“I’m sure that Maryse would date a vampire when she was your age.” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Magnus had told him about his parents during their Circle days. His tone become more somber, remembering what else had been in those stories. “And you never would have killed Shadowhunters who were protecting the innocent like my mother did. Neither version of you are like Maryse.” After what Magnus had seen and the battles he’d fought in, it was amazing that he’d been open minded enough to even consider dating a Lightwood.
“Hopefully, your Alec will get out before that happens.” Realizing that meant that her brother would leave the Institute, he couldn’t quite bring himself to apologize. “One of the best things that happened to me was Magnus giving me the key to his loft. I finally had a place where I could be myself. Even if he has that, it’ll help him deal with all the changes. And if he had you and Jace to support him-” At least Alec assumed that the Jace in her reality was supporting Alec. If he’d come out at a wedding, Jace had to know his parabatai was gay. “I didn’t tell Jace for weeks so Alec has more support than I did. I will remind you that you’re a good person and how lucky your family is to have you ever day if you want me to.”
Thinking of how his Izzy had complained about her big brother, he smiled at her descriptions of her reality’s Alec. “That’s what big brothers are supposed to do. We’re going to look out for you no matter what and I’m going to look out for you since he’s not here. I can’t let an Izzy get in trouble if I’m around.” But he had failed her once. He’d failed with Max too. Shaking off the thought, he knew he’d have to confess that failing soon but dwelling on it wouldn’t help either one of them.
Alec began to say something about fate. That maybe Simon had been destined to become a vampire. Considering how important he had become during the wars, and his potential future, it might be true. But that also meant that her Max shared the same destiny as Alec’s. “I’m sure he doesn’t blame you. Our Simon never blamed her for him being turned.” He didn’t know Simon well but he would have known if Izzy had been hurting over something Simon had said or did related to the vampires.
Unsanctioned missions? Everything that they’d done during the wars were unsanctioned missions. They’d returned to be chastised and then called heroes but in hers, Alec had been forced to marry to save their reputations. A reputation that had been ruined by generations of Lghtwoods. “And being involved with the Circle didn’t tarnish our good name,” he snarked. “Lightwoods have been the black sheep of the Shadowhunters for centuries. We proved that Demon Pox existed.” Shaking his head at that version of Robert and Maryse’s ego, he began to wonder if maybe his parents weren’t quite as power hungry as he’d thought. At least they’d never considered arranged marriages as if they were living in one of those cheesy romances his Izzy read. “At least he chose someone instead of letting them barter him off.” Before she could protest his comment, he held up a hand and continued. “If they’d given me an ultimatum like that, I would have done it. It would have been a disaster when my wife realized I was gay but I would have done it.”
As he set the coffee pot back on the burner, he wondered if her Jace was special the way his was and if Valentine was manipulating him the way he’d tried with Alec’s parabatai. “I keep telling him he’s more angelic than me.” For a moment, the distance between them seemed worse. He missed Jace constantly but there were times when it was worse. A bright, painful jolt that reminded him that they were apart but that Jace was still alive. “Or I tease him about how much he angsted over Clary and then he kicks my ass the next time we spar.
“We fought Valentine a couple of times. An Angel killed him eventually, after he’d –“ Automatically, his hand went to the parabatai rune on his side. He’d lied about the bond before, both to his family and to himself, but now he was honest about it. The bond had nearly snapped that day and if Magnus hadn’t been with him, Alec would have died in the middle of the battle. “After he summon it.” Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to escape a fussing Izzy, and that he really didn’t want to, he still tried to look annoyed. “I work at Red Rum. It’s where vampires can feed without anyone getting seriously injured. So I watch them flirt with the Mundanes and make sure it never goes beyond flirting. No bespelling them. No draining them. It’s pretty boring most nights.”
The comment about his training caused him to duck his head, suddenly embarrassed by the praise. It wasn’t the type of job most Shadowhunters would accept but there weren’t demons to hunt and if he could use his runes to help others, why shouldn’t he do some good here? “I figured it kind of fit with our training.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Alec knew he shouldn’t get defensive about how he spent his spare time. Especially when some things were confusing but it was an automatic response with Izzy. “I go to the movies and I’m planning to go to the opera. I have a friend and I talk to one of the baristas most mornings.” Maybe she wouldn’t ask too much about the friend since he wasn’t sure what he’d say about Sebastian.
His expression hardened at the mention of Meliorn. Alec knew he shouldn’t say anything, especially if she’d just broken up with him but she deserved to be warned about him. “In my world, Meliorn is a traitor,” he said carefully, his tone clipped, remembering how it’d felt to let the arrow fly. He didn’t regret it even if Jace had questioned his actions. “He didn’t survive the war.” If she didn’t ask, he wouldn’t tell her. In her world Meliorn might be innocent. What little information he’d given her could be a warning and if she ever returned to her reality, she could make her own decision.
Moving to the table, he didn’t bother sitting down and knelt beside her. “Izzy, it’s bad.” How could he tell her? He’d never had to tell anyone about it. They all just knew. They’d seen the horror themselves instead of having to give those heartbreaking words. “In my world, Valentine had two sons. One he adopted, Jace, and Clary’s brother. Jonathan. He had Jonathan pretend to be our cousin, Sebastian. We thought he was family. He secretly helped Valentine attack Alicante. During the attack, I left you and Max with him.”
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he almost stared down at the floor, but he had to be strong for her and for Max. It was his fault and he had to accept whatever judgement and grief she felt. “I didn’t know. I was one of the only adults in the city and it was being overrun by demons. They were slaughtering children in the streets. They took one of our cousins. I had to go.” And Alec left his siblings alone with a monster in their house. “I trusted him. When I was gone he – “ Closing his eyes, he could still see his parents’ faces and the hollow way that Izzy had stared at him. Jace falling to his knees and holding their brother’s hand. “We think he meant to knock Max out but he – he didn’t survive. Izzy, I trusted him two protect both of them and he killed my baby brother.”
