Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tessa glanced at her watch for what felt like the thousandth time in the last hour, anxiously pacing in front of the door. They hadn’t been able to set an exact time to meet, so he wasn’t technically late, but she was starting to worry he had somehow been caught, despite how careful he always was.

It was the middle of the night, and the lights in the small Spiral Labyrinth bedroom were dim so Catarina could sleep. She had insisted on staying up and waiting with Tessa and Jem, so Tessa had talked her into at least lying down while they waited, and then used a small spell to encourage her to go to sleep, which she knew Catarina would be annoyed about when she woke up, but Tessa couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty about it.

Catarina wasn’t as badly off as some of the other warlocks yet, thanks to her centuries-old habit of conserving her magic to use on those who needed it most, but she still exhausted herself too quickly and needed as much rest as they could force her to take. Too many were getting too sick to keep looking for a cure, and far too few had Catarina’s medical expertise. Tessa was both terrified for the health of one of her closest friends, and worried that finding a cure would become impossible without her. 

The soft knock on the door startled Tessa out of her thoughts, and she rushed to throw it open, letting in the cloaked and hooded figure waiting on the other side before closing the door quickly behind him. 

“Ragnor, it’s good to see you,” she breathed out, hugging him quickly in greeting. 

“Are you sure it’s safe enough to be using my name here?” he muttered, but he ruffled her hair with a gloved hand before pushing back the hood of his cloak. 

“I set up detection wards down the whole hallway. If anyone else was near this room, we would know.”

Ragnor nodded in approval. “Always be more paranoid than you think you need to be. What news do you have for me?”

Jem stood up from the chair by Catarina’s bed, where he had been sitting. “You heard about what happened in Alicante?”

“Annabel Blackthorn murdered two Shadowhunters before disappearing from under their noses according to the Shadow Market gossip.”

Jem nodded grimly. “Robert Lightwood and Livia Blackthorn.”

“The girl that came to the London Market with Christopher?” Ragnor frowned. “She was just a child.”

“We called you here to ask you to keep an eye on Christopher again,” Jem said. “According to Magnus, Annabel disappeared to the Unseelie Court. We’re afraid this will put him in more danger.”

Ragnor swore under his breath. 

“He’s still in Alicante with the rest of the Blackthorns now, but they’ll return to the LA Institute soon,” Tessa said. “There’s a cave nearby that I used to use when Lucie’s grandchildren needed a little extra looking after. It’s comfortable enough to stay in for a while, and you’re welcome to it.”

“I’ll see what gossip I can gather at the LA Market before I go to the Institute then,” Ragnor said, running a hand agitatedly through his hair. “How is Magnus?”

“Not well,” Tessa replied, her stomach twisting in fear to admit it. “He fainted right before the Council meeting. Alec is taking good care of him, but he blames himself for what happened to Robert and Livia.”

Ragnor sighed deeply and carefully sat down on the edge of Catarina’s bed, where she was curled up on her side, a wan shade of blue against the white sheets. “Catarina clearly isn’t doing well either.” He pulled off a glove and reached out to brush her silvery hair out of her face, a faint green glow at the tip of his fingers as his hand lingered over her forehead, indicating a transfer of energy to her. 

“Ragnor, you shouldn’t do that,” Catarina murmured, shifting under the blankets and blinking open her eyes, a bottomless blue in the dim light of the room and the glow of Ragnor’s magic.

“I have enough magic to spare a little,” Ragnor insisted, brushing a green thumb over her temple. “You’re too important to let this illness get you.” He turned back to Tessa. “You’re not any closer to finding a cure?”

Tessa shook her head sadly. “And everyone just keeps getting sicker.”

“Why is it that you never have any good news for me?” Ragnor grumbled.

“We do have a tiny bit of good news,” Tessa said, sharing a look with Jem. “I wanted to wait until Magnus was with us to tell all of you together, but I don’t think that will happen soon.” She pushed down the anxiety of that thought. “Jem and I are going to have a baby.”

Catarina opened her mouth to say something, and Tessa held up a stern finger to stop her, knowing her well enough to anticipate what it was going to be. “Don’t you dare go into nurse mode on me. We’re taking care of you right now, not the other way around.” 

Catarina shook her head in fond exasperation, but there was a faint smile on her lips. “I’ll just tell you congratulations then.”

