Chapter Text
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
― Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind: And Other Aphorisms
To say Alec Lightwood was mad was an understatement. He was beyond mad.
First, his parabatai and adopted brother Jace just had to get his girlfriend back, so he suggested performing a time travel spell. Because time travel was the obvious conclusion in that situation of course. Then, Jace refused to stop when everyone was yelling at him to stop, resulting in not Jace time traveling, but Alec. Which also meant that Magnus time traveled because the warlock ran after Alec. After all that, Alec and Magnus muddled through the next week in the past without much of a concrete plan.
Alec could live with that. He didn’t have to like it, but he could live with it. What he couldn’t live with was sitting idly by while his sister and innocent Downworlders suffered at the hands of Victor Aldertree. He didn’t even want to think about who else Alec didn’t know about who might have gotten hurt by the man.
Now, Alec stared at his mother who was getting ready to introduce Aldertree. He started when he felt someone lace their fingers with his. Alec glanced over to see Magnus out of the corner of his eyes. Magnus didn’t give away any indication that he had done anything, but Alec appreciated the silent show of support.
“We are at war,” Maryse announced to the Institute. “Valentine has the Mortal Cup, with which he is, no doubt, raising a new army.”
“Looks like the queen’s taking back her kingdom,” Izzy muttered as Lydia moved through the crowd of Shadowhunters to stand with the Lightwoods, Clary, and Magnus.
“As a result, the Clave has declared a state of emergency at the Institute,” Maryse continues. “Their first priority is to replace the current leadership—” she looked directly at Lydia “—who they have deemed wholly ineffectual.”
Lydia shot Maryse a smile that read I’m wondering why it took you this long to find someone to replace me.
“It is an honor,” Maryse said, “to introduce the newly appointed head of the New York Institute, Clave representative, Victor Aldertree.” She gestured for him to step forward.
“This must be why Dad went back to Idris,” Izzy remarked to Alec.
“Probably one of the reasons,” Alec huffed, thinking about the affair.
Izzy raised her eyebrows, but didn’t question anything.
“Maryse went behind my back,” Lydia said, sounding as if she expected it. Which she probably had expected it.
“My fellow Shadowhunters,” Aldertree began. “It's an honor to be here with you all. We have to find the Mortal Cup and Valentine. The answer to their location may very well lie in this room. So, I want to speak with everyone who was involved with the Cup.” He paused. “One last thing. Effective immediately, the Institute is on lockdown. But it’s only temporary. Let’s turn this institute around.”
Clary pursed her lips. “I guess I better call Luke. He was there when you guys found Hodge.”
“Just… be careful,” Alec warned. “I don’t know what Aldertree will do about—” he glanced at Lydia awkwardly. “The ring situation,” he finished.
Lydia held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” She walked off quickly.
“Don’t say I went into a rage to get a ring that can contact Valentine,” Jace muttered. “Got it. Unless, of course, Hodge already told him.”
“Hodge is with the Silent Brothers now,” Alec reminded him. “He didn’t mention the ring. There’s no way Aldertree knows about it now unless someone else told him."
“Do you know Aldertree?” Clary asked Alec.
Alec frowned. “No. Why?”
“You look like he kicked your puppy,” Clary said. “And now you want to take revenge on him for kicking your puppy.”
“I don’t have a puppy,” Alec said.
Clary rolled her eyes. “Apparently kicked puppies is a mundane thing.”
“Mundanes kick puppies?” Izzy said, looking affronted.
“It’s an expression,” Clary said. “A mundane expression apparently. It just means that someone did something to make you sad or angry.”
“Oh, so like if we said, You look like someone broke your stele, ” Izzy said. “Or, You look like someone stole your seraph blade. ”
Clary looked like she wanted to break Izzy’s stele or steal her seraph blade. “Yes. Exactly like that.”
Magnus stifled a laugh.
“So anyway,” Clary said, looking back at Alec. “You don’t know him?”
“No,” Alec said frustratedly. “Is that a problem?”
“Like I said about the puppies,” Clary said. “Or stele or whatever. If looks could kill, Alec, you would have glared Aldertree to death already.”
Alec relaxed his face. “Maybe I just don’t like that someone else is taking over the Institute. For the second time. It’s not like Lydia even did anything. She was attacked. What was she supposed to do? Fight the coma?”
