« 39–DAYLIGHT BREAKS »
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"Rhianne?"
Talia's grip wavered on the dagger as she regarded the girl in front of her. The girl she thought to be her friend. Rhianne twirled the ball of yellow energy around her fingers, watching it flit in and out of the gaps between them. As she grew closer, Talia realised her real eye colour was a deep red. The blonde gaped as if to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Rhianne's scowl.
"No talking, your voice only haunts me Talianna Herondale."
The venom laced into her words spat at Talia. Her name was spoken as though it were a strain on the Shadowhunter, gritting out the syllables in a spiteful way.
Talia narrowed her eyes, staying silent as requested, analysing the situation for what she could exploit to escape. As she was now, Talia knew she wouldn't be able to overpower the hybrid with brute strength alone, Rhianne appeared to have abilities that Talia had not. The fangs that glistened a disturbing shade of red were proof of that.
Talia bit her cheek in thought. She knew if she didn't deal with Rhianne, Alec would have to. Her heart clenched at the thought.
She urged herself to think, pushing her emotions aside as she locked onto the one thing she could count on the most. Her aptitude for analysing others performance in battle. Talia could move.
Rhianne narrowed her eyes, "I didn't expect you to listen, you have a tendency for not following rules."
Talia's eyes widened in surprise as Rhianne disappeared from where she was standing, suddenly perching on the statue to Talia's left. The dark haired woman eyed the face of the man who's platform she had taken residence as she spoke, "But then again, you are at a disadvantage right now. The whole no powers situation you got yourself into."
Talia stayed perfectly still, eyeing her warily as the attention was back on her. Red eyes piercing into her green. Rhianne grinned.
"Though," She hummed thoughtfully, "It wasn't entirely your fault, you'll be surprised to know. Yeah, that 'medicine' I gave you after the attack? Not actually medicine."
Biting her tongue to stop her outrage, Talia felt her back shiver at the thought of her trusted doctor betraying her in such a vulnerable state.
"What did you do to me?" Talia ground out.
Rhianne blinked almost innocently, "Just something I came up with when I was bored- well, maybe not bored. I was trying to find a way to nullify your powers after a particularly damaging event. I tried a few times before but I guess you weren't weak enough to be susceptible to a part of my power, but after such an event as negating the power of the Soul Sword? Bingo."
If Talia hadn't been assessing every word the woman spoke, she might have missed the way Rhianne's words hung onto the Soul Sword. In a way as if she were jealous.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Talia asked, "What is the point of everything you're doing?"
"Why, isn't it obvious?" Rhianne smirked, dropping herself from the raised pedestal of the statue, tucking her hands behind her back as she leaned towards Talia, "So you know that I've won! That I found a way to beat you and you were completely useless! You lost Talia, to me."
Talia blinked, confusion lacing her features as she furrowed her brows, "You think this is a game? A competition of some kind?"
The smirk dropped.
"It's always been a competition," The shorter girl ground out, her face strained as she clenched her jaw, "I've watched you since birth and I have to be better than you, there's nothing I want more than to beat you and finally be the chosen one. And then maybe, he'll acknowledge that I was always more powerful than the Ardea Herodias."
Rhianne growled the title out in such hate that Talia bristled and stepped back, realising how close the woman had gotten to her.
The dark figure scowled at the movement and narrowed her blood red eyes. The veins protruded through the iris', turning the white's of her eyes to a dark red, making it hard to discern whether the dark haired woman was looking at Talia or beyond her. Talia guessed that it was neither, the woman was lost within her mind.
"Ardea Herodias was always the Blue Heron, a title familiar amongst leaders of the Downworld, as Valentine had once divulged his idea to them to create a greater Downworld and that the figure that would lead them would be they who held that title."
She hadn't known the truth of her name before now. Talia controlled her expression so as not to look affected by the information, especially not when Rhianne moved to continue, her arms spinning in front of her as the truth came spilling out from her Seelie lips.
"This was at a time when the Downworld was desperate, and Valentine played to that, creating a cause that they could all form behind to be equal to the Clave. And that cause came to be you."
Rhianne glared at the taller woman as Talia watched her slow movements circling her, as if she were prey.
"Malcolm Fade of the Warlocks, Praetor Scott of the Werewolves, Camille Belcourt of the Vampires and Meliorn of the Seelies were extracted of a small portion of blood to accommodate the cost of you.-
Of course, none of them knew the blood had been taken, my potions had taken care of that," She waved her hand carelessly as she moved to climb over a bench, "So, it's most likely that even they don't even realise their blood connection to you."