“Magnus already failed my memory by not naming either of his children after me,” Ragnor said solemnly. “William Ragnor has a very nice ring to it.”

Tessa covered her mouth to muffle the giggle threatening to spill out. It felt like a long time since she had had anything to laugh about. “I don’t think it counts as a failure to your memory if you’re technically still alive.”

“Magnus didn’t know that when he named Max.”

Tessa reached out to ruffle Ragnor’s snowy curls, grateful for the small break in the worry and tension. “I promise that if the baby is born on St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll think about it.”

Ragnor glowered at her while Catarina laughed.

“Why are you assuming the baby is a boy?” Catarina said, sitting up and nudging Ragnor’s shoulder. The shadows under her eyes looked lighter than they had been for the past few days, and Tessa felt a small ray of hope. “She could be Willow. Or perhaps Willa? Gwendolyn, maybe? Gwendolyn Catarina is a lovely name.”  

“Both is you are impossible,” Tessa laughed. She glanced at Jem to find him smiling too. They were in the middle of a tragedy, but that was when it was most important to snatch any scrap of happiness they could.

“I should go,” Ragnor said, wrapping an arm around Catarina’s thin shoulders and brushing a kiss against the top of her head before standing up. “The longer I stay, the more danger we’re in of getting caught. Being Shade is too useful to risk right now.”

He clasped Jem’s shoulder and let Tessa give him another quick hug before disappearing through the dark doorway to sneak back out of the Spiral Labyrinth and Portal to LA.

Chapter Text

“Magnus.” 

Alec’s voice, and the warm calloused fingers brushing against Magnus’s cheek pulled him out of his doze. His head felt fuzzy, and his entire body ached when he moved to turn towards Alec, a chill deep in his bones despite all the blankets piled on the bed. If this was what being sick was like, he wasn’t sure how mundanes stood the flu season every year. 

“How are the boys?” Magnus murmured. 

“Mom’s spoiling them rotten,” Alec replied.  “You should eat something. What do you feel like?”

Magnus shook his head, the movement worsening the pounding behind his eyes. “Just lay with me for a few minutes? I’ll get up and eat later.”

“You need to keep your strength up,” Alec said, his face tight with worry, but he laid down next to Magnus and slid an arm behind Magnus’s neck so Magnus could rest his head on Alec’s shoulder. 

Magnus sighed and curled into the warmth of Alec’s body, tucking his face against Alec’s neck and throwing one arm across his chest.

“Tell me more about what the boys did today,” Magnus said, closing his eyes and breathing in the faint sandalwood scent of the soap they both used. 

Alec ran gentle fingers through Magnus’s hair, which Magnus was sure was a complete ruin. He would have cared once, but he couldn’t bring himself to now. Not when he was Alec.

Alec’s hand trailed over Magnus’s back while he relayed what Max and Rafe had told him over the phone, an absentminded pattern that, after a moment, Magnus realized was in the shape of an iratze. His Alec’s wordless wish for some way to heal Magnus, which made Magnus’s heart feel full and broken at the same time.

“Max said they fought a dinosaur demon at the park, but Rafe insisted it was a dragon,” Alec said, trying to keep the conversation normal, and Magnus huffed a laugh as he pressed himself closer to Alec, wishing there was some way to assure Alec that they would get through this. But Magnus honestly didn’t know if they would or not. They both knew it was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t make it to see the other side of this illness.

Magnus pushed away that thought and let Alec’s voice, mixed with the comforting sound of his heartbeat, wash over him as sleep pulled him under again. 

Chapter Text

Ragnor sat at the table in his cave, frowning down at his notes. He couldn’t concentrate. Worry over Catarina and Magnus kept creeping into his thoughts. 

He wanted to check on them, but too much contact between them wasn’t safe. He needed to keep his cover as Shade for a while longer. But it was lonely work. Ragnor didn’t typically mind being alone, but being alone because you chose to be was different from being alone because you had to be. 

A soft meow startled him out of his thoughts, and he looked down to see Jem’s fluffy gray cat sitting by his feet. Ragnor hadn’t even sensed him approaching, despite his wards, but cats could be like that. 

“No wonder the two of you get along,” he remembered Magnus saying once, decades ago now. “He’s just as foul tempered as you are.”

He never thought he would actually miss Magnus’s mockery.  

