Secret (Alec Lightwood)

Chapter 32

I slowly walk into the room where Isabelle's trial will be held, Henry laying in my arms.

Alec leads me to the row right behind Izzy and Magnus, and we sit.

I look down at Henry. "I know this really isn't the time to talk about the baby, but I just realized he's a week old."

"Oh yeah," he says with a slight smile. "I guess he is."

I smile slightly. "He's starting to show his features already. He's got your eyes."

"All baby eyes are blue."

"I meant like, the area around the eyes. And your nose. Basically, he's got your face."

"I see a little bit of you in there." He points at the dimples on the baby's cheeks, then pokes my cheek. "He got that from you."

I chuckle and playfully roll my eyes. "Well I happen to like that he shows more of your traits. Means he'll be a handsome young man."

He puts his arm around me as Magnus stands up.

"Excuse me miss," the Inquisitor says to me, "you'll have to take the baby elsewhere."

"I don't think so," I say as I look up at her. "This baby is a week old, he needs care."

"Then you should go."

"I'm staying to see my sister-in-law be proved not guilty."

"It's not a choice. No baby, ma'am."

I sigh and turn to Alec. "I'll be right back." I stand up and take Henry up to my room, and once I've got him settled in his crib I go back down to the trial.

"Why are you doing this?" Magnus asks Lydia, who has now taken the stand.

"How's it looking?" I ask Alec as I sit down.

"Not good," he sighs.

"It's the law," Lydia says. "I don't have to like it, but I have to follow it." She's silent for a moment, then speaks again. "Isabelle did nothing wrong, she freed an innocent. I drop the charges."

Izzy immediately jumps up, turns around, and hugs me. "I'm so glad you're back."

I smile at her. "Happy to be back."

"We can go to the Clave, become parabatai again."

"About that... Alec and I-"

"Are getting married really soon," Alec interrupts. "Like, soon. So you might have to hold off until after."

I look at him and sigh. I guess he doesn't want Izzy knowing that he's going to be my parabatai.

"Charlotte why aren't you excited?" Izzy asks.

"I am, I'm just distracted. Thinking about how I'm gonna kill people, same old same old."

"When you put it like that you sound like a serial killer."

I chuckle and roll my eyes. "I've gotta go check on the baby, we're having a celebratory dinner tonight. Just you and me. We need girl time."

She smiles and nods as I exit the room and head up to my room, where Henry is asleep in his crib.

I shut the door, sit down on my bed, and take out a book.

A minute later, the door opens and Alec walks in. "Hey, can we talk?"

I look up at him, nervously. Last time he said something like that, he left me. "Yeah?"

He shuts the door and sits on the edge of the bed. "Do you want to be Izzy's parabatai again?"

"I thought we were gonna be parabatai? You changed your mind, didn't you?"

He shakes his head. "No, but I didn't want Izzy to get mad, say that I stole her parabatai."

"That's why you stopped me from telling her."

He nods. "And I was also thinking, if we're gonna do that, maybe we could do it at the wedding. What better place to bond us together for life than something meant to bond us together for life?"

I smile. "I love that idea." I put my book down beside myself. "There's something I haven't told you about myself."

"We've been together for over a year, we've got a baby, and there's still stuff you haven't told me?"

"It's embarrassing."

He smiles. "Now you've gotta tell me."

I slowly stand up, go over to a mirror hanging on the wall, and take a pair of contacts out of my eyes. I then reach into the top drawer of my bureau and pull out a thick pair of black glasses and put them on my face.

He starts laughing. "Those are bigger than your dagger!"

"This is why I didn't wanna tell you." I take the glasses off my face, and everything blurs. I throw them over onto what I think is my bed and begin to grab another pair of contacts as the glasses are slipped back onto my face and Alec kisses my cheek.

"I'm not laughing at you, Charlotte. You look beautiful with glasses, even if they're bigger than your whole face."

"I will punch you."

"It looks like Henry agrees with me."

I turn to Henry's crib and see him lying on his side, eyes wide open, staring at me with a smile on his face. "You're lucky that baby is cute."

He chuckles. "C'mon."

"Where to?"

"Gonna get Izzy to watch the baby, we'll go get some lunch. Finally give her some time with the little guy.