"Okay. Let's go over this one more time."
Everyone groaned, but at least Isabelle had the decency to give her brother a half-hearted smile. Alec tried to ignore the others' lack of interest. "So - we drove down the wrong road, lost the car, but managed to stay safe. Magnus had been knocked out in the chaos, and, whilst carrying him, Izzy tripped and fell. We followed her. At this point, we admit the decision was stupid, reckless, et cetera et cetera, but we're just teens who know nothing so please don't push the point further. Okay. Jace - what's next?"
Yawning, Jace frowned. "You know, we have gone over this at least five times so far. I think we get it."
"Come on, Jace. The more familiar we are with the alibi, the more convincing it'll seem."
"Fine. We set up camp at the foot of the embankment and slept in the trees to avoid being found by animals."
"But how did we stay in the trees?" Alec tested.
"With sheer willpower," Jace muttered. "Something we don't seem to lack."
"Please take this seriously. The sooner we're done with this, the sooner we can be searching for a way out."
"Okay. We used rope. We're not entirely sure how we stayed put so well, but we did. Must have been our… guardian angels or something. Pause for effect, start tearing up, then dive into a sob-story of how I lost my parents young and I've always felt that they've been watching over me and my loved ones."
Alec scowled. "You know what? I give up with you. Be as dramatic as you want. I couldn't care less. Okay - Izzy. Your go. What happened next?"
"We ate the supplies we had arrived with, got clean water from the stream, cleaned the miraculously few injuries we had with running water and… prayed?"
"Sure. Simon."
"When it started raining, we kept to the tents and stayed dry to avoid catching colds. It wasn't pleasant, but it was survivable."
"Good, good. Clary?"
"Once we felt well enough to move around, we started trying different methods of finding a way out. The first one was searching for a way to the campground."
"Great. Okay, that's as far as we go today, but let's say we don't find a way out - on our own and with the GPS - what then? Magnus?"
"We say we climbed the embankment in some paranormal feat of strength."
Alec sighed. "Okay. I admit that bit could use some work, but we don't need to memorise that particular part just yet. Right. I think we're ready to get moving, then."
Jace, who had been waiting for that since they'd woken up, 45 minutes ago, took charge. "Okay. We can pair up with the person we shared a tent with last night, alright? Simon needs Magnus, just in case, and… Alec and I work well together, so it makes sense."
Only Clary noticed that he avoided looking her in the eye.
"We set out now, at… what's the time, Simon?"
"7:43."
Magnus grimaced at the early start, but Jace continued. "We meet back here in… three hours? Three hours of solid walking would probably get us seven miles or so. Once you've walked for about three miles, turn around and head back. Are we all okay with that? Yes? Right. Magnus and Simon, you can go south, down the wall that way. Follow the wall. Izzy and Clary, you stick with them until the wall curves, then you go in a straight line. One or both of you should hit the road. Alec and I will go north. Um… good luck."
No one was in the mood to object, so they set off into the unknown without so much as a second thought.
As soon as Jace and Alec were out of earshot, Clary whispered, "I don't know why he's so angry at me."
"Well, biscuit, how do I say this… you did keep crucial information from us. That's a big no-no, especially when our lives are at risk," Magnus explained helpfully.
"I know that," she said, frustrated, "but I don't know why he's so angry at me. I fully expect all of you to be angry, but… really? He hasn't looked me in the eye since I broke the news to him. He's… I hate to say overreacting, but, you know…"
"I get it," Izzy said. If Simon didn't know better, he thought he heard a trace of bitterness in her voice. "Not only is he angry at you, but he's unwilling to be anything but angry at you. You can't win him over, Clary. Not this time."
"You talked to him, didn't you?"
Her question was met with silence. Clary nodded in understanding. "I get it. You try your best, Izzy, but you can't fix everything. Not when I screw up so monumentally."
"It's not your fault, Clary," Simon mumbled, but she laughed sharply.
"Of course it's my fault. Guys, I'm not… not trying to get pity from you. I know I messed up. I just… I don't know. I think we're all tired, and we all just want to go home."
"Too true," agreed Magnus, who was quieter than usual. "And just for the record, biscuit - I get why you did it. I don't approve of it, but I get it. And I hope you can say the same for me and my… magic."
She didn't answer, but then again, she didn't need to. Of course she felt that way.
"Can we… can we try that game from last night again? But maybe less.. angsty?"