“Excellent,” Aldertree’s voice said from behind them.
Alec spun around to see Aldertree standing there. “Can we help you?”
“Considering yourself, Jace Wayland, and Magnus Bane were involved in recovering Hodge Starkweather, I think you can,” Aldertree said. He glanced at Jace. “Do you prefer Wayland, or are you using your father’s or mother’s name now?”
Jace’s jaw clenched. “Excuse me?”
“Are you going by Morgenstern or Fairchild now?” Aldertree clarified.
“Neither,” Jace said stiffly. “I’m not either. Valentine is not my father, and Jocelyn is not my mother. Valentine is just the man who took me, raised me for ten years, then left me to mourn a man who wasn’t who he said he was.”
“He’s a Lightwood,” Izzy spoke up defensively. She raised her chin as if daring Aldertree to correct her.
Aldertree didn’t say anything against that. He merely passed a glance over the rest of the group. “In that case, I’ll need to speak with Alec Lightwood, Jace Lightwood , Magnus Bane, and Lucian Graymark. Lucian and his wolf pack were also involved, yes?”
“I’m calling him,” Clary said. “I’ll tell him you want to speak to him.” She took out her phone when it became clear that Aldertree was waiting for her to make the call.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Luke,” Clary said. She glanced at Aldertree. “There’s a new head of the Institute. He wants to talk to everyone who brought Hodge in. Alec, Jace, and Magnus are already here.”
“I’ll head there soon.”
“Kay,” Clary said. “See you soon, Luke.” She ended the call. “He’s on his way.”
“Excellent,” Aldertree said. “In that case, let’s begin with those of you who recovered the Cup. Clarissa Fairchild, you found the Cup, did you not?”
Clary glanced at Jace. “Jace and I did, yeah. Alec and Izzy were there briefly, but not when we found the Cup.” She pursed her lips. “It’s complicated.”
“Then I’ll speak to you first, shall I?” Aldertree said.
Clary forced a smile. “Of course.”
Clary sat down on the couch in Aldertree’s office. It was uncomfortable enough to put Clary on guard, like it was warning her about the man.
Aldertree picked up a camera from his desk. He gave Clary an apologetic smile. “Sorry about the camera. This is official business, so… I have to be official.” He turned the camera on and set it back down on the desk. “Now… Let’s talk about the Mortal Cup.”
“What do you want to know?” Clary asked.
“How did you find it?” Aldertree asked. “For eighteen years, Shadowhunters have searched for the Cup with no luck. Jocelyn hid it well. So, did she tell you where she hid it?”
Clary shook her head. “No. My mother… well, I don’t know. She could have, but I don’t remember it. She had Magnus Bane remove my memories of the Shadow World. I discovered how my mother hid the Cup by accident. I was able to transfer something into my sketchbook which was how I realized that my mother could have done the same for the Cup. She had. The Cup was hidden in the Ace of Cups from the tarot cards we had.” She paused. “Luke had brought everything from the house that Valentine and the Circle could use to find me to the police station. The tarot cards were there. Jace and I snuck in to get them while Izzy and Alec caused a distraction. After, we brought the card with the Cup to the Institute.”
“Was Alec’s trial the distraction?” Aldertree asked.
Clary’s heart skipped a beat and she tried not to let the worry show on her face. “No. That… that was later.”
“So the Cup was in your possession all along,” Aldertree summarized. “That is, until you gave it to Lydia Branwell the night before Hodge Starkweather took it. Why did you wait so long to hand it over?”
“The Cup was my only leverage to get my mom back, okay?” Clary said irritably. “I don’t expect you to understand because apparently Shadowhunters are supposed to be emotionless drones, but I was raised a mundane and they have a little something called caring about others. I’m not stupid, I’d never let Valentine get his hands on the Cup, but as long as the Clave had the Cup, I’d never be able to do anything to get my mom back.”
“So you did this for your mum,” Aldertree said. “That’s admirable.” He smiled. “Why don’t you tell me about your encounter with Valentine? That was right before you finally handed over the Cup, yes?”
“It was,” Clary said slowly. “But I don’t understand what all this has to do with finding Valentine and the Cup. This already happened and Valentine didn’t get the Cup then.”
“Quite frankly, I’m going to need an account of what happened that day,” Aldertree said. “It’s unfortunate, but it seems that the previous leadership didn’t take an account of the events.”
