Magnus stumbled out of his portal, collapsing on the ground with Alec and Cain's wrists still held firmly in his grip. He had aimed the portal for the infirmary at the New York Institute, bypassing his wards in an instant.
"Help!" Magnus yelled as loudly as he could, dragging Alec's body to him, scanning his husband's still body with his magic for any spark. "Stay with me, Alexander. You promised me forever," he muttered, pounding on Alec's chest out of desperation.
The squeak of rubber on floortiles had Magnus looking up, seeing Izzy gaping down at him, through the blur of his tears.
"He can't leave me," Magnus cried desperately, pounding on Alec's chest once more. "Stupid, stubborn Vampire! Come back to me," he yelled in Alec's ear.
"Magnus… what happened?" Izzy breathed, throwing herself down on the floor where Magnus, Alec, and Cain lay in a heap between two beds. Pushing aside her shock and the wild happiness that had filled her at the sight of them.
"He and Cain… they… they attacked each other. They killed Lilith but… but…" Magnus choked out, shaking Alec's body. "Why isn't he waking?" he asked. He didn't know how to help. There was a spark in Alec's brain but his husband was out cold.
"Magnus… he has the mark of Cain," Izzy whispered, staring at Magnus. The mark wasn't decimating him, even though he had pounded on Alec's chest. She sifted through the information Magnus had given her. Alec and Cain had attacked each other. Reaching out, she slapped Alec's face, shaking Magnus off when he made to grab her wrist, horror stamped all over Magnus' face.
Nothing happened when Izzy made contact with Alec's deathly pale face. No blast. "Magnus, the mark is gone. He needs blood."
Pulling a dagger out of her thigh holster, Izzy made to drag it over her wrist before Magnus snatched it out of her hand.
"I'll do it," Magnus said, slicing a cut into his arm, ignoring the line of fire when blood started flowing from the wound. He didn't need to remind Izzy that she had been addicted to vampire venom. And besides, Alec washishusband. Pressing his bleeding wrist to Alec's slightly parted lips, he willed his husband to drink as his blood started to trickle into Alec's mouth.
Izzy looked up when she heard the door open, seeing Clary return from the kitchens with two cups of coffee in hand. "Help me," she called to her parabatai, gesturing to Cain's still form.
"Is that Cain? What are you doing?" Clary yelled, watching Izzy slap an unconscious looking Cain around the face, her stomach plummeting. Until she realized that his mark hadn't pulverized her parabatai.
"He needs blood," Izzy said, her eyes flicking back to her brother once more. Alec still wasn't moving.
"Magnus? Alec?" Clary asked, seeing them huddled on the floor next to Izzy. When she saw what Magnus was doing, she put the coffees down and snatched the dagger. Cutting into her own arm, she pushed the bleeding cut against Cain's lips. "What are you…? The rift?" she asked, setting Cain's head in her lap as Magnus had done with Alec.
"Edom is destroyed," Magnus said, pushing his arm harder against Alec's lips. Complete and utter relief filled him when he felt Alec's lips move against his skin. He didn't even complain when Alec's hand clamped onto his wrist and Alec's fangs sank into his skin, too busy thanking the angel for Alec's life.
Izzy crossed the infirmary and used her stele to gain access to the medic's supply closet. If she received a reprimand for filching a few baggies of blood from the fridge, she wouldn't care less. It would be worth a thousand reprimands. Her brother was home!
Upon returning with an armful of blood, she found that Cain had also latched onto Clary's arm, both vampires sucking away. Dropping the baggies on the nearest bed she used her Stele to snap out a couple of fire messages. She would need help.
Magnus' emotions calmed as Alec drew more blood, Alec's venom flooding his system. Wrapping his free arm around Alec's head, he clutched his husband to him, slumping over Alec's head. He couldn't give two shits about the deep, husky moan that escaped him, too caught up in the pleasure and relief that spiked through him to care.