Isabelle laughed at Simon's bumbling request. "Of course, as long as we stay vigilant and keep on the lookout for potential ways out."
"I'll go first," Magnus offered. "Once upon a time, there was a prince called Alexander."
"Oh God," Isabelle laughed. "As cute as you are, Magnus, I'm not helping you write erotic fiction about my brother."
"Please, Isabelle, don't jump to such conclusions! It's not that way at all!" With a wicked smile, he added, "I never said anything about it being fiction."
Whilst Isabelle faked retching noises, Simon picked up the story. "This prince was intelligent and loyal, but he lived a sheltered life in a far away kingdom, unaware of the world outside the kingdom's walls."
"Is this about Alec not knowing the Lord of the Rings?" Clary asked, and Simon smiled faux-innocently in response.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Fine. My go, then." She cleared her throat. "One day, prince Alexander heard someone knocking on the castle door."
"He went to the window to check who it was, but couldn't see anybody," Isabelle continued with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Ooo. Spooky."
"As he looked at the empty threshold in confusion, a small explosion of glitter erupted right in front of his eyes, revealing the most dashing warlock he had ever seen." Upon seeing everyone's disbelieving looks, Magnus amended his sentence. "Fine. A large explosion of glitter."
"Wait - so is the warlock… hovering outside his window?"
"Sure."
"Sweet," Simon said. "Prince Alexander was scared at first, but then the warlock introduced himself as Magnus, and asked if the prince would join him on a magical ride."
Isabelle choked on a laugh. Magnus raised his eyebrows. "Oh. I see."
"Wait! No! I meant… I meant like Aladdin! You know… the magic carpet ride, but without the carpet! Oh God, I fucked that one up."
"That's okay, Simon, I like where this is going," Magnus extolled. Simon was now beet red, and Isabelle took the story over.
"Prince Alexander agreed, but on one condition - that his pet… ooh, his pet crocodile, Isabelle, could come with him. Ha. Take that, Magnus."
Simon smiled to himself. "Did… did you just croc-block Magnus?"
Isabelle laughed in spite of herself. "Okay. Good one. I suppose I did."
Clary continued: "With reptilian in tow, Magnus used his magic to get Alec up - "
"Oh, Clarissa, you're in on this too?"
" - to get Alec up in the air. Flying. God damn it."
"My go!" Magnus said excitedly. "I must say, this is turning out rather erotic. Yet again, Isabelle's prophetic skills reign supreme. Okay. They flew over the kingdom, and Magnus showed Prince Alexander all sorts of things he'd never seen before." He finished with an exaggerated wink. Isabelle, clearly not enjoying herself, had paced her steps so that she was one or two feet ahead of everyone else.
Simon went next. "Isabelle the crocodile made sure they didn't get up to too much mischief and made sure they were at least a metre apart at all times."
With an appreciative glance over her shoulder, Isabelle followed. "As the sun set and they sat on the rooftops looking over the kingdom, Magnus leant in to give Alec a kiss - but then Isabelle ate him whole. The end."
"Damn. Okay. And here I was thinking that you liked me," Magnus said with mock hurt. "And to think - I'll be living with your brother from now on. I suppose Christmases will be a hoot."
He didn't think much about what he'd said until after he said it. In fact, the meaning of what he said hit him so hard he stopped walking.
"Magnus? Are you okay?" Clary ventured.
"Oh… yes, I'm alright. I'm just… wow. I'm actually doing this. I'm actually going to live with Alexander, and… I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I suppose I'll be at a few Lightwood family gatherings. That is, if your parents allow their son to be seen in high Shadowhunter society with a downworlder."
Izzy stopped and fixed him with a confused expression. "Okay, first of all, mum and dad have already gotten used to the whole downworlder thing. Secondly, of course you'll come to Lightwood family gatherings. You're practically family."
Yet another sentiment thrown out casually but weighing much more than intended. Isabelle almost felt bad for treating such an issue so casually. Magnus, however, did not feel bad. In fact, he felt the exact opposite of bad - he felt good. He felt the most good that he had felt in a while.
"Uh… hate to break up the moment, but… this is where we leave you guys…" Simon gestured at the embankment, which had begun to curve slightly. The guys would follow it and the girls would go straight from this point onwards. Magnus seemed reluctant to do so, but Isabelle reassured him with a simple nod before leaving with Clary.
