Chapter Text
Goddammit, Universe.
Magnus Bane had dealt with a lot of things in his many centuries. From good to bad, from outrageous to delightful, from fearful to painful. But never – never – he expected to be in this specific situation: standing inside a cave with some of the most dangerous Shadowhunters, all ex-Circle members, begging for his help. More precisely, Jocelyn Morgenstern, Céline Herondale and Maryse Lightwood. And, of course, the bundle of toddlers in the far corner of the cave. He could see five kids, all too young to understand the crimes of their parents.
After the failed attempt of an uprising, the Circle’s days were finally over. Valentine disappeared – some say he is dead, but Magnus would never believe without a body as evidence –, and all his followers were either dead or got arrested. The women in front of him were able to run away in time for having their children’s security as a priority. They knew that to be kept out of the Clave’s radar, they would need help to hide. A help only a warlock could offer.
Magnus snorted. He couldn’t care less for them or for their little monsters. They would certainly grow up and be as bigoted and cruel as the old generations.
“Warlock Bane, please. If not us all, at least them. Please,” Céline begged again, terrified for her only son, Jace.
“We would be at a lifetime debt with you,” Maryse stood proud as ever, swallowing all the crumbles of her shattered pride. She hated begging for anyone, especially a Downworlder, but Alec and Izzy were everything for her. She wouldn’t let anyone hurt them. “And if it’s not enough, you can extend the debt to our kids too.”
“Why can’t you let your relatives or even the Clave take care of them? They are innocent,” for now, Magnus’ mind supplied unhelpfully. “You are the ones who should pay the price for the atrocities you all did!” He let his glamour fall, golden cat eyes glowing furiously as if daring them to contradict him.
The three women flinched in different degrees.
“They are in danger,” Jocelyn spoke this time, her voice strangely calm, but clearly careful with each word uttered. “In the day the Circle fell, we also found out that Valentine had been experimenting on them.” Maryse grimaced and Céline let out a whimper. “We still don’t know what he injected in them, but whatever it is, Valentine will surely come back to see the results. He will hunt them down, and the Clave would probably ignore or even kill them to make sure nothing unholy will come from them. We can’t risk it.”
Magnus glanced towards the kids. A baby girl was sleeping on the arms of a toddler that seemed to be her brother. Probably Clarissa and Jonathan Morgenstern. Beside them, a blonde toddler was also sleeping on Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan Christopher Herondale. So, the other two… Black ink hair, pale skin. There was a small girl hiding behind her big brother, the only one who was looking a bit warily, but curiously at Magnus. Isabelle and Alexander Lightwood.
Pinching the bridge of his nose while praying for patience, he finally turned to the three Shadowhunter women.
“Very well. I shall help but,” he lifted a hand as soon as they opened their mouths, maybe to thank him. “For the right price, of course.”
“Of course,” Maryse echoed, drily. “But you should know that we don’t have much to offer right now. Our properties and all of our wealth were seized by the Clave.”
“I don’t need your dirty possessions, but I do appreciate good information. You were the closest to Valentine, and there are still a lot of Downworlders missing. If you tell me all you know, I will help you. However, if you try to mislead me, I swear I’ll personally portal all of you to the Inquisitor’s office.”
Jocelyn, Maryse and Céline exchanged a glance. Then, Jocelyn nodded.
“We accept. Give us some minutes to discuss our intel,” and like that, they retreat to the far end of the cave.
Magnus spent some time reevaluating all the wrong choices of his cursed life, when he heard a low flutter near the ground. Before he could make sense of the sound, he felt his trousers being tugged.
Looking down, he frowned. The eldest toddler, Alexander, was looking at him with unreadable eyes. An impressive achievement for someone who might barely be out of diapers. However, what really caught Magnus’ attention was the toddler’s wings.
Azure blue and silver feathers.
In the Shadow World, everyone had wings. It didn’t matter if you were a nephilim, a vampire, a warlock, a werewolf or a fae. If you had angel blood or demon blood, you had feathered wings. Though feather patterns, width and size were different, all wings had at least two colors. The colors of your soulmate. Soulmates shared the same arrangement of feathers and colors, a perfect mirror image.
If you were born with just one color, it meant your soulmate wasn’t born yet. If you had two, but at some point lost one of them, it meant your soulmate died.
When soulmates finally met and touched each other wings, the colors shimmered and inverted.