"Magnus, I've got blood here for him," Izzy said, kneeling down next Magnus and her brother. She ripped into the plastic bag so Alec could drain it like a juice-box, trying desperately to ignore the longing that surged when she heard the moans that escaped Magnus and Clary.
Clary almost growled when she felt a hand on her arm, leaning further over Cain's head. Pleasure sizzled in her blood, completely wiping away the pain that had flared when Cain's fangs had sunk into her arm a minute after Alec had latched onto Magnus.
"Magnus, Clary, they've taken enough," Izzy said, trying to break through the fog that had descended on them. Both of them looked too far gone to listen to her.
Magnus would have quite happily let Alec take more, making no move to try and pull his arm from Alec's mouth. Luckily, Alec came to his senses faster.
Alec pulled his fangs out of Magnus' arm when he opened his eyes to see his husband slumped over him, fear for Magnus curling through his gut. Snaking his tongue over the wound on Magnus' wrist, he closed it up before trying to sit up. He felt as weak as a day old kitten.
The door opening once more had Izzy thanking the angel when she saw Jace and Luke. "Help me with them," she said, gesturing to Magnus and Alec as she reached out to tug Cain away from Clary. She snatched her hand back when Cain let out a deep growl.
"Izzy… what…?" Jace dashed forward with Luke hot on his heels when he saw Alec, Magnus, and Cain. Shock and confusion swept through him, all jumbled up with happiness and then panic when he saw Cain feeding on Clary.
Cain came to his senses when he felt a firm hand grab his wrist. Blinking up at a blonde shadowhunter, he realized what he was doing and retracted his fangs.
Jace scooped Clary up and deposited her on the nearest bed. As soon as he had her prone, he checked her over for other injuries but she was unharmed, even if she was a little out of it.
"What's going on?" Jace asked. Yanking his stele out, he sent Catarina a fire message. He'd just passed her in the ops center, heading out to pick Madzie up from his mom's store. Maryse had offered to babysit while Catarina had come to heal Simon.
"The rift?" Luke asked, bending to help Izzy pick Alec up. The vampire waved them off, though, insisting they help Magnus first so he took Magnus under the armpits when Izzy grabbed the warlock's ankles. They lifted him and deposited him on one of the four beds before they scooped Alec up too. They put him on Magnus' bed when they realized there was going to be a shortage.
"I don't know… the last thing I remember was… going for Cain's throat. Then I woke up here," Alec said, wrapping Magnus in his arms, laying flush to his husband's body. Taking Magnus' chin in hand, he tugged Magnus' face up so he could inspect him.
"'m okay," Magnus muttered, his head still a little wooly, more than happy to snuggle into Alec's cool embrace. Sleep tried to claim him but Alec wasn't letting him off that easily.
"Magnus said that Edom has fallen," Izzy said as she and Luke hefted Cain into the last remaining bed next to Magnus and Alec's bed. She wanted to climb into the bed with Alec and Magnus and strangle the life out of them with a bear hug but Simon chose that moment to wake up for the second time since his run-in with the heavenly fire.
"Are we having a party?" Simon asked, roused by all the activity. Pulling himself up onto his elbows required maximum effort but a beaming smile broke out on his face when he saw the reason for the ruckus. "Hey, Magnus and Alec are here. And Cain… wait, why are they here? What happened? Are the demons coming? Why is Clary out of it?" he asked when he saw Clary lying on the bed next to his.
The party grew by one more when Catarina pushed through the door. "What's so import… Magnus?" she gasped, dashing into the infirmary when she saw her friend.
"Catarina!" Magnus said with a tired smile, taking her hand in his when she came up alongside his bed. "Alec was just about to explain what's going on. Weren't you, Alexander?" he said, his tone brooking no argument.
After a quick scan to determine what was wrong, Catarina sent her magic into Magnus' body while they talked, encouraging Magnus' red blood cells to reproduce. Aside from the blood loss, Magnus had sustained, he was surprisingly healthy, considering he'd just come back from a hell realm.
