Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 8

*The Next Day*

JACE'S POV

Ben still hasn't woken up, but that's not really surprising considering everything he has been through. I honestly have hardly left his side for a minute since we got here. Magnus had been working on Ben's injuries but had just gotten a phone call so he walked out of the room to take it. Suddenly, Magnus came back in again.
"Jace, I need to hide you." He said out of the blue.
"Why?" I asked curiously, not quite understanding what was going on.
"Alexander called. He said that Maryse, Robert, and Isabelle are coming to visit Ben. Only Isabelle knows about you so I need to hide you whilst they are here." Magnus explained. "Alexander is joining them as well. All of them wanted to see Ben." He added. I nodded at this.
"This is going to sound childish, but you should hide in my wardrobe. No one would ever think of looking for you there. Plus, there is plenty of space as it is a walk-in wardrobe." He stated. I was sceptical, but I agreed none the less. Magnus then led me to his bedroom and showed me where his wardrobe was. Just as he did so, I there was a loud knock on the front door.
"Magnus, it's us." I heard Alec's voice call out. I smiled at his voice. Magnus shoved me in his wardrobe. "Don't make a sound." He said lowly, before closing the door behind him and locking it so that it could only be opened from the inside. "Coming!" He called, before I heard his footsteps fade away.

ISABELLE'S POV

I was anxious to see Ben. I've missed him so much. Don't get me wrong, I love Alec, Max, and Jace with all my heart, but it just feels incomplete without Ben. The four of us – Mum, Dad (who had returned from Idris to see Ben), Alec, and I were at Magnus' apartment waiting for him to answer the door. We heard the door unlock and open, only to reveal Magnus.
"Ah, Alexander informed me that you were all coming." Magnus said, before letting us all come inside. Once he closed the front door behind us, he began leading us somewhere. "Ben is in the guest room." Magnus explained, knowing that that was the question on everyone's lips. "He is currently unconscious, and hasn't awoken since Alexander brought him to me. He is in a very fragile state at the moment, and he desperately requires rest." He added. Alec and I knew that Jace was here somewhere, but we weren't going to say anything in front of our parents.
"Thank you for taking care of our son Magnus." Dad said gratefully. Magnus just nodded before stopping outside a closed door. He clicked his fingers and the doorknob turned, the door slowly opening. There, on the bed before me, I saw my older brother. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. I walked slowly over to him to inspect his state. He didn't have a shirt on so all his runes, injuries, and bandages could be seen as clear as day. There were cuts, bruises, and scars (new and faded) all over him. He was very pale, which only accentuated his injuries. The blanket that he had only came up to his hips, as it seemed like Magnus was working on his injuries when we got there. My only consolation was that he was breathing, even though it was slightly uneven. However, his eyes were closed, and showed no signs of opening anytime soon. I sat down next to him and took his hand gently. I looked back at Mum, and Dad. Even though our Mum is more of a commander than a mother most times, she looked broken at her son's current state. She walked over to him and sat down on the chair opposite me. She reached up and brushed Ben's hair out of his eyes. She couldn't look at his torso, at his injuries. I could tell she hated seeing Ben like this. Dad was standing at the door looking at the entire scene with sad eyes. I only noticed that Alec was standing next to me when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

We all knew that he had been tortured, but we weren't sure to what extent.
"How bad?" I asked Magnus
"From his injuries, it seemed like he was tortured multiple times, quite frequently too, but in between 'sessions' he was healed." Magnus hypothesised. "They did a lazy job at it though. I think it was just to make sure that he didn't die, not to heal him fully." He added. I gasped in horror again, my hand still covering my mouth, and looked back down at Ben. I then lowered it and leaned closer to Ben.
"Please wake up big brother. We need you." I said softly, a tear trickling down my face. A heartbreaking thought then came to mind...how are we gonna tell Max?

ROBERT'S POV

After over a month of being missing, seeing my son like this, especially knowing what happened to him, was horrible.
"We should tell Aldertree about this." Maryse suggested when she found her voice again. Everyone, myself included, looked at her in shock.
"Surprising as this may be, I agree with Maryse." Magnus piped up. "You are welcome to come and visit him anytime you wish, just get Alexander to call me first please." He requested. That sounds fair. We are in his home after all. He may be a Downworlder, but I am honestly so thankful to Magnus for helping Ben. "You must be careful about how you approach this though." Magnus added. "I doubt Aldertree, a member of the Clave, will be pleased with you interacting with a Downworlder. He will probably even request that you move Ben to the Institute. However, in his current state, Ben should not be moved anywhere lest his condition worsens, and I am unwilling for that to happen. So, until he is stable, or wakes up, he stays here so I can monitor him. Deal?" Magnus asked seriously. I didn't even think before replying.
"Deal." I replied immediately. "Thank you for taking care of Ben." I agreed. I only cared about the wellbeing of my son at the moment, and if Magnus could heal him, I was willing to let him. I looked over at Alec and Isabelle, who were smiling at this. Maryse looked slightly displeased, as I could tell she wanted to be closer to her son, but she was accepting of the idea if it meant her son would be safe.

*Later – Maryse, Robert, & Isabelle leaving*

ALEC'S POV

My parents and sister decided to leave but I told them I was going to stay a bit longer, saying I wanted some alone time with Ben. That was half-true, but I also was longing to see Jace. I walked back into Ben's room as Magnus showed them out. As soon as Magnus told me they were gone, I jumped up to ask where Jace was.
"He's in my walk-in wardrobe. It's locked from the outside but you can open it from the inside. Just tell him it's you and I'm sure he'll open the door." Magnus told me. I nodded at this, with a smile on my face.
"Thank you for this Magnus, for everything." I said, before pecking him on the lips. I walked towards his bedroom, really excited to see my parabatai once more. I knocked on Magnus' wardrobe door.
"Jace, it's me, Alec." I stated. A second after I said that, the door flung open to reveal my parabatai. As fast as physically possible, we latched on to each other, hugging each other like there was no tomorrow.
"I missed you." He said quietly.
"I missed you too." I replied in the same tone.