“Lydia was unconscious!” Clary protested.
“But not for the past few days,” Aldertree said. “Regardless, in her state of unconsciousness, the previous leadership would have been placed in charge meaning the acting head of the Institute would then be Alexander Lightwood. However, he also failed to gather all accounts. A gross misconduct if I do say so myself.” He raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps he just forgot?”
“I don’t know what goes on in Alec’s mind,” Clary said flatly. “I’m not a mind reader. Are you?”
Aldertree smiled. “Alright.” He clicked a pen. “Why don’t we talk about what happened when you met Valentine. From the beginning, if you will.”
Clary took a deep breath to cool her anger. “Fine.” She began to tell the story of how she and Jace found who they thought was Michael Wayland.
“I don’t know what Clary’s telling him, but I swear, he better not blame anything on her,” Jace muttered darkly, pacing the Ops Center while Izzy, Alec, and Magnus watched him.
“They won’t,” Alec said. “I’m the one who approved the unsanctioned missions, so that’s on me.”
“What if the Clave is pissed enough about losing the Cup?” Izzy spoke up. She bit her lip. “I mean, Clary didn’t hand it over right away. Now it’s lost again—to Valentine of all people—and Clary could have prevented that by giving it to them.”
“Yeah, well, I’m the one who told her to hide it in the safe,” Alec said.
Magnus frowned. “If you’re planning to throw yourself under the bus on this too, Alec, then you better think again.”
Alec gave him a look. “I’m not. Don’t worry. But we should all be prepared for the possible outcomes. Regardless of what they say, Clary and Jocelyn will likely be told to stay put here so someone can keep an eye on them. Valentine’s daughter and his former wife. They’re valuable assets, and honestly, Jace, so are you. Valentine wants the three of you. The Clave can use you to get to Valentine.”
Luke rushed into the Ops Center. “What’s going on? Clary was vague over the phone. Where is she?”
“Being questioned,” Izzy said tastelessly. “The new head, Victor Aldertree, wants to know about the Cup and Valentine. Anyone who had any involvement is under question now. So basically, all of us here.”
Luke sighed. “Of course. Anything I need to worry about?”
“Not you,” Clary’s voice said. Her eyes were big and worried. “Alec. He said he wanted to talk to you next. I… I don’t know if it’s bad, but he said something about how you didn’t get Jace and I’s story about what happened with Valentine. When Lydia was unconscious, you were acting head. Apparently that means you should have gotten an official story from us.”
Alec cursed under his breath. “Dammit.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. I can handle that. Anything else?”
“He knows I didn’t hand over the Cup right away, but not who helped me hide it,” Clary added. She bit her lip. “I won’t get in a lot of trouble for that, right? I told him I would never have let Valentine get his hands on it. I just… my mom…”
“No, you won’t,” Alec said. “All that stuff about three and a half Shadowhunters? I wasn’t joking. You legally aren’t a Shadowhunter. You weren’t raised like us, you don’t know our Law. By default, you can’t be held responsible. That falls on Jace, Izzy, and I. Well, mostly me, but Jace and Izzy helped. Depending on the situation… Magnus or Luke could also be held responsible.”
Clary looked a mixture of relief and horror. “But…”
“I won’t let anyone get punished,” Alec said. “Trust me. Just finish getting through the interviews. I know what I’m doing.” He let out a breath. “You said I’m next?”
“Good luck,” Jace offered.
Alec didn’t really pay much attention to Aldertree as he explained the necessity of the camera and recording the interview. His eyes scanned the room for the item he was searching for. He didn’t really expect it to be out on full display, but it was worth a shot. His search revealed nothing. That was fine. Magnus would hopefully do a search of his own during his interview that would yield better results.
“Tell me, Alec,” Aldertree said. “What exactly was your involvement with the Mortal Cup?”
“Never touched it,” Alec said truthfully. “Clary found it. She’s the one who gave it to Lydia. Hodge is the one who knocked Lydia unconscious and took the Cup from her. He gave it to Valentine.”
Aldertree nodded. “No, I know that much. But Miss Fairchild said that you and your sister caused a distraction so she and Jace could get the Cup. I just want to know the extent of your involvement in that recovery.”
“Jocelyn hid the Mortal Cup in a tarot card,” Alec said. “The deck it was in was in mundane police custody. Izzy and I evacuated the building so Jace and Clary could get the Cup. We were separated by demons. Jace and Izzy got back to the Institute before Clary and I did. You can read the official report.”
