Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For all that Alec’s Institute had become a mess these past few weeks – and was currently in the hands of someone who didn’t deserve the title of Head – part of him had always thought of it as home. A place where he was safe. Even after everything that had happened lately, after the wedding-that-wasn’t and the reveal of secrets Alec had been so sure would change how people saw him, his people had stood by him. They still chose to follow him. Those that didn’t, they left, and new recruits were brought in to replace them.

It’d left Alec with a false feeling of security. A sense of being safe within those walls.

He was paying the price for that now.

It never should have happened. That was all Alec could think as he knelt on the floor of the Ops Center and felt the cold metal of the adamas cuffs that closed around his wrists. Even as Aldertree stood there in front of him, smirking down at Alec with that smug superiority that Alec ached to knock off his face, part of Alec couldn’t move beyond stunned.

He’d known things were getting worse, that the Clave was going too far in their fear to stop Valentine and control everything, but he hadn’t thought they’d go this far.

Yet here he was, pushed down to his knees by a couple of guards. They were at least professional in their grip, though unyielding.

The sheer shock kept Alec still as he knelt there. But though part of him might have been stunned, the rest of him was focused on his people – the ones who had come to a stop the instant Victor had loudly announced Alec’s arrest right there in the middle of the busy Ops Center. Not a one of them spoke a word, though it was clear they wanted to. Most of them looked furious, and Alec gathered himself enough to issue a firm “Stand down” to the lot of them to make sure that they continued to stay silent.

“Yes, stand down,” Victor said, his smirk growing. “Unless you’d like to join Lightwood in disgrace. I’ll be quite happy to clean out every traitor in this house.”

The fury grew until it was palpable. Alec could see a few he knew would come to kneel with him, who would stand at his side until the moment he burned in Idris for his supposed crimes, and he couldn’t let that happen. None of his people were going to die for him.

Lifting his chin, Alec looked around the room at the people he had grown with, fought beside, and trained with. People who had stood by him through so many different things, or who had come to join him and pledged their loyalty to him. “Stand down,” Alec told them again. “Dying for me won’t solve anything. Your job is to protect our city. I’m trusting all of you to do that. To keep up in my absence the peace we’ve all been striving toward.”

The way that Victor sneered at that was something Alec ignored. As was whatever biting words the man replied with. All of Alec’s focus was on looking around the room at his people and making sure they all understood his message. He was passing his mission on to them for now.

When the guards pulled Alec to his feet, he rose as regally as he could manage, spine straight and chin up. Never let them see you falter.

Alec stared in front of him at the smug smirk on Victor’s face, and he let himself harden. Let a bit of ice creep into his voice. “You’re going to regret this choice.”

The smile that curved over Victor’s grew just a little more smug. “You know, I don’t think I will.” He lifted one hand and waved it dismissively. “Take him.”

Two options were in front of Alec at that moment. He could fight, break free, and run. Live in hiding and fight back against the Clave in what would undoubtedly turn into an all-out war. Something which none of them needed right now. Not with Valentine on the loose.

So, really, that only left Alec one choice. One that would change everything.

Alec let his eyes run over his people yet again, and then he looked forward and walked steadily between the two guards, through a portal and into the very heart of Idris.

Word traveled fast in the Shadow World. Especially when someone was connected with people from all different walks of life. Within minutes of Alec disappearing through the portal, someone inside the Institute managed to slip away from the meeting Victor Aldertree immediately called for just long enough to send a fire message to the only person who might stand any chance of rescuing their actual leader.

It didn’t matter who currently held the title of Head of the New York Institute. The people inside her walls knew precisely who their leader was.

The fire message found Magnus in his living room talking with the only two other people who would’ve needed to receive the news – one of whom was already answering a text on her phone. At the same time that Magnus was reading the words on the parchment, Isabelle was gasping, her eyes wide when they lifted to Jace. “Alec’s been arrested.”

“What?” Jace’s voice was sharp and suddenly so very dangerous – the warrior he’d been raised to be abruptly coming to the forefront, leaving behind the usually sociable persona.

Magnus registered their words only vaguely. He stared at the note in front of him, his mind already racing with what it said and what it meant. Rage rolled through him like a tidal wave of fire that threatened to burn everything in its path – everything that stood between him and Alexander.

Rage was an emotion Magnus was more than familiar with. He knew how to strangle it, how to hold it down and force it to bend to his will, even just a little bit. Enough for him to have a cool head. Because right at that moment, he had to have a cool head. If he didn’t, there was every likelihood they would make some foolish mistake, and Alec would be the one to pay the price. One that there was no coming back from.

For just one second, Magnus allowed himself the luxury of closing his eyes and simply breathing. He pictured Alec, his beautiful Alexander, held down by shadowhunter chains, dragged out of his Institute and into the heart of a city that had once been his home. One that should’ve helped to shelter him.

He pictured the way Alec had looked that morning before he’d left for work, before he’d even gotten out of bed. How he’d snuggled in as close as he could until Magnus rolled them both so that Alec was draped over him like the very best weighted blanket.

It’d taken a while to get Alec used to the idea that he could lay like that without hurting Magnus. “I’m stronger than a mundane, darling,” Magnus had reminded him often. “You won’t hurt me.”

Now, it was Alec’s favorite way to lay.

Magic sparked over Magnus’ fingers. Throughout the loft came the sounds of glass shattering as his power sent a surge through the building’s electricity. It should’ve left them all in the dark. Would have, if not for the eerie glow of orange-red magic crackling from where the lightbulbs had one been. It curled around his fingers in a dance that promised danger to those stupid enough to take what belonged to him.

“Magnus.”

He turned his head to look to Isabelle, who had moved away from Jace to take a hesitant step toward him. There was something in her eyes that Magnus thought might’ve been fear. He held a hand up to stop her before she got any closer. “Don’t.”

Isabelle spread her hands out in a universal gesture of I’m unarmed. “You need to take a deep breath and calm down, Magnus. I know this looks bad…”

A bitter laugh escaped past Magnus’ lips. Looks bad??

Ignoring him, Isabelle went on as if he hadn’t made a sound. “…but I promise you, he’s going to be okay.”

The thought of Alec being anything close to okay at the moment was laughable. He’d been arrested by the Clave, and Isabelle was here trying to assure him that Alec would be okay like Magnus was some sort of child to be calmed by meaningless words? Magnus bit back the snarl that wanted to tear free. “I appreciate the platitude…”

“It’s not a platitude,” Isabelle interjected. Her voice was so strong, so certain. That, more than anything else, cut off Magnus’ words. His eyes snapped to her, and he watched her face, saw the very same certainty there. “Alec’s going to be okay.”

The way she said that… “You know something. Something I don’t.”

Though Magnus’ words were a sharp accusation, they didn’t seem to bother Isabelle at all. “I do,” she admitted. Jace made a noise of protest, but she ignored him, her eyes staying locked on Magnus. “I promised to let him tell you in his own time, and I won’t break that. Alec has the right to want to share this with you on his own. But he’s going to be okay.”

The words were so tempting. A promise of something Magnus ached to believe.

Surprisingly, it was Jace who spoke up next, though he’d been quiet ever since his initial reaction. He’d been standing off to the side of them with his eyes closed and his hand on his rune. Magnus had noticed and kept an eye on the gesture – there was no better barometer to what was going on with Alec at the moment. But now Jace turned to them, and his mismatched eyes were bright with the light of the angels, his power flooding him at the knowledge that his parabatai was in danger.

Those eyes locked on Magnus, and Jace took a step toward him. “She’s right,” he said simply. Then, instead of offering half-explanations or excuses, he bluntly said, “Can you get in past the wards at the Gard?”

With anyone else, Magnus wouldn’t have dared answer that. His power wasn’t something he displayed casually. Nor something that he ever let anyone know the truth of.

For Jace – for Alec – his answer was a simple, “Yes.”

The evening air was cool against the bare skin of Alec’s arms. He barely registered it as he was taken forward through the Gard, past the cells where he’d been so sure he would be put, down the long hall that led to the punishing grounds. Alec knew where they were taking him, and it made his heart ache a little more to see how far his people had fallen. How low they were willing to sink. All because Alec had dared to step outside the mold. He’d done something that the Clave hadn’t approved of, and for that, he was being taken into custody, put up on charges without a trial, and dragged straight to punishment.

It was no surprise when Alec stepped through the doors to the punishing grounds and found Imogen Herondale standing there with three other members of the Clave at her back – the necessary amount to convict someone of Alec’s rank. Enough to carry out the clear sentence they were here to administer this day.

Alec didn’t falter. His steps stayed strong and sure as he marched to what he knew was meant to be his death.

He was brought right up to the runic circle burnt into the center of the grounds, raised up on a platform. In front of him stood Imogen, with the other three spread out behind her. Imogen met his stare without any sign of repentance. She didn’t regret what she was about to do. No, she was filled with a righteous conviction.

When the guards let go of him, Alec didn’t try and flee. What was the point? He stood there and met her gaze with his spine straight, and his head held high.

Imogen clearly had expected a different kind of reaction. There was a brief tightening around her eyes. One that showed her displeasure. A second later, it was gone, and she was calm and composed once more. “Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you have been brought before the Angel and us today to face the reckoning for your crimes against the Clave and the Angel.”

“I was unaware any charges had been brought against me,” Alec answered her.

The steadiness of his voice seemed to throw her. At least for a moment. She recovered quickly, though, and a faint sneer curled her upper lip. “You have been charged with the act of treason and found guilty. As such, there was no requirement to bring you forward for your trial or to notify you and allow you time to run.”

Treason. Treason. Alec had known the charges would be bad. They had to be for all of this. But treason? He stared at her for a moment in pure shock. He could think of nothing he’d done lately that would even come close to a charge of treason. Sure, there had been mistakes and some things that Alec knew he would end up getting punished for at some point. He’d been prepared to accept it. But there’d been nothing he could label as treasonous.

Nothing except for the one thing that wasn’t a crime at all.

Alec looked up at her, and he knew what this was. It wasn’t a result of the things his siblings had done and Alec’s responsibility behind it. Nor did it have anything to do with everything that happened with Jace, or Clary, or the Cup. While they might have the words to wrap this up in some sort of fancy trapping that would make it okay, Alec knew the truth, and so did the four in front of him. This wasn’t about his actions as a shadowhunter. This was about one thing and one thing only – Magnus.

Ever since the wedding-that-wasn’t, they’d been looking for a way to take him down from a position of power. There was no way they could allow someone to lead them who had not only chosen to lie with a man, thus preventing him from furthering the family line and siring more nephilim, he’d chosen to do so with a warlock. Not just any warlock, either. Magnus Bane. A warlock who was powerful enough that it was said even Valentine feared him.

Alec drew in a breath, and he felt something inside him break away. A piece of him that had still held to the values of the Clave and the Angel. A part that had stayed quietly loyal even if there was no one left to be loyal to anymore.

“I have been loyal to the Clave,” Alec said. His voice was low, yet it carried through the night air with a sense of strength that they couldn’t take away from him. “From the moment I took my first rune, my first chain, I pledged my life to the Angel’s mission. To protect the world from demons.”

“Yet you see no issue lying with one,” spoke one of the representatives snidely. Evan Morningsurge was one of the Clave's older members and so clearly still caught up in old ideals.

Alec shot a sharp look over at him. “His blood doesn’t make him a demon. The same way that our blood doesn’t make us angels.”

Protest rose almost instantly from the three representatives that were silenced by a sharp wave from Imogen. She looked just as furious as them, only she wielded her anger with words, just as sharp and deadly as Alec’s arrows. “We’re not here to debate your beliefs. You’ve made those quite clear, Mr. Lightwood. We’re here today to wipe away that shame before it further taints those around you.”

“So you admit this has nothing to do with treason,” Alec fired back. He watched her open her mouth and spoke overtop of her. “Because from where I’m standing, the only thing I’m guilty of is loving someone you’re too closed-minded to accept.”

“Your words only further prove just how far from the angel you’ve fallen, Alexander Lightwood,” Imogen declared.

This moment had been coming from the instant Alec had turned away from Lydia and walked down the aisle toward Magnus. As soon as he’d pressed their lips together in the first of many kisses, he had started himself down this path. A path that Alec had always known deep in some part of himself was going to lead him here.

“I’m not the one who has fallen.” Alec’s voice had softened, yet it was strong. He looked from Imogen to Evan, Trinity, and Alonso. He held each of their stares for a moment, read the disgust in those looks and let them see his own conviction. “You hide behind your laws, twisting them until they suit what you believe. You preach about Valentine’s wrongs, and yet you live by his ideals. You act like you’re better just because the blood of angels runs through your veins. But I would take one Downworlder over the entirety of the Clave.”

“Enough,” Imogen snapped at him. With one hand, she gestured to one of her guards, who opened a door of the nearby building.

Alec took note of it yet never once took his eyes off of Imogen. He knew what was going to come next, and he knew how it would go. “You don’t want to do this,” Alec warned her softly. Once she did this, it would change everything.

Imogen’s glare only deepened. “May the angel have mercy on your soul, Alec Lightwood.”

One of the Silent Brothers was walking across the lawn toward them. In their hand, they carried a staff. One that Alec knew would end up pressed against the circle he stood on. Once that happened, there would be no going back – for any of them.

He felt his resolve settle deep down inside of him. If they did this, if they actually went through with putting him to the flames for crimes he didn’t commit, without even the chance to defend himself in a trial, Alec would finally know exactly where he stood with them.

Alec looked away from Imogen briefly as the Silent Brother came to a stop beside him. The two locked eyes, and there was a quiet understanding in that look. In Alec’s mind came the low, warm sound of the Brother’s voice. Peace be on you and your path, Alexander Gideon Lightwood.

Then, without another word between them, the Silent Brother lowered the staff to touch down at the edge of the circle.

Getting into Alicante wasn’t easy. Magnus hadn’t been lying when he told Jace that he could do it. He could. But there were specific wards up around their beloved city to prevent just anyone from portaling in.

Of course, there were exceptions to those rules. Otherwise, no warlock would ever be able to open up the portals the shadowhunters were always demanding. However, it would seem that someone had thought of those exceptions and prepared for them. Something which had Magnus gritting his teeth as he stood at the edge of the shadowhunters’ home and felt the wards pushing against him.

“What’s wrong?”

Magnus ignored Isabelle’s question for the moment. He stared at the wards that he knew neither of the shadowhunters behind him could see. Slowly, Magnus lifted his hands and flattened them out. Then he hovered them just a bare inch away from the wards. Not touching, not pushing, just feeling.

He kept a tight hold on his magic while his eyes ran over the display in front of him. Alicante’s wards were good. They’d been made by powerful warlock magic, with the added boost of being tied into the angelic core at the Heart of Alicante. The core here was more powerful than any other. It gave the wards an extra layer of power found nowhere else. Not to mention, whatever warlock they’d hired to help with the wards had clearly been powerful.

The fact that the wards had been drawn so tightly around the city could only mean one thing. “They were prepared for me.”

“What do you mean?” Jace asked sharply.

Magnus pushed his hands a little closer, letting his own magic slip only a little. Enough to be able to get a taste of the wards. The instant sting, like a sharp jolt he could both feel and taste, warned him what would happen if he pushed. He ignored Jace’s question as he glared at the warding in front of him. Like hell if they were going to keep him out of here. If they thought wards were going to keep him from rescuing his boyfriend, they had absolutely no idea who they were dealing with. Magnus might be discreet about the level of power that he carried – that didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to let all that slide when it was important.