Finally Talia's mouth dropped. For how long had Rhianne been manipulating people? Talia recognised some of the names as people she had encountered or people she had heard from Magnus' tales of woe. None of them were weak.
"But how does that explain-?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm getting to that," Rhianne scowled, "So, you were injected with the blood from each of these Downworlders when you were a baby. Your body took so well to it because you were still in the early developing stages of growth, so your DNA appeared to be more receptive to foreign objects - not only that, but your blood was already laced with Downworlders."
Talia raised a brow, her mind still clouded from the impact of learning of how she came to be.
"Your ancestor Tessa Gray was half-warlock half-Shadowhunter. That quality has passed through the Herondale line for generations and Valentine only realised this six years after Jace Herondale was born, so he could not exploit the same benefits with him. What is even worse with you though, is how you were able to take the pure angel blood on top of that. Though, Magnus Bane had to interfere with his own blood to save you after Jocelyn found you the day after you had received it. That's why your warlock abilities are more than above par."
Magnus? Talia's heart thrummed as she thought of her mentor. He had given his blood to save me?
The older woman scowled as she stalked towards Talia.
"You were his perfect creation, though so imperfect. And he only realised that when you held that Soul Sword and controlled it."
Rhianne's hand reached forward and gripped Talia's chin in a vice. Her long fingernails scratched at her cheeks, causing Talia to jump at the impact. The woman grinned menacingly as she pointed the nail deeper into her cheek, drawing blood.
"Talianna Herondale was designed to be Valentine's Second Beast of the Revelation - persecuting those who did not follow him, gathering those within power to gather for our modern Armageddon. But instead, he managed to create a God.
-And I'm going to kill it and everyone it loves."
Talia slammed her fist into the woman's stomach, her face seething in rage as she watched Rhianne coil backwards in pain. The blonde gave her no time to react as she thrusted her dagger upwards, held tightly in her left hand, and dragging through the greying skin of Rhianne's neck.
Screams of agony erupted from the woman, laser red eyes shot through Talia as Rhianne's neck leaked black blood. Started, Talia froze. The second of hesitation allowed Rhianne to conjure a sphere of yellow energy, directing it straight for Talia.
Her eyes widened as her senses kicked in and she somersaulted to the left, landing roughly in a crouch. She winced as the alarmingly sharp tendrils of energy caught her neck, drawing a line of blood. Talia watched as Rhianne eyed her greedily, "What can I say? An eye for an eye."
Talia grunted and rolled herself to her feet, dashing forwards and allowing herself to use mundane martial arts she had learned because of Luke, the Shadowhunter practices she had learnt from Alec. The blonde narrowed her eyes.
Two trees to the right, statue to the rear, damp grass around her. Talia dodged Rhianne's onslaught of warlock abilities. From the way she moved, Talia could assume this wasn't her preferred method, her long distance attacks impacting way less than close contact. The blonde watched from the corner of her eye as Rhianne's expression grew more frustrated, her lack of knowledge in spells proving Talia's theory.
Talia launched herself onto the pedestals statue, circling the man sat upon it so her back was against his, facing away from Rhianne.
"C'mon Talia, you're only prolonging the inevitable," She sung as ver voice grew nearer. Talia was suspicious that she wasn't using any of her vampiric abilities, as she knew that the black haired woman had more control over that quality, "You have no way of defeating me."
Talia slid slowly down from the statue, using slow, shallow movements to mask the sounds of her steps. She breathed deeply, letting her racing heart have a moment to relax. Nothing could have predicted this day would go like this. Talia was faced with almost certain death unless she could outwit the older woman until her friends arrived.
But even then, would they be able to stop her?
She shook her head, there was no use of thinking that now. She knew what she had to do.
"Gotcha."
Talia's eyes bulged as Rhianne's hand locked around her throat, nails ripping into the pale flesh at her throat. The blonde let out a strangled cough as she grabbed onto the woman's forearms.
Rhianne looked at her curiously before Talia gripped hard onto her, jumping herself up and letting herself fall back down in a curved swing. Rhianne's balance tipped as Talia kicked out her legs, causing the blonde to land on her back, wheezing as wind got knocked out of her lungs. Rhianne rolled towards her and aimed to capture her again but Talia wrapped her left leg around Rhianne's right and tugged her to fall backwards. The doctor yelled in surprise at being caught off guard.