"Sure," Alec muttered, using the baggie of blood that Izzy handed him as a distraction to avoid looking Magnus in the eye. Accepting a strangling hug from her, he drained the bag, and a second one before beginning the story of the battle they'd just? faced, sipping a third while he talked.
Cain was more than happy to let Alec do all the talking, draining the baggies that Izzy handed him. Strength returned with every bag he consumed. He made sure to point out that he wanted no part in Alec's crazy plan at first.
"...me and Cain attacked each other, trapping Lilith between us. It was the only way," Alec said, tightening his hold on Magnus when it looked like his husband was about to sock him in the jaw.
"You could have killed each other! What were you thinking?" Magnus demanded, his stomach-churning. Even if Alec was lying there, a solid presence beneath his head. He still missed Alec's heartbeat.
"I was thinking that our marks would protect us. We couldn't kill each other, the marks wouldn't let us die so when we attacked each other, the power transferred to the only thing in between us. Lilith," Alec said with a shrug. It was a solid plan! "What happened after we killed her? Wait, we did kill her, right?" he asked.
"Yes, you killed her. I knew you were planning something!" Magnus muttered mutinously, still mad that Alec had lied to him. Thinking back, he realized that Alec hadn't actually lied to him. Alec and Cain had been discussing strategy whenever he had walked into the room. They just hadn't told him about it.
"You wouldn't have let us do it if you'd known. It was supposed to be a contingency plan but then those treacherous bastards turned on us. She would have sent the entire realm after us until one of them got past me and Cain. Then the rift would have fallen. I knew we wouldn't die," Alec said confidently.
"Why did you have to try and kill each other though?" Luke asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. He stepped back so that Catarina could move to Clary's bedside.
"It had to be strong enough to take Lilith out. The marks had to recognize the other's intent to kill. It was the only thing that would have been strong enough to kill Lilith. The intent to maim wasn't big enough," Alec said, wondering when Cain was going to jump in and take some of the heat off him. Everyone was staring.
"And did your contingency plan involve destroying your marks and Edom?" Magnus asked, his eyes flicking between Cain and Alec.
"Our marks?" Cain asked, sitting up quickly to be sure he'd heard Magnus correctly. "They're gone?" he asked, wild hope pulsing through his veins.
"Yes, would you like me to prove it?" Magnus asked, just as mad at Cain for indulging Alec's plan, no matter what the outcome was. The devastation that he'd felt when he'd thought Alec was dead would stay with him for a while yet.
"Yes. I would," Cain said. Not that he wanted anyone to get hurt. He just wanted to be sure.
Jace complied with Cain's wishes. If they said the mark was gone; it was gone. Crossing to Cain's bed, he poked Cain in the arm, hard. When he didn't burst into flame, he moved to give Alec and Magnus a back-slapping hug each.
"Are you wearing makeup?" Jace asked Alec when they hugged. Alec's face was covered in soot and dirt but he was pretty sure that was makeup on Alec's eyelids.
"Warpaint," Alec shrugged, rolling his eyes when Jace smirked. He couldn't care less.
"The marks must have canceled each other out, each mark destroying the other in a last-ditch effort to protect you both. I suppose if the mark couldn't affect your bodies it had nowhere else to go," Cat speculated when she had finished replenishing Clary's blood.
Alec nodded. It was the only explanation. He hadn't foreseen this outcome, however. All he'd wanted to do was get rid of Lilith in the fastest way possible. He wasn't complaining one bit, glad to see the back of the cursed mark.
"Edom was destroyed with your little stunt," Magnus said, pulling the head of their bed up with a snap of his fingers and settling into Alec's embrace. He felt much better for the magic that Catarina had healed him with. Still tired, but better. "With Edom gone, there was no rift to stay and protect," he said.
The fact that they were home finally sunk into Magnus' brian. So much had happened. The eternity of solitude that he and Alec had been facing was now a thing of the past. He didn't have long to ruminate on their change of circumstances any further when the door burst open once more.
