The Land I Lost snippet
Another Pride Month Snippet — Magnus, Alec, and their beautiful family. :) In The Land I Lost, coming out in October!
As he spoke, Magnus gave a little sigh and leaned into Alec, one of the small unconscious gestures that meant the most to Alec. It always reminded him of the first day he’d ever touched Magnus: at the time, he’d thought he felt dizzy with relief and joy because he was finally touching someone he wanted to be touched by, when he’d thought he might never have that.
Now he thought he’d felt that way because it was Magnus: that even then, he’d known. Now the gesture spoke of all the days since the first. When he felt Magnus relax against him, he felt like he could relax too.Whatever this strange task Jem and Tessa needed him to do, he could do it. Then he would come home.
As Alec fell silent, Chairman Meow made a wild break for freedom from Max’s loving stranglehold, streaking across the floor into Alec and Magnus’s bedroom where Alec suspected he would be hiding under the bed for the rest of the day. Max stared sadly after the cat, then looked up and grinned, his teeth tiny pearls. He toddled past the shimmering pentagram and launched himself at Alec as if he had not seen him for several weeks. Alec always got the same enthusiastic greeting, whether he was back from a trip, back from patrolling, or had simply been in the other room for five minutes.
“Hey, daddy!”
Alec took a knee and opened his arms to scoop Max up. “Hey, my baby.”
He stood with Max curled against his chest, a warm soft bundle of ribbons and round limbs, Max’s gurgling laughter in his ears. When Max was tiny, Alec used to marvel at how neatly his little body fit into the crook of Alec’s arm, as if he’d been made to nestle there. Alec had scarcely been able to imagine Max getting bigger. He needn’t have worried. Whatever size his kid was, he was always a perfect fit for Alec to hold.