“I have,” Aldertree said, holding up a file. “Nowhere in there does it say the ‘special object’ you were retrieving was actually the Mortal Cup. Can you explain that?”
It wouldn’t look good if he denied knowing why Clary hadn’t handed it over, nor would it look good if he said he had knowingly hid it from the Clave.
Alec sighed. “Clary asked us to hold off on turning it over to the Clave,” he admitted. “She wanted to use it as leverage to get her mom back. I didn’t necessarily agree with that, but I made sure that if we were keeping it from the Clave for a while, it would be protected from Valentine.”
“Yet he now has the Cup,” Aldertree said.
“Well, that only happened after the Clave was due to receive the Cup,” Alec said coolly. “Once everyone knew we had found the Cup, Hodge was able to take it. Maybe it was safer out of Clave hands.”
Aldertree gave him an I think I’m better than you smile. “Enough about that. What can you tell me about the night you found Hodge Starkweather?”
“Jace fought him,” Alec said. “Hodge lost his hand during the fight. He told Jace that we were too late, that Valentine already had the Cup. I really don’t know what else you could hope to find out from us. There’s a report for that. It has all our statements. Jace, Magnus, Luke, and me.”
“Yes, Jace came back unconscious,” Aldertree said.
“He was knocked unconscious, yes,” Alec said. “But Magnus was able to restrain Hodge magically, and Luke personally escorted Hodge back to the Institute.”
Aldertree leaned back. “I see. And did you learn anything about where Valentine might be?”
“Hodge told us Valentine was on a boat,” Alec said. “But he was gone when we dispatched a team to the location. I think it’s safe to say that Valentine is still on a boat since we’ve been unable to track him so far.”
“Safe to say,” Aldertree agreed.
Alec stared at him. “Can I go now? Or do you have more questions?”
“Just one more,” Aldertree said. “As I understand it, you are currently in a relationship with the warlock Magnus Bane.”
“My parents haven’t managed to keep that quiet, have they?” Alec asked somewhat smugly.
Aldertree gave him the ghost of a smile. “I’m sure Idris has yet to hear about it. No doubt they are working tirelessly to make sure that takes as long as possible. Unfortunately for them, they cannot do anything about the local gossip which first alerted me to this.”
Alec crossed his arms. “I don’t really care if you disapprove of my relationship.”
“I don’t care who you choose to be with,” Aldertree said. “I just want to know what kind of an impact this has on Magnus Bane’s magical dealings with the Institute. As I’m sure you are aware, your sister’s relationship with the Seelie Meliorn called into question the secrecy of Clave secrets as well as an issue of whether or not we are being lenient towards him. It’s in our best interests to make sure you aren’t trying to get magical favors and in turn he isn’t getting leniency or state secrets.”
Alec’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You think— You think I’m what? Sleeping with Magnus to get free magic?” He glared at Aldertree. “First of all, yes, Magnus does things like healing me or opening portals for me for free because he’s my boyfriend. That does not extend to Clave missions or any other member of the Institute. You can feel free to look through the transaction records if you want proof. Second, what do you think I’m telling Magnus? That the Cup’s missing? He already knows and so does the rest of the Shadow World! I’m not stupid—which I feel like you’re insinuating here. I know what I can and cannot tell my boyfriend. Don’t ever accuse me of this again. Don’t ever accuse Isabelle of this either. And don’t you dare accuse Magnus when you interview him.” He stood up. “I’m done with this interview. If you have any questions that are actually related to finding the Mortal Cup, you can talk to me later.”
“Hey, you okay? I could feel your anger through our bond,” Jace said when Alec stormed into the Ops Center.
Alec turned a ferocious glare on Jace. He softened after a moment. “Fine. Just… I don’t like Aldertree. He…” Alec shook his head. “I just need a minute.”
“What did he say?” Clary asked. She looked worried. “Oh God, did I get you in trouble? Alec, I’m so sorry—”
“You didn’t do anything,” Alec snapped. “Just… Shadowhunters being Shadowhunters.” He blinked and looked around. “Where’s Magnus and Luke?”