"Hey… Magnus… are you okay?"
"Yes… I'm…. I'm okay. Better than okay, in fact. I'm great."
"Ha! That was perfect!"
Jace smiled knowingly - of course his impression of Isabelle was perfect. It'd only taken six or so years of mockery to refine.
"Do the heels one again," Alec requested, the attention that should have been focussed on finding a way out instead on Jace. Jace didn't mind it.
Schooling his features into neutrality, Jace raised a single eyebrow, pursed his lips, and, in his best Izzy impression, said, "It's my motto. Nothing less than seven inches. I'm talking about heels, get it?"
Alec laughed, despite having heard that one many times before. "Okay, okay, do… do Simon. That is, if you can."
"Please - that guy's a walking caricature. Okay." He cleared his throat and hunched his shoulders ever so slightly to reduce how muscular he looked. In a voice slightly higher and more frantic than his own, he said: "Wait - you don't know Lord of the Rings? How can you not know Lord of the Rings? It's as iconic as Star Wars. Please tell me you know Star Wars, right? And Harry Potter - you have to know Harry Potter. God, have you been living under a rock?"
"That one was okay… I think it'd be better with direct quotes, though."
"I can't help it - I never listen to him."
"Really? I couldn't tell," Alec said dryly. "I'm almost afraid to ask if you can do a Magnus impression."
Jace laughed to himself and straightened his back, held his hands in the air in front of him, lifted his chin regally and smiled ever so slightly. "Oh, Alexander, you're the most gorgeous human I've ever seen."
Alec frowned. "Well. That was weird. Let's move on."
"You next!"
"You want me to do impressions of someone?"
"No, I'm doing an impression of you. Okay." He hunched his shoulders again and put his hands in his pockets, doing what Alec did to lessen his height. "Hey," he said quietly, "my name is Alec, and I, uh, have the best parabatai ever. He's so handsome and funny and smart and wonderful. Also, I am not your bitch."
Alec smiled. "I thought the point of impressions was to be realistic?"
"What about that wasn't realistic?" Jace asked with mock concern. "Wait - are you my bitch?"
"Do Clary."
Jace faltered. He could have made a joke about 'doing' Clary, but he couldn't be bothered. "Nah. There's not enough material to work with."
"Come on. You know her as well as you know Magnus, and your impression of him was somewhat decent."
"Oh, alright. Am I allowed to use props?"
Alec, sensing what was coming, sighed audibly. "Jace."
"I was just wondering if you had anything of great import that I could borrow and then hide from you."
"Damn it, Jace, I was just trying to have fun."
"I don't understand why the rest of you care so little about what's happened!"
"It's not that we don't care, it's that were willing to overlook it to achieve our ultimate goal of getting out of here. Sulking about it won't help anyone."
Fuming, Jace began to argue with his parabatai once more, but thought the better of it. "Let's just… move on, okay?"
"Okay," Alec said with a faint smile. Sometimes, there were perks to being the only one Jace would allow to have the final say.
"So… are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah… are you?"
"I meant in regards to your fever."
"Oh right. Um… I guess. I haven't felt all that bad since last night, so…"
Magnus nodded. "Good. Then the magic worked."
"And about last night… sorry. Really."
He dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. "Nah. It's nothing."
Simon shook his head, insisting. "Honestly. I woke you up in the middle of the night and you healed me. Thanks."
"No problem… but maybe next time, if you're going to wake someone up, try tapping their shoulder or whispering their name or something."
"Isn't… isn't that what I did?"
"Well…" Magnus trailed off, recalling vividly how Simon had kicked him awake. At the mere thought of it, his back, the recipient of the frenzied kicks, ached.
"I don't… I don't remember any of it…" Simon looked concerned, so Magnus disregarded the matter by changing the subject.
"So… what are you going to do once we get back?"
"I'm going to eat," Simon said decisively. Something told Magnus that this conclusion had been reached a while ago. "I'm going to go to McDonald's and order a vegetarian burger with large fries and a large lemonade and I'll be damned if anyone tries to stop me."
"Good idea," Magnus said, his concurrence genuine. "I think I'll join you."
"Excellent. I think there's one near your apartment, just a few streets over… oh, and by the way - I never got to congratulate you on Alec moving in! That's so exciting!"
Magnus blushed. "It is, isn't it?"