Ragnor reached down to rub Church’s ears, feeling another pang of worry over Magnus and Catarina. “Did you come to keep me company, or were the Shadowhunters at the Institute just getting to be too much for you?”

Church meowed at him again and wound around his legs, which wasn’t much of an answer, but he stayed around the cave for the rest of the day, keeping Ragnor company. 

When Ragnor rolled out his sleeping bag to go to bed, Church stuck a cold cat nose in his ear, then burrowed inside the sleeping bag, contorting himself against Ragnor’s side in the kind of position that could only be comfortable to a cat, purring loudly as Ragnor absently stroked his fur.

Church wasn’t a friendly cat, but he was smart, and he knew how to look out for Jem’s friends.

Chapter Text

The Spiral Labyrinth had always been a sanctuary for warlocks, a fortress whose entrances were a carefully guarded secret only told to other warlocks. Allowing an army of faeries inside was completely unprecedented, but protocol could be broken for this.

Tessa and a few of the other warlocks who weren’t too sick to work spells opened the portals to allow the Wild Hunt to pour into the Labyrinth’s vast library, carrying jars and jars of water from Lake Lyn.

Tessa and Jem, the only truly healthy people in the Spiral Labyrinth, had already put together a list of every warlock they could find, along with their last known location, to give to the riders of the Wild Hunt in order to distribute the cure as quickly as possible. 

“The portals are already open. I can handle this by myself for a few minutes,” Jem said, grabbing a vial of water and pressing it into Tessa’s hands. “Go to Catarina.”

Tessa didn’t hesitate. Jem might not be a warlock, but he was well enough known here that the others would listen to him, even without her presence. She kissed Jem’s cheek and turned on her heel, racing down the long hallway to the Labyrinth’s residential wing. 

Catarina hadn’t moved at all since the last time Tessa had checked on her, her thin frame buried under the blankets Tessa had piled on her, her breathing in her sleep fast and shallow, and her blue skin even more ashen than it had been. Julian and Emma had said the illness turned the warlocks into full demons, but Catarina just looked like she was standing on death’s doorstep. 

Tessa felt the heat of tears prickle behind her eyes and tried to blink them back as she sat down on the edge of the bed and smoothed Catarina’s hair back. Catarina was still alive, she was still herself, and they had found the the cure. They wouldn’t be too late. 

Tessa slid an arm behind Catarina’s neck to prop her up so she could hold the vial of water up to Catarina’s lips, carefully tipping in a little of the lake water at a time. 

It took a few minutes before Catarina finally stirred, blinking hard as she tried to focus on Tessa’s face. “How long was I asleep?” she murmured, her voice hoarse from disuse. 

“A couple of days,” Tessa said. “Drink all of this before you try to talk.” 

Tessa kept an arm behind Catarina to help her sit up as she drained the rest of the vial without questions or complaints, to Tessa’s relief. Catarina was a wonderful nurse, but she could be an absolutely terrible patient when she was the one who needed to be taken care of. Catarina rubbed her eyes and squinted at Tessa’s face again. “Tessa, why do you have two heads?”

“You’re hallucinating,” Tessa explained, but she laughed and wrapped both arms around her friend, pulling Catarina into a tight hug. “The cure for the illness is water from Lake Lyn.”

Catarina groaned and pressed her face into Tessa’s shoulder to block out whatever she was seeing. “You know I hate hallucinating.”

Tessa petted Catarina’s moon-pale hair sympathetically. “You’ll be back to normal soon. This is a lot better than turning into a demon.”

“You’re going to have to explain that part to me again later,” Catarina mumbled into the fabric of Tessa’s dress. 

Tessa leaned her cheek against the top of Catarina’s head, so giddy with relief that the water had worked, she felt like she had drank some of the hallucinogenic lake water herself. “I promise, I’ll explain it all when you’re feeling better. You missed a lot while you were asleep.”

Chapter Text

“Ragnor Fell.”

Magnus stormed into the beach cave with as much righteous fury as he could muster while still barely recovered from his illness. “Kit told me you were here. What do you mean you’ve been lurking by the Institute all this time without telling me you were here?”

Ragnor lowered his hands from the defensive position he had clearly sprang into when he felt Magnus set off his wards. “To be fair, I didn’t know you were in LA either,” he grumbled. “By the time I found out you were staying at the Institute, you were far too ill to come here, and the cure was already on its way. It’s good to see you looking better, by the way.”

