Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 22

ALEC'S POV

Whilst Clary was off with Simon, Jace and I decided to check up on our siblings. We entered the infirmary to see Izzy awake and watching over Ben, who was unconscious.  I had called Magnus and told him what was going on, and he said that he would be over as soon as he could; he was just in the middle of doing something important at the current moment.  I think he said he was helping Simon and Raphael to capture Camille. Regardless, he was busy.

"How is he?" Jace asked.

"He's stable, but still unconscious. The medics said that the iratzes aren't healing him that well." Izzy stated, not taking her eyes off Ben.

"How are you?" I asked.

"My shoulder still hurts, but I'll get it checked out fully when a medic comes back." Izzy said, her eyes tired as she looked up at Jace and I.

"It's ok Iz. No one blames you. We certainly don't." Jace said, putting a hand on her good shoulder.

"That may be the case, but that doesn't stop me from blaming myself." She said sadly. Jace and I looked at each other sadly before looking back at our sister.

"You need rest, we'll watch over Ben, don't worry." I said in one of my older-brother-comforting voices. Izzy nodded and lay down on her assigned bed, closing her eyes and allowing herself to drift off into a much-needed sleep. Jace and I then looked at each other in concern.

"They'll be ok right?" I asked my parabatai, hoping I was right.

"I'm sure they will. They're tough, they can both get through this." Jace replied in an attempt to convince me.

"It's just, with everything that has happened with Ben lately, this is the last thing that any of us need." I then continued, not really taking into account what Jace had just said. Since I was the eldest out of the five of us, I had always taken it upon myself as the protector of my siblings. I hated seeing any of my siblings hurt and it hurt me when they were. Before either of us could say anything else, a portal appeared in the infirmary and Magnus stepped through. He took one look at the situation before him and his eyes widened.

"What happened?" He asked in shock.

"Izzy got possessed by a demon and tried to kill Ben. Luckily, Jace and I got there in time, but Ben still got injured." I explained.

"You certainly know how to keep me on my toes don't you?" Magnus asked, shaking his head, but I could clearly hear the affection in his voice.

"Can you help him?" Jace asked. I could hear the urgency in his voice, but decided not to point it out.

"Most likely. I need to see his injuries first though." Magnus replied. Jace and I both indicated for Magnus to do what he needed in order to heal Ben. Magnus unbuttoned Ben's shirt so he could inspect the damage. He paused for a moment before he opened Ben's shirt, noting that neither of us had moved. "I warn you, you may not want to be here as I don't know what state he is in." Magnus said, looking up at me.

"He's my twin brother, this is exactly where I need to be." I replied. Jace nodded his head, agreeing with me. Magnus looked at us and nodded. With that, Magnus clicked his fingers and Ben's shirt disappeared. When I saw what had happened to Ben, I visibly flinched at the condition Ben's chest was in. You could clearly see where Izzy's fingers had entered his chest.

*A few hours later*

Once Magnus, along with a few healing runes, had healed the wound on Ben's chest as best he could, all that was left for Ben to do now was rest and recover. Since Jace and I had been sitting next to each other whilst Magnus was at work, neither of us noticed Izzy wake up, as we were both focused on Ben. That was until I heard a sniffle coming from behind me. I turned around to see Izzy with tears streaming down her face.

"I did this." I heard her whisper. I opened my arms and indicated for her to come and sit with me. She came over to me, sat on my lap, and I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting hug. Jace put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault Izzy. It was the demon." Jace said before I could say anything.

"Nobody blames you Izzy, and I know Ben doesn't either." I added.

"They should." She muttered. Both Jace and I sighed in unison.

"I don't." I heard a weak voice say. All three of us looked at Ben, whose eyes were now open.

"Ben! By the Angel, I am so glad you're alright! I am so sorry, this is all my fault." Izzy cried, gently grabbing his hand.

"Isabelle, this is the demon's fault and the demon only. You had no control over what you did or said." Ben said in an attempt to comfort her.

"Wait...said? What did I say?" Izzy asked curiously. Ben looked away, obviously not wanting to burden her further with that information. "Ben? Please tell me." She all but begged.

"Isabelle..." He trailed off. I could tell that he didn't want her to know. It must have been something bad if he didn't want to tell her.

"Please. I need to know." Izzy pleaded, squeezing his hand gently. He winced slightly as he took a deep breath in and out, wincing at the action. I could tell he was not fully healed.

"When you pinned me to the floor, you then began caressing my cheek saying "Always the favorite child. I'm done living in your shadow." I tried to reach you, but the demon just smiled evilly then growled "Nice try." After that, you slowly started digging your fingers into my chest in an attempt to rip out my heart, all the while knowingly maximizing the pain you were giving me. If Alec and Jace hadn't heard my screams and got there when they did, I'd probably be dead." Ben revealed reluctantly. Izzy froze at this new knowledge and I hugged her tighter. Then, she burst into tears. She couldn't bear the thought that she could have killed her older brother.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any of it." She cried.

"I know Izzy. It was the demon." Ben said softly.

"This is all my fault." She cried. I rubbed her back comfortingly in an attempt to calm her down.

"No, Izzy, it's not your fault." Ben said quickly, trying to reason with her. She looked at him with sad eyes.

"How can you say that? You almost died because of me. You've been in enough pain these past few months and that fact that your own sister said and did those horrible things to you makes it even worse." She said with tears staining her face.

"Izzy, I don't blame you and I never will. It wasn't your fault." Ben replied firmly. We then all fell silent and the only noise was Izzy's sobbing echoing through the room.