Everest blindly scrambled for the notebook and pen she had left on the coffee table. She flipped to the last page to make sure it was blank. She frantically scribbled down the thought that woke her up before crawling back into bed, reminding herself to talk to her boyfriends about it tomorrow.
...
"What were you writing?" Magnus asked, sounding amused.
Everest looked up from the coffee pot to see Magnus holding up a notebook page covered in scribbles. The only word she could make out was 'wards.'
"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning away from the machine. "I had an absolute epiphany last night."
Alec looked over at her from where he was making breakfast for them all. "Do tell."
"Okay so, basically, wards and I don't always get along. Like Ragnor's made me really warm and all I could hear was fire. Then Valentine's ship made me colder than I've ever been in my life. And Iris's wards made me feel like I was choking. Basically, anytime that I was inside wards that were designed to keep people in or out, or by people who don't know me, I've had a reaction. And I don't know why that is, but it makes sense because I've never been affected by your wards, Magnus, not until Valentine and you switched bodies and he set up wards to keep people out. So, yeah, that was my epiphany," she rambled.
Her boyfriends stared at her for a few moments before Magnus hummed. He set the notebook down, reached around her to hit the button on the coffee maker, and then settled against the island. "That makes sense, in a convoluted sort of way."
"Right," Alec said, turning off the stove. "I'm gonna pretend that that made sense to me."
Magnus laughed. "I think the gist of it is that wards affect Everest in interesting ways if they're set up for a specific reason, but there's only so much connection between the ward setups. I'd have to study each one specifically in order to understand which component was the common factor."
"What do you think causes it?" Alec asked, plating french toast for all of them.
"If I had to guess," Magnus said, visibly thinking, "then I'd say it's probably the demon blood."
"Oh. I had forgotten about that," Alec mused.
"Me too honestly," Everest said. She really had. It hadn't come up in a long time. "It makes sense though. The demon blood is probably part of what the wards are trying to keep out."
Magnus shrugged as he took his plate. "That's my best guess at least. We won't ever really know though, since those wards are long since destroyed."
Everest shrugged and accepted her plate. "We can discuss theory more after breakfast, yeah?"
"Works for me," Alec said, shrugging and sitting on the couch.
...
"There you are," Magnus said as he entered the armory where Everest, Alec, and Izzy were. "Good news, the core is off the ley line grid and free of demonic corruption."
"That's good news. Thank you," Alec said flatly.
Everest winced. That made it sound like they were all mad at Magnus, which was so far from the case.
"All righty, then. I'll make myself scarce," Magnus said, giving them all a weird look.
Izzy sighed. "We just got a fire message from Mom saying she's 'dropping by ' for an impromptu 'family dinner.'"
"Those are a lot of air quotes," Magnus said.
"Mom doesn't just drop by for anything," Alec said.
"Yeah, we're thinking it has to do with her and Dad. They're finally making their divorce official."
"My condolences," Magnus said, leaning against the door frame.
"It's for the best. Problem is, instead of just being sad like a normal person, she starts trying to fix everyone around her," Izzy said. Everest set a hand on her Parabatai's hand in comfort.
"Which usually includes grilling her children on everything she thinks is going wrong in their lives," Alec said.
"So, where are you holding this suspenseful dinner?" Magnus asked, walking further into the room.
"Here has already been vetoed," Everest told him.
"The Institute tends to bring out her inner Inquisitor," Alec explained.
"How about my place?"
Everyone stared at Magnus for a moment, trying to process his offer.
"Magnus, you don't have to—"
"I insist. You can have the place all to yourselves."
"Wait, you should be there," Izzy interjected. "You too Everest."
Magnus's smile faded and both of them shook their heads.
"Think about it. If Magnus is there, being his usual charming self, Mom won't have time to interrogate us. And Everest perplexes Mom so much that she'll spend the entire dinner trying to figure out everything she says."
"I am charming."
"I do confuse your mom."
"You don't think it's too much?" Alec asked.
Magnus smiled. "'Too much'" is my middle name." Alec smiled, Everest and Izzy giggled. "Look, clearly this is important to you. Ergo, it's important to me. Hmm?"
...
Everest put down her phone and wiped tears from her eyes. Of course, her boyfriends noticed immediately.
"What's wrong?" Alec asked as he and Magnus came to sit beside her on the couch.
"Rosa, Raphael's sister, died," she said simply. "We used to go visit her together and bring tamales for her and the other residents every Sunday. He still went after I got sucked up by this world."