This?

This was the single most important thing Magnus could do. Because the only reason he could think of that they’d lock him out of Alicante like this was one that didn’t bear thinking about. They wouldn’t fight so hard to keep him away if Alec were simply waiting to go to trial. No, this spoke of something darker and much more serious, and Magnus would move Heaven and Earth to keep it from happening.

He took a step back from the wards and took a moment to glare up at them. “Stand back” was the only warning he gave to the two with him. Then he pushed up his sleeves and planted his feet. Grounding in the power of the earth below him. When he was steady and anchored, he reached down into the well of power he usually kept such a tight lid on, and he coaxed it free. The one we love is in danger, he whispered to his magic. And oh, how his magic responded, flowing out through him and filling his veins with a power he’d refused to let in ever since the last time. Ever since he’d used it in all the wrong ways, for all the wrong reasons.

Magnus wasn’t just any warlock – he was a Prince, son to the ruler of Edom. He called upon that power and drew it into him to protect the one that he and his magic both had laid claim to.

Magnus reached out first to once more run his magic over the wards, seeking any sort of weakness this time, any spot that he could reach in and exploit to tear them apart. He didn’t care if he set off the demon towers inside - nothing was going to stop him.

Only, as he reached his power outward, he was stunned to find another power there. One that was neither demonic nor angelic.

That power didn’t reach to touch him. It did, however, move toward him, and Magnus braced himself for whatever it may be. He watched as the power slipped and slithered through the wards like water seeping through, finding the cracks that might’ve otherwise been invisible.

That power came to a stop right in front of Magnus’, close without touching, and he swore it... it waved at him, beckoning him forward. It called to him as if saying here, this way, come over here, and Magnus absolutely should not have listened. It could be a trap. Yet something about it was almost familiar. It gave off an aura that was warm and yet at the same time cold, like feeling the cool fall breeze while sitting before a roaring fire.

Magnus knew that it was risky to listen to it, to follow it, and yet he found himself doing exactly that. His magic pushed forward before he’d even made the conscious decision to do so. It trusted this other magic even if his mind was still worried as to why, and Magnus had learned long enough to trust his magic’s instincts. He let it loose, let it follow after the other magic, chasing it through those small cracks until, suddenly, he was on the other side.

A bright, feral grin lit up Magnus’ face. He opened eyes he hadn’t even realized he’d closed, and if he could’ve seen himself, he would’ve known how his cat eyes were glowing in the low evening light.

The path that other magic had taken him through had led Magnus past the wards of the city, through cracks they likely didn’t even realize they had, and Magnus knew exactly how to exploit that.

Another push of magic and Magnus had the portal opening in front of them. He drew his hands back from the wards and straightened himself up, his power leaking off of him in waves that had Jace and Isabelle both watching him cautiously.

“Come on,” Magnus said, gesturing toward them. “We need to move, now.”

Whatever they felt, the two followed after him, stepping through the portal Magnus had made and straight onto the hills of Alicante overlooking the Gard, right to where his magic had known he would need to be – where that other magic had led him.

They arrived just in time to watch as one of the Silent Brothers touched their staff to the ground in front of the person standing there. A person that Magnus recognized even at this distance.

The sharp “No!” tore from Magnus’ throat as he watched the divine power light and shoot up in flames all around Alec’s body.

Magic tore out of Magnus in an instant. There was no conscious thought – it responded to his need, seeking to protect the one that was theirs. Only, even as it shot forward, another power was there to stop it. The very same power that had led them here through the wards, that had coaxed them over here, was now stopping them from getting close.

“No,” Magnus snarled, pushing harder, shoving at that other magic with everything he had, everything that he could call on. He was dimly aware that he was running as he did, his feet taking him down there, down to Alec, while his magic fought tooth and nail against this Other with a single-minded determination. He wasn’t going to lose Alec – not today, not like this!

He made it halfway down there when his magic finally broke through, pushing past the Other. Magnus felt it hit, felt the two collide, and in the next instant it was like everything exploded in a shockwave of power.

He felt as it hit, felt his body go flying back from the force of the blast. It sent him rolling and tumbling back up the hill. His head was ringing, and all his senses were screaming at him while his body ached, throbbing from the impact. Yet Magnus barely gave himself time to settle before he tried to scramble back up.

Hands were suddenly there grabbing at him, pulling him back, forcing him still. Magnus snarled and prepared to lash out with his magic, only to realize that his magic felt – calm.

The surprise of that broke through Magnus’ fear enough for him to recognize the voices shouting at him. “Magnus!” That was Jace right there by his head, sharp and commanding, and it was his arms that were banded over Magnus’ chest, with Isabelle’s smaller hands gripping at his wrists. Realizing that, Magnus froze, which gave Jace enough time to hiss out a sharp “Look!” that Magnus found himself unable to ignore.

He looked up, terrified of what he was going to find, of what he might see.

But instead of a massive crater where his magic had just exploded or the burnt body of his lover that he was terrified to find, all Magnus saw was fire.

Not the same orange-white fire from before. This wasn’t angelic power pulsing up from the circle of power. No – as Magnus watched, the flames were slowly shifting from white to blue. All the orange bled away as the blue went darker and darker, slowly overtaking the other flame, until there was nothing but that blue-white.

Was this – had he caused this? Was this what his magic had done by pushing through here?

Magnus scrambled to reach for his still too calm magic, only to get stopped yet again by Jace. The shadowhunter tugged him in closer, pulling Magnus back against his chest. “Look, Magnus. Look at him. He’s okay.”

It wasn’t so much what Magnus saw as what he felt. His eyes told him that Alexander was still down there, still burning, but his magic was calmer than it had ever been, radiating with a sense of peace and safecomfortmate that shouldn’t have been possible. Only, as Magnus looked at it, he felt something else – that other power, twisted so tightly around his own there was no telling where one began and the other ended. And that other power was sending waves of calm his way like a silent reassurance that Magnus swore he could hear if he listened. A whisper of Alec’s voice deep down inside him, telling him, I’m okay, Magnus, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m okay, it’s all okay.

The flames around Alexander grew higher and higher, a great column of it shooting up toward the sky. The others down there had fallen back from it like they were afraid.

Magnus looked at it, and he only felt love. Alec’s love.

“There are legends in the Trueblood family,” Jace said quietly, his lips right next to Magnus’ ear. So close he felt them brush against him as Jace spoke. “Stories about how they got their name. About what truth hides in their blood. Before we became parabatai, Alec reminded me about what we always tell people. All the legends are true.” He paused, and his arms tightened over Magnus’ chest. “The Truebloods, they weren’t always just nephilim. Once, they were so much more.”

The fire around Alec grew, spreading higher and drawing inward like it was pulling in a breath, and Magnus knew – he knew what they were.

In the next instant, the fire around Alec exploded.

Those down there with him fell back in fear and horror, their cries echoing even up here to the hill where the others lay, but Magnus, Jace, and Isabelle stayed where they were. They didn’t flinch as the wave of power and ice-cold fire washed over them.

The flames cleared, and Magnus looked up in pure awe at the massive being standing where Alexander had once been.

A dragon.

The dragon was enormous – easily large enough that Magnus had a feeling that, were he a head shorter, he could walk easily underneath him. He was a mix of whites and blues, with lines of darker blue along his back and over his wings' bones. It was like someone had taken a massive iceberg and carved it into his shape.

A line of bumps ran down his spine in small ridges that weren’t pointed enough to be spikes. Four hard ridges ran out from his head like horns, only they connected down to the top of his head like they were some sort of hard fin. Two large, long ones on the top, with two shorter ones running alongside and slightly below.

He was absolutely stunning.

“Alexander,” Magnus breathed out his name with all the reverence of a prayer.

The magic inside of him – oh fuck, Alec’s magic – gave a warm little purr and snuggled in closer. My Magnus.

This time when Magnus tried to rise, neither Jace nor Isabelle tried to stop him. They rose with him, and the three of them set off down the hill together, heading toward Alec.

As they walked, Magnus saw the others begin to rise. He was finally able to make out Imogen Herondale, as well as three other pompous looking Clave members. The Silent Brother from before was gone. Magnus hoped he’d simply retreated.

Imogen looked up at Alec, and there was a look of terror on her face that she couldn’t hide. Yet still, she and the others rose, and they had weapons already in their hands. Council members they might be – they were still shadowhunters, warriors, and as such they were always armed.

Not that those weapons would do them any good. Alec looked down at them, and he snorted. A jet of blue flame curled from his nostrils.

“You know better than to think those will work against me,” Alec said to her. His voice was deeper, resonating over them like the sound of wind on the frozen water, and it sent a visible shiver down the spines of the shadowhunters in front of him. He lowered his head down, long neck curling in a little so that he could bring it closer to their level, and sharp, dark blue eyes fixed right on Imogen. “The others might not remember the stories, but you, Imogen, you know better.”

Imogen’s hand tightened on the blade. Magnus was close enough now to be able to see the way her face tightened, how her brows drew down, and her eyes narrowed. “There were none of you left,” she spat out the words like they were poison. “Your mother assured me of that while under the Sword.”

The smile Alec gave her was all sharp teeth and danger. It should’ve been terrifying – was, Magnus could see, to the others. But all Magnus felt was pride and love.

“My mother wasn’t lying to you. Back then, I wasn’t. It takes more than just being born to make a dragon. It takes intent, and choice, and still more. I never wanted to make that choice. But you? You helped me do it.” Alec’s head went lower, and Imogen stumbled back a step to get away from him. His smirk was gone now, a glare taking its place. One that seemed to freeze the others in place. “You helped me make the choice for this with your hatred and your bigotry. You, who would’ve burned me for daring to be different. Because I wasn’t like you. I would take the flames a thousand times over if it meant protecting one shadowhunter, one downworlder, one mundane – and that’s something you won’t ever understand. You’re far too much like Valentine.”

They’d finally reached the grounds now, and Magnus quickened his pace, needing to be by Alec, to stand with him and touch him. He and his magic both were aching for it.

Alec drew his head back, and his body shifted, wings spreading out a little in what would look like a threat to others but felt to Magnus like a welcome home.

One wing curled around them, creating a shield between them and the rest of the world, with only a small gap through which Magnus could see the others.

Inside their shield, Alec’s voice rang even stronger. It held a depth of conviction that Magnus had always known sat inside his boyfriend yet had never had the need to come out.

“Dragons once fought alongside shadowhunters,” Alec said, his voice ringing through the air. “We helped you, and we protected you, and we kept the demons at bay. Until you turned on us the same way that Valentine turned on the Downworld. You hunted us almost to extinction, forcing those left, forcing my family, to hide.” Alec’s voice sharpened like the tip of one of his arrows. “I’m not hiding anymore. I’m claiming the Right of Family – the City of New York and any of its people who choose to stay with me, nephilim or Downworlder, are mine. By the old Laws you were too stupid and too afraid to try and get rid of, you can’t lay a hand on them. Or me. Not without a full convening of the Clave and subsequent Councils – including Downworlder leaders.”

One of the men behind Imogen straightened up, and Magnus heard him loudly call out, “You can’t do this!”

The growl Alec let free shook through them like the cracking of an iceberg. “The hell I can’t.” His gaze snapped back to Imogen. “You’ve got until sunrise to get Aldertree and any of your other goons out of my city before I come in and clean house.”

With that, the magic Alexander swelled high, and a cold breeze whipped around them. His wings curled in tightly and cut off the air.

When they spread again, the group of them no longer stood in Alicante. Instead, they seemed to be standing in a wide-open beach somewhere, with sand under their feet, grass and trees to one side, and the open ocean to the other. The sky was dark, lit only by the light of the moon and stars. It only served to make Alec’s scales shine.

Alec drew his wings back from them and shuffled them a little until they folded up against his back. Then, with gentle movements, he lowered himself down to the ground.

That place inside where Magnus felt his and Alec’s power gave a small tremble of what he thought might be nerves.

One corner of Alec’s mouth curved up. “Hey.”

“Hey?” Isabelle reached out without hesitating and smacked Alec’s leg. It was the closest part of him she could reach. “You scare the hell out of me by getting arrested, and that’s all you have to say to me? Hey?”

Alec tilted his head, which looked almost larger than her, and gave her a glower that Magnus had seen on his human face countless times. “You knew this was a possibility just as much as I did.”

“So?” Jace chimed in, stepping away from Magnus’ side to move over and drop down on Alec’s foot like it was a chair. “Knowing it doesn’t mean it wasn’t kind of terrifying to see it happen. Plus, I’m pretty sure someone else here didn’t have any clue about this, so, you know…”

Jace trailed off, shrugging as he did, but they all knew what he meant. There was clearly one person here who hadn’t known what was going on. Magnus held still as all eyes turned his way. That connection inside, the place where their magic was still joined, grew even more nervous. Yet when Alec spoke, his voice was steady. That same no-nonsense tone that he always took when it came to giving Magnus those blunt truths he was so good at. “I’m sorry I kept this from you. I meant to tell you, but I just, I kept putting it off.”

For a moment, Magnus contemplated his word choice. This wasn’t exactly the type of conversation he wanted to have in front of an audience. But there was no way he could stand there and not respond to Alec’s pain.

It was the easiest thing in the world for Magnus to step forward and lift one of his hands. Alec lowered his face a little as soon as he realized what Magnus was doing, until Magnus was able to curl his hand along the side of Alec’s snout. The scales there were pleasantly cool, and as smooth as glass. So different from touching Alec’s face, and yet, as Magnus looked into those eyes, it was somehow still the same.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Magnus told him gently.

Alec pressed his face a little firmer against Magnus’ palm. “I was going to tell you.”

“I believe you.”

The fact that those three words so clearly startled Alec was a bit heartbreaking. “Really?”

Magnus smiled at him, and he leaned in so that he could press his cheek alongside his hand, right over the side of Alec’s jaw. It brought them closer, though it meant he could only look up at one eye as he spoke. But he hoped the touch would give Alec comfort. “Really. We all have things about who we are that aren’t easy to share. There are parts of me I’ve yet to share with you. Not out of lack of trust, but because sometimes those things aren’t easy to say. I trust that you would’ve told me, Alexander.”

“Magnus.” Alec’s eye closed, and the love in his voice as he said Magnus’ name was nothing compared to the swell of love that Magnus felt inside him.

It prompted him to speak up, his voice just a bit teasing as he said, “Though this ah, bond thing, on the other hand…”

Alec’s eye snapped back open again, and for a second Magnus thought he’d messed up, that Alec hadn’t caught his teasing. All of that worry was wiped away a second later when Alec’s jaw shook with the low rumble of laughter that tumbled from him. It was echoed by a cool curl of it down the connection between them. “Oh no,” Alec murmured, working not to move his jaw so he wouldn’t dislodge Magnus. “You can’t blame that on me. That was all you. I tried to stop you from reaching out. You’re the one that had to push.”

Laughter tickled in Magnus’ throat and inside their bond.

Logically, he knew he should be panicking at least a little bit right now. His boyfriend was a dragon and the two of them had an unexpected and should-be-impossible soulbond. The Clave had just tried to murder Alec for what sounded like the ‘terrible crime’ of dating Magnus. And to top it all off, Alec had somehow just become the protector of New York according to some sort of old Clave law.