"Had you… had you wanted to for a while, or was it an off-the-cuff sort of thing?"
"I'd wanted to for as long as we'd been dating, but… you know me. I don't like to admit when I'm attached to people."
"Don't you?" Simon asked, recalling how possessive Magnus had been of Alec ever since they'd met.
"I have no problem admitting when I find people attractive, or when I like people, because frankly, that happens all the time. But… but being genuinely attached to someone almost scares me. That's one downside of being immortal. Every good thing you're dealt is bittersweet. So for me to keep Alec around me so much… I don't know. It sounds like a wonderful thing, and no doubt it will be, but you must admit my reluctance is warranted."
"Definitely," Simon said, a little too quickly. Backtracking, he continued, "but it'll be worth it. Alec… he loves you. You probably know that. But… you know. He really does. When we were down the river and you two were apart, he… he genuinely missed you. Not your presence, or the things you did for him. He missed you. In the most unselfish way possible. And I think it scares him a little, how much he loves you." Reading Magnus' tight expression, Simon dared to add, "and I think it scares you too - how much you love him."
"Love isn't something to be feared," Magnus murmured, but Simon got the impression that he was saying it for himself and not for Simon. After a moment of awkward silence, in which Simon finally decided to look around for a way out (there wasn't any - the embankment was as unrelenting as ever), Magnus cleared his throat. "But you know that. You're in love with Izzy."
"Not the same way," Simon said, so fast it almost seemed defensive. "I mean… of course I love her. But you and Alec are just… you're on a completely different level."
"It's not a competition, Simon. How much I love Alexander has nothing to do with how much you love Izzy. You… you do love her, right? Because she… she's like my sister now, so if you hurt her - "
"I'd never hurt her! I… look, Magnus, I'm a fraction of your age. I'm still figuring everything out. I don't know if I love her, or if it's just… just attraction or something, but this is the closest I've ever felt to love. This…" he took a breath. "This is the closest thing I've felt to how I feel about Clary."
"You still love Clary?"
"Of course I do. Not in a romantic way, but as a friend. As a best friend. And every other girl I've had a crush on… it felt different. It felt more selfish, more like I was in the relationship because I wanted it, regardless of if it was reciprocated or not. But with Clary, and with Isabelle… I know that I would die before I let harm come to either of them. I mean - you can understand that with Clary, right? I've known her my whole life. But Izzy - I'd do the same for her. And I've only known her as long as you have."
Magnus looked at him, at his boyish face, dirtied from the days in the wild. He took in his scruffy hair, his mother's glasses perched atop his nose, his naïve smile. "I'm not an expert by any definition," he said slowly, "but I'd say that's love."
The smile on Simon's face said it all.
"Iz… can I ask you something?"
She turned to face Clary, taking a break from scanning the surrounding greenery. "Sure."
"What do you think about the whole GPS thing?"
She paused. "Do you want me to be honest?"
As if accepting defeat already, Clary nodded.
"I don't agree with you. If it had been me in that situation, I'd have turned it on and done everything I could to get my family to safety."
Seeing the hurt on Clary's face, she conceded, "but I would have done that without consulting everyone, too. I don't understand why you don't want to use it, but I do understand why you didn't tell anyone. It's because you think you know what's best for everyone. I think that too, about myself. But I doubt either of us is right."
Clary nodded, as if this added up with what she'd thought all along. "I've been thinking about that kind of stuff lately… I mean, how messed up is it that this is what it's come to? None of us know what's best. This kind of stuff isn't covered in training. This is just us… fumbling along. We don't know the best course of action, but we know what we want, and sometimes those two things get confused."
Isabelle smiled reassuringly. "You know what, Clary? I think you're right."
And so they continued to look around in silence, because getting out was the only goal they had that they were certain was the best plan. The trees were beginning to thin, and Clary could faintly make something out in front of them, but -
"Oh no."
"What?"
"The… the embankment…" Izzy ran ahead, and sure enough, the embankment that they had tried to escape was blocking their way. If anything, it looked taller here than it did back at the camp. Trying to orientate herself, Clary turned around in a circle, looking as far as she could.
"It curves back around to cut us off here… we must be in a valley…"
"We're trapped," Isabelle breathed, her words barely registering. "We can't climb this wall, and it surrounds us on all sides…"
Clary didn't want to believe it. She ran to the tallest tree she could see and climbed it, the thick branches making for easy footholds. Once she'd reached the top, she looked around, dodging the twigs that threatened to poke her eyes out.