What Rhianne had forgotten, is that Talia had always been fast, long before her abilities began manifesting. Talia grinned, so she didn't know everything it seemed.
Talia rolled effortlessly over the back of Rhianne, twisting the woman's arm behind her painfully as Talia's left leg still held hers still. She stuttered a breath as she silently thanked Alec for teaching her how to immobilise a faster opponent.
Rhianne struggled underneath her, growling and muttering nonsense as Talia held her almost effortlessly. Almost. The woman's vampiric and werewolf strength was hard to contain. Her entire personality seemed to be bundled around rage and power.
Talia had to ask, "Why choose this? I never thought of you as my enemy, so why did you got to such lengths to pit yourself against me?"
Rhianne huffed, stilling suddenly as if biting back a remark.
"I was the second and last experiment Valentine ever worked on with multiple species. I was always a failure because I couldn't match up to you. I wanted the place he held for you as you were too ungrateful not to follow him. So I have to eliminate you for him, and then I'll finally be on top."
Rhianne locked onto Talia's arm that has held her own within it and threw her to the ground, blasting her face with energy from magic. Talia gasped as she hit a harder embankment, feeling the sting of her magic and the dampness of the grass soaking through the back of her shirt. Rhianne dashed forward, her fangs shining darkly against the moonlight as she tackled Talia.
The blonde kicked her in the stomach whilst pressing her forearm to Rhianne's neck as the woman screamed at her, spitting out curses and remarks that etched into Talia's mind, undeserving, worthless, freak of nature, weakling.
Words paraded themselves on a carousel of thoughts and as Talia defensively swung an arm to knock down her outstretched claw, she found herself locked in her mind.
She was there but not actually there. The haze that settled around her made the flurry of attacks from the assailant feel like they were moving in slow motion.
Talia
She spun her head, her physical body still within a slowed version of events with Rhianne whilst this projected version of herself could move freely.
Talia blinked. She had never seen an angel. Not until then, at least.
The angel watched her with shining eyes that swam in gold, his hair refracting the light of the sun in this mirror world to her own. He was everything that splendid would represent. Even his smile was full of light and an air of calm that Talia had never experienced before.
Talia's mouth hung open as she regarded him, and he in turn, tilted his head with a grin etching his features. His name rested on her tongue but she couldn't pull it from her lips in his presence. A breeze of youth washed over her, and she assumed he had taken this form for a specific reason.
You'd be right
His lips twitched upwards. His mouth didn't open but she heard his words in her mind, they rolled through her like oceans waves.
He hummed thoughtfully, and only now Talia had realised his wings of light gold feathers were folded behind his back, his wide, white robe at first concealing them.
Appearing in the most youthful phase I could, I believed, would be best for you, young Talia
She parted her lips to speak but he waved her off kindly.
No need to speak, I can read your thoughts
The angel smiled, regarding her for a moment. Why are you here? She thought.
You hold the blood of my brother Ithuriel, of whom told me of your being
I wouldn't call you much of a Beast per say, however I see you as a blossom of power
You rival me if I were still this form of my own youth
You intrigue me, Herondale
Ithuriel is one factor that brought me here, another would lie in the hearts of my Nephilim
Talia's eyebrows raised at that. This angel wasn't known to rise for something as simple as that, he was only known to summoned in one way.
The angel hummed attentively.
You would be correct about that my child
Though, I have not heard someone call my name in prayer of another's safety as many times as you partner has called for yours
Her heart swelled, the flush on her cheeks rising as she thought of his name. Alec?
His blonde hair bobbed as he nodded slightly.
Alexander Lightwood is everything I believe my children should be
And you Talia Herondale, are the key that holds our world together, the angel heaven never intended to provide
He moved towards her in a way that appeared like he was floating. With him so close, she realised how tall he was in comparison to her. He towered a head and a half above her and yet still smiled upon her.
I would never agree to what I have seen from Morgenstern
His venture for the Mortal Instruments will be fruitless, I need you to assure this
And for the Baybrook to be disposed of, she is more demon than human now, a curse that only brings curses
The angel looked sadly to the scene Talia had moved from. Her physical body still fighting against an enraged Rhianne.
He looked to her, she understood what he was asking of her, that he needed her full potential to be realised for her to save everyone: Luke, Magnus, Imogen, Clary, Izzy, Jace. Alec.
She blinked up at him, what about my power? It's gone.
The golden angel patted her hair gently, like a father would for their daughter.
Who said it was gone?