"Oh, Cupcake," Magnus said, drawing her into his arms. "I'm so sorry."
"I need to go see him," she said, wiping more tears away. "I need to make sure he won't do anything stupid. She was his lifeline, the reason he's stayed so human after all this time. I need to make sure he won't try anything."
"We understand," Alec whispered, fingers running through her galaxy curls. "We can take care of dinner, you go be with your brother."
"Thank you," she whispered, standing up.
She put on her jeans quickly, not wanting to waste precious time. She grabbed her bag and hurried onto the streets. The taxi ride took forever and a half, but eventually she got to the hotel. She was let in without issue, though she was escorted up to Raphael's apartment by two vampires.
"I just called to give you the news," he said, though his eyes shone with gratefulness. "You didn't have to come."
"There's no way in hell I'm letting you be alone for this," she said, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.
"Thank you, Escritora."
"Anytime. Now, let's mourn the strongest woman to exist and let's mourn her right."
He chuckled a little and led her to the couch, where pictures of Rosa were laid out on the coffee table. They sat there for a long time, going through each picture, which ranged from infancy to the day that Rosa died, and telling stories about the woman who was so dear to the both of them.
When they finished going through the pictures, they moved to the kitchen and made tamales, still telling stories about Rosa.
"When's the funeral?" she asked finally.
"During the day," he said bitterly.
She scowled. "Hang on," she said, wiping her hands on her apron and pulling out her phone.
"Escritora, what are you—"
"Shh," she said, as her phone started to ring. "Hi, my name is Everest Fray, I was one of Rosa Santiago's frequent visitors. I was calling to ask about her funeral."
"What about her funeral?" the worker asked politely.
"I was wondering if it could be moved to the evening. See, one of her relatives, the young man I frequently visited with, has a skin condition that makes him extremely sensitive to light to the point that it's dangerous for him to be out in the daytime. He's devastated by her loss and is even more devastated that he can't attend the funeral. So I was just wondering if it were possible to move it to the evening after the sun goes down."
"Oh my, of course! I'll see what I can do!" the worker exclaimed, already typing away. "What's a good number to call to let you and him know one way or the other?"
Everest rattled off Raphael's number, one of the several she had memorized, thanked the worker, and hung up with a smug smile. Raphael was gaping at her.
"You didn't—you just did that," he whispered, voice full of awe.
"There's no way in hell I was gonna let you miss her funeral, Phae," she said.
He pulled her into him, arms wrapping around her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he gushed into her hair. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I love you so much, Escritora."
"I love you too, Phae."
...
"Angel, I hate goodbyes," she said as she entered the apartment with a tray full of tamales. "Also, I hope tamales go well with dinner because we have a metric shit ton of them."
"We can make it work," Magnus said, plucking something from Alec's hair. "We're making stew right now."
"Ooh, fun," Everest said, turning on the warming feature on the oven and placing the tray inside. "Can I have a taste?"
Magnus gave her a wide eyed look but Alec was already holding out a spoonful. She took it and immediately regretted it. It was so bland, there was absolutely no flavor.
"Mmm," she hummed. She gave him a thumbs up.
Alec grinned and then his phone rang. As soon as he was out of sight, Magnus handed her a cup and she spat it out.
"Why is it like that?" she asked, perplexed.
"I don't know," Magnus said, already snapping his fingers over the stew, hopefully saving it. "At least we have your tamales."
Alec came rushing back into the room and immediately Magnus began stirring the stew.
"Izzy texted. Out, out, out." He moved Magnus away from the stew. "She's going on a mission with Jace and Clary. Which means it's just me tonight."
"Just us," Everest corrected.
A knock echoed through the apartment. Alec noticeably tensed.
"Okay, remember my mother is on edge. That means avoiding any sensitive topics, like my dad, or that I turned down that job at the Clave."
"Or that you're dating a dastardly warlock and Valentine's youngest," Magnus added with a grin."
Alec relaxed at the jab. "I'm sorry. Am I being terrible?"
"No, you're just tense," Everest told him.
Magnus handed him a glass of wine. "Here. Drink this."
Everest wasn't sure what she had expected to happen, but Alec downed the drink in one go.
"I'm okay. You're okay? Okay," Alec said before moving towards the door.
Everest spared the glass one more glance before following him.
"Everest! My boys!" Maryse called as soon as the door was open.
She handed a bottle of wine to Alec, then hugged all three of them tightly. Everest blinked at the friendliness.