Those were all separate things that Magnus knew they needed to address. Soon. But for the moment, it felt like none of that mattered. Because Alec was here and he was alive. Whatever he’d done, however it had happened, he was alive, and that was worth anything.

Magnus closed his eyes and turned his face in toward Alec a little more. He ignored the presence of the two quietly trying to give them space, and he just let himself back in the feel of Alec right there with him, the warmth of their bond glowing happily inside of him.

I love you, Alec murmured, soft and sweet inside of him. More than anything. You’re mine, Magnus. My mate. My life. I’ll always come back to you if I can.

Emotion built a hard knot in Magnus’ throat. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and let out a breath that shook with the leftover fear he’d been carrying from the moment that fire message had arrived. Alec was alive, he was safe – they could deal with the rest later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was sending those soft words back in return, packed with everything he felt.

I love you too.

Chapter Text

It was just shy of sunrise when Alec stepped through a portal and onto the front steps of the New York Institute. Something inside of him eased a little at the sight of his home in front of him. Even though Jace and Isabelle had gone back hours ago to keep an eye on the place – really, to give the boys privacy to talk – being able to see for himself that things were still standing eased something inside of Alec.

The warm hand in his gave a light squeeze. Alec turned to look to where Magnus stood proudly beside him, a warm smile on his face.

The fact that Magnus was here with him at all was a treasure Alec knew better than to squander. They’d talked a lot on that little island once Isabelle and Jace were no longer there to listen. About secrets, and how sometimes they weren’t always bad things.

“There’s a difference between secrets that need to be told, and secrets that need time to be shared. Or ones that can remain ours and ours alone,” Magnus had said, his hands stroking over Alec’s scales in an absently soothing touch. “Just as there is a difference between keeping secrets until you feel comfortable or safe enough telling them, and keeping a secret for malicious reasons. I love you, and I trust that you didn’t keep this a secret for any sort of malicious reason.”

“I didn’t,” Alec hurried to reassure him.

The soft “I know” Magnus had given him while smiling at him still felt like the sweetest benediction Alec had ever received.

Honestly, Alec had expected a bit more blowback about this from his boyfriend. Not just in the whole ‘keeping it a secret’ bit, but in the ‘I’m dating a dragon’ bit.

He should’ve known Magnus would surprise him.

It’d taken a little while for Alec to be able to shift back to his human form. His first transformation had taken up a lot of energy. During that time, he and Magnus had talked quite a bit. Not just about what had happened but also about what was going to happen next.

It felt amazing to stand there in front of the heart of Alec’s territory with his mate right there beside him. Instincts that Alec had felt his whole life, had learned to hide under the cool masks his mother had taught him, were suddenly so much stronger. So much more. Likely, as Magnus pointed out, because Alec didn’t just hold that potential in him now, he’d accepted that part of his heritage and let it take over. He’d passed through fire and let the fire consume him. He was still a nephilim, still a shadowhunter even – his runes made that clear. But he was also a dragon. In a way, he felt more himself than he ever had before.

With that seemed to come a whole lot of new things that Alec was definitely going to have to take the time to learn. One of which was a need to be in what he had vocally declared as his territory.

Thankfully, he wasn’t going to have to do it alone.

Magnus gave his hand another squeeze and then tugged. “Come on, darling. Let’s go check on our people, hm?”

Our people. Those words sounded so good to Alec.

He felt a sense of rightness when he and Magnus walked up the steps to the Institute – their Institute now, their people. This was where he should be and who he should be with.

So naturally the very first thing he saw when he came through the doors was someone who very much did not belong.

The instant Alec caught sight of Victor Aldertree standing there in the middle of the Ops Center like he owned the place it sent a low growl rumbling deep in Alec’s chest. It didn’t matter that his people surrounded the man, nor that Isabelle stood there with her whip at the ready and Jace was right at her side with his own blade drawn. All that did was make Alec even angrier and more protective. He saw that and all he could think was threat.

Alec barely paid any attention to the eyes that were watching him. He let go of Magnus and stalked forward, fighting the urge to let his claws free as he went. His eyes never once left Victor. “What the hell are you still doing in my Institute?”

“He was just leaving, hermano,” Isabelle answered darkly. Her own eyes briefly flashed with just a hint of white fire in them – a reminder that, like Alec, she carried their mother’s blood in her veins should she ever decide to make the choice he did. One that, up until now, she’d steadfastly refused. (He wondered absently if this would change that)

Victor ignored her – a massive mistake on his part – and simply met Alec’s stare calmly. “I’ll be leaving shortly, by order of the High Inquisitor.” A very clear not by you was audible underneath that. “She wanted me to witness your safe return, and to present you with papers for your signature, to be returned to the Clave before dark, solidifying your role as Dragon of New York City.”

Years of playing stupid political games meant that Alec understood what was really happening here. What he means is Imogen’s had time to realize that alienating the Institute currently the most responsible for hunting down Valentine and stopping him is probably a bad idea, Alec thought, forgetting for a moment just how easily those thoughts now traveled down the bond to his boyfriend – his mate.

He was reminded when he heard Magnus’ snort in his mind, not with his ears. I think it more likely she’s had time to realize that the last people she wants to make enemies of are a freshly reborn dragon who has proved to be a dangerous and competent leader in the past, as well as the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Both of whom are posed to easily make her life difficult should they so wish. The warmth of Magnus’ mind voice – crackling and dancing like fire – darkened a little and flared hotter. Especially after that farce of a trial.

That wasn’t something that Magnus was going to forget or forgive anytime soon, Alec knew. The man was fiercely protective of those that he loved.        It probably shouldn’t have been as attractive of a trait as it was. Yet Alec couldn’t deny the thrill it gave him to hear the danger in Magnus’ voice, to know that it and all the warlocks power was directed toward Alec.

(A considerable amount of power, too, seeing as how Magnus had yet to put the lock back on the depth of his power the way he usually did, something Alec wasn’t entirely sure Magnus realized quiet yet might not be possible. A mate bond with a dragon required someone with massive amounts of magical strength if the other one wasn’t a dragon as well; meaning Magnus’ power was what allowed him to bond to Alec without Alec’s newly awoken magic accidentally smothering him or burning him out)

Their thoughts traveled back and forth far faster than their words. Meaning that their conversation was done by the time Alec came to a stop in front of Victor.

The man didn’t flinch. Either he was brave, or stupid. Or both. He just stood his ground and held a folder out Alec’s direction. Alec stared at him for a moment and let the ice creep into his eyes. When he finally reached out to take the folder, he was pleased to see the way Victor flinched back from him. If Alec’s wings were free they would’ve puffed up a little behind him.

Alec took the folder, not bothering to look inside before he lowered his arm. Magnus, can you make a portal for him?

Instead of answering with words, Magnus simply opened a portal off to the left where no one was standing. Alec didn’t bother turning to watch. He just stared at Victor with one eyebrow lifted in a silent ‘Well?’

Though it was clear Victor didn’t like this, any part of it, the man wasn’t a complete idiot. He didn’t argue with Alec. Just nodded his head, turned, and headed for the portal.

Alec waited until he’d gone through before turning to address the rest of the Institute. He knew Magnus could tell what he was planning; his mate left the portal open for him. He also stayed right at Alec’s side where he belonged while Alec addressed their people – all of whom it seemed had gathered in the Ops Center and the surrounding spaces, clamoring to get a look, a glimpse.

Some weren’t there, either sleeping or out on patrols or busy working on other parts of the building. The New York Institute was one of the largest, and it was made up of a staggering amount of people, all of whom couldn’t fit inside this room at one time. But Alec caught sight of more than a few discreet phones turned his way – one of which belonged to Isabelle, who Alec knew would send whatever speech he gave around to anyone who wasn’t present. Alec trusted that what he was about to say would make it to them.

“I’m sure by now all of you have heard about what happened after I was arrested last night,” Alec said, projecting his voice loudly and calmly through the room. “Some of you I know remember the old stories about the Truebloods. The ones that people still whisper. Some of you might not have believed it, while some of you likely knew the truth. I’m sure by now my siblings have made sure that you all know the truth.”

A glance over at them, and a small nod from Jace, told Alec that his parabatai had done as he’d asked and spread the word. That made this all so much easier.

Nodding, Alec looked back at his people. “I have no intention of lying to any of you, or of hiding who I am. Nor do I intend to leave my city. Last night in front of the High Inquisitor and three Clave representatives, as well as my parabatai, my sister, and my chosen mate and representative of the Brooklyn warlocks, I claimed the Right of Family over the city of New York.”

No words were exchanged between Magnus and Alec. Yet here Magnus stepped in just as Alec wanted, almost like they’d scripted it, speaking out to their people to explain a part of history he knew and understood.

“I’m sure all of you know your history,” Magnus said, looking around the room. “You know that once there was a time where dragons walked the earth, and many worked hand-in-hand with shadowhunters to keep the world safe. To keep the infighting down, laws were drafted to allow a dragon to lay claim to their territory. Laws that the Clave never bothered to remove after the disappearance of dragons.”

According to what Magnus said, that had started to happen when he was just a child. He’d told Alec that by the time he reached his first century, dragon sightings were rare. By the time he reached his fourth, they were considered extinct.

Some had still believed them around. To some of the old families, hunting them down was a duty. The Herondales had always been strong believers in that. They didn’t trust dragons – they were made of too much magic for them to ever trust. Imogen had continued that vendetta and question Maryse many times, both before and after the birth of her children.

It was the one area Maryse had stood proud and tall in defense of her children.

“I’ve laid claim to New York, and all her boroughs,” Alec said, picking up the conversation once more. “This city and this Institute are officially claimed as my territory, and under my protection. Any of you who are not okay with that or who don’t want to serve underneath someone who you might see as only half a shadowhunter, now’s your chance to leave. There will be no repercussions, no arguments. You’re free to take the portal straight to Idris with the guarantee of immediate approval for a transfer to the Institute of your choice. Another portal will be opened this afternoon at 1300, when all patrols have returned and all people are awake. That will be the last opportunity you have to leave. But…”

Alec lowered his voice here, and he let the ice creep in again, into his eyes and into his voice.

“…if you choose to stay, I expect your loyalty the same as I did before. If I find anyone has stuck around to act as spy for the Clave or chooses to actively and deliberately work against me and mine, I won’t leave it for the Clave to punish you.”

Those words hung cold and heavy in the air for a long moment. Alec watched as they settled over his people, watched as most of them stood tall, but a few shifted.

He wasn’t surprised when those same people who’d looked so uncomfortable took advantage of his offer.

They waited and watched as a total of thirty-two people left. Far less than he’d anticipated, even with the lowered number of people currently present. There were still at least a few hundred around and nearby, and others who would be watching in other parts of the building that had come – he’d recognized one of the infirmary staff, and another of the kitchen staff. But only thirty-two had gone.

As Alec had said, they’d do this again later, and maybe more would leave at that time. Maybe he’d lose a larger chunk once they had time to think about it. For the moment, that number was smaller than anticipated and Alec was going to celebrate that a little, at least inside his own mind.

When it was clear no one else was going to leave, Magnus waved a hand and banished the portal.

Alec let his eyes run over the room again, and he softened his stare a little. “Thank you, all of you, for choosing to stand with me. Your support and your loyalty mean a lot. But let’s not forget that this isn’t the most important thing happening to us right now. Valentine is still out there. It’s our duty to do our best to keep protecting our city, and to find a way to stop him.”

Together, Alec and Magnus turned and left the room, heading back towards the Head’s office. There was a lot that was going to happen today and even more so that still needed to happen involving all of this. Yet, at the same time they had equally important work to keep on doing. They couldn’t devote their everything to these new revelations. Valentine was still on the loose – that needed their attention far more than anything else at the moment.

Not that everyone else seemed to realize that. No sooner had Alec and Magnus reached his office – theirs, now – than his siblings were right there behind him, Clary in tow. Judging by the slightly awed look on Clary’s face there was no way they were going to be able to just brush things off and go about it all like business as usual.

Alec let out a heavy sigh. “Can we go ahead and get this over with? I’ve got a whole list of things to do this afternoon and not a lot of time to do it in.”

It took a lot of effort for Magnus to keep from just laughing outright at Alec’s ‘so done with everything’ tone. He looked more frustrated than he actually was. Magnus had always known that; their bond just let him feel it now, too. The thin thread of amusement that ran through the coolness of Alec’s magic was easy to pick up on.

Magnus didn’t give him away, though. He smothered his laugh and exchanged an amused look with Jace. While Magnus knew the parabatai bond didn’t exactly allow them a front row seat to one another’s emotions, it did give them some hint, and the two men knew one another well enough to read the rest.

“I can’t believe you’re a dragon,” Clary breathed out, her wide eyes still on Alec. Few would’ve taken his words as actual permission to talk. Then again, Clary Fairchild wasn’t just any person. “I didn’t even know dragons were real!”

Alec, Jace, and Isabelle all spoke up at the same time. “All the legends are true.”

Clary threw her hands up in the air. “Yeah, I know, but I didn’t think that meant dragons!”

“Maybe you should spend a little more time devoted to your studies, and a little less time just running around the city,” Alec returned flatly. This time there was a definite note of seriousness in his voice. This was something Magnus knew Alec honestly wished would happen. Many a time he’d listened to Alec lament the fact that Clary had the potential to be a damn good shadowhunter if she was a bit more willing to learn. She’d yet to realize that she was a nephilim by birth but being a shadowhunter was a choice. A calling. One that they trained hard for.

This had the potential to devolve into an argument. Magnus could see it, just as he could feel that Alec didn’t have the patience for it. Not when he was still trying to figure out how to work with instincts and emotions that were suddenly much stronger than they’d been before.

With that in mind, he stepped forward just enough that he could easily lean in against Alec’s front. It had the effect he wanted and drew attention toward him, with the added bonus that Alec slipped an arm around his waist to tug him in even closer in a way he usually only did when they were outside the Institute.

“Why don’t we table any of these discussions for now?” Magnus suggested, waving one hand through the air as he did. His other hand came to rest over Alec’s on his hip. “Alexander’s not wrong. There are some important things that need to be taken care of.”

 “I’ll handle spreading the word around, and assembling the people who want to leave in the next portal,” Isabelle offered easily.

“Thank you,” Alec said, his voice a smooth rumble near Magnus’ ear. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d also like you to speak with Andrew and see about arranging a full formal meeting for about an hour before sundown in the backyard. It’s the best place to hold everyone, and I want to be able to address everyone at once. Anyone who chooses to stay should be there.”

“You got it, hermano.”

With a quick dart in to kiss Alec’s cheek and then Magnus’, Isabelle left. The fact that she dragged Clary with her was something Magnus vowed to thank her for later.

Alec shifted his weight around so that his feet were spread more, leaning back against the desk as he went. It drew Magnus with him so that he was half seated on Alec’s thigh, and again, that was definitely not something they did inside the walls of the Institute. It was more reminiscent of the touch-hungry boy Alec was behind closed doors – not that Magnus was going to protest it.

It was just the two of them and Jace in there, and Jace wore a bright grin that was full of the kind of love and pride that Magnus had sometimes thought appeared absent in their bond. “You ready for this, parabatai?”

