going to think that Magnus' magic was faltering. Perfect. It almost made Magnus want to stop searching for Simon and blame his faulty powers. But he couldn't do that, not when Simon was on the line. He kinda liked that guy.

Pressing his eyes shut, he mustered all the power he could manage and pulled again on the thread that had led him there, strong enough for the person being tracked to feel it, and -

And he saw himself. And what was worse, he could feel an emotion, not his own, but from the person who was watching him. And that emotion was…

Annoyance. Definitely annoyance. But it was mixed with a very soft undertone of -

Of love.

Magnus opened his eyes slowly and, in a perverse turn of events, he found himself hoping that Alec would not be watching him as he did. But he was. Great. Just great.

"I don't get it… why would your tracking be wrong?" Clary stood in front of him, her voice pleading but her eyes wary. Jace stepped into place behind her.

"Isn't… isn't your magic still… broken? Wouldn't that be why the tracking didn't work?" Jace's query was met by Isabelle, Clary, Alec and Magnus all uneasily shifting their gaze to something in the environment around them. Their awkward silence was enough to indicate that no, Magnus' magic was not, in fact, still broken. Jace exhaled sharply.

"Oh. Okay. Thanks for letting me in on this, guys."

"Now's not the time," Clary mumbled, flicking her green eyes back to Magnus. "What went wrong?"

"Uh…" What did he tell them? That he hadn't been tracking Simon at all? That the bond he had forged between Alec and him the other day was still in place, and he had just led them straight to his boyfriend? That his magic seemed determined to be his wingman and help him fix his relationship issues before they could move on? "Maybe… maybe my magic doesn't work as well as we all… well, most of us thought."

Isabelle let go of Alec and sat down, her skin getting its colour back. Jace turned to Clary, demanding answers as to why nobody had let him in on anything, and she sighed in exasperation and crawled into their tent. Jace followed.

Soon, Alec and Magnus were facing each other, standing where they had been left. Isabelle saw this and went into her tent, smiling half-heartedly at Alec as she left. The morale of the camp had evaporated, taking their determination to find Simon with it.

"Your magic is fine."

"Hmm?" Magnus had been thinking so hard about how to start a conversation with Alec that he hadn't considered Alec talking first.

"Your magic. It's fine."

"Oh… wait, what? How would you - "

"I felt it. I felt you. In my head."

"Oh. Right. Yes. About that."

"I know that old age tends to leave some people senile, but I didn't think you'd confuse me and Simon just yet."

Magnus snorted despite himself. "Okay. You got me. I don't think I was tracking Simon all along."

"So… he's not here?"

"Apparently not."

"But… but that means that we could still find him. If you're not up to tracking him, I could get my stele and - "

"Alec."

Quiet settled between them. Magnus paused, waiting for something to interrupt him, but nothing did. It was just him and Alec, who seemed restless at the prospect of wasted time.

"Alec. We… we need to talk."

Not now. There are more important things right now. "Okay."

"My magic… I should have told you."

A pause, as if Magnus wanted Alec to get angry at him. As if Magnus wanted Alec to launch himself at him, spewing out the frustration he had bottled up. Huh. Alec did not deign to oblige him. "I know."

"And… I just think you should know… I wanted to tell you. But I didn't. I didn't want to get your hopes up. Even now… I thought I was tracking Simon, but… I was tracking you."

"How? That's his shirt."

"I know. I… when you, Jace and Simon got separated from the rest of us… I tracked you. And that was when my magic was at its weakest, and I passed out from the effort. And I don't know how or why, but today when I was wondering where you were… I knew you were coming here. And I knew you had thought of tracking him. So we tried to track Simon, but my magic must have confused the two of you and… and here we are."

"So… what? You can track me whenever you want?"

"Well… I could before this, too. If I had something of yours. It's nothing to be alarmed about - it doesn't make you vulnerable."

"But… you can hear my thoughts?" Alec almost looked disgusted. For an introvert like him, Magnus supposed, that was the biggest violation there was.

"No. Only particularly strong ones, when I focus really hard. I think. It's only happened once, and I'm not about to try it again."

Alec shifted where he stood, rearranging his tightly folded arms. "So… if you wanted, you could know what I'm thinking right now?"

Magnus studied his face carefully. "Yes."

"But you said - "

"But not because of magic. Because I know you, Alexander. I know exactly what you're thinking. You're thinking 'by the Angel, does this prick really think he can just waltz in here and make excuses for hiding something so big from me? Does he really think that whatever we're talking about now is more important than Simon? Does he know what he's doing at all?'"

If Magnus had come anywhere close to being right, Alec's poker face didn't show it. He ploughed on. "I'll answer those questions for you. No, I don't think I can make excuses for not telling you. It's my fault, and I'm sorry. No, I don't think that this is more important than Simon, but I know that my magic won't rest until I get it out of the way. And no. I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. In the slightest. But I do know that I'm sorry."

Alec watched him carefully. There was no doubt he was being honest. And yet… Alec felt like some border had been crossed, like it was going to take more time than this to fix it. He wasn't about to fall into Magnus' arms every time Magnus deemed an apology adequate. So, as much as he wanted to collapse into a heap and think everything over until it didn't mean anything, Alec walked past Magnus, towards Simon's tent. Right before he opened it to get Izzy, he stiffened, and looked over his shoulder. Magnus was still standing there, looking like a wounded puppy.

"I know that you're sorry. But…" He gulped. "Not now. There are more important things right now."

"Alec - "

"Later. First, Simon. Then we can deal with this."

He knew it hurt Magnus. He knew it wasn't fair. But it wasn't fair for Simon to be stranded in the middle of the forest with nobody looking for him. Without looking back, Alec climbed into the tent, where Izzy was waiting with one of Simon's shirts and a stele.


Simon was cold. Very cold. He regretted taking off his shirt - it had seemed necessary at the time. Even though it was the middle of the day (11:49, according to his watch), it seemed darker than usual. He stumbled through the undergrowth, trying to figure out what he was doing, when his vision blacked out again. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hit the ground - he hadn't fainted, but had instead found that simply collapsing was the fastest way to get blood to your head, hence the mechanism of fainting. He lay, gradually getting his vision back, when he heard it.

The crunching of leaves under boots.

The crunching stopped. The cruncher busied itself for a moment, before Simon heard a click and -

"Andrews to base. No sign of them yet. Are you certain they're in the forest? Over."

"Base to Andrews. Not certain. All we've been told is that they're between the forest and the city. We have forces combing New York. Stay on task. Over."

The crackly voice must have come from a walkie-talkie. And… Simon's heart raced as he recalled the conversation. Something felt wrong. Very wrong. And even though the cruncher had a walkie-talkie (a sure sign of authority), Simon's gut instinct was to hide from it. So, of course, he did.