“They got sent to wait for Aldertree in separate rooms,” Izzy said with barely concealed ire. “I mean, I get it. They don’t want us colluding stories, but if that was the case, why are Jace and I still here? Together.” She pursed her lips. “What did Aldertree say to get you all worked up? It had to be bad to put you like this.”
“To start? He mentioned your thing with Meliorn,” Alec said. “About how it ‘called into question the secrecy of Clave secrets as well as an issue of whether or not we are being lenient towards him.’ So that was great. Then he turned that around on Magnus and I. Again, great.”
“What the hell?” Clary demanded. “No, seriously. What the hell? That is not even remotely okay to insinuate.”
Jace scoffed and shook his head. “I’m going to kill him.”
“I’ll help,” Izzy grumbled.
“Don’t,” Alec started.
“No,” Izzy said, eyes flashing. “Clary’s right. That’s not okay, Alec. If Meliorn or Magnus were just a couple other Shadowhunters, Aldertree wouldn’t give a damn about our relationships.”
“I’m aware,” Alec said. “But what I was trying to say was that I already told him off. I told him not to say that about you ever again, nor to even try to accuse Magnus.” He rubbed his forehead. “I just… I’m going to take a walk. I need to clear my head.”
“We’re on lockdown, remember?” Izzy said.
Alec frowned. “Then I’m going to my room. I need a minute.” He turned on his heel and stalked out towards the hallway.
Clary watched him go, cheeks as red as her hair. “I cannot believe Aldertree said that.”
“I can’t believe Alec chewed him out for that,” Izzy said. “I mean, Alec gets upset about things like that, but he never says anything.”
“Our baby boy’s growing up,” Jace said with a grin that then slid from his face. “Or something else happened.” A dark tone entered his voice at the end.
Izzy caught his eyes. “Or that. I don’t know what it could be though. I mean, we’ve thought about every possibility, haven’t we? Jace, there’s nothing? You can’t feel anything strange?”
Jace shook his head. “No.” He hesitated. “Look. I already told Clary that I trust Alec. And if something really was wrong, I would know. I just… I know there’s something going on. Maybe it’s not bad, but it is something and whatever it is, Alec feels like he needs to hide it from us. He should know that he could at least tell me. Unless it threatened the safety of, like, the entire world, I would take the secret to my grave. I’m honor bound to that, not that that would be the reason I wouldn’t tell.”
“Yeah, I mean, I can see him not telling Clary, but the two of us?” Izzy said, shaking her head. “I know we don’t talk about personal stuff, but I’ve always made sure Alec knew he could tell me anything.”
“Oh my God,” Clary said, eye wide. “You said it as a joke, but what if you’re right?”
“Right about what?” Jace frowned.
Clary gestured wildly. “About whatever it is he’s hiding threatening the safety of the world.”
“Alec wouldn’t put anyone in danger if he could help it,” Jace dismissed. “I mean, have you met him? He’s the most Law abiding person ever.”
“Except for the thing with Meliorn,” Clary said. “And then with Camille.”
“Camille wasn’t really against the Law,” Izzy pointed out. “Simon withdrew his claim. That’s completely legal. Arresting her further beyond that would be against the Law.”
Clary frowned. “Okay. So maybe whatever it is doesn’t threaten the safety of the world. But maybe it would if people found out.” Her eyes widened. “Could Alec be in trouble with, like, the mafia? That’s a group of mundane hit men, I guess. Do Shadowhunters have an equivalent?”
“The Circle?” Jace asked dubiously. “I doubt it.”
“It’s a good idea though,” Izzy said. “If telling us could get us involved in something that could potentially hurt us, Alec would be sealed tighter than an airlock. He’d never say a word to us about it.”
“What could be so bad then?” Clary asked. “What could Alec and Magnus possibly be hiding that could… destroy the world or something?”
Neither Jace nor Izzy offered any ideas.
Magnus didn’t bother with any pleasantries when he was let into Aldertree’s office. He was a man on a mission at the moment. The instant he stepped into the office, he reached out with his magic to feel for any traces of the destructive yin fen the Clave representative had given to Isabelle Lightwood. Not to his surprise, he could sense a tin of it locked securely in a box resting innocently on the mantle of the fireplace. His jaw clenched.
“Warlock Bane,” Aldertree greeted.
Magnus schooled his expression into one of cheerful aloofness. “Aldertree.” He perched himself on the arm of the couch. “What do you want to know from me?”