"I'm far from being a boy, but I appreciate the sentiment," Magnus said with a chuckle.
"My apologies, I should respect my elders," Maryse said kindly.
"Can I get you a drink?" Alec offered.
"How about a round of Magnus's famous cocktails?" Maryse suggested, moving towards the living room.
"This is your mother on edge?" Magnus asked, taking the wine from Alec.
Alec had no answer, just a perplexed expression that both Magnus and Everest were mirroring.
The dinner was going surprisingly well. Magnus and Everest, mostly Magnus, spent the majority of the dinner telling stories from their pasts. What Everest found fascinating, however, was anytime that Everest's mom was brought up, Maryse's gaze turned almost...loving. That brought up fascinating thoughts of Maryse and Jocelyn that would require more investigating later. Currently, it was Magnus's turn to tell a story.
" I'm serious. Truman Capote was a total closet warlock, and he never knew when to leave. 'I'd like to stay here the entire night drinking cognac and regaling you all with all my stories,'" he was saying.
"Well, you do know how to host," Maryse agreed.
"Oh please," Magnus said, waving off the compliment. "Tonight was all Alec."
"Really?" Maryse turned to Alec in surprise. "The stew was incredible. The tamales too. Who knew you could cook?"
Alec blinked adorably. "The tamales were all Everest. But...I've made that stew for you before."
"Oh, how could I forget?" Maryse turned to Magnus and Everest with a nostalgic grin. "Alec and Isabelle made this for me when they were little kids. To see the looks on their faces when they brought it to me. It still warms my heart. But that stew, I still have nightmares."
"I thought you loved that stew," Alec said, looking slightly offended.
"Oh, I do now. Whatever you've done to the recipe, it's unrecognizable."
Alec looked at Magnus. Magnus looked at the table. Everest giggled under her breath as she adjusted the pillows underneath her. Maryse just gave them curious looks.
"Anyone care for a digestif?" Magnus offered.
"No, thank you. I'm probably embarrassing Alec as it is," Maryse said with a wave of her hand.
"Oh, we're just happy to see you so happy," Everest said with a smile.
"We thought you might be upset, what with the divorce and everything," Alec elaborated.
"I've made my peace with that. But your instincts are right. I do have some unpleasant news." They all sat up a little bit straighter. That was never a good sign. "I wanted Isabelle and Jace to be here, but you need to know. In light of Malachi's coup, the Clave has reopened its investigation of former Circle members."
"You had nothing to do with Malachi," Alec protested. Everest rubbed his ankle with hers under the table in comfort.
"Still. Based on a review of my actions in the Circle, the Clave has reclassified me a traitor."
"Excuse me?"
"What?"
"They're stripping me of my runes. In a few days, it'll be announced that I have been exiled from Alicante."
"This is completely unjust. You've given your life to the Clave," Alec said fiercely.
Magnus and Everest shared a look. She nodded.
"I'm going to go check on the desserts," Magnus said.
"I'll help you," Everest said, following him to the kitchen. "I can't fucking stand the Clave," she muttered once they were alone.
"Me too, Cupcake. Me too."
Dessert was slightly tense, but went fine overall. It was when they were seeing Maryse out that Everest was thrown for a loop, despite her recent interactions with Maryse.
"Thank you again. Tonight couldn't have been nicer," Maryse said, standing in the doorway.
"You're welcome anytime," Magnus said, though they all knew that anytime meant during daylight hours.
"And, um, I'd appreciate it if you could keep our conversation between us. I'd like to tell Isabelle and Jace myself."
"Of course," Alec said.
Maryse hugged each of them tightly, despite the leftover tamales she had in her hand.
"I suppose we'll be seeing more of you," Everest said, hoping it were true. The character growth Maryse had shown over the last few months was incredible, and she was truly coming to care deeply for the woman that meant so much to three of her favorite people.
"I'd like that." She took a deep breath. "I may have had my prejudices in the past. But seeing you two stand by Alec, it's what every mother wants for her children. Thank you for loving my boy."
Maryse pulled Everest and Magnus into a group hug. Out of the corner of her eye, Everest saw Alec smiling proudly at them.
They parted and waved goodbye to Maryse, who was still grinning brightly.
"That went well, don't you think?" Magnus said as they began to clean up.
"It did," Alec agreed.
"Too well," Everest said, finally acknowledging the pit in her stomach. "Everything's going to hit the fan soon, I bet."
"Don't be a party pooper," Magnus said, though everything in his eyes said he fully agreed.
Alec just sighed.