Even though Magnus couldn’t see Alec’s face from this angle, he could feel the soft huff he let out, and he could hear the smile in his voice. “Not in the least bit.”

Jace laughed out loud at that. “You’ve only got yourself to blame, brother.” He laughed again and shook his head, shooting an amused look Alec’s way. “And people call me the dramatic one.”

“That’s because you are,” Alec fired back.

The two shared one last smile, and then Jace set off with the promise to go give Isabelle a hand – which they all knew translated to going where Clary was – leaving Magnus and Alec alone together once more.

Despite the fact that they did have lots that needed to be done, and plans that had to be made, they took a moment to just stay where they were. Magnus brought his other hand up to join with Alec’s, while Alec curled both arms around Magnus’ waist and tugged him back a little more. It let him rest his cheek against Magnus’ temple.

“I know I brought this on myself,” Alec murmured softly. “And I know I’m doing the right thing. But I’m really not looking forward to this.”

“You’re going to do wonderfully. It’s not anything you haven’t already been trying to do, darling. It’s just a bit more official now.”

They both knew it was a bit more than that. Laying claim over New York wasn’t something that Alec had done lightly. Nor was it something his instincts would allow him to do half-assed. Already Magnus could tell that this was going to take some major adjustment on both their parts. What Alec had done, what he was about to do, was going to require a lot of him. Especially without any familial dragons to help him out.

But he would do it – they would do it. Because even before Alec’s claim, the city had been theirs. Magnus may have laid claim to Brooklyn by being their High Warlock, but that hadn’t stopped him from looking out for the other boroughs. Not to mention the way he was often called on to help out with issues with the other Downworld groups. Especially once his connection to Alexander became clear.

They’d already been two of the most powerful people here in the city. A fact which Alec might not have recognized, but Magnus had. This was only going to make that even worse.

Which, that was fine. Magnus was more than ready to stand at Alec’s side. It meant he would always be there to be able to help should anything go wrong, and he’d be able to be there to help protect the protector.

If Magnus wanted to truly be able to do that, he needed to start making some calls, reaching out to a few different people. Some of what they needed to do they would have to do together. They’d already talked about the Cabinet meeting Alec was going to call for just after sundown.

But before that, Alec had some people he had to reach out to, plans he had to make for his people and his city, and so did Magnus.

Magnus, unfortunately, needed to report to the warlock council. Something he wasn't all that excited to do. He also needed to hunt down any books he could find on dragons, just to be better prepared. He wanted to learn as much about his boyfriend as possible.

Smiling, Magnus tightened his hand over one of Alec’s and used that hold to bring it upward so he could press a kiss against his knuckles. There was a faint shine of scales trying to peek through there that only made his smile grow. “Come on, my little icicle.” He pulled away, still holding Alec’s hand, and twisted so that he could smile at Alec while he tugged him up to his feet. “You have quite a lot of things that need to get done, and a secretary to help you with them. Whereas I have no secretary and an equal amount of work to accomplish.”

“Why don’t you use the connecting office?” Alec suggested rather quickly.

The offer was a rather surprising one. Magnus knew this office had a connecting one – he’d been in both before in the past when meeting with one or the other of the New York Institute’s Heads, back when it’d been run by the customary two people. The Heads’ offices were set up in the front of the building on the second floor – one to the left and one on the right, with a hall that ran down the front of them, and an open, formal area in between where their secretaires were housed, and a formal waiting area was kept for any guests and those waiting to enter.

What Alec had showed Magnus once, when he needed to slip down and get a book from the other office, was that there was also a hallway hidden between the two rooms, accessed by a panel in the corner, and covered slightly by the curtain which left it almost invisible to the naked eye. The corridor ran the length of the building to the other office, bypassing everyone and everything along the way. It was something Magnus knew no Downworlder would’ve ever been shown before. One of those quiet secrets of the Institute known only to a select few.

The idea of working from the Institute wasn’t exactly a pleasing one, and Magnus almost refused on principal. He’d intended on slipping out for a bit to handle his business and coming back as quickly as possible.

One look at Alec’s face had him rethinking it. Feeling their bond only solidified that decision. Alec was clearly still feeling out of sorts. Adjusting to these new instincts. One of which apparently wanted him to keep Magnus as close as possible. Somewhere he’d be able to look after him.

They’d have to work on it later, being able to separate from one another without setting Alec off. But not even a full day after Alec’s change and their bonding?

Magnus’ smile softened into the warm, loving one that he reserved solely for Alec. “Of course.”

The way that Alec lit up at that made it worth spending a few hours in an Institute office instead of his own.

They went there by way of the passage, which was surprisingly clean and web-free, something which Magnus noted and vowed to question him on later. Did he clean it himself? Or were there support staff for all the secret places in the Institute?

When they came out into the other office, it was pretty much an exact replica of Alec’s, only a mirror version. Alec went about lighting the fire and getting the lights on, talking all the while as he went. “I know it’s not the warmest of places, but it hasn’t been used for a little while.” He went to the lamps first, flicking those on to bring some light into the room. “Mom preferred to use the other office, and Dad was rarely around to make use of anything, so this has mostly sat empty.”

Alec made as if to go to the fireplace, and Magnus gave a quick snap of his fingers, magic adding logs and setting them ablaze. He smirked when Alec shot an amused and exasperated look his way.

Rolling his eyes, Alec came over toward him, seeking out Magnus’ touch the way he always did when they were alone. Only this time his magic was stretching out too. It clasped hold of Magnus’ magic as easily as Alec’s arm slipped around his waist, both parts of him snuggling in close.

“Feel free to change whatever you want in here,” Alec said, his voice just a low murmur. “It’s not like anyone else is going to be using it.”

That… was actually a rather good point. This was the office of a co-Head. Usually either a spousal pair, or parabatai. Alec wasn’t going to take a shadowhunter spouse, and his parabatai had already easily given up power once before instead of offering to share it. Nor had Jace shown any signs of wanting to be anywhere near that kind of power again. He liked to tease Alec on bad days about how glad he was he’d given that up.

Magnus tilted his head so that he could press a kiss against Alec’s cheek. “Thank you, Alexander.”

His boyfriend smiled and preened, just a little. It was kind of adorable while being just a bit sad. He was far too unused to getting compliments, or in getting thanks for the things he did.

With one last kiss and a reminder to “come get me if you need me” from Alec, the two separated. Magnus watched Alec go, taking note of where he’d gone through so that he could know where the panel was. He didn’t exactly want to get caught going out the main door and having some passing shadowhunter question why he was in there while Alec was so clearly in the other room.

Once Magnus was alone, he turned back around to give the office a quick look over. The space wasn’t bad. Like most shadowhunter spaces, it had an effigy to the angel in stained glass, and shadowhunter symbols here and there, all of which Magnus could either choose to ignore or change.

He was tempted to change the window but settled for simply putting dark red curtains over it.

The rest of the space had a few pieces he could work with. The desk, which was a beauty of an antique that was probably almost as old as Magnus. Bookcases that were full of books. Some he had, some he knew Alec stored in here, and others that he had no qualms waving off to the nearest storage room.

Magnus debated briefly over the rest of the room, and then he shrugged. Alec had said he could change whatever he wanted. He knew Magnus well enough not to make an offer like that if he didn’t mean for Magnus to take him up on it.

A little bit of magic and Magnus could easily have this place a whole lot more comfortable. It’d take a few minutes at most. Then, he could settle in to do his work.

Smirking, Magnus rolled up his sleeves.

While paperwork was a necessity it was something that Alec felt fell under the lines of necessary evils. There was so much of it that had to be done to completely formalize his claim over the city. Papers signed and sent to the Clave, phone calls to ignore and others to be made, and a list of warnings and rules that Alec wanted to be followed by any shadowhunter who dared visit his city.

Luckily for him, he had an amazing team of people on his side to help him.

Lieutenant Bishop Andrew Underhill, his Head of Security. A damn good shadowhunter, someone Alec thought he might be able to call friend, and one of the best security specialists in North America.

His secretary, Captain Benjamin Sunkeep, who along with being one of the most amazing secretaries Alec had ever seen as well as one of his closest advisors – something very few knew – he had also been with Alec since he was a young teenager trying to step into his parents shoes. Though only a couple years older than Alec, he hadn’t hesitated to step in and fill a role that most might’ve considered beneath him.

Archbishop Cordelia Roseweather, his second in command and First General. She was a damn good warrior with a sharp mind and a loyalty that Alec had never felt the need to question.

He also called in Lt. Priest Ezekiel Flamethorn, the head of the Institute’s HR department, who was going to be responsible for quite a bit of upcoming work. A lot of which he knew would have the man grumbling at him.

And all of that was just to deal with what was going to happen inside the Institute. None of that even began to cover what was going to happen outside there, in the city, with the Downworld, or in dealings with the Clave.

Alec felt like he spent the entirety of his afternoon giving orders and filling out paperwork. He missed the afternoon portal that Magnus made for anyone else who chose to leave, though Benji brought him a report so that he’d know who left. Which was then turned into a talk of trying to figure out how to shift around what staff had remained to make sure there were no gaping holes anywhere in their schedules and staffing.

By the time Alec finally broke free, he was more than ready to be done with it all for a little while, and he was only half done.

Andrew had long since gone off to deal with his side of things, and Ezekiel had gone to set some people to work and wrangle the support staff for him to help prepare not only for the Cabinet meeting starting soon but to take care of the rooms and such of those that had left.

Cordelia and Benji were the only two left in the room with him. Far too comfortable with either one of them to worry about propriety, Alec slumped back in his chair and indulged himself in reaching up to rub at his forehead. A headache had been brewing for the past hour and he was more than ready to stop, even just for a little bit.

“You look beat,” Cordelia said bluntly. Unlike Alec’s slumped pose, she stood tall and straight over near his fireplace, arms crossed over her chest. With those sharp blue eyes narrowed on him, and the scar that ran across her forehead and up onto her half-shaved head, she looked dangerous and intimidating to most people. As, she claimed, a General should.

Alec rolled his eyes at her the same way he’d been doing since he was seven years old and she’d first caught him training by himself in the middle of the night. “Random dragon transformations will do that to you,” he said dryly.

Her eyes narrowed a little more, flashing over to where Benji was smothering his snickers at the couch, and then back over to Alec. “I see it hasn’t done anything to help you find some manners, though. You’re still just as mouthy when you don’t feel well.”

That was the downside of working with someone who had known him since he was a kid, and who was his parents’ age. Cordelia had absolutely no problem calling Alec out on his shit or seeing straight through him even if he did try and put his masks up.

Benji pushed up off the couch, gathering his tablet and a stack of folders off the coffee table as he went. He shot a half smile Alec’s way. “I’ll go ahead and see about getting a tray sent up for you and Magnus. You want it down in his office?”

The words ‘his office’ had something inside of Alec flaring up a little in a mix of joy, pride, and anxiety. He pushed those down and nodded. “That’d be great. Thank you, Benji.”

Cordelia at least waited until the office doors were shut once more to speak up again. “Does he know?”

Her question was simple, with nothing really to qualify it, and yet Alec knew exactly what she was talking about. It was something he’d been thinking about this afternoon and feeling just a little bit guilty about. Because the answer to her question was a simple “No, he doesn’t.” Something which Alec knew he would have to rectify. Soon.

It wasn’t surprising that Cordelia knew already. She was one of the people who’d known the truth of Alec’s heritage and what it could mean if he ever made that choice one day. She’d probably known what this all meant from the instant she’d heard about Alec’s arrest – it was one of her skills, to be able to look ahead to the future like that and plan, prepare.

Soon, everyone else would know, too. From the minute Alec stood in front of his people at tonight’s meeting and explained everything to them, as he claimed Magnus as his soulbonded mate, the people here would know what that meant.

“You have to tell him,” Cordelia said, her tone just a bit scolding. “He deserves to hear it from you, first. Not to be blindsided by it later.”

“I know, I know.”

That didn’t mean it was going to be easy. When Cordelia left, chiding him to “Get some rest before the meeting, Commander,” he took advantage of the quiet to sit and try and get his thoughts organized. Logically, he should’ve been thinking about the speech he was going to give his people tonight, or what he was going to say at the Cabinet meeting, or a million other things.

And yet, all he could seem to think about was Magnus. His mate.

Their bond was singing away inside of Alec’s chest. A spot of warmth in him where Magnus’ magic coiled together with Alec’s magic – a magic he hadn’t yet had a chance to really begin to explore. Not that he’d really been able to explore much of anything about this yet.

Some of it felt almost… natural. That was the best word Alec could think of to describe it. Being a dragon had felt like the most natural thing in the world. As easy as moving and walking around in this form. It was like he’d just known what to do, how to move, how to fly, without even having to think about it. It was just his body, and he knew how to use his body.

The rest? The magic, the bond, the new instincts, the way his emotions felt so much bigger and less easy to control?

Alec had no idea how to deal with any of those. He was too busy trying to deal with everything else to take a moment for himself.

As if in response to his worries and his steadily growing panic, the bond briefly got a little bit warmer. Alec closed his eyes and focused on it as Magnus’ magic brushed against his in a touch that felt a lot like when Magnus would run his hand up and down Alec’s back while they lay together in bed. It was comforting and intimate at the same time.

I can feel you worrying, Magnus’ voice drifted through Alec’s mind like smoke, tinged with the faint crackle of fire licking at its edges. Come down here and eat this tray with me that Benji brought over. I’m assuming this much food isn’t just for me.

Some of Alec’s tension faded away without him even realizing it. He smiled faintly to himself. On my way.

More and more of the tension faded out of Alec as he slipped own through the private hallway toward his mate’s new office. But none of it beat the sensation he got when he stepped out of the hallway and into a space that had somehow in these past few hours become quintessentially Magnus.

It wasn’t that he’d changed a whole lot in here, though there were some major ones, like the curtains over the window, the new couch to replace the old one, and the massive bar alongside the room. Honestly, it was more what Magnus had put in the office that had changed it. New books decorated the bookshelves, along with a few knickknacks here and there. A large blue orb sat in an ornate metal stand on the right side of Magnus’ desk, and it looked somehow important despite the fact that it was currently half covered by a piece of paper Magnus had no doubt absently set down while working.

There was an area rug on the floor that reminded Alec of some of the colors and patterns he’d seen when in Mumbai. The chair behind the desk was larger, too, and leather. It also looked infinitely more comfortable than the one that had been in here before.

Other little things were scattered here and there. Stuff that should’ve made this place look less professional and yet somehow left Alec feeling like he was stepping into the workspace of a High Warlock.

None of that even touched on what Alec’s extra senses were picking up. The magic he felt that was brushing up against everything in here. With Magnus’ reinforcing the wards for them, Alec hadn’t been surprised to realize that most of the Institute carried a feel of Magnus to it. He’d vaguely sensed that even before all this. But this room? This room was just dripping in Magnus’ magic in a way that had Alec’s own magic rumbling happily under his skin. It even smelled like him.

All of it was made even better by the man himself sitting there on the new couch, a tray of food on the coffee table in front of him, beaming up at him like Alec was everything in the world he could’ve ever wanted.

No one had ever looked at him quite the way Magnus did. No one had ever made Alec feel like he was so important with just a look.

“That’s because you are important,” Magnus said, answering Alec’s thoughts out loud. “You are one of the most important things in my life, my dear one.”