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“Hopefully, your Alec will get out before that happens.” Realizing that meant that her brother would leave the Institute, he couldn’t quite bring himself to apologize. “One of the best things that happened to me was Magnus giving me the key to his loft. I finally had a place where I could be myself. Even if he has that, it’ll help him deal with all the changes. And if he had you and Jace to support him-” At least Alec assumed that the Jace in her reality was supporting Alec. If he’d come out at a wedding, Jace had to know his parabatai was gay. “I didn’t tell Jace for weeks so Alec has more support than I did. I will remind you that you’re a good person and how lucky your family is to have you ever day if you want me to.”
Thinking of how his Izzy had complained about her big brother, he smiled at her descriptions of her reality’s Alec. “That’s what big brothers are supposed to do. We’re going to look out for you no matter what and I’m going to look out for you since he’s not here. I can’t let an Izzy get in trouble if I’m around.” But he had failed her once. He’d failed with Max too. Shaking off the thought, he knew he’d have to confess that failing soon but dwelling on it wouldn’t help either one of them.
Alec began to say something about fate. That maybe Simon had been destined to become a vampire. Considering how important he had become during the wars, and his potential future, it might be true. But that also meant that her Max shared the same destiny as Alec’s. “I’m sure he doesn’t blame you. Our Simon never blamed her for him being turned.” He didn’t know Simon well but he would have known if Izzy had been hurting over something Simon had said or did related to the vampires.
Unsanctioned missions? Everything that they’d done during the wars were unsanctioned missions. They’d returned to be chastised and then called heroes but in hers, Alec had been forced to marry to save their reputations. A reputation that had been ruined by generations of Lghtwoods. “And being involved with the Circle didn’t tarnish our good name,” he snarked. “Lightwoods have been the black sheep of the Shadowhunters for centuries. We proved that Demon Pox existed.” Shaking his head at that version of Robert and Maryse’s ego, he began to wonder if maybe his parents weren’t quite as power hungry as he’d thought. At least they’d never considered arranged marriages as if they were living in one of those cheesy romances his Izzy read. “At least he chose someone instead of letting them barter him off.” Before she could protest his comment, he held up a hand and continued. “If they’d given me an ultimatum like that, I would have done it. It would have been a disaster when my wife realized I was gay but I would have done it.”
As he set the coffee pot back on the burner, he wondered if her Jace was special the way his was and if Valentine was manipulating him the way he’d tried with Alec’s parabatai. “I keep telling him he’s more angelic than me.” For a moment, the distance between them seemed worse. He missed Jace constantly but there were times when it was worse. A bright, painful jolt that reminded him that they were apart but that Jace was still alive. “Or I tease him about how much he angsted over Clary and then he kicks my ass the next time we spar.
“We fought Valentine a couple of times. An Angel killed him eventually, after he’d –“ Automatically, his hand went to the parabatai rune on his side. He’d lied about the bond before, both to his family and to himself, but now he was honest about it. The bond had nearly snapped that day and if Magnus hadn’t been with him, Alec would have died in the middle of the battle. “After he summon it.” Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to escape a fussing Izzy, and that he really didn’t want to, he still tried to look annoyed. “I work at Red Rum. It’s where vampires can feed without anyone getting seriously injured. So I watch them flirt with the Mundanes and make sure it never goes beyond flirting. No bespelling them. No draining them. It’s pretty boring most nights.”
The comment about his training caused him to duck his head, suddenly embarrassed by the praise. It wasn’t the type of job most Shadowhunters would accept but there weren’t demons to hunt and if he could use his runes to help others, why shouldn’t he do some good here? “I figured it kind of fit with our training.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Alec knew he shouldn’t get defensive about how he spent his spare time. Especially when some things were confusing but it was an automatic response with Izzy. “I go to the movies and I’m planning to go to the opera. I have a friend and I talk to one of the baristas most mornings.” Maybe she wouldn’t ask too much about the friend since he wasn’t sure what he’d say about Sebastian.
His expression hardened at the mention of Meliorn. Alec knew he shouldn’t say anything, especially if she’d just broken up with him but she deserved to be warned about him. “In my world, Meliorn is a traitor,” he said carefully, his tone clipped, remembering how it’d felt to let the arrow fly. He didn’t regret it even if Jace had questioned his actions. “He didn’t survive the war.” If she didn’t ask, he wouldn’t tell her. In her world Meliorn might be innocent. What little information he’d given her could be a warning and if she ever returned to her reality, she could make her own decision.
Moving to the table, he didn’t bother sitting down and knelt beside her. “Izzy, it’s bad.” How could he tell her? He’d never had to tell anyone about it. They all just knew. They’d seen the horror themselves instead of having to give those heartbreaking words. “In my world, Valentine had two sons. One he adopted, Jace, and Clary’s brother. Jonathan. He had Jonathan pretend to be our cousin, Sebastian. We thought he was family. He secretly helped Valentine attack Alicante. During the attack, I left you and Max with him.”
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he almost stared down at the floor, but he had to be strong for her and for Max. It was his fault and he had to accept whatever judgement and grief she felt. “I didn’t know. I was one of the only adults in the city and it was being overrun by demons. They were slaughtering children in the streets. They took one of our cousins. I had to go.” And Alec left his siblings alone with a monster in their house. “I trusted him. When I was gone he – “ Closing his eyes, he could still see his parents’ faces and the hollow way that Izzy had stared at him. Jace falling to his knees and holding their brother’s hand. “We think he meant to knock Max out but he – he didn’t survive. Izzy, I trusted him two protect both of them and he killed my baby brother.”