"It… it is a valley… there are steep walls on every side except that way," she reported, pointing the direction that Jace and Alec had gone.
From below, Isabelle called, "what's that way? Can you see that far?"
She squinted, but couldn't make anything out. It was all just a sea of green. But then -
There seemed to be a discrepancy. An emerald carpet rolled out ahead of her, the trees large enough to distinguish, but after a certain point they appeared indeterminable. It wasn't a gradual fade, it was a swift -
"Drop," she whispered, the breeze stealing the word before she'd uttered it. "There's a drop."
"What?"
"The valley drops off at a certain point… it looks like a pretty drastic change in height, from what I can see."
"So Jace and Alec are… they're heading towards another steep drop?"
Heart pounding in her head, Clary nodded. This wasn't right. How could they have the misfortune of encountering another steep drop? She thought back to the geography lessons she'd endured in school. Scanning the area from her vantage point, she pieced together the layout of their valley. The road they'd come from was cut into a mountain, which formed the west side of the valley. The embankment that surrounded them was the sheer cliff that made up what must have once been a mountain range. The north, where Jace and Alec were, must be the foot of the hills. It made sense, in a geographic way, but she was struggling to comprehend it.
As she climbed down unsteadily, Isabelle looked worried. "So there's no way out?"
"Not that I can see. We're surrounded by cliffs… the shortest of which is the embankment that we can't climb. Our best bet is probably where Magnus and Simon are, where this cliff - " she gestured to the rock face behind them " - meets the wall."
Isabelle didn't know whether or not to trust her. It wasn't because of the GPS incident, it was because of what she'd said earlier - she didn't trust anyone but herself with the welfare of the group, even though most of them probably thought the same thing. Reluctantly, and using all the self-control she had, she nodded.
"If you had kids, what would you name them?"
Simon was taken aback by this question. So far, the conversation had dealt with lighter topics - cute date ideas, what it would be like to move in with their significant other, the sappy rom-com sort of things that Simon could never discuss with anyone else (even Izzy… especially Izzy). But Simon knew there was more to this question than met the eye. Magnus, on account of him being a warlock and in a relationship with another male, could not have biological children for two reasons. Simon, however, could, as could Izzy, so, assuming they stayed together long enough, this was a decision Simon may feasibly face, whereas Magnus never would.
"I don't know…" He didn't know how to answer without feeling like he was rubbing his ability in Magnus' face. "I've never thought about this before."
"Well, you should," Magnus said with a slight smile. "Life moves fast."
"What would you suggest?" Simon dared to venture.
"Hmm… naming a child after someone you love is always a start."
"But that can also go wrong. I mean… 'Albus Severus' wrong."
Seeing Magnus' raised eyebrow, Simon tried again. "If you're naming a child after someone you know, then it has to be someone you care for a lot. It can't just be someone you kinda-sorta know. Otherwise it's kind of awkward."
"Of course," Magnus said, as if it were obvious.
"The thing is," Simon continued, "I don't know that many people all that well. I mean… apart from the people that are stuck in this forest, plus like two more, and unless they're dead when I have a child, which I hope they won't be, it'd be awkward."
"So name your child after someone you care about who's died," Magnus suggested. Simon, frowning, decided that Magnus wouldn't give up until he'd made a suggestion. His throat went tight, but he managed to choke out one name.
"Jordan."
Magnus stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at him. The youthful smile Simon had borne before now looked pained. The poor child, he thought, for no reason in particular. The poor, poor thing.
"Good choice," Magnus said, although that was entirely the wrong thing to say. Simon, who was well acquainted with awkward situations, smiled knowingly.
"But it doesn't matter right now, does it? I mean… I don't intend to have kids just yet. I can barely look after myself."
"Well, if you ever do have children, please let me know."
"Why - you need physical evidence that I, Simon Lewis, have had sex?"
Magnus shook his head with a grin. "You stole the punchline right out of my mouth."
"Simon! Magnus!"
They turned to see Izzy and Clary walking towards them with intent. Magnus frowned. "I don't mean to tell you two how to do your job, but aren't you meant to be… that way?"
"We're boxed in on two sides by a cliff and one side by a sheer drop. The only way out is up the side we came."
Simon frowned. "If we're boxed in, how is there a stream?"