Maryse halted in the doorway, gripping onto the door tightly to stop herself from collapsing where she stood. Madzie had insisted that Magnus and Alec were back and had dragged her through a portal. She hadn't dared hope it was true until she saw them lying in the infirmary bed.
"Alec! Magnus! I knew you were back!" Madzie yelled, dashing across the room to jump onto the bed. "I told you they were back! I felt Magnus' magic!" she said to Maryse over her shoulder.
"Sweetpea! We missed you," Magnus said, sandwiching Madzie in between him and Alec after she let them out of the chokehold hug she'd tried to smother them in. A small chuckle escaped him when Alec fussed over her.
"How?" Maryse asked, regaining the use of her legs to follow after Madzie. She wrapped Alec and Magnus in a hug as soon as she made it to the bed, clutching them to her and squashing Madzie in the process. She didn't care how it was possible, just thankful that they were home.
Alec hugged his mom, enduring it with good grace when she refused to let go of him. He wasn't complaining all that much. As much as he had told himself that he'd been ready to say goodbye to his family, being surrounded by them just reinforced how much he'd missed them.
Magnus hugged Maryse back just as hard, marveling that she was as pleased to see him as she was to see Alec. The last time they'd spoken, she had told him she loved him, called him family. It felt good to have a family.
Between the two of them, Alec and Magnus told them everything that had happened since Magnus had left for Edom, excluding only their reunion and wedding. Since none of their family members asked about the wedding, Alec had to assume that Simon had never said a word. One glance at the vam… mundane said as much.
"Tell us what happened here, with Jonathan. And Simon," Magnus asked when the tale was told and Maryse had ripped Alec a new one for his plan to kill Lilith.
"Well, Your Majesties…" Jace started with a deep bow before Clary elbowed him in the ribs.
"Someone else," Alec groaned, knowing that he was never going to live it down. He wouldn't be surprised if he found a plastic crown on his desk in the morning. That brought him up short. It wasn't his desk anymore. Just as this wasn't his Institute anymore.
"The clave is in meltdown. Between the attack on Alicante and the decimation of fourteen Institutes, we lost hundreds of shadowhunters," Luke said, pulling up a chair into the middle of the room to get comfortable before he continued.
"Jonathan Morgenstern wiped out a huge chunk of the European Institutes and there are only two left standing in North America. This one, and California. Luckily, Mexico wasn't hit so we can take reinforcements from them if we are desperate. But all of the Institutes and Alicante are in temporary lockdown," Luke said with a heavy heart. Many of his old friends were dead or still missing.
"We?" Alec asked.
"Jia needs all of the shadowhunters she can get. The Clave has never been hit like this before, over half of our people are gone. I've been stationed here to help Clary and Jace run the Institute while the politicians figure out what to do," Luke replied.
"They will rebuild. It's what the Clave does," Magnus said. Not diminishing their losses. He knew how hard it was to lose people they loved. But the Clave would always find a way.
"They need to rebuild soon. While the institutes are in lockdown, demons still invade this realm," Maryse said in a matter of fact tone.
"Maybe Jia will ask you to become a shadowhunter again?" Izzy said to her mom from where she perched on the side of Simon's bed, clutching his hand. Catarina had done an amazing job of healing him. Not even a mark left behind. Although, she couldn't regrow his hair or eyebrows. Those would have to grow back on their own. He was still just as handsome as he had been before, in her opinion.
"Maybe a couple of months ago I would have jumped at the chance to get my runes back in a situation like this. The angel knows Jia will need every able-bodied person that would be willing to help. But, I've had gotten to a good place. I've fully accepted that my life as shadowhunter is over and done with," Maryse said. She was content with the bookstore and her private life was looking up.
"If Jia needs a consultant, I would be happy to help but otherwise… I'm happy with what I've got. Especially now that my boys are back. I can help them plan that wedding," Maryse said, her eyes sparkling at the thought of a big celebration. It was what they all needed.