“It’s my understanding that you were present for the majority of the fight between Hodge Starkweather and Jace Wayland—” Aldertree paused. “Sorry, Lightwood. My question is, why not step in?”
Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? You are aware that the fight resulted in a lost hand, yes? If I tried to interfere using magic, I could have hurt Jace. He could have lost more than the hand Hodge lost. I prevented Hodge from bleeding out, and I restrained him magically.”
“Yes,” Aldertree agreed. “Free of charge. Unless, of course you’re submitting a bill now?”
“I was bored,” Magnus shrugged carelessly. “Is that all?”
“Did you hear anything Starkweather might have said about Valentine or his plans during the fight?”
“Valentine has the Cup,” Magnus said. “Hodge felt like a caged animal. Valentine offered him a way out of his cage. That’s why he did it.”
Aldertree looked vaguely disappointed. “I see. Very well. That will be all. You may go.”
Magnus was ninety percent sure Alec had been a bad influence on him in the previous timeline. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, since Alec had begun dating him, Alec had had a penchant towards doing things that sent a subtle middle finger to the Clave. So Magnus definitely blamed Alec for enabling that in him in return.
He took his time standing up, stretching each and every muscle in his legs, arms, and back. By the time Magnus moved on to rolling his neck, Aldertree looked fairly displeased. His lips were pinched and his eyebrows furrowed in borderline polite anger.
“Thank you,” Magnus finally said. “For allowing me to be on my way. I do hope the rest of your interviews go well. I suppose I’ll be seeing you around since you’re the new Clave appointed Head of the Institute.”
It probably wouldn’t escape Aldertree’s notice that Magnus specified he was only the Clave appointed Head. It would, however, escape his notice that to Magnus, the New York Institute had belonged to Isabelle Lightwood for a few months, and before that, Alec Lightwood for roughly a year. Aldertree would likely assume Magnus was speaking about Lydia or—more unlikely given their history—Maryse and Robert.
Aldertree gave him a tight smile. “Yes, I suppose you will.”
Magnus flashed a forced smile. “Lovely.” He elected not to waste anymore time leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He let out a tired breath.
“Rough interview?” someone asked.
Magnus turned his head to see Andrew Underhill standing a few doors down. He shrugged and made his way towards the Shadowhunter casually before remembering they didn’t have quite the level of familiarity Magnus was used to. He paused, leaving a door’s width between them.
“Not really,” Magnus admitted. “Just… unnecessary. Nothing I could offer that anyone didn’t already know. Magnus Bane,” he added, introducing himself to the Shadowhunter who, for all intents and purposes, he did not officially know yet. “High Warlock of Brooklyn.” He actually quite liked being able to say he was the High Warlock of Brooklyn again.
“I know,” Underhill said. “I think everyone does now.”
“Alec Lightwood’s warlock boyfriend,” Magnus said ruefully. “Emphasis on the boy. And warlock,” he added after a moment of consideration.
Underhill shook his head. “Not everyone feels that way. I don’t. I think it’s, well, brave. Andrew Underhill. Uh, Shadowhunter.”
“Nice to meet you, Underhill,” Magnus said genuinely. “But if you’ll excuse me, I do need to be finding— Alec!”
Alec looked vaguely startled to see Magnus standing with Underhill in the middle of the hallway. He looked back and forth between them for a moment, looking a little lost.
“Alexander, I was just looking for you,” Magnus said, ignoring the awkward silence. “I’ve just finished my interview. I wanted to see you before I head home.”
The corners of Alec’s lips twitched. “Steak and vodka?”
Magnus flashed back to the much less pleasant conversation they had had this time last timeline following the interviews Aldertree conducted. That had been an exhausting interview, unlike this one. This one, however, had the unfortunate luck to come directly after dealing with Camille for over two hours which was two hours too many in Magnus’s opinion.
“You’re welcome to join me if the new Head lets you leave,” Magnus said.
Alec frowned. “Hopefully soon. It’s just Luke left to be interviewed now. Hi, Andrew.”
Underhill looked startled to hear Alec say his name. “Hi.” He cleared his throat. “Um, good luck getting that permission to leave.”
“Thanks,” Alec said. “See you around.”
Underhill nodded and continued down the hallway.
Magnus stared after him. “I just remembered. Now I have to be the one responsible for setting him up with Lorenzo. Which means I have to talk to Lorenzo. On purpose.”