Magnus slammed a vial of lake water down on the table, still annoyed that Ragnor had made that call when there had been a chance Magnus wasn’t going to make it through the warlock sickness, and wouldn’t have had another second chance to see his oldest friend again. “Now it’s your turn, you old goat. I hope the Lake Lyn water gives you a really bad trip.”

“Catarina?”

“I got a message from Tessa a few minutes ago. Catarina’s awake. She’ll be fine. All of us will.”

“Thank God,” Ragnor murmured, letting out a shaky breath and leaning heavily against the table, covering his eyes with one long fingered hand. “I was terrified I would lose one of you.”

Magnus crossed his arms, trying to keep his expression stern, but he could feel his irritation melting. “Feeling a little bit of what Catarina and I felt when we lost you, hm?” 

“I’ve already apologized more than once for that!” Ragnor snapped, but his voice wasn’t entirely steady. “How long are you going to hold a grudge?”

“Until you decide you’re ready to come out of hiding and act like a normal person again. I’ll think of a suitable punishment then.”

With that, Magnus finally gave up his scowl and threw his arms around Ragnor, squeezing tightly. Magnus had been Ragnor’s friend for a very very long time, and he knew Ragnor didn’t hate hugs nearly as much as he pretended to, but he had a hard time initiating them, and he looked like he needed one now. 

Ragnor made a strangled noise of protest, but after a moment, he huffed an annoyed sigh and wrapped his arms back around Magnus, returning the embrace.

“You’re too thin,” Ragnor said gruffly. “Make that Shadowhunter of yours feed you more.”

“I have half a dozen Shadowhunters trying to mother hen me right now, Alec worst of all. I don’t need it from you too.”

Ragnor sighed again. “Since you’re here and not dying anymore, I have some things about Christopher and Tiberius to tell you.”

Chapter Text

Catarina probably wouldn’t have decided to do it if she were completely in her right mind. But between the lingering effects of the Lake Lyn water, and the burst of energy that came from her magic returning, Catarina wasn’t sure she could be considered entirely in her right mind at the moment. 

Once the worst of water’s effects had worn off, she had joined Tessa and Jem at the Portals to help distribute and administer the water. After things had calmed down, Tessa had insisted she go back to bed and recover the rest of her strength.

She returned to her room, but instead of sleeping, she closed her eyes and focused. Usually she would be more careful, communicating through untraceable and coded messages, but she knew where Ragnor was supposed to be, and she wanted to check on him. So instead of a message, she sent a Projection to the Staircase Beach cave. 

Ragnor looked up when she appeared, a slow grin spreading across his green face, the corners of his dark eyes crinkling in the way they usually did when he was in a rare good mood. He stood up held out his hands to her. “Dance with me?” 

“There isn’t any music,” Catarina said, raising an amused eyebrow and eyeing the empty vial on his desk. “How long has it been since you drank the lake water?”

“Ten minutes?” He ran a hand through his hair as he thought, making the white curls stick up wildly around his horns. “Maybe twenty.”

So the hallucinatory properties of the water were currently in full effect then, Catarina realized.

He shrugged and waved a wrist, an old gramophone appearing to spit out the kind of mournful music Ragnor was so fond of. 

“You know I’m not actually here,” she reminded him. “I’m just a Projection.” 

“Dance with me anyway,” he insisted. 

She laughed fondly and gave in, carefully placing a semitransparent hand in his so that it didn’t pass through his skin, the other hovering milimeters over his shoulder. She couldn’t feel him, and she knew he couldn’t feel her either, but she tried to imagine it as he placed his free hand where her waist would be if she was really there. How his hand would be warm in hers- he always tended to run hotter than she and Magnus did- and how he would smell faintly of the citrus cologne he usually wore, and of sea salt from living in a cave by the beach. 

She wasn’t really there, but they did a decent job of pretending for a few minutes as they spun around the cave, giggling at each other like children when they messed up, causing his hand to pass through her waist and her’s to stab through his chest, ruining the illusion. 

A tingle of magic, like static electricity, passed over them, magic that Catarina could sense, even as a Projection, and they both froze. Something had set off Ragnor’s wards. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered and broke the spell for her Projection before they could be caught. 

Catarina opened her eyes in her empty Spiral Labyrinth room, the music from the gramophone still echoing in her head.