Alec felt a blush heat his cheeks at the same time that a happy, possessive growl rumbled in his chest. He may not have had the words like Magnus did, but he let the thoughts of just how important Magnus was to him flow down through their bond, and he backed it up by going over there to kiss him. It wasn’t a soft greeting kiss, either, though he’d meant it to be. Instead, it started out soft and then deepened into something a bit more possessive, ending with a sharp nip against Magnus’ bottom lip.

When they pulled apart, he was satisfied to see that Magnus looked just a bit dazed. Magnus’ magic felt like it was purring inside of him an all around him, reaching out and running over him the same way it always did whenever Alec came into the room. Sometimes Alec wondered if Magnus even realized his magic was doing it. The more time he spent around the warlock the more he was learning just how much Magnus’ magic had instincts of its own.

Alec sank down onto the couch beside Magnus, reaching out for him as he did. It felt good to tangle their fingers together, press their legs up against one another. Magnus didn’t flinch from it at all. In fact, he pressed in even closer, lifting one leg up so that it was draped over Alec’s thigh and dangled down between his knees.

“Mm, you look less stressed already.” Magnus smiled at him, and then drew Alec’s hand up so that he could kiss his knuckles.

I always feel better when I’m with you, Alec thought, not caring that the thought was drifting down toward Magnus. It was always worth being sappy like that just to watch the way that Magnus’ cheeks colored in that so-rare blush.

Magnus ducked his head down and away to try and hide his face, but he couldn’t hide the pleasure in their bond. “Enough of that. You need to eat.”

It was always nice to turn the tables on Magnus a little bit. There was no way Alec could stop the smugness from showing on his face.

When Magnus looked up and saw his grin, he pretended to be exasperated for just a moment, a brief roll of his eyes, and then he gave into laughter and shoved at Alec’s leg. “Oh, knock it off and eat your food, you brat.” The words were punctuated by the tray magically floating up to hover right above their laps.

“You love when I’m a brat,” Alec pointed out cheerfully. He reached out for the plate closest to him that held strips of what smelled like steak, cooked up with a nice bit of pink still in the middle. Just the smell was enough to make his mouth water.

Magnus gave him that wide, eye-crinkling grin that Alec loved, and his magic sparkled along Alec’s skin like little mini fireworks. “I love you, in all forms.”

Though it was Magnus’ usual response to that kind of teasing, today there was something a little extra to it, a whole other layer that hadn’t been there before, and Alec was the one left wanting to blush. Because Magnus wasn’t the least bit subtle, and he was making sure Alec knew how much Magnus still loved all parts of him. Even this new one.

Satisfied that he’d gotten his point across, and that he’d made Alec blush as well, Magnus turned his attention toward the food and reached out to pick up a few bits of it. For a little while the two of them just enjoyed picking at their food and relaxing there on the couch, twined up in one another, just lazily enjoying themselves for a little bit without the need to speak.

They got about halfway through the meal when Alec realized he still hadn’t had the conversation he’d planned on when he came in here. He’d gotten caught up in everything Magnus and just sort of forgotten. Only now as he stared around him at the space that felt like the Institute while simultaneously feeling like Magnus, he was reminded of the conversation they needed to have before the Institute staff meeting. Which was not that far away.

Alec swallowed down a bit of steak and tried not to grimace.

Of course Magnus caught it. With their bond there was likely very little that he didn’t catch about what Alec was feeling. His brows furrowed down, and Alec felt as he started to worry. “What is it, darling? What’s wrong?”

That was going to take some serious getting used to. Alec wasn’t going to be able to get caught up in his thoughts the way he normally did. Not when Magnus had a front row seat to them. That also meant that he couldn’t put this off either or he was going to run the risk of Magnus picking up on the thought before Alec managed to figure out how the hell to say it.

Back in his office Alec had tried to plan out how exactly he was going to say all of this. He’d sought around for words that might make it easier. So, naturally, the instant he looked at Magnus all those words went right out the window. He found himself blurting out, “I’d like to point out first that this isn’t actually my fault.”

Magnus’ eyebrows shot up, and he paused with his drink halfway to his mouth. “Well, that’s a promising start to any conversation.” He slowly lowered his drink back down so that the bottom of the glass rested on his knee. His eyes never left Alec’s face. “All right. What is it that you have to tell me that may or may not be your fault?”

“It’s not. You’re the one that pushed your magic in and made this soulbond,” Alec reminded him, because no, he wasn’t going to take the blame for that even if he did very much enjoy the bond itself. He was happy they had it. But for the sake of this conversation that didn’t mean he wasn’t above reminding Magnus that he was the one that had started this.

Only, Magnus seemed to take it not quite the way Alec had intended, and he hesitated, his part of the bond drawing back just the slightest bit. “I thought… you said that you were okay with that.”

“I am!” Alec rushed to try and reassure him. He tightened his hold on Magnus’ hand and pressed in even closer. “I am, Magnus, I promise I am. I’m so happy to be bonded to you. Really.”

There was no way Magnus could doubt his words. Not when he could feel Alec’s truth. He stopped drawing back and let himself sink, magic and body, back against Alec. “If you’re not upset about the bond, than what is it, Alexander?”

He was doing this all wrong. Alec grimaced and tried to find the right words to say. In the end, he went with what he knew – the honest, straightforward truth. “You’re my bonded, my mate, something I won’t – can’t – keep quiet about. I need people to know that you’re mine. I need them to know they can’t touch you.” He needed that almost more than he needed air.

Magnus, bless him, didn’t point out that he could protect himself, nor that he didn’t belong to anyone. He smiled at Alec and squeezed his hand, and the brush of his magic against Alec, inside and out, was just as possessive as Alec felt. “As you’re mine.”

Those words soothed some of the sharper edges in Alec. It made it just a little bit easier to try and speak again. To give Magnus the part he most likely wasn’t going to like. “If our bond was more like a parabatai bond it wouldn’t really be an issue. But since we were already dating, most of my people are probably going to see this bond as something more. Kind of like…”

“Marriage?” Magnus filled in for him. He said the word with a laugh, yet also with a faint edge to it. One that Alec wasn’t quite able to decipher. “Yes, well, your people aren’t the only ones who are going to see it that way.”

That was definitely a topic they were going to have to revisit later. When they had privacy and the ability to take their time and talk. For now, Alec tucked it away and moved on to why he’d started this whole conversation. “I don’t know what that’s going to mean with your people, but for shadowhunters, they’re going to look at it in a way that makes sense to them, which means they’re going to look at you as my spouse. With, uh, all the responsibility that comes with that.”

Alec deliberately looked around the room once and then let his eyes settled back on his partner – his mate.

No one could ever accuse Magnus of being slow. While he might not have realized this earlier, now that Alec had pointed it out to him it was clear he caught on rather quickly.

Alec got to watch as Magnus was completely thrown by something for the first time since he’d met him. Not just a little nonplussed, a bit surprised – no, this was shock, pure and simple. His eyebrows went up and his lips parted on a soft, surprised “Oh.”

This was something that had the potential to go multiple ways. While Magnus was stunned for the moment, he wasn’t going to stay that way. The thought that he might be angry was something Alec had known for quite a while – even back when there’d been no soulbond to worry about, just the potential for their relationship maybe progressing to marriage one day, which would’ve ended up with them still here, still trying to figure this out. It was a part of being with Alec that he wasn’t sure Magnus had ever thought about. One way or another, marriage or soulbond, they still would’ve had to have this conversation.

The shock on Magnus’ face didn’t last long. He wasn’t the type to be thrown by something, and it was no surprise that he recovered fast. It was gone a moment later, and the warlock closed his eyes as he sank down into the couch with a groan. The fact that he didn’t let go of Alec was the only thing keeping Alec calm.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think about this,” Magnus groaned out.

“I’m sorry.” The apology tumbled easily past Alec’s lips. He didn’t hesitate to give it, knowing that Magnus deserved to hear it. “I was… I’d planned on talking to you about it one day, if our relationship ever got to that point. But I, I didn’t want to worry you until there was a reason, and then this whole thing happened and, well…”

“It sped up the timeline,” Magnus finished for him. He cracked open his eyes to shoot a glare Alec’s way that felt fake, but he was too nervous to be sure. It didn’t help when Magnus grumbled out “This isn’t fair.”

Guilt gnawed at Alec’s insides. “I know…”

Magnus didn’t let him finish, cutting him off with another groan that was even more dramatic than the last. He somehow managed to slump further down into the couch until he looked, well, he looked a little like a sulking child. “I’m going to have twice the responsibility now – High Warlock and co-Head! And you!” With his free hand, the one still holding a glass he somehow hadn’t spilled in all his dramatics, he pointed a finger at Alec. “You don’t have to worry about any of that. There’s no ‘co-High Warlock’ position. You just get to do your job and that’s it. Meanwhile I will have to work two jobs, one of which with people who will likely be livid at just the idea of me telling them what to do.”

While some of those words were serious – particularly that last bit – Alec didn’t miss the faint smile ghosting over Magnus’ lips, that slight curl at the edges he got when he was teasing Alec. It wasn’t one he would’ve noticed a few months ago. But the fact that Alec could feel his amusement definitely helped.

Narrowing his eyes, Alec glared down at his asshole of a mate. “I don’t know,” he drawled out slowly, glaring even more. “I think it might be nice. Someone else can sign paperwork for a little while.”

Magnus, the little shit, let out the most put-upon sigh Alec had ever heard from him – and that was saying a lot – shot a sad look Alec’s way. “I don’t know, Alexander. It just sounds so difficult. However will I cope?”

Okay, that was it. Alec pushed the tray of food out of his way and lunged toward Magnus with a growl of “I’ll show you difficult,” that immediately had Magnus breaking pose and laughing. Alec didn’t give him a chance to recover. He pinned Magnus down, one hand coming up to hold the warlock’s above his head, and he used his best weapon in that moment – with his free hand, Alec tickled him until the sound of Magnus’ laughter was bouncing off the walls.

When Alec finally pulled back, any of the worry and anger – real or pretend – was gone from Magnus’ face. His cheeks were rosy, his cat eyes were sparkling, his usually perfect hair was a mess, his makeup was smudged around his eyes, and he was smiling so brightly it stole Alec’s breath away. A warm, pleased rumble vibrated through Alec, a sound he didn’t even try to stop. Raziel, I love this man.

The soft I love you too, Alexander twined along trails of magic through Alec’s insides.

Bending low, Alec stole a kiss that was long, slow, and deep enough to leave them both gasping even more when they finally broke apart. Alec pressed their foreheads together, one hand curled over Magnus’ cheek while the other still held on to his wrists, keeping them pinned above him.

“Thank you,” Alec murmured, stroking his thumb lightly over Magnus’ cheek. There were so many other words he wanted to say, things that he wanted ot thank Magnus for specifically.

In the end, he didn’t have to. Magnus knew him well enough to hear those words in the sincerity packed into Alec’s voice. “I love you,” Magnus said, like it was the answer to everything. Maybe it was. “This will take a lot of talking on all our parts, and I’m not saying it will be easy, but – I love you. We’ll figure the rest of it out.” Together.

Alec bent down and nuzzled their noses together, growling out a low purr. Together.

Chapter Text

Magnus was pretty sure he was never going to understand shadowhunters. It didn’t seem to matter how long he’d been on this earth, or how much contact he’d had with them. Just when he thought he might be beginning to understand them, they’d go and do something else to throw him for a loop.

Up until he’d met Alexander and his siblings, most of those ‘loops’ hadn’t been pleasant ones. No, they’d been more along the lines of just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse…

Meeting Alec, meeting his siblings, seeing how they were and what they believed, that had been the biggest surprise of all. An enormously pleasant one. They gave Magnus hope for the future generation of shadowhunters. More so with each passing day. There were setbacks, such as his dealing with Aldertree, and Valentine on the loose, but overall Magnus had begun to feel a small kernel of hope that maybe, one day, things were going to get better.

Finding out that Magnus was now going to appear married to Alexander in the eyes of his shadowhunters, and thus now co-Head by some law that wasn’t specific enough to exclude Downworlders – the thought had probably never even crossed the Clave’s mind as a possibility – Magnus had been so sure most of that progress would be lost. What shadowhunter was going to accept Magnus as their leader?

Apparently, the answer to that was: a lot.

Alec had called what they were doing a staff meeting. In the back of his mind, Magnus had pictured some large room with tables and chairs, a ton of shadowhunters, and maybe Alec at some sort of podium. The thought made him snicker a little to himself on the way there.

What he hadn’t expected was for Alec to lead him downstairs to a massive space that looked ceremonial, with the stone arches and the raised podium at one end. Yet it was quite a bit larger than where Alec’s almost-wedding had been held. It was also already almost full of shadowhunters. Far more than Magnus had expected to see.

He didn’t really get long to speculate on any of that. Not when walking into the room seemed to have set Alec on edge almost instantly. Whatever it was that set him off, it turned their bond edgy with sharp spikes of ice, and it had Alec pressing in close. Almost like…almost like he sensed a threat.

Magnus took in Alec’s closeness, his narrowed eyes, the tension in his body, the way he glared at anyone close to them while simultaneously moving himself so that Magnus was safely between him and the wall – thus placing Alec between him and any sort of threat.

Smiling softly to himself, Magnus leaned in so that his arm brushed against Alec’s. He was grateful for the bond that let him reassure Alec without having to speak a word out loud. Take a deep breath for me and calm down, my little icicle. None of your people are going to harm me. You don’t need to protect me from them.

That sharp feeling in their bond – protectiveness, he realized, with a heavy dose of possessiveness that thrilled him – didn’t go away, though it was tinged now with a faint hint of embarrassment. Sorry. I know I don’t need to, Alec sent him back, and Magnus could just picture the awkward shuffle he’d be doing if they weren’t in a room full of people. I just…you were uncomfortable, and I just sort of… reacted.

Oh. That was… well, that was interesting, and something that bore definite thinking about later.

For the moment, Magnus leaned in to their bond a little and let their magics mingle in a way that soothed him down, which, apparently, would help soothe Alec down. I’m fine, sayang. Between the two of us, I don’t think anyone would dare try anything. Not only were they not stupid enough to take on Magnus, he doubted any of them wanted to test their new resident dragon. Especially since Alec already had a reputation for being protective of those he cared about.

Alec turned a little, offering Magnus a faint sideways smile. Then he nudged him forward toward the front of the room. They wouldn’t. They know better than to try taking on the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

The absolute pride in that was enough to make Magnus blush. But there was a prickle of something else along with it. Something that was almost but not quite warmth in the flow of Alec’s magic. Less like winter-cold and more like a cool breeze in fall, crisp enough to thrill without making you shiver.

Magnus didn’t have time to analyze it. They were at the front of the room and it seemed that in the short time it took them to walk there, even more shadowhunters had arrived.

He’d been around large groups of shadowhunters before. Especially when helping them with various things, or tending to the injured, but never in this concentrated of a dose. The amount of them that were packed into this space with them was so much more than Magnus had even realized this Institute held.

There were at least a few familiar faces close by in the crowd. Some that smiled at Magnus, some that looked at him curiously. But one in particular stuck out.

Alec’s capable secretary came rushing up through the crowd, and Magnus smiled at the sight of him.

