Respite

Author's Note: Triple drabble from a Tumblr prompt.

***

When Jace rejoined them, Alec was already sitting back up, offering him a small smile that died the moment he caught sight of his parabatai's face. "Jace, what happened?"

Alec tried to get up, but was stopped by Magnus, who he'd been leaning against. They exchanged a quick glance, both of them worried by Jace's blank look. He just stood there, eyes dead in a different but similarly chilling way as during his possession, and reported emotionlessly, "Clary. She... she's gone. The entire top floor exploded."

"Oh, poor biscuit!" Magnus squeezed Alec's hand before getting to his feet and approaching Jace slowly, as if he was a spooked animal. When he took him by the elbow, Jace let him, and Magnus gently steered him towards Alec. Jace moved like an automaton, going to his knees at the slightest push from Magnus but not making any move towards his parabatai's waiting arms. Alec sighed and firmly pulled him forward, suppressing a wince when Jace collapsed against him like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"It's not your fault," he whispered into Jace's ear, forestalling his protest, "It was Lilith, and she's gone."

Catching sight of Magnus hovering hesitatingly behind them, Alec gestured with the hand not currently cradling Jace, the one that had been broken, and Magnus knelt down as well. Jace stiffened for a moment when he felt the warlock's presence, but his apathy as much as Alec's embrace kept him where he was.

Magnus curled himself around the two Shadowhunters, and Alec didn't miss the way he relaxed, the tension he'd been carrying ever since his miraculous appearance dissipating. Jace wasn't the only one who needed comfort, who'd suffered terrible losses today, and Alec wasn't sure who he was talking to when he said gently, "Go on, cry."

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *.

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Page Reader Press Enter to Read Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Pause or Restart Reading Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Stop Reading Page Content Out Loud Screen Reader Support