"Ok this is going to sound crazy," Alec began as he gathered his wife and parabatai.
"Nothing can be as crazy as that night that Magnus portalled you, me, Jace and Izzy to Rio for Carnival," Serena joked and her brother grimaced before smiling.
"It was one of the best nights ever, but I've never had a worse hangover in my life."
"Look," Alec interrupted and the twins silenced. "I was just with Valentine and he says that he's Magnus, and Azazel switched them with some kind of demonic curse."
Jace and Serena glanced at each other, not knowing whether to be confused or laughing at the sheer absurdity of it.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"I know it's hard to believe but it's just, he knew things that only Magnus could know. Like intimate details," Alec said.
"Like what?" Serena questioned.
"Like that private dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower that he arranged for us on our honeymoon. The Portal Pendant he put around your neck. Izzy's deal with yin fen. Your nickname for him. The party he organised for Max's rune ceremony."
"Okay. Well, he could have had a warlock steal your memories," Jace suggested.
"No. No, that's not possible. He knew stuff about all of us and I would've noticed if my memories were gone," Alec shot down.
"This is Valentine. He's always ten steps ahead of us. He's always planning his next move," Serena pointed out.
"Alec, trust us, you don't want to fall for his lies," Jace added.
"But, still, it just, doesn't feel right," Alec continued.
"Alright baby, tell you what. I agree that Magnus has been acting a little off since Azazel, so Jace and I will pay a visit to him and you can go talk to Valentine, see if it's really him. Because if it isn't, Inquisitor Herondale just requested Valentine's execution from the Clave. I don't know if it's gone through yet, but that means he could be dead within a matter of hours," Serena said as she gripped Alec's hand.
He nodded. "Ok. Yeah. Sounds like a plan. Just, be careful please."
"Please, like anything can stand against the Lightwood twins," Jace bragged as he fist-bumped his sister and Alec rolled his eyes as they walked out.