Alec snorted. “Poor you.”
“Poor me is right,” Magnus agreed. He sighed. “Well, if you say it’s just Luke we’re waiting on… I suppose I can wait to leave until you’re free to go.”
“Or you could go see Lorenzo,” Alec suggested slyly.
Magnus sniffed. “Unfortunately, Alexander, the Head of the Institute has issued a lock down that I simply can’t override. Not even to go visit my dear friend Lorenzo. I’ll have to remain here.”
“Speaking of people we need to do something about,” Alec said, pulling Magnus further down the hall, away from Aldertree’s office. “Let’s step into my room. I don’t want to be overheard.”
Once Alec shut the door to his room behind them, he turned around to face Magnus with an anxious look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Magnus frowned.
“Madzie,” Alec said. “And Iris. I mean, somehow we have to get her away from Iris and to Cat, right? I mean, without Madzie having to go through all that stuff with Valentine. I just don’t know how to do that. The only reason I met Iris or Madzie in the first place was because of… It was when Clary wanted to bring her mom back. But we’re going to prevent that this time, so… so I won’t meet them and that means it’s going to be hard to reasonably try to free Madzie from her and I feel sick just leaving it alone, you know?”
Magnus silenced him with a kiss. “I love you. And your oversized heart. We’ll figure something out, of course. Quite frankly, I’m a little miffed I didn’t think about it sooner.”
Alec looked relieved. “I love you too. And I thought she was still with Cat until today, so don’t beat yourself up.”
“I’ll think of something,” Magnus said. “As High Warlock, it wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for me to visit the warlocks in my area. Not to mention from century to century, we warlocks like to drop in. Technically, I haven’t seen Iris since we ran into each other at the ruins of la Bastille. It’s been a century or two.” He looked at Alec. “I could introduce her to my Shadowhunter boyfriend.”
“Like that wouldn’t freak her out,” Alec snorted. “She’d pack up and leave as soon as we were gone.”
Magnus frowned. “Clearly this will take some planning.”
“Madzie deserves a carefully executed plan,” Alec said.
“Only the best for Sweetpea,” Magnus agreed. He reached out for Alec’s arm. “The yin fen. It’s in Aldertree’s office. I thought you’d want to know.”
Alec’s jaw clenched. “I do want to know. Thank you.” He sighed. “I’m going to make sure he never gets that stuff anywhere near Isabelle or anyone else.”
“Agreed,” Magnus said. “I could send a message to Brother Zachariah, if you wanted. I’m sure he wouldn't leave Aldertree unscathed when he learns about the yin fen. ”
“For now, I want to keep an eye on him,” Alec said. “The longer Aldertree stays with us, the more time he spends away from Project Heavenly Fire. I was thinking about nudging Aline towards that so she can meet Helen and shut it down, but we’re going to need some vials in case we need to recreate Glorious again.”
“Good thinking,” Magnus said. He hesitated. “Alexander? I think perhaps we should consider just shutting down Project Heavenly Fire. Then bring it up with the Downworld Cabinet. I don’t think we should get to decide to completely take the option off the table. The Downworld should get to decide their fate.”
“Raphael wanted it,” Alec nodded. “If he still does, he should be able to get it. We’ll have to discuss the logistics at the meeting. Where to store it, how to distribute it, all that. I suppose we ought to bring in more than just the leaders for that,” he mused. Then he shrugged. “I think I’d like three representatives each at least.” He glanced at Magnus. “You don’t want it, do you? I mean, that’s not why you’re asking, right? If you did, that’s your choice and I’ll support you, but… I didn’t think you would.”
“I have no desire to take the Heavenly Fire cure,” Magnus said. “What I do have is faith in you that you will bring us to a desirable outcome. But until then, I believe Luke should be finished with his interview, and I want to get out of here.” He frowned at Alec. “And you need sleep.”
“That’s what stamina and endurance runes are for,” Alec yawned.
Magnus raised an eyebrow. “To force yourself to stay awake? Alexander, I can think of many ways to use those runes. None of which are forcefully staying awake. So we will go back to my loft, have steak and vodka, and take a nap. You will sleep even if I have to hold your eyes shut with magic.”
“Can you do that?” Alec asked dubiously.
“Should I try?” Magnus asked, to which Alec sighed, shaking his head. Magnus beamed. “Great.”