At first glance the man was the very last thing anyone would picture for a secretary. He was taller than Alec with the kind of muscle that suggested he could probably bench press Alec. His ears were gauged, and he changed the color of the plugs there daily. Magnus had never seen him wear the same color there two days in a row. He also kept his head shaved and only a little patch of hair under his bottom lip.

He honestly looked like he belonged on the guard. Magnus definitely knew he’d think twice if this man came at him with a weapon drawn. He was also one of the kindest, most cheerful people Magnus had ever met, once he decided he liked you.

At the moment Benji had an earbud in one ear, a tablet in hand, and he was every inch the professional. He greeted them both with a low “Sirs,” and a respectful dip of his head. “Everything’s ready for you, and the last of the people should just showed up. We’ve got a skeleton crew upstairs to keep an eye on the screens and watch security. Lt. Bishop Underhill handpicked who would stay up there. He also made sure there’s a screen playing up there so everyone can hear your speech.”

Being greeted like that by Benji wasn’t anything new. He was always respectful. But Magnus was aware of the deeper meaning to the word now. A meaning he wondered if Benji had always known would be there someday.

A smile curved Alec’s lips when he turned toward Magnus. He held a hand out to Magnus, and arched one eyebrow. Ready?

For magic’s sake. He was really going to do this. The minute Magnus stepped up there with Alec, it would be official. Magnus wouldn’t be able to pretend or ignore it or anything like that. Walking up there meant accepting that this was real. For better or worse, whatever the Clave threw their way, whatever grief he got from resident shadowhunters, he would be co-Head of this Institute. A responsibility Magnus wouldn’t take lightly. Couldn’t, even if he wanted to. He was going to help lead these people, and in a way, answer to the Clave. Potentially more than the Accords already demanded he do.

But he would be doing it with Alec, who would fight tooth and nail – or claw, as it were – to make sure nothing would happen to Magnus. They’d stand side by side and do this together.

Magnus smiled, and he reached out to take Alec’s hand.

The staff meeting – which really was more like a gathering with Alec giving a speech and everyone listening – went about how Magnus had expected it to go.

In it, Alec laid out everything for his people with the kind of honesty that was so rare. But Alec ran his Institute the same way he did everything else – with strength, honesty, and a belief in what he was doing and doing what was right. So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that he employed that honesty now. Alec told it to them exactly like it was – who he was, what it meant for him to lay claim to New York, what that would mean for their dealings with the Clave – “You answer to them the same as you’ve always done. But in this city, they answer to me. Especially when it concerns my people.”

Beyond that, Alec also took the time to let them all know that there would be changes coming, ones that he would notify them of as they figured them out.

“We’re going into new territory for us,” Alec told them honestly. “One that the guidelines we have for it are hundreds of years old. Some things are going to need to be changed, and some things might not have been recorded. We’re going to have to play that by ear. But I can guarantee you that, no matter what happens, the safety and protection of this Institute, of all the people in this city, will always be a priority. The promise I made before the angel to serve you hasn’t changed. I’ve just been granted extra weapons with which to do so.”

It was honestly a rather rousing speech. Alec was good at public speaking even if he didn’t really like it. He spoke well to everyone, captivated them, engaged them, and made sure that each person in the room felt like they could trust him. He was always honest with them, sometimes brutally so, which meant that in moments like this they trusted in him and what he said.

Then, with Magnus standing there at his side, Alec had gone on to explain the part that Magnus had been silently dreading.

“I know all of you are wondering why Magnus is up here with me, when I’ve never involved him in Institute business before. Not like this,” Alec bluntly said, bringing all the attention to the rather sparkly elephant in the room. Though he didn’t move, didn’t reach out, he did briefly send a smile Magnus’ way. Then he turned to once more address his people. “Yesterday Magnus Bane stormed Alicante with my sister and my parabatai as his only backup to try and save me from the fire. In doing so, his magic and mine connected, creating a soul bond. In the eyes of the Old Laws by which our people live, any bond that is not platonic in nature, be it made by the angel or by magic, will be recognized as a binding of souls.”

The whole room was silent. It was a damn good thing Magnus was used to working under pressure because all eyes had moved over to him. He could see some unhappy looks out there, which was no surprise. The fact that there weren’t more who looked unhappy was the surprising part.

“I hope you’ll show him a warm welcome,” Alec went on in a tone that made it clear that this was less a request and more a command. The hint of a growl probably shouldn’t have turned Magnus on as much as it did, considering where they were, but he was growing used to that sensation around Alec. “If any of you have any questions, please, feel free to stop by my office. You know my office hours. My door is always open to discuss whatever you need.”

And that, it seemed, was that.

As far as ‘staff meetings’ went it was pretty anticlimactic. The information given was something that could’ve been written in an email and sent out to everyone. Yet Alec had chosen to do it face-to-face, something which Magnus knew was deliberate. While Alec was far more proficient with technology than Magnus had honestly expected him to be, he also knew the value of the human touch to things.

“My people have been led by memo and written orders far too often,” Alec had told Magnus once when the two had been discussing work on a quiet evening together. “They need to know their leader is there for them, just as much a part of things as they are. Not just some figurehead sitting in an office dishing out orders.”

It was yet another way that Alec had subtly worked to make sure he was nothing at all like his parents. Even before he’d openly parted ways with them.

Magnus chose to take it as a good sign that they were mostly greeted with kind words as they passed by people on their way out of the room. No one shouted at him, at least, or tried to fight him for daring to take on a role that rightfully shouldn’t have been his.

“Let’s just hope our next meeting goes at least half as well,” Magnus murmured lowly.

A snort from Alec echoed that sentiment.

Meeting with the shadowhunters had been easy enough, albeit a bit frightening at first. Meeting with the Shadow World Cabinet?

Well…

No one ever said their lives were dull.

Alec was more than ready for the day and night to be over with. At the moment there was nothing he wanted more than to escape away to Magnus’ loft for a little while and rest. Just – drag Magnus into his big bed safely behind the loft’s wards and wrap the two of them up in one another until they smelled like them and nothing else.

The urge to pull him close and shield them from the world with his wings was strong enough that Alec swore he felt the muscles in his back rippling with the effort to keep control.

It helped that Magnus seemed to sense just how thin that control was and was responding by not going far from him. He stayed within easy reaching distance from the minute they left the staff meeting and went upstairs to get ready for the Cabinet meeting.

That proved to be a good thing when the door opened, and Luke Garroway came into the room reeking of Alpha right here in the heart of Alec’s territory.

Alec didn’t really register the others behind him, or Andrew standing there holding the door open for them. All of his attention was on the Alpha who was walking up to him like he couldn’t sense the very clear threat in front of him. A growl rumbled up Alec’s chest. He didn’t have time to think – instinct took over and had him yanking Magnus behind him at the same time that the snarl inside him came tearing free.

He didn’t notice the way his eyes flashed sharp and blue. Nor did he feel the frost creeping out from his feet and chilling the air around him. What he did notice was the flash of Alpha-green that lit up Luke’s eyes, followed by a snarl as Luke dropped down into a defensive posture.

A curse echoed loudly through the room. Alec heard a whoosh of wind and then the scent of blood, both old and new, tinged in sulfur. It breezed right past him, and Alec reacted instinctively, body twisting, only he wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t used to these new senses that were battling with the rest of him. Didn’t realize the threat until it was already gone from him – taking Magnus with it.

The magic inside of Alec came roaring to life with a furious rage that would’ve terrified him at any other time. It wasn’t the burning, blindingly hot fury of fire, the kind that consumed everything in its path. This was a cold fury that seeped out of him and filled the room with slowly growing ice. It grew across the ground at his feet and up the nearby chairs, the walls.

“You’ve got one chance to give him back,” Alec warned them, his voice dropping lower, and frost smoke began to leak past his lips. He felt the itch of scales breaking through his skin, the tug of his nails as they began to shift into claws. Someone had taken his mate. It didn’t matter who they were or what ability they had. They weren’t going to be able to stop him from getting Magnus back.

That proved unnecessary a split second later when Magnus shoved his way through the door with magic twisting around his hands and snapping like golden fire in his eyes. “That is enough,” Magnus practically snarled the words out with a noise worthy of a dragon. The look he shot Luke was pure venom and carried all the command of a High Warlock who knew his power, and it was edged in something deeper, something that sent a shiver of a thrill down Alec’s spine. It carried the faint hint of Edom curling like smoke around the edges.

Alec didn’t move away when his mate came up to him and placed himself almost between Alec and Luke. He at least kept a little space there so that Alec wasn’t hidden behind him. More like, the two were together facing down a threat, which had all of Alec’s instincts humming happily inside of him. His mate was strong. Powerful.

A growl from Luke brought Alec’s focus away from Magnus just enough that he could snarl his own warning growl back.

“I said…” Magic spread out, pushing Luke back away from them and toward the opposite wall in a wave of wall of red and orange. It shimmered briefly between them like a large, wide barrier, something neither side could pass. “That is enough.”

The push of Magnus’ magic was enough to snap Luke out of whatever had gripped him. “Magnus?” His eyes flickered back to their normal color, green, and then back again. “What the hell is going on?”

Magnus placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder, his thumb dangling down to rub over Alec’s collarbone, but his eyes never left Luke and the two other men who stood with him. Raphael and Meliorn were at his sides, with Raphael looking torn between angry and worried, and Meliorn with that seelie calm they were known for.

“If everyone can keep themselves under control, we called this meeting to explain exactly what is going on,” Magnus said calmly. He turned just enough to shoot an amused look Alec’s way through one cat eye. “That goes for you too, darling. Think you can stay calm for me?”

Alec rolled his eyes at the gentle rebuke. He could have – probably should have – sent his next words through their bond, yet he couldn’t quite resist saying them out loud, making damn sure that the others heard. “So long as no one tries to take what’s mine we won’t have any problems.”

Their bond warmed up a little. Alec could feel just how pleased Magnus was at that possessiveness. Even if he gave Alec a dry look for it, he at least didn’t comment on it or argue. He just looked back out towards the others and gave that bright smile of his that was a threat and a welcome all at the same time. “Why don’t we all try this again, hm? I’m going to lower my barrier, and you three are going to come in and sit down at the table like gentlemen. Alec and I are going to stay at this end, just to be cautious. Does that work for everyone?”

The urge to give a sharp sir, yes sir, was almost too much to resist.

When Alec felt the amusement from Magnus in their bond, he realized that the thought might’ve slipped down anyway without him meaning to.

The room was tense when Magnus lowered his barrier. Alec trusted Magnus – and he wasn’t even going to begin to think about what it did to him to see his mate so strong, so competent, an Alpha in his own right – but that didn’t stop him from watching the others closely. They’d already stolen his mate away from him once. They weren’t going to get the chance to do it again.

Magnus stayed close to Alec while he gestured for the others to take a seat. Calm, composed, like this was any other meeting, and they hadn’t all been ready to attack one another just moments ago.

It settled Alec a little when the other three were finally seated, though. They took the seats as far from Alec as they possibly could. The cautious way in which they watched him had his dragon wanting to give a satisfied rumble. Good. They should be afraid. No one got to take Magnus from him. No one.

Magic stroked over their bond like a hand petting soothingly down Alec’s back. Deep breath for me, my love. I’m right here with you. No one’s going to take me away from you again. Not here. Not now.

Not ever, Alec shot back with a mental rumble. He tugged Magnus in, and Magnus let him. No, Magnus went beyond letting him. When Alec pulled him in, the warlock responded by giving Alec a nudge and almost toppling him down into the closest chair. Then he followed Alec down without giving him time to recover and sat on the armrest of the chair, pressed right up against him in a way that somehow made it seem like he was the one in the chair, on a throne, surveying the others.

Raziel, I love him.

Having Magnus that close allowed Alec to settle his instincts a little more. They were still growling at him, demanding that he keep Magnus there, that he watch the clear threat in the others, but he was able to think past it enough to find actual words. To look at Luke and Raphael as he said “I’m sorry,” and actually mean it.

“This might have gone smoother if you’d let us know a newly born dragon was going to be in attendance,” Meliorn said, his tone heavy with amusement. There was a hint of knowledge in his eyes, though. One that made it clear the Seelie Queen had likely already known. Or heard about it. Likely that was the reason Meliorn had even shown tonight when he didn’t often like to show for their meetings. The Queen no doubt wanted whatever confirmation he could get.

Magnus deliberately ran his foot up the inside of Alec’s leg, using his heel so that he could nudge Alec’s knee out of the way, making room for his foot to come rest there. He leaned forward a little, and though Alec could only see a corner of it, the smirk he wore sent a shiver down Alec’s spine that had nothing to do with fear. “I wouldn’t be so smug if I were you,” Magnus warned him, a dangerous little purr underscoring his words. “You wouldn’t want that newly born and newly bonded dragon to think that you might’ve come to this meeting well aware of the risks and yet did absolutely nothing to prevent any sort of trouble toward his mate.”

It was almost as satisfying watching the way that Meliorn’s eyes widened at that – equal to a flinch from anyone else – as it was to watch Magnus so calmly and smoothly put someone in their place.

Alec moved his hand down Magnus’ back, shamelessly slipping it underneath the bottom hem of his jacket and his shirt so that he could trace his fingers up the knobs of Magnus’ spine. The touch of skin to skin helped settle him down even more while at the same time it stoked that part of him that was happily purring inside at his mate’s display.

Focus, darling, Magnus chided him gently. He didn’t move away, though, so Alec left his hand where it was.

He did, however, pull his focus out enough to do what he was supposed to be here for. They had a reason for calling this meeting and it wasn’t to blatantly stake his claim over Magnus.

Though, if that happened as well he wasn’t exactly going to complain.

“This wasn’t how I intended to start this meeting,” Alec said, his tone as calm as he could make it. “But we’ll count that as an icebreaker.” For the second time that day Alec found himself explaining who he was and what had happened. The summary he gave the Downworlders of the actual event was just a bit different than the one he’d given his people. To them, he was careful with his words, but he didn’t shy away from the political side of things. They were all members of the Clave. Every shadowhunter who bore runes was a member of the Clave. Some higher than others, yes, yet all of them a part of the same body.

The Downworlders on his Council were not.

Alec was all about fairness and equality. Sharing information – transparency. But just as none of these leaders here gave in-depth information about their own governing bodies, neither did Alec give away Clave secrets. He didn’t tell them about the personal vendetta Imogen Herondale had against dragons. He didn’t talk about the bits of draconic lore that were specific to shadowhunters. What had broken them apart, what had started the hunts.

He did, however, make absolutely sure they knew what it meant for him to claim the city as his in their eyes.

“Many of the old laws concerning dragons are still on record,” Alec said. His fingers traced further up Magnus’ spine in a touch that had become less about heat and more about comfort for the both of them. Part of him still wanted to wrap Magnus in his wings and hide him away. This compromise helped him keep calm. “One of which is the Right of Family, which allows me to lay claim to the city of New York as my home territory.”

“What do you mean by your territory?” Luke asked cautiously. His eyes held a hint of Alpha bleeding in at the edges that set Alec’s teeth on edge.