Clary shrugged. "The eastern cliff is pretty far away - there's probably a waterfall somewhere that I couldn't see."
"Huh," Simon said, which Magnus considered the understatement of the century.
"So what do we do?" Magnus asked Izzy, as Simon had begun asking Clary more meaningless questions.
"We thought we may be able to climb out where the embankment meets the southernmost cliff - where you guys will end up if you keep walking. We can't scale a regular cliff face because there aren't enough ledges, and the embankment is too steep and soft to get up. But if we use the rock of the cliff to steady us and the dirt of the embankment to climb up, we may have a chance."
She didn't seem convinced of what she was saying, but Magnus knew they were desperate. "Okay," he said, and they kept walking they way they had been going.
"What were you guys talking about?" Izzy asked. "You seemed pretty involved in it, from what we saw from way over there."
"Oh… nothing," Magnus dismissed. "I was telling him how I'd reconstruct his wardrobe when we get back to civilisation. Graphic tees can only do so much, you know?"
"Well, whatever you do, if Simon is at any point covered in glitter, take a photo so I can use it for blackmail material." Magnus was looking at where they were headed, so he couldn't see exactly what Izzy's expression was, but something in her tone sounded disbelieving. Oh well - he didn't care what Izzy thought. He probably would try and cover Simon in glitter at some point.
From behind them, he could hear Simon and Clary talking excitedly about what they'd do when they got out of here - from what Magnus could hear, a lot of it involved pizza.
"It's tough, isn't it."
He was unprepared for Izzy's statement. "Sorry?"
"It's tough."
"What is?"
"Sharing."
At first, he was confused. But then it hit him.
Clary and Simon nattered away behind them, blissfully unaware of what the front pair were discussing. "It's… it's tough, yes, but it's doable."
He thought of all the times Alec had rushed away with Jace, when the excitement of battle had carried him away. All the times Alec had talked of Jace, the almighty Jace, when they were meant to be spending time alone together. He couldn't help it - they were parabatai - but it sometimes stung Magnus.
He guessed it was the same with Simon and Clary.
Seeing as Izzy hadn't acknowledged his previous sentiment, he reached out to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It is doable."
And it was. Of course it was. It was as hard as it was easy, he supposed.
Isabelle smiled in a melancholy way, and he felt his heart go out to her. Huh - he'd never thought he'd have all that much in common with a shadowhunter.
The comfort of their camaraderie washed away when Isabelle stopped suddenly.
"Oh God."
He followed her gaze to the cliff that abruptly cut off their path. "Isn't this what you expected?"
"I expected a more gradual join. I thought the cliff would be smaller on this end…"
It wasn't. The cliff rose sharply upwards from where it met the embankment, as if the road that shortened the dirt wall had been hewn from the rocks. He hadn't noticed what was either side of the road when they drove in, but it had been woodland initially. Now that he thought about it, it was feasible that it had slowly become higher and higher until it stopped abruptly and the drop to their left had begun. He shook his head. This was all too complex.
Simon, ever the optimist, had run to where the dirt met the rock. He was trying to climb it, to no avail. The rock cliff was too flat and the dirt was too soft - it kept crumbling underfoot. Even if there was a slight advantage to having a wall to brace himself on, Magnus figured Simon was struggling just as much as he would back at the camp. He had made it a metre or so off the ground when a piece of earth gave way and he fell to the floor.
Clary rushed to his side, inspecting him for cuts, but he shrugged her off. He was fine, but his glasses weren't - one lens was cracked slightly. Upon noticing this, he laughed to himself.
"I suppose they're better than nothing," he announced, and put them back on despite Clary's protests. Once their banter had dissipated, a silent realisation spread over the four of them.
"So… we're stuck?"
No one answered Simon's nervous query. No one wanted to say the answer aloud.
"How far do you think we've gone?"
"Almost far enough," Jace decided. Alec frowned.
"It doesn't work that way. If we want to make it back in time to meet the others, we have to do what you said earlier. Do you think we've gone three miles yet?"
"Almost," Jace grunted and Alec rolled his eyes. Of course he'd never get anywhere with Jace.
"I think we should go back soon," Alec tried.
"Soon," Jace repeated, monosyllabically. He was determined to find a way out - that much Alec could discern. But why he was so bent on doing so, he couldn't figure out.
