Epilogue: City I Call Home 🌆
Magnus said reluctantly, “But we do lose love, in the end. We both know that.” “No,” said Tessa. “Love changes you. Love changes the world. You cannot lose that love, no matter how long you live, I think. Trust love. Trust him.”
“It’s good to be back,” said Alec. “I missed the view from this window.” “Yes,” said Magnus wonderingly. There had been so many windows, and so many cities. He had never thought to miss a view before. “And I missed Izzy.” Magnus thought of Alec’s fierce sister, whom Alec protected before his own life. “Yes.” “And Jace.” “Eh,” said Magnus. He smiled against Alec’s cheek, knowing Alec could feel his smile even if he could not see it. ”
“I might have gone a little overboard,” Magnus admitted. “But I wanted to lay all the grandeur and dazzle of Europe at your feet. I wanted you to have fun.” When he looked at Alec again, Alec was frowning. “I did have fun,” he said. “But I didn’t need any of that. They were just places. You don’t have to set any scene to convince me. I don’t need Paris, or Venice, or Rome. I just want you.”
“Before we were together,” he said, “I was angry a lot, and I hurt people because I was in pain. Being kind when you’re in pain—it’s hard. Most people struggle to do it at the best of times. The demon who cast that spell couldn’t imagine it. But among all those identical figures, there was one person who hesitated to hurt somebody, even at the moment of utmost horror. That had to be you.”
He took Alec’s face in his hand and kissed him again. He had kissed Alec so many times before, and he could never get used to the way Alec responded to him, the way he responded to Alec. Every time, it felt new. Magnus never wanted to get used to it.
When Magnus pictured beautiful and sensual moments with his beloved Alec, or moments in which he himself was self-sacrificing and noble, he had not envisioned his beloved Alec looking so annoyed.
“I’m not sorry. I wanted to do it. I wanted all of it, with you. The only thing that bothered me was when you were in trouble without me. I want us to be in trouble together. I want us to be together, no matter what. That’s all I want.” Magnus waited in the silence. After a moment, Alec said quietly, “I’ve never loved anybody like this before. Maybe I’m not saying it right, but it’s what I feel.”
“It’s your first time,” Magnus said. “I want it to be perfect for you.” To Magnus’s surprise, Alec grinned. “Magnus,” he said, “I’ve been waiting for this for so long. If we don’t do this literally right now, I will jump out the window.” Magnus started to laugh. It was odd to laugh and feel desire at the same time; he wasn’t sure he’d had that with anyone but Alec. He reached out across the space between them and pulled Alec toward him.
The sunlight from the window fell on Alec, bathing his body in a faint luminescence. Magnus sighed, wishing for magic that could stop time, that would let him stay in this moment indefinitely. “Oh, my love,” Magnus murmured. “I am so glad to be home.”
Everywhere they kissed and everywhere they touched felt like alchemy, the transformation of the commonplace to gold.
When movement had stilled and gasps had turned to soft whispers, they lay holding each other in the fading light of the sun, Alec curved in against Magnus’s side, his head on the warlock’s chest. Magnus touched Alec’s soft hair and looked up in wonder at the shadows above the bed. It felt like the first time anything like this had happened in the world, felt like the start of something shining and impossibly new.
Magnus had always had a wanderer’s heart. Over the centuries, he had adventured in so many different places, always looking for something that would fulfill his restless hunger. He never realized how all the pieces could fall together, how home could be somewhere and someone. He belonged with Alec. His wandering heart could rest.
“I’m thrilled to see you don’t look well,” he added. “Magnus Bane proved a more formidable opponent than you imagined? Who could have guessed? Wait, I told you that you had no chance against him. Repeatedly.”
izzy806
kaledo-art
blakekathryn
gummygunk
andulkaphoto
turnnoffyourmind