Because of that, there was a hint more of a growl in Alec’s words than there’d been before. “It means that the city is mine.” A gentle nudge in the bond as well as the shifting of Magnus’ weight to lean in closer to him had Alec drawing in a deep breath to try and calm himself down. When he spoke again there was still some of that growl in his voice, it was just better contained. “I’m not looking to take over your pack, Luke. Or any of the covens.” He directed those words to the still-silent Raphael. “I’m not trying to become some sort of ruler over the whole of the shadow world.”

Magnus pressed back against Alec’s fingers until their scratch was just a bit firmer. “It’s about protection,” he said to the room. “Despite what literature and stories may have you believe, very few dragons ever wanted to rule. Often, they were rarely seen even in the area they claimed. The enemies they went after were demonic by nature, or someone who sought to go against those under their protection.”

“Most everything is going to stay exactly as it is now,” Alec went on, easily picking up the conversation as if they’d rehearsed it. “This isn’t some sort of bid for power from the Clave to take over here.”

“It’s unlikely the Clave is very happy with you at this moment,” Meliorn said. His voice was as neutral as ever, his tone just a bit lazy, but his scent was sharp. Focused.

One corner of Alec’s mouth quirked up. “They haven’t been happy with me for a while, as you and everyone else are well aware. That’s never stopped me from doing my job.” He didn’t give anyone time to comment on that. He just moved on. “I understand that this is a lot to take in. I’ll answer what questions I can, either tonight or at our next meeting after you’ve had a chance to speak to your people and do your own research. I want there to be peace between us just the same as I always have.”

“That being said,” Magnus cut in. He sounded just a bit amused, and a bit protective. The mix of those two in their bond had Alec wanting to purr at him. “There are some things you should be aware of right off the bat, as you’ve seen. For one, I recommend you all remember that while Alexander has the knowledge of his heritage, he is, in our language, freshly turned. With all the newness that entails for any Downworlder.”

That last part was a deliberate poke – a reminder of the respect they’d show any fledgling Downworlder.

It served to have Luke calming slightly, and though Raphael narrowed his eyes a little he didn’t speak up. Something which Alec wasn’t too sure about. Meliorn just continued to watch them all with that same faint smile as earlier.

“Second of all,” Magnus went on cheerfully, and oh, Alec went on alert at the same time that he wanted to purr yet again, because Magnus was never so dangerous as he was when so brightly cheerful like this. “I wouldn’t recommend attempting to separate us again. While Alec might be the dragon in this relationship, he is not the only one that will fight tooth and nail against anyone who tries to get between us. If I were you, I would make sure your people know that. We wouldn’t want any… incidents.”

Though it’d been Raphael who’d separated them before it seemed to be Meliorn that Magnus directed his words towards. Which was probably the smartest. If there was anyone who was going to be dumb enough to try and separate the two of them – despite the knowledge they seemed to have – it would be the Seelie Queen. Or other seelies, acting on her orders.

“Are you the only dragon we’re going to be dealing with?” Raphael asked, speaking up for the first time since he’d settled at the table. His eyes were intent as they locked on Alec. A hint of a sneer curled his lips. “I don’t exactly relish the idea of facing off against an even more dangerous Maryse Lightwood.”

One corner of Alec’s mouth quirked up in the semblance of a grin. “While my mother always made sure that I understood my heritage, she is quite clear in her choice that she would rather allow herself to burn than become anything other than nephilim.”

Sometimes Alec was sure the only reason she’d ever told him about his heritage was to try and convince him how dangerous a choice it was. To make him say no if the time ever came.

Unfortunately for her, the idea of burning to death just to avoid being anything other than a nephilim wasn’t something Alec was willing to do.

He deliberately didn’t say anything about Isabelle or Max. Though he did answer Magnus in their bond when he felt his curiosity. Max doesn’t have enough Trueblood in him. He’s more Lightwood than anything, at least where this is concerned. But Izzy has it. She’s just never been sure if it’s something she wants. Not that there was any pressure. She had time to make that choice.

She would make a beautiful and rather fierce dragon, Magnus sent back to him. At the little rumble in Alec’s magic, Magnus’ mind voice turned amused and a little bit husky. Nowhere near as beautiful or fierce as you are, my darling.

Their moment was cut short when Luke cleared his throat. Alec looked up from where he’d begun to absently nuzzle at Magnus’ shoulder, a gesture he hadn’t realized he was doing until he stopped it. Yet he didn’t pull away. He kept his nose there and just looked up, eyes sharp.

Luke didn’t falter at that look, though he was sitting up straighter, his body on alert in the face of what he clearly saw as someone dangerous. “What’s going to happen to the future of the Cabinet?”

“What do you mean?” Alec asked. He turned his face a bit more toward Luke, abandoning Magnus’ shoulder for the moment.

“Do we have any guarantee that your replacement is going to feel the same about working with the Downworld as you have? Or is the Clave going to send in someone like Aldertree again to take over?”

Though Alec could feel Magnus’ confusion – could hear it as he firmly said “No one’s replacing Alexander, Lucian,” – he had no such problem understanding what Luke was getting at.

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Luke had once been a shadowhunter just like Alec. That he’d spent far more of his life as a shadowhunter than he had as a wolf. While he’d learned to adapt to his situation, to embrace who he was, there were a lot of ideals that he held that he’d never really had to have challenged. Not only were they things that likely wouldn’t come up with the wolves – beyond the typical issues and prejudices – he’d also spent a lot of his time away with Jocelyn and Clary, and from what Alec understood of Jocelyn she wasn’t exactly the most tolerant of people.

Some people might’ve forgotten that Jocelyn and Luke had been part of the Circle at one point in time. Alec had not.

Not to say that he thought Luke still held to those old beliefs. He’d left, after all. But some things were hard to shake. Alec had seen firsthand in his parents how people could leave behind Valentine and his ideals but still retain something of them. That bit of nephilim superiority. The same thing that had Maryse insisting she would rather die than be a dragon.

Luke had done better. He’d accepted being a wolf and found a way to thrive in that life. Become an Alpha.

But it was clear now how much his old teachings still influenced his thoughts.

“I am still Head of this Institute,” Alec said firmly, cutting off whatever reply Luke might’ve been about to give to Magnus. “Dragon blood or no, I still have the blood of angels in me. I still wear my runes. My people have chosen me as their Head. I will run this Institute with my bonded mate at my side until my people demand otherwise.” Then, once he’d given a mostly politically correct answer, Alec couldn’t resist letting his voice sharpen to something a whole lot more dangerous and he added on, “This Institute is mine. Beyond that is none of your concern.”

There was just enough of a growl to the edge of those words to have some of that Alpha-green hinting around the edges of Luke’s irises again. Which only served to further set Alec on edge.

He’d restrained himself rather admirably so far, he felt. He hadn’t let out the growl that was aching to come free again. Nor had he let loose his wings or transformed in any other way. But if this little alpha thought he could come into Alec’s home and continuously challenge him like this, and that Alec would just sit back and take it, well, Alec was damn well going to show him just how wrong he was.

Just as Alec leaned forward, a snarl already curling his lip, Magnus twisted just enough to spill himself completely into Alec’s lap. He shamelessly used his body to pin Alec in place. Then he turned his head just enough to tell the others “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

That was all the focus Magnus gave the others. He immediately turned his attention around to Alec. In a move that Alec might’ve appreciated at any other time, Magnus sort of flowed over him, twisting and turning so that he ended up straddling Alec’s lap, a knee on either side of him. The two of them were close enough in height that sitting like this allowed Magnus to raise up and actually tower over Alec a little if he wanted. Something that Magnus used in that moment to completely pin Alec and surrounded him, blocking off anything from anyone else.

“Look at me, Alexander,” Magnus said firmly, as if Alec could ever do anything else. Despite the situation, Magnus was smiling a little, that private smile that was just for Alec. He brought both of his hands up to cup Alec’s face. “It’s been a long day for you. One you haven’t really had the chance to rest from and process.”

Though there was no real scolding to that, Alec still felt the need to murmur a defense. “I had things to do.”

“Mm, yes, you did. But those things are done now. All the appropriate people have been notified, your territory as taken care of as you can make it and your people safe. Now it’s my turn to take care of you.”

That wasn’t a request. Alec heard it, could feel it, and he knew better than to argue when Magnus was like this. The only real thing Alec could do was bring his hands up to curl over Magnus’ hips and hold on as his boyfriend called up another portal and tumbled them through it. They went from the chair in the meeting room to the softness of his bed.

Alec was surprised to find that they weren’t in the loft. Magnus had sent them to Alec’s bedroom here at the Institute.

At the curious look Alec sent him, Magnus smiled, and he pressed his body forward so that Alec was pinned between him and the bed. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t rest all that well away from your people tonight. At least not until we’ve seen how the Clave is going to handle things.”

Though Alec hadn’t thought about that quite yet – he’d mostly thought of going home, and home to him spelled the loft more and more with each passing day – Magnus wasn’t wrong. The idea of what the Clave might do was something Alec would’ve started to worry about once he wasn’t there to offer some sort of protection. Granted, they could respond quickly thanks to portals. But it was better that Alec was going to be here right now while everything was still so new.

A snap from Magnus stripped the both of them down to the sleep pants they each preferred to lounge around in. Then, in a surprising move, Magnus rolled himself over and used magic to help bring Alec with him, tugging him in until he was laying on top of Magnus like a blanket.

Alec had grown to love sleeping like this. He liked being able to feel Magnus under him, to know that he was safe. That feeling was even stronger now. Alec felt like purring as he stretched himself out over Magnus and felt all that skin against skin. Their scents mingled together into a soothing mixture that was quickly becoming Alec’s favorite thing. He nuzzled in to help mix them more.

Humming lowly, Magnus drew his arms around Alec, one hand curled at his hip and the other up by his head. “There we are. I have you, my sweet one. We’re both here and we’re safe. You can let down your guard and rest.”

That was far easier to do than Alec had suspected it would be. He’d thought maybe he would be on edge for a while. Or that the emotions of the day might catch up with him once he was out of the public eye. Instead, wrapped up in their scent like this, with Magnus under him and his hands on him, and their magics mingling together in their bond, Alec felt the tension of the past twenty-four hours begin to seep away.

He let the warmth of his mate encompass him with the easy kind of heat that made him feel at home. No matter where they were.

I love you, Alec sent to him, his mind voice rumbling with the same growling-purr that was vibrating his chest.

The answering As I love you only made that purr stronger.

Alec felt a ripple across his back followed by a release of something that had been almost pain. His mind was too hazy to think about what it was, though he did try to focus a little when he felt Magnus gasp. Then Magnus was scratching at his head and humming again, a soft “hush, petal” followed by a wordless melody that had Alec slumping further into him.

The last thing he felt before he gave in to sleep was the comforting touch of Magnus’ magic brushing over their bond in a soothing stroke that matched the hand running lazily up and down his hip.

Chapter Text

There were so many times since Magnus had first met Alec that he’d found himself grateful. A thousand little moments, endless possibilities, choices both big and small – all those things that had led the two of them together, and yet they could have just as easily led them apart.

Magnus didn’t know whether to thank magic, fate, or Alec’s precious angel. Maybe all of them. Whatever it was that had led the two of them to this moment here – propped up slightly by pillows, lying in bed with the firm body of his nephilim dragon laying on top of him, and with the beautiful glory of his wings stretched out on either side of them.

Though Magnus had napped a bit after they’d come in here, he was doing better than Alec on sleep, and so he woke up first. Not that he was complaining. It meant that he could lie here and look over his partner – his mate, as Alec had described him.

(The term sent a thrill through Magnus that he didn’t feel the need to look at)

Magnus loved these kinds of quiet moments where he could lay and freely marvel at the man who had become such an important part of his life.

Alec had already been stunningly beautiful. A fact which Magnus knew the other man didn’t believe. But now?

Magic, he was gorgeous.

The wings that stretched out to the sides were perfectly sized for this body. They looked the same as they did in their larger size when Alec fully transformed. The dark blue of the arms and bones of the wings somehow melding perfectly with the blue bleeding lighter and lighter down the membranes between until they were white at the bottom. The color did the same at the base of the wings, shifting into lighter colored scales that spread out over Alec’s back and down the line of his spine to his tailbone, a few blending in toward the top of his backside in a faint pattern Magnus wanted to trace through with fingers and tongue.

Alec’s partial transformation wasn’t just his wings. As Magnus lay there and looked at him, he caught sight of scales that showed through in other places, too. Some sat along Alec’s hairline and even underneath his hair. Almost like a helmet that should’ve made having hair there impossible. More still ran over his brow, the backs of his hands, and Magnus could even feel some on his chest.

His body temperature had gone down as well. By quite a bit. If it weren’t for Magnus’ own natural heat keeping him warm, there was a good chance he’d be shivering. We’re going to have to figure something out for wintertime, Magnus thought absently to himself. Otherwise he was going to freeze come winter with his own iceberg in bed with him.

It surprised him to feel a sleepy rumble echo up through their bond. Not just winter. You run hotter in summer. It’s like sleeping next to a roaring fire in hundred-degree weather. You’re wonderfully warm right now, but in summer I get the feeling that might change a little.

The surprise of finding out Alec was awake lasted only a second. Then Magnus focused on what he was saying, and he felt his lips twitch a little. Alec’s mind voice sounded disgruntled by that, and yet whatever heat Magnus put off in summer had never stopped Alec from sleeping half on top of him. I never heard you complaining.

Alec hummed but didn’t try to deny it. He just nuzzled in against Magnus’ chest and let out a happy rumble.

They’d come a long way from the shy boy that Alec had once been. While he still had his moments, times where he was unsure – of Magnus, of himself, of how Magnus was going to react compared to how others in his life did – there was also a confidence in him that made Magnus so happy to see. Especially here in the bedroom. Alec no longer acted like he couldn’t reach out for Magnus. He didn’t try to stay on his side of the bed, didn’t hide after every nightmare, didn’t curl in on himself in a bout of shyness.

Well, not unless they were trying something new. Or if he was having a particularly bad-brain-day, in which case him shying away was a sign to start watching out.

Magnus stroked his fingers gently over the scales at Alec’s hairline and wondered if they were going to have to deal with a bit of backsliding in terms of shyness, thanks to his unique new looks. He wasn’t entirely sure Alec had noticed it yet. Considering Alec’s continued disbelief that he was anything resembling sexy, it was unlikely he was going to believe Magnus that this only made him more attractive.

Not to mention the chance of some part deep inside of Alec that might whisper some of the nastier Clave teachings about being different or marked.

There was no doubt in Magnus’ mind that his Alexander wasn’t prejudiced. He proved that repeatedly in his easy acceptance of Downworlders and the marks of the warlocks he got to see. He’d shown it in his love for Magnus’ mark; the awe in his eyes each and every time he got to look at Magnus’ true eyes, like they were something beautiful. Something special.

However, Alec had been raised in the nephilim society by people who looked down on warlock marks. There was a heavy stigma on them. Evidenced by the way most nephilim called them ‘demonic marks’ or ‘demon marks’ instead of the traditional ‘warlock mark.’

Part of Magnus worried that, tolerant though Alec was to others, he might once again prove to be less tolerant toward himself in this just as he was in almost everything else.

In his worry he’d forgotten for a moment that Alec currently carried an all-access pass to his brain that he hadn’t had before. Which meant his worries were something that Alec not only picked up on but caught glimpses of.