Magnus Bane spent a little over 400 years with azure blue wings. Although having a lifespan of endless centuries, he was already losing hope of one day meeting his destined one. Until three years ago, when he suddenly woke up to a mixture of azure blue and silver feathers. His one was finally born. He felt so relieved and joyful, he didn’t mind waiting another 20 or 30 years to find and meet them.
But of course he ended up meeting his soulmate sooner than expected. A toddler. A Nephilim toddler. Son of a Lightwood. Of Valentine’s group.
A toddler with wary hazel eyes and a cute frown.
Fuck you too, Universe.
It could be a coincidence. He wanted to believe it was a coincidence, but the tug he felt towards the boy now was too intense to ignore. If he just touched Alec’s wings, he would have his answer. It was a hell of temptation, but he would never touch someone’s else wings without their consent, and Alec was too young for that.
“Are you going to help?” The toddler asked and Magnus almost cooed. He was too adorable and Magnus was only human. Or half of it, semantics.
Magnus crouched to be at a better eye level and smiled with kindness.
“Yes, I will,” because fuck the deal now. If this kid was his soulmate, he would raise hell to protect him if necessary. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“No, your eyes are pretty.”
Magnus’ jaw dropped a bit. He had forgotten to glamour his eyes, and instead of being scared – which was a very common occurrence – this little boy was complimenting him.
Shaking his head fondly, he glanced for a moment to the other kids who were all looking at him with owlish eyes. If in awe or fear, Magnus didn’t know.
“I will protect them. I promise,” Alec tugged his sleeve this time. “I will be very strong.”
“I don’t have doubts. Please, take care and always be safe, Alexander.” Because if you are really my soulmate, I couldn't bear losing you, Magnus thought with a grimace.
Alec nodded and then ran back to his sister and friends.
Ten minutes later, the women returned and told Magnus everything they knew about the Downworlders. Most of it Magnus already knew, but there were some very interesting pieces that would help a lot during the search for his missing people.
“You did your part, so I’m going to do mine. There is this small village in Guam where the community is formed mostly by warlocks. There are some mundanes and a few seelies, but since the demonic activity is extremely low, there aren’t Shadowhunters. You will be safe there and will be able to raise your children without any problems.”
Magnus could see how the idea of a place full of Downworlders was unsettling for them, and he breathed exasperatedly.
“Listen, this will be my only offer. I know some of the warlocks there and they are all good people trying to have a peaceful life. If you do go, you will never lay a single finger on any of them. They will be watching you for me, and any signal of threat, I won’t hesitate to punish you myself. You aren’t Shadowhunters anymore, only plain and boring Nephilim. Try and raise those kids as mundanes. They don’t need to get tangled into the mess you created. Your names are blacklisted now anyway. They will never be accepted in any Institute.”
Maryse clenched her jaw so hard, Magnus thought she was going to break her teeth. Jocelyn and Céline were more worried at their kids than anything, so they just shrugged and accepted.
“So are you going to send us with them?” Céline asked full of hope.
“Yes. Despite all the blood on your hands, you are still their mothers. They need you.”
“Thank you, Warlock Bane.”
“I’m not doing this for you.”
Honestly, he was doing it to protect Alec. One day, years later, he was going to have the chance to find out the truth. If he was wrong… Well, at least there would be less five Shadowhunters in the future to hunt his people.
Magnus waved his hands on an elegant arc and opened a portal.
“I’ll send a fire message to their High Warlock. They will be waiting for you.”
The women nodded and went to gather their few belongings as well as their kids. Jocelyn went first carrying Clary with one arm and holding Jonathan’s hand with the other. Céline followed with a sleepy Jace hugging her neck like a koala. Then, Maryse went at least, also holding Izzy with one arm and holding Alec’s hand with the other.
Alec, however, faltered one step back while looking back.
Looking at Magnus.
"Bye-bye," Alec muttered, waving his free hand. A second later, he was gone, and Magnus was alone in the cave.
Magnus was certain that the boy could also feel the pull, but was too young to understand the meaning. As for Magnus, there was only longing and hope in his now glamoured eyes.
Longing for finally finding what he spent years looking for and to have to endure more.
Hope for the possibility that Alexander won’t grow up as an egocentric, bigoted and bloodthirsty Shadowhunter. Maybe Maryse would come around and be better. Maybe growing with warlocks would make him more empathetic. He wouldn't even start thinking about what Valentine could have injected into his soulmate. It was a terrifying idea.
And if Alec was already cute, he could imagine what kind of man he was going to be as an adult.
“We will find each other again one day. Grow well and stay safe until then, Alexander.”
Please, Universe.