The Attack

8. The price of his death

Jace wasn't alive anymore.

Alec fell to the floor, the realization hitting him; hard. He covered his face with his hands, at the moment he started crying, still trying to process Jace had died. He covered his mouth with a hand, and with the other, he gripped a towel under the basin, on the drawer.

He couldn't believe it, but he had seen his rune. It was faded. Alec was trying to cover his sobs, so he wouldn't wake Magnus up. But the cat-eyed Warlock had already woken up.

Alec flinched when he felt a warm hand on his cold shoulder, but didn't turn his head, already knowing who it was.

"Alexander..." Magnus said, sad.

He already knew what was going on with Alec. He had just had to be woken up by Chairman Meow, and hear sobs right after that. Magnus had immediately gone to the bathroom and found Alec crying on the floor, shirtless.

All the Shadowhunters whom their parabatai had died, had to be helped in different ways. The only thing they had in common was that they all needed the help, support and love of their family and friends. And there was where Alec had a problem.

Alec couldn't get any closer to his "family" and "friends". They would depress him even more.

Magnus let Alec cry, in silence, since it seemed as if the blue-eyed boy was trying to stop crying, and tell Magnus something.

The cat-eyed Warlock didn't say anything; he just gave Alec the time to say whatever he wanted to tell him.

Magnus felt his heart shattering into pieces, listening to Alec's sobs, and seeing him broken. Alec was the last Nephilim who deserved that. After everything he had gone through, now, his parabatai had died.

Jace and Alec hadn't really gotten along, as the years went. They had even gotten to a point where they hated each other. Well, Jace hated Alec; the blue-eyed boy just couldn't hate his parabatai.

Magnus still didn't really know why Jace had hated Alec that much. It wasn't as if Alec had done something terrible to him. Actually, it should've been the other way around. Alec should've been the one who hated Jace, because of all the homophobic things he had said.

But no. Alec being the sweet soul he was, hadn't hated Jace. Disliked him, perhaps. But never hated the blond Shadowhunter.

However, Jace was a part of Alec, and even though there was no love left for the other in them, they needed each other. And now that Jace was dead, Alec was paying the price.

Magnus, still bent down, with his right hand on Alec's cold shoulder, shook his head, trying not to think about all that, and focus on the sobbing blue-eyed Shadowhunter on the floor; Magnus was still not doing anything.

"M-M-Ma-Mag-Mag-nus-M-Magnus-us..." Alec made it to say between sobs, still looking down at the floor between his legs.

"Mhm?" Magnus simply said, rubbing Alec's pale skin with his thumb.

"I-I-Is-Is-Is h-he-h-e-he d-d-dea-dea-dead?"

There was silence.

The High Warlock Of Brooklyn took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was about to happen.

"Uhm..." He started, but got no idea how to continue. How can you tell someone that the closest person to you has died?

Alec, with Magnus' silence, turned his head and looked at him; the cat-eyed Warlock saw Alec's blue ocean eyes were red and puffy, filled with sadness. His face was a mask of devastation. Magnus decided he would tell Alec the truth, since lying was worse.