Talia's vision melded into bright light as he disappeared from sight and her body rushed with adrenaline, settling back into the physical world with Rhianne's red eyes replacing the swirling gold of the angels.
Raziel.
Rhianne suddenly plucked Talia from the ground, launching her to her feet and throwing her claws towards her once again. The flurry of movements caught Talia off guard and Rhianne's fist filled with energy landed painfully against Talia's ribs. The fabric was ripped to shreds, exposing the leaking blood. Though Talia made no sound, the adrenaline flowing through her veins from the sight of a light flashing in the near distance kept her holding her ground.
This woman despised her because Talia had something she didn't, something she nor Talia could control. Talia set her gaze on the woman's face. She was about to show Rhianne what happened when she had all the control.
Rhianne grinned at the sight of the blood before kicking out Talia's legs with incredible speed, shocking the bones so much so that Talia was convinced one had broken. Dark hair swam in Talia's vision as Rhianne leaned over her, eyeing the blood snaking down Talia's face.
"Poor Talianna, so weak and vulnerable. There really wasn't anything special about you. You only ever worked on luck didn't you? Well I think this is where your luck runs out, don't you?"
Talia smiled with a bust lip as she spoke, "You'd be surprised with how many lucky charms I have."
Rhianne rolled her eyes and hauled Talia onto her knees, pulling on the girls' blonde hair to hold her there. She unsheathed a blade from her side and pointed it to Talia's neck, drawing blood which trailed down to the ground beneath them.
"Talianna Herondale has lost," Rhianne called loudly, as if she were addressing a crowd, "Make peace with your god."
Talia grinned, her face wrecked with blood, bruises and dirt. Pain coursed through her veins but she let none of it show as she watched behind Rhianne.
She licked her lips, "I don't need God. I have him."
The sound of taut string being released echoed through the park as the arrow sunk into Rhianne's chest.
Rhianne choked, dropping the sword in her fist and clutching at the arrow that had found its way all the way through her body. She turned slowly and met the startling figure of Alec Lightwood appearing from the shadows, his bow notched with another arrow and his jaw set tightly as he narrowed his eyes at the woman.
"Hands off."
The arrow shot and pierced through the hand that still held Talia's hair in a deathly tight grip. Rhianne screamed at the impact as Talia pushed herself away from the demon hybrid, rolling backwards to jump onto her feet, clutching the dagger Rhianne had taken from her.
Talia felt her head leap when she heard Alec's voice, she had only a moment to regard him before she leapt into action. With him here, she felt invincible.
Talia swung the blade at Rhianne's chest which she narrowly avoided, which Talia had predicted so was already swinging into a crouch to slice her legs. Rhianne hit the ground with a thump.
Rhianne tried to quickly recover after both surprise attacks but all rational thinking was out of the window. She threw herself at Talia, her jaw outstretched as though to bite her. Talia's eyes widened as she braced herself to attempt to move quicker.
Suddenly, a blast of air whistled between them and Rhianne was thrown back into the statue. A hard crack sounded as the air bristled with energy. Blinking hard, Talia look down to her own hands. They held a blue spark within them.
Talia breathed shakily as a smile rose to her face. Her eyes immediately sought out Alec, and found him already looking at her in awe. Alec had always found himself amazed by her magic, but he had never seen her conjure a blast like that. A barrier had surrounded her, collecting the energy to the centre and blasting Rhianne back at the moment of her impact with it.
And Talia hadn't even realised she was summoning magic.
Rhianne jumped to her feet, only to immediately shake in reaction at what had just occurred.
"Talia-"
"Shut it."
Talia launched a spell of winding ropes towards her. Rhianne dodged and used her inhuman speed to outrun the path, throwing blasts of energy back towards Talia.
The blonde rubbed her hands together, the feeling of her abilities bubbled within her and excited her. All feelings of pain had left her body as she felt herself shift into the four legged manifestation of her werewolf blood.
Alec blinked as he watched his girlfriend transform and take off running towards the assailant who looked incredibly panicked from the warlock magic that was still trained on her, alongside the wolf that reflected the moon that was steadily catching up to her.
Suddenly, Rhianne found herself halting her steps. Talia didn't stop running until she realised what had caught up to them.
A pack of werewolves held the ground against Rhianne, growling in threateningly as Luke stood human amongst them. He winked at Talia who stood baffled on four legs.
Rhianne gulped before attempting to turn away from the wolves. Though she felt she could overpower some, she knew she would never beat them all. The thing that terrified her most, was Talia.