"Once we've gone three miles and found our way back, we'll see what the others have found. If they haven't found anything, we use the GPS. This is hardly the be-all and end-all of - "
"With all due respect, Alec, please stop talking."
He stopped, taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"I don't want to fight with you, but I also want to make sure we're doing this right."
"Jace - "
"You know what I said." By now, he had stopped too, but only to encourage Alec to keep moving. "I don't want to sound mean, but we have to pay attention to our surroundings. How else will we find a way out?"
"With the GPS. Like I said."
"It's hardly going to highlight a path for us. All we'll be able to do is see the flat green expanse that we're already well aware of."
"We'll look at the contours on the map. We'll find someplace that isn't so steep and get back to the road."
"But what if we can't find a way out? What if we're trapped here?"
"Magnus can use his magic," Alec said determinedly. "Magnus can get at least one of us out to go and get help - "
"Magnus can't do everything," he spat. It pained him to be so harsh on his parabatai, but he needed to ensure any delusions of surety that Alec had were taken care of. There was no ultimate ending. There was no pre-determined finish line that they'd cross if they tried hard enough. Sometimes, you could try as hard as you could and still get nowhere. Alec had to realise that. But looking at his parabatai, he realised he crossed a line.
"I'm just trying to help."
It was funny - that was exactly what Jace wanted to say to Alec.
"You don't have to shut down everything I say because you're too determined to play the hero, okay?"
"Is… is that what you think I'm doing? You think I'm trying to play the hero and find a way out before anyone else? Just so I can look good?"
"Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"Like it's not something you would do."
"I'd… I'd never…" It appalled him that his parabatai, the person who was supposed to know him better than himself, thought him capable of putting his own selfish desires before the lives and safety of others. His expression soured. "I don't care how selfish you think I am, Alec - I'd never risk people's lives like that. But it's flattering to know you think that way."
He turned away, not before he saw his arrow strike its mark. The hurt on Alec's face said it all - that in the spur of the moment, he'd lashed out, angry that Jace had been so cruel to him. That he hadn't meant it.
But it was too late for Jace to care.
"Jace," Alec began, but Jace was storming ahead, eyes squeezed shut because he just needed to think for one fucking second -
"Jace!"
He didn't care about the alarm in Alec's voice, he just kept striding ahead. He heard Alec's feet slamming against the ground, heard him pounding towards him, but refused to acknowledge it.
"Jace, watch out!"
It was at that moment that Jace stopped, because he heard warning in Alec's voice. He heard fear.
He opened his eyes to the drop before him, where the earth ended so suddenly and didn't start again for a good ten metres below. The split was clean, as if it had occurred as a result of a long-ago earthquake. He wasn't sure.
He turned to thank Alec for the warning, but it seemed that Alec hadn't realised he'd stopped a second ago and was still running towards him. He tried to stop short of his parabatai, but he tripped ever so slightly -
Jace felt Alec's weight on him, and he felt his body tilt dangerously backwards -
And he felt the world give way as the two of them careened over the edge of the world.
He didn't feel Alec twist ever so slightly so that he'd be the one to bear the impact of the fall.
He didn't feel the pain that shot up Alec's leg when he landed on it.
But he did feel the resounding thud that their landing caused.
His breath was shaky. He could feel his leg ache, but it was an absent sort of pain. He reached for a stele, but he didn't have one.
"Alec… do you have a stele?"
No response.
"Alec?"
Silence.
Magnus was trying for the third time to fruitlessly climb the embankment when he felt it. He felt an ache rush through him, burning and all-consuming. It crippled him, made him gasp aloud. The pain wasn't his - that, he was sure of. But he knew exactly whose it was.
"Alexander," he managed, before the pain disappeared as swiftly as it had come. He tried to pull on the line that connected them, the line he had inadvertently created, but there was no response. No reassurance.
And so even though he knew all eyes were on him, even though he knew the others were waiting for him to inform them, he ran. He ran, he ran, he ran.
"Magnus? Magnus!" Izzy called after him, but he didn't wait to respond.
Clary whirled to face her. "What's wrong? What did he say?"
"I didn't hear," Izzy mumbled, her brow creased with worry. Simon, who looked almost as anxious as her, glanced upwards.
"You didn't hear?"
"No," she breathed.
"He…" Simon gulped. "He said 'Alexander'."
"Alec," Izzy mumbled, numb. "Alec."
This time, nobody questioned why she was sprinting away.