"Simon, what happened to you? I'm sure it's a riveting tale," Magnus said, using every last bit of self-control that he possessed not let his face crack when Alec sucked air next to him.
"They all tried to leave me behind. Again!" Simon said, jabbing his finger in the collective shadowhunters' direction. "I told them I could help but they went all macho on me. Even Izzy and Clary! I totally swooped in and saved the day," he grumbled.
"You were toasted like a marshmallow," Jace said incredulously. "You're only alive because we dragged you in here and managed to get Catarina here. If you'd stayed away as we told you to, you would have been fine!"
"I could have taken him," Simon shot back.
"Uhuh, with what? Your skinny arms and lame fighting 'skills' or your "super awesome vampire mojo"?" Jace asked with an eye-roll that would rival one of Alec's finest.
"You know nobody can withstand my supreme Encanto skills. And my fighting skills aren't lame!" Simon said, ignoring the way everyone was staring at him and Jace.
"You don't have any Encanto skills now..." Jace retorted before Izzy cut him off.
"Guys!" Izzy said, gesturing to Clary with a tilt of her head. Sadness radiated through their parabatai bond. For everything that Jonathan had done, he was still Clary's brother. Neither of them had moved from Simon's side until he had woken that morning so Clary hadn't even begun to deal with what the loss would mean.
"How do you feel about not being a vampire anymore?" Magnus asked. If anyone understood what it was like to lose a part of oneself that was so integral, it was him.
"Okay, I guess. I never really liked being a vampire anyway. I mean, the speed and enhanced hearing and stuff was good. But at least now I won't need fake IDs to drink at a bar. I'll never have to say goodbye to my sister or Izzy. And maybe I can reconnect with my mom. Tell her I was lost at sea or something," Simon said. He hadn't really had time to think about it having only woken up that morning.
"Well, I'm here if you want to talk about it. Alec too," Magnus said, smiling when Alec nodded. His husband also knew what it was like to go through such a life-changing experience.
"Thanks," Simon said, fighting the urge to get up and hug Magnus. He couldn't if he wanted too, still too weak to move much. "Hey Cain, have you thought about what you're gonna do now that you don't have your mark? No offense but the subway tunnels sucked. You don't have to hide away down there anymore," he said, perking up.
"I don't know what to do. I don't have a family or a job. I've hidden for centuries. I'm not sure I even know how to live amongst other people anymore," Cain said, realizing that he had some decisions of his own to make.
"I've got a spare room if you need somewhere to crash?" Simon said. Jordan would want the room to be used by someone who needed it and he was determined not to let Cain hide away anymore.
"That would be… nice. Thank you," Cain said, bestowing a rare smile on Simon.
"I think my patients have had enough for one day," Catarina said, watching Magnus' and Clary's eyelids droop. "You can all visit tomorrow," she said, raising her hands to wave off the protests, knowing that they would all be okay tomorrow anyway. It wasn't anything that a good meal and a decent night's sleep couldn't fix.
Alec thought he'd hugged everyone at least twice before they all trailed out the door, his mother eliciting promises of seeing them in the morning before she would leave. As much as he had missed them, it was nice to have a breather after everything that had happened. It had left him feeling emotionally and physically drained.
Magnus gestured Catarina closer when she scooped Madzie up off of their bed. "Can we go up to Alec's old room? I love Clary and Simon, and I like Cain but I don't want to share my husband with them?" he asked quietly, meeting Catarina's gaze when it widened.
"You got married, without me!" Catarina demanded, lowering her voice when Magnus shushed her. "You got married, without me?"
"We thought we weren't coming back. You heard Maryse. She won't be happy until she's planned a big wedding for us. You'll be my best girl, won't you?" Magnus asked, squeezing Catarina's hand when her face softened.
"Of course I will. Congratulations, to both of you," Catarina said, leaning down to kiss Magnus' cheek. "Thank you, for making my friend happy. I never thought I'd see the day," she said to Alec before pressing a kiss to his cheek too.
