EPILOGUE

Alec opened his eyes and squinted up at Magnus as the dawn streamed through a gap in the long white curtains of their hotel room. He smiled as the warmth hit his face, and watched as the light hit the floating dust particles and made them shine. Rolling over, he wrapped his arm over Magnus' bare chest and nuzzled into his neck, caressing the warlock's collarbone with his lips. "Good morning." Magnus whispered, rubbing his finger in tiny circles in the small of Alec's back. Alec shifted under the duvet and rested his head on Magnus' chest, moving his arm to lie across his midriff, and tracing his ribs with his fingertips.

"Morning." He smiled, watching Magnus' flat stomach rise and fall with each breath. "I love you." He whispered, sliding his hand up Magnus' side and over his chest, wrapping his fingers around his shoulder as he slid his finger across his collar bone.

"I love you too." Alec dragged himself away from Magnus, climbing out of bed and stretching out his arms. "Ready to face the music?"

Alec rubbed his face with his hands, dislodging the sleep from his eyes and momentarily putting some colour into his cheeks. "It's now or never." He yawned, grabbing his jeans from the floor and pulling them over his legs. "I can't avoid them for the rest of their lives."

"Well…" Magnus started, but Alec gave him the look. He clambered out of the bed and pulled his shirt over his head, wriggling into his jeans and slipping his feet into his socks. His hair was tousled, sticking up in all directions, and Alec's heart did a somersault in his chest as he watched him through his eyelashes. Over the years, he'd never quite gotten used to Magnus' beauty, and even now Alec couldn't believe that this man was his. He twisted the silver ring on his finger as Magnus wrapped his hands around his waist from behind and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Let's go."

Simon stood in the hotel lobby, his backpack slung over one shoulder and his jacket hanging off the other. He grinned when Alec and Magnus stepped out of the lift, handing the key-card to their room to the woman behind the desk, along with a rather impressive wad of notes something that sounded a lot like 'keep the change'. "Hey guys." Simon smiled, rubbing his hair with his fist as the pair wandered over. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Alec smiled, then looked up at Magnus and grabbed his hand.

Clary stood in the kitchen, her hands and clothes covered in flour. Jace snuck up behind her and patted his hands in the flour on the counter, then wiped them on her cheeks. "Hey!" She laughed, throwing a handful of flour at his shirt.

"Mom!" Will put his head in his hands and watched them through a gap between his fingers. "Grow up!"

Clary laughed, leaning her elbows on the kitchen table and looking down at her son's sketchbook. "What are you drawing?"

Jace smiled as he watched them together, and their daughter toddled into the kitchen. "Mommy!" She laughed, reaching up with her chubby little hands. Clary lifted her onto her lap, and the girl wiped the flour from her face, laughing as she was covered in a thin layer of the white dust.

"Come on Charlotte, Mommy's baking." He winked, lifting his daughter from Clary's lap and tucking a ringlet of her shiny blonde hair behind her ear.

"It's me, when I'm a shadowhunter." The seven-year-old whispered, putting down his pencil as he finished a rune on the shoulder of the teenage boy on the page. His flame-red hair was the only part of the page that had been coloured, but for the black runes snaking over his skin.

"And what's this rune?" Clary asked innocently, pointing to the one on his shoulder.

"The parabatai rune. One day, I'll have a brother just like Dad did." His golden eyes glittered as he looked at his mother, his lips curling into a smile.

"He never lost his brother, not really." Clary smiled, rubbing the boy's hair with her floury hands. "Want to help me clear this lot up?"

A knock sounded from the front door, a persistent bang, really. Clary looked up as Jace put his head around the kitchen door. "Stay here, William." She whispered, taking Charlotte from Jace's arms and putting her on the floor next to the boy. "Keep an eye on your sister."

Clary grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter as she followed Jace across their apartment to the front door, while Jace picked up an umbrella from the stand next to the door. She looked at him incredulously, but he just shrugged while he unfastened the chain and pulled open the door.

"Hey Jace." Isabelle smiled, leaning in to hug him. "It's only me, put down the weapons guys! Chill! Where are the kids?"

"Aunty Iz!" Will shouted, running from the kitchen with his sketchbook in his hands. Charlotte followed closely after, holding one of his pencils. Clary nimbly plucked the pencil from her hands and slid it into her back pocket as Will jumped onto the sofa, patting the sofa for Isabelle to sit next to him.

Jace was about to sit on the sofa on the other side of Isabelle, to watch as Will explained his drawing, when someone else thumped their fists on their front door. Clary exchanged glances with Isabelle, then ran to the door with Jace and placed her hand on the handle. They counted to three in silence, then pulled open the door.

"Jace." Alec smiled, his face identical to how it had been twelve years earlier.

Jace almost leapt at Alec, throwing his arms around his friend's shoulders and holding him as close to his body as he could. "Alec." He gasped, tears prickling his eyes.

"What's this?" Alec asked, once Jace had pulled back. He reached past Clary and pushed open the door to their apartment, looking in at Isabelle sat on the sofa, the two children on either side of her. "Are these yours?" He looked back at Jace, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yeah." Clary smiled, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Alec.

"Hey!" A voice shouted from the stairwell. "We agreed we'd do it together!" Clary looked over Alec's shoulder, drawing back from his embrace and watching as Magnus and Simon stepped around the corner. At the sight of her childhood friend, who had not changed even minutely since the last time she had seen him, tears pricked her eyes.

"Simon." She choked, running out to meet him and jumping into his arms.

"Clary." He smiled warmly, looking into her face. She was still young, but the skin at the corners of her eyes crinkled more when she smiled, and the red of her hair had faded to almost brown.

"Come here." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her. She joined Jace at the door to their apartment and released Simon's hand, grinning at Jace through red eyes.

"Kids, there's some really special guys you have to meet." She said, as she stepped back into the living room. Magnus walked around the corner, his jacket clutched in his hands and a backpack slung over his shoulder. "This is Magnus Bane. He's a warlock, and a good friend of ours."

Isabelle smiled as William's mouth dropped open and he gasped. "A real life warlock? Woah." Will stood up, his sketchbook falling open on the floor.

"And this is Simon." Clary said, letting the vampire into their home. "He's a vampire." At this William ducked back onto the sofa and buried himself behind Isabelle's arm, and Simon laughed.

"And this," Jace said, standing aside. Isabelle's face lit up as Alec stepped around the corner, and Will extracted himself from his hiding place. "Is Alec. My brother."