The woman shrieked as the Vampire clan rounded on her, Raphael heading them and moving to stand beside Talia, moving invisibly fast to stand beside the wolves. Many of which Talia recognised being in the Institute when the Soul Sword had been used.
Seelies stepped out from the forest beside Alec, moving forwards behind him as he approached Talia. He reached to gently pat her head, feeling unfamiliar with how to address a werewolf, much less his partner in werewolf form. Talia bobbed her head as she folded herself back into a human figure, her clothes reappearing onto her.
Magnus appeared alongside Dot and wrapped a frozen Rhianne in a binding spell that she would not attempt to outrun.
Magnus hummed, "Ah Rhianne Baybrook, previously Katrina Baybrook. Playing off of another relative of yours that you killed? Quite interesting. Though as one of Valentine's last followers it was easy to track you down after Talia mentioned such a figure as another hybrid appearing."
Rhianne gulped, her red eyes wide but still filled with a wild rage that Talia knew couldn't be redeemed. Even the angel himself had said she was more demon than human.
"Responsible for the blood collection in response to the Ardea Herodias project and within that, are yourself a product of it," Luke glazed over the information.
"How do you know all of this?" Rhianne gritted out as she struggled against the restraints.
Raphael looked over to the blonde woman, "Talia butt-dialled Magnus about half an hour ago."
Talia flushed at the information, scrambling to reach her phone from her pocket and found that it was in fact still on a call with Magnus. She turned to him and he raised his hand to wiggle his fingers at her.
"Always a pleasure to communicate with your behind, cupcake."
Talia turned an even deeper red.
"Either way, you are to be sentenced to execution on behalf of Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike," Alec spoke from beside Talia. He moved so his body was close to hers, and she could see the injuries he had sustained from his fight with the Circle members.
Talia wished to reach out and touch him, the dried blood on his brow looked like it had been there for a while and she felt her heart clench thinking about how much he had done to protect her. What they all had.
Her head whipped around at the sound of leaves crunching behind them. She instantly relaxed when she saw the faces of her friends and brother walking towards them.
"It turns out that Talia was always made to save the Downworlders as Valentine had once proposed, exactly because she wasn't what he tried to make her. So we would never abandon her to the likes of you, demon-cheeks," Magnus mused, as a smile worked its way onto Talia's face from his kind words. He grinned at her, it was as if he always saw the potential in her, and that was why he saved her.
Rhianne dipped her head, chuckling bitterly, "I guess you were always better than me Talianna."
"Well duh-"
Izzy started but Talia waved her off gently. She strode towards the older woman and watched her carefully, meeting their eyes.
"It was never a competition for me Rhianne, it was my life, I didn't choose this, you did. That's the difference. And even then, you chose this all for Valentine and yet you're here alone, whilst I am surrounded by my family. You made yourself like this, don't blame me for your own faults."
Rhianne blinked at her in surprise. She couldn't form a response because some part of her, that hadn't been torn apart from the demon blood inside of her, knew that she was right.
Talia nodded, but before she could turn to leave Rhianne with the Downworlders, she spoke.
"How did you do it?"
Talia raised an eyebrow, "Do what?"
Rhianne stared blankly ahead, her eyes looking hollow, "Break free from the curse I placed on you in that potion."
Curse? What did Raziel say, a curse that only brings curses?
"Raziel found me, he reminded me of my purpose," Talia tilted her head and looked to Alec, she stared into his eyes and knew she would always come back to him, "The purpose I chose for myself."
Alec's lips tilted upwards as she returned to his side. The bustling of people behind them drowned out as she watched him. He carefully raised a hand to her face, tracing her cuts from battle gently, removing any dirt from them as best as he could. Talia knew he would always mean the most to her, he made her believe in herself in ways she never thought were imaginable. He helped her fall in love with herself through falling in love with him.
"Thank you for saving me," Talia's voice was barely a whisper as relief flooded through her at his touch.
Alec smiled, "I think you were very much in control there."
Talia shook her head, knowing that his appearance had changed the flow of the battle.
"Did you really see Raziel?" Alec's voice was low as he concentrated on her cheek, where he was currently assessing the damage.
Talia nodded slightly, shivering as his fingertips kissed her skin gently, "He appeared to me when I thought I had no fight in me, only fight enough to defend myself. He helped me lift the curse. Also, he said he likes you."
Alec's eyebrows raised, as he stopped his work momentarily and winded his fingers through her hair, "Well, I'm glad our angelic ancestor approves of me for you."