Alec didn’t comment on it, not openly. But he started to shift himself a little in testing flexes of his body and his wings. Then, as if to prove just how much it didn’t bother him, he curled his wings in so that he could actually brush part of one against Magnus’ arm.

“Logically, my brain says I should be bothered by this,” Alec said suddenly, his voice low in the quiet of the room. As if raising it above a whisper would somehow change the mood that lay over them. The peace they were both feeling. “But all of it just feels… right. The instincts, the emotions, those might take me a bit. I don’t remember ever feeling this much before. But my body?” He paused and shrugged one shoulder and one wing. “All of it just feels like me.”

The sincerity in that was unmistakable. Hearing it, feeling it, Magnus closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh of relief. “I’m so very glad, sayang.” That kind of internal struggle wasn’t something he would ever want anyone to have to do through. They’d still have to keep watch – there was the potential for some serious body dysphoria down the road, and that was something Magnus wouldn’t wish on anyone.

A cool nose nuzzled up toward his neck. “You don’t mind how I look, right?”

“I adore how you look,” Magnus answered immediately.

He felt it as Alec smiled. “Then I’m fine. Your opinion is the only one that matters, aside from mine. And my family. But Iz and Jace would love me even if I was a tentacle monster.” Those words had the air of something that had been said before, and a faint hue in the bond that suggested there was a story there, one that made Alec happy to think about. Then the bond spiked with his amusement. “Anyone else can just deal with it.”

The simplicity of the statement floor him. Magic, but he loved this man – this dragon.

Maybe that kind of mindset wouldn’t last. There was no telling. Maybe one day something would happen and Alec would look at himself, see these differences, and feel anger. Or maybe he’d wake up one day and just find himself thrown by the sight of scales for no real reason. There was no predicting this sort of thing. But here, now, Alec was okay with it, and Magnus knew well enough to take those moments as they came and enjoy them.

Magnus curled his arms a little tighter around Alec and held him close to his chest. It was an interesting move, as he had to account for the wings that he wasn’t quite used to. But Magnus was more than willing to do it. He hadn’t lied; he adored how Alec looked in all his forms. He was gorgeous.

Silence fell over the room once more while the two just held on to one another for a last brief bit of peace. A moment of quiet before they had to step back out into the real world once more.

The world barely waited for them to wake up. They got a chance to indulge in breakfast together there in their bedroom – and wasn’t it strange to know that he could label a bedroom here in the Institute as theirs in his mind instead of just thinking of it as Alec’s? – but that was about all the peace the newly mated couple found. Life found them the instant they left their room, in the form of Benji and his tablet.

Benji proved once more that he was worthy of the trust and respect that Alec put in him. He didn’t even bat an eye when he saw Alec with some scales showing on his face. The wings were gone – too cumbersome for the halls of the Institute – but Alec had stared at himself in the mirror for a moment before deciding to leave the scales that shone through.

It seemed the time during their rest had been a busy one. Formal letters had been sent back and forth between the NYI, the Clave, and even with the various Downworld factions. “Everyone’s been formally notified of your taking New York as your territory,” Benji explained to them on the way to Alec’s office. “By now it’ll have been sent to other Institutes as well, along with all the Clave protocols for what this means if they choose to interact with you, your Institute, or attempt to come to your city.”

“I should do the same with various people I know,” Magnus said, humming a little to himself afterward. He’d already thought of that while he’d laid with Alec in their bed. There were a few warlocks he could trust to spread the word for him, a few he’d reach out to personally, and the Council needed to be notified of the changes. There was every chance they were going to want to send an envoy of their own to come out here and formally meet Alec and establish proper communications between them. A liaison, of sorts.

Why do I need any liaison other than you? Alec asked curiously.

Warmth filled Magnus, and he tipped himself just enough to brush their shoulders together while they walked. I believe they’re going to find me a bit biased, petal.

He felt Alec’s amusement, but the conversation was cut short when Benji spoke again, drawing both their attention. “I can have a copy of our information packet sent off to you if you’d wish, sir,” he said to Magnus. “It might be a good idea anyway, even if you don’t want to use it to send out to others.”

Magnus nodded his head in agreement. “I can look it over and see what information the Clave has, and what they might need to correct.” Which, he had a feeling, might be a lot. Then again, he couldn’t discount that they might know more about dragons officially than warlocks did.

While warlocks and dragons had their own history together, they’d always been just the slightest bit more hesitant in their interactions. Not because of any open hatred between one another. But there had been some warlocks who’d been known to harvest dragon scales and other such things for potions, or who’d been hired in days of old to help hunt them down – and there’d been some dragons who’d helped build that fearsome dragon name in mundane culture by harming mundanes or killing warlocks who came into their territory and set up shop without permission back before any sort of laws had been hammered out for a safe coexistence.

Introducing the Council to the idea that there was not only a dragon born again but one who had laid claim to an entire city was something that was going to cause one hell of a stir. Magnus could feel the headache building already.

When they reached the Head’s Hall where the offices – their offices – were at, Benji stopped them outside of Alec’s door. He didn’t reach out for the door like he usually would’ve, and the way he turned made it clear he had something to say. Both Alec and Magnus stopped to look at him.

“I wasn’t sure what you two had planned, but I imagine you’ve both got your own calls and meetings that need handled,” Benji said, folding both hands over his tablet and balancing the end against his stomach. He dipped his head at Alec a little and then turned his focus to Magnus. “With that in mind, and with everything currently going on, I took the liberty of calling in a temporary secretary for you, sir.”

A secretary? Magnus’ eyebrows shot up a little. “You… brought me a secretary?”

Benji nodded immediately. “Of course. While I know you’re quite capable of handling things here, I thought it might help you to have someone to help out. There were actually a few candidates who wanted to work with you, but there was one that I think will suit you best.”

“Who’d you pick?” Alec asked, more curious than anything else. He didn’t seem bothered by the idea that Magnus now not only had an office here, but his own secretary. Nor did he seem to be acknowledging just how stunned Magnus was by it all.

“Claudia Rainlaw.”

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Magnus, though he couldn’t place why. But there was no hesitation in Alec before he started nodding. He clearly recognized the name – whether that was because it was someone he’d dealt with much, or because he knew the names of every single person under his command.

He turned to Magnus and reached out, one hand brushing over the small of Magnus’ back. “Claudia’s part of our Intelligence Division. She worked in the field until a few months ago, when she switched to working internally as an analyst. I know she’s missed working directly with people, and she’s been wanting to do something that has more of an impact.”

It was on the tip of Magnus’ tongue to point out that he wasn’t entirely sure he even needed a secretary. A lot of his work was going to be outside of the Institute, communicating with various individuals in the Downworld.

Alec clearly read some of the hesitation off of him. He smiled at Magnus and pull him in just a little closer. Give her a chance. I think you’ll be surprised by the things she’ll bring to the table.

How on earth was he supposed to argue against that? Despite his misgivings, Magnus gave a sigh and a nod. A kiss and a brief scent marking later – the latter something that Magnus wasn’t even sure Alec was entirely aware that he did – and Magnus was down at his office looking around at the space he’d marked as his yesterday and wondering how the hell these things happened to him.

He’d made this space his own under Alec’s suggestion yesterday because he’d been willing to admit that it was very likely no one else was going to use it, and because having the option to work close to him, to make a space for himself in Alec’s home and in his world, was something he couldn’t pass up. Plus, that dark little part of him that he could admit thrilled a little at taking a nephilim space and carving it out for a warlock.

But now it was more than that. This wasn’t just a little hideout for Magnus to come work in and stay close to Alec. It wasn’t just a corner of the Institute that was his to hide away in or for them to retreat to or anything like that. This was the co-Head’s office. His office. One that came with a secretary… who was likely less about helping him contact other Downworlders to spread the word about a dragon in New York, and more about helping out with any nephilim related duties that would come with being co-Head.

With no one there to see him, Magnus reached one hand up and rubbed at his face.

He was adult enough to admit that he wasn’t the type of person to just sit back and let someone else lead. Alec had made it clear to his Institute that Magnus was his co-Head, not his second-in-command, but someone equal to him in leadership. That meant people might actually come to him. And if they were going to do that, if they were going to view him that way, Magnus was going to damn well earn it. He wasn’t going to just sit back and make Alec do everything on his own the way everyone else had let him all these years. Magnus wasn’t going to be a figurehead; he wasn’t going to just be some face and name. He was going to do the job presented to him.

In which case, a secretary well-versed in nephilim politics and laws might actually come in handy.

As if thinking of her had summoned her, there was a short rap against his open door, and when Magnus turned, he found a female shadowhunter standing in the doorway.

The woman was dressed in typical shadowhunter leathers and a blue V-neck layered over it. She was also small, potentially shorter than Clary, and her slight build made her look almost like a young teenager – at most.

If Magnus hadn’t been able to see the runes on her light skin, he would’ve almost assumed she was one of the fae. Though, a look up at the faint point on her ears that peeked out through honey blond hair showed there was a reason for that. Her fae heritage seemed almost as strong as her nephilim heritage. It was what likely gave her the short height, as well as the slender and pixie-like build, though her training and the nephilim in her likely gave her the muscles he could still see.

But it was the scars along her arm and the very clear prosthetic hand that made everything click together in Magnus’ head. In an instant, he knew where he’d heard her name before.

Claudia Rainlaw, a shadowhunter that some of the fae would talk with, and who a few werewolves had actually liked. Someone who they’d share information with, and who they’d often called on for help. A woman who had gone to the house of a recently turned werewolf child and had ended up on the wrong end of the terrified child’s accidental transformation. Magnus remembered hearing about it. He remembered Catarina getting called to help, and her telling him afterward that the only thing that had saved the girl from a transformation of her own was her fae blood. That it’d come close to killing her, but they’d managed to save her. Even if they hadn’t managed to save part of her arm.

Maryse and Robert had been in charge at the time. No doubt they’d been the ones to pull her off the streets. Not because of her injury – no, that was one area where Magnus often actually found reason to praise shadowhunters, who never seemed to consider anyone too disabled to help, and often treated things like prosthetics, scars, and other injuries as just a natural part of things.

No, the two had likely pulled her because she was too sympathetic. Too kind. They likely saw her injury as some sort of justice for interfering in Downworlder affairs.

Claudia didn’t flinch at Magnus’ inspection of her. She stayed in place, hands folded in front of her, and kept still until his eyes were on hers again. Only when their gazes were locked did she dip her head at him and speak in a low, musical voice. “Mr. Bane, I’m Claudia Rainlaw. Benji said that you were expecting me, sir.”

The novelty of any shadowhunter willingly calling him sir, and not in a mocking tone, was something that still hadn’t quite worn off for Magnus yet. “Yes, of course, come in.” He gestured her forward with one hand and pulled out his best smile as he did. “And just Magnus is fine, please.”

“Then please, call me Claudia.” The woman smiled at him in a way that was warm and welcoming, with just a hint of something else behind it, a spark of something that, were Magnus a different person and not already head-over-heels in love with a ridiculous dragon, would’ve had him flirting outrageously with her just to see what it was.

His lips curved up just a little more. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Claudia.” Twisting himself around, Magnus took a moment to lean back against his desk – his desk, that was so strange to think! – and flash her a grin. “How’d you get stuck with babysitting duty?”

Claudia shut the door behind her when she came in. Her eyes held clear amusement in them, and her own smile grew in response to his. A good sign. If they were going to be working together, he wanted someone who had a sense of humor.

“I actually volunteered,” she said, her grin growing a little at the surprise he didn’t quite hide. “Sitting behind a desk compiling information all day is easy, but it’s not quite what I want to do. I miss talking to people.” She folded her hands in front of her again and stood just a little taller.

Then, with a bluntness that was surprising for a woman who’d almost essentially been a spy, she met his eyes and told him, “I know you’ve probably got no real use for me. At least not aside from keeping people away from you while you’re working, or dealing with any Clave bullshit that comes your way. But I have contacts of my own that might be of use to you, and I can send out fire messages and other messages on your behalf, if you let me.”

Claudia tilted her chin up in a look that was half pride, half determination.

“I can help you, sir,” she insisted firmly. “You’re smart – the whole of the Shadow World knows that. The Downworld looks to you as a leader, and the Clave has always been afraid of making you their enemy. You have plenty of experience at not just being a leader, but in dealing with Shadowhunters and the Clave both. Perhaps even dealing with dragons, too. But not even you know everything. I’ve spent a lifetime studying the Clave and all its laws, including the ancient ones. Ones that no one even thinks about anymore yet are still there.”

Abruptly, that serious look faded, and a small smile warmed her face. “I was frequently Alec’s study partner. He’s only a couple years behind me.”

The thought of that was enough to tease a smile out of Magnus. He could just picture a younger Alec, curled up in a library, studiously working his way through a stack of books, with a younger version of Claudia across from him. The fact that Alec was studying with someone older than him – studying Clave law, no less, even at a young age – was no real surprise. Alec had told him he’d been bumped into classes above his age group.

“Alec’s earned my loyalty, a thousand times over,” Claudia said, interrupting Magnus’ thoughts. “For that alone, you’d have my loyalty, sir. Far more than almost anyone else in this building.”

If it were any other person, and Alec any other man, part of Magnus might’ve thought that this choice in secretary, one that he didn’t even technically need, was a spy against him. Someone set to watch him and make sure he didn’t screw up.

But, while Alec was definitely devious enough for something like that, he wouldn’t do something like that to Magnus.

“I don’t know how much work I’ll actually have for you,” Magnus told her honestly.

Claudia didn’t even miss a beat. “I can continue some of my other work in the outer office when you don’t have need of me.”

“What I do have for you is likely going to involve messages, dictations, and keeping people from my door if I’m busy.”

She straightened up a little more and gave him a sharp nod. “Of course, sir.”

Magnus didn’t bother trying to ask her again if she was sure. She’d come in here sure of what she wanted to do, and nothing he’d said so far had changed her mind. If anything, she seemed even more determined. Whether that was because she really wanted this job, or she had some aspirations to be a secretary, or maybe she just wanted to help out Alec – it was hit or miss. But whatever it was, she was here and ready to work, and Alec trusted her just as much as it was apparent she trusted him. That would have to be enough for now.

Pushing away from the desk, Magnus held a hand out her way, and she immediately stepped forward to take it.

“I look forward to working with you, then, Claudia,” he said, smiling at her. “The job might get a bit weird, and I currently have no idea what I’m doing, and no clue what the pay is for you, but I promise to at least make it interesting now and again.”

Claudia grinned widely at him as she gave a surprisingly firm handshake. “I don’t doubt that, sir.” Then she drew her hand back, and that grin turned impish again in a way that told him she would make things interesting, too. “And for the record, we don’t get paid by job title around here, but by our rank. Something you should probably know, seeing as how Benji and I already submitted the paperwork to the Clave to make sure that you start receiving the pay appropriate to the honorary rank you were awarded when you became co-Head.”

Magnus froze, his hand drawn halfway back, and his mouth dropped open. “I – what?”

To her credit, Claudia didn’t laugh. Though the sparkle in her eye made it damn clear she wanted to. Instead, she calmly folded her hands in front of herself and began to explain to Magnus all the details of what it meant to become Alec’s mate and co-Head – including his new rank in the hierarchy of the Institute.

The more she spoke, the more Magnus found himself grateful that he’d agreed to take her on. Things had just gotten a whole hell of a lot more complicated.