Alec just shook his head. Of course, he wanted to make Magnus happy. They had vowed as much, to always make each other happy. How could he not?
"I can do one better. How about a portal to the loft?" Catarina asked, grinning when Magnus' head snapped up. "Lorenzo vacated it after the whole lizard incident. I think the place gives him nightmares," she chuckled.
"The loft it is then," Magnus grinned. Hefting himself off of the bed, aching from head to toe and as tired as if he hadn't slept in a week, he took Alec's hand when his husband managed to drag himself off of it.
"We're going home. Will you be okay here, Cain?" Magnus asked.
"Sure," Cain waved them off.
"Tell Mom to come by the loft tomorrow," Alec said to Clary; who looked like she was settling in for a cozy sleepover with Simon. Too tired to message Maryse and let her know their change of location, he smiled his thanks when she nodded and turned for the portal that Catarina created for them. He wasn't stupid enough to think she wouldn't be hovering around over the next few days. He wouldn't even complain.
Magnus bent and pressed a kiss to Madzie's cheek before leading his husband through to the loft. Well, leading was a strong word. They were both tired enough to shuffle through it.
Alec glanced around when the portal closed behind them. The loft was filled with Lorenzo's stuff but he had no doubt that Magnus would clear it all out in the morning. Following Magnus into their bedroom, he smiled wanly when Magnus snapped his fingers and conjured them some fresh gold sheets.
With another wave of his hand, Magnus had him and Alec clean, too tired to bother getting a shower. All he wanted to do was sleep. Shrugging his gear off, he stole a few furtive glances at Alec.
"You're quiet. Is everything okay?" Alec asked, shrugging his own gear off and climbing under the sheets. He noted that Magnus didn't immediately snuggle in when he too climbed into bed.
"I was wondering if you had any regrets?" Magnus said, folding his hand under his pillow and rolling onto his side to face Alec.
"Regrets? About what?" Alec asked, feeling like a gulf had opened up in the space between them.
"About choosing this life. The danger has passed. We no longer have to spend our eternity in Edom. The choices you made when you became a vampire no longer apply. I don't want you to regret those decisions you made when you thought that that was going to be your life," Magnus said.I don't want you to regret choosing me, he silently thought.
Alec reached out and pulled Magnus to him, wrapping his husband up tightly in his arms. His hand found Magnus' cheek, thumb sweeping over Magnus' lip, as though he could wipe all of those words away.
"Magnus Lightwood-Bane. I promise to wipe away every tear that you will ever shed and to fill your days with enough love and happiness, that you will only ever cry tears of joy. I promise to stand by your side, every day, and to hold you close to me on the nights when forever is too much to handle," Alec said, searching Magnus' face as he repeated his vows.
"I will spend every day of our eternity easing that burden, ensuring that it isn't too much to bear. I promise to support your decisions, to advise you against your crazier plans and then follow you when you ignore me anyway. I promise to love you unconditionally, more than I have ever, or will ever love another living soul.
"I meant every single one of those words the first time I said them, and I still mean them now. I will never, ever regret choosing you," Alec said, nosing Magnus' face up to capture his lips.
Magnus sank into the kiss, relief swirling through him. He knew down to the depths of his soul that Alec loved him. He just wanted to be sure that Alec didn't regret giving his mortality up.
"I love you too," Magnus chuckled breathlessly when Alec let him up for air.
"Should I show my King just how much I love him?" Alec leered when Magnus entwined their legs and pressed every inch of his body to his.
"Ah yes, my bedroom attendant. That would be acceptable," Magnus shrugged, a giggle escaping when Alec growled at him before rolling him onto his back and pretending to maul his neck. "You can show me over and over again, just in case I forget," he said, tugging at Alec's hair to pull him away from his neck.
The deep, gravelly moan that escaped Alec when Magnus pulled his hair and the lust that bloomed in his eyes promised that Magnus would never forget again.