His voice was gentle and still held light amazement in Talia's statement. She leaned into his touch and smiled, "You don't have to keep wiping the blood off me you know, we can shower later."
Alec hummed, "I want to though."
His hands continued working along her neck, eyes narrowing when he noticed how deep the cuts were. When Jace's voice suddenly came into range as he nudged Talia's arm with his own.
"It wasn't exactly our intention for you to be caught in another fight when we told you to go but it looks like you've handled things nicely here," He crossed his arms over his chest, Talia noticed he had a cut along his collarbone from a seraph blade, "I'm glad you're okay."
"And so am I!" Izzy moved forward to wrap her arms around Talia's side, as Alec still had ahold of her front. Izzy smiled up at the taller girl, stroking the hair from her face, "Alec wanted to go ahead of us to find you, he mentioned feeling some sort of shift?"
Alec grunted in acknowledgement as Clary's bright hair bobbed into view.
Clary clung to her sisterly figure as she spoke, "Do you think it could've been during your time with Raziel that could've affected you?"
Alec blinked at the question before looking questioningly to Talia, who in turn nodded slowly, "It could've been, Raziel spoke his name so it could have worked as a summoning draw to me?"
"It sounds like the most likely response to an angels call, from what Clary and I experienced, I can believe it," Jace spoke, watching as Alec moved to stand beside Talia.
"I'm glad you're all alright," Talia sighed happily.
"Do you want to head home?" Alec asked her, his eyes bright against the dark night.
Talia was glad for him noticing her wariness, having to physically exert herself to stay alive against Rhianne meant that she had to work her body a lot harder than she had ever done before. She looked around them at the scene of Downworlders, those who passed them nodded to Talia respectfully, some smiled to show their gratitude.
"Will they be okay here?"
Izzy chuckled, taking Talia's hand in her own and squeezing it, "They'll be okay, Lydia is on her way to deal with this on the Clave's behalf as well so there's nothing left for us to do."
"I'll stay here to make sure, I haven't sustained as many injuries as you guys, you need rest," Clary nodded.
"I'll stay with you," Jace spoke. Talia raised an eyebrow, watching the two move away from them both.
"None of us saw that coming," Izzy drawled sarcastically, grinning from ear to ear.
Alec scoffed before nonchalantly wrapping an arm around Talia's shoulders and pressing a kiss to her hair. She nuzzled against his chest as he led them away, waving at Magnus as they went, with the warlock waving expressively to communicate he would speak to her later. She giggled at the sight.
Talia looked up at Alec, who was having a conversation with Izzy over her head, who in turn was still holding her hand tightly. Talia had decided a long time ago that she wanted to ask Izzy to be her Parabatai, to see if it would be possible at their later ages. She watched as Izzy spotted Meliorn and jogged over to him for a moment.
Talia squinted her eyes as the sun began to rise between the towers of the city skyline. The new day brought a new clarity to Talia. She knew the truth of how her powers came to be, of who the people she had called family meant to her, and what she meant for them. Jocelyn once made her feel as though she would live life alone, Valentine tried to separate her from humanity to make it so. The only luck Talia had was finding the people that cared for her along the way. They were her light in the dark, as Alec had been her light shadow to protect her, as he always had.
Alec eyed her curiously, his face pinched in amusement. He looked tranquil, even though his face was marked with blood and cuts, and his hair was mused in different directions from the wind; Talia thought he had never looked more perfect.
"Have I got something on my face?" He questioned, his dazzling eyes blankly innocent.
Talia shook her head, laughing lightly as she stared back up at him, "No, I was just thinking that I'll love you always."
Alec's eyebrows shot up in surprise, she had found that it was still easy to fluster him with compliments. He smiled, the dimples she adored forming in the corners of his cheeks. Squeezing her closer, he placed a delicate kiss to her nose, and then to her lips.
She watched as the sunlight filtered through his dark curls and his electric blue eyes that had once left her speechless regarded her with such adoration that she melted at his feet when he spoke.
"I love you too, always."
~fin~
a/n
it's been a long time coming my lovelies, the final chapter. i want to thank everyone for following me on this journey over the past 5 years.
this story meant a lot to me at a time that books and tv shows gave me a fantasy to live out. alec is a character i will always hold dear to my heart for that reason.
an epilogue will be arriving within the week so look forward to that! i hope this wraps everything up that you guys were wondering over the years (if not i'll go back and edit lol)
i love you all and hope you all find the one who makes you happier than the ocean <3
-G x