Quite magical

Chapter Thirty-Eight

POV Alec

Alec was not sure what to think about Thara. He could definitely understand her reaction to him being a Shadowhunter and he didn't blame her for being suspicious at first but still she made him nervous somehow. Even after the warlock had apologized to him and they were sitting in the living room together with Magnus, Cat and Ragnor he could feel her looking at him almost the entire time, as if she was trying to read his mind or something like that. It was kinda creepy but Alec tried his best to not let his tenseness show. Thara was a friend of Magnus and he trusted her so he should probably do the same. Also she was here to help them getting Magnus' magic back and Alec was extremely grateful for that.

"Do you have the ingredient?" Cat asked in that moment and Thara nodded.

"Of course I have" she said and pulled a vial out of the pocket of her coat, giving it to Cat. Curiously Alec looked at the brown powder inside and wondered what it was.

"Agarwood" Magnus whispered next to him, answering his unspoken question. "Its powder helps increasing the intensity of energies and since summoning my father is going to cost a lot more energy than usual rituals do it is better to have some of it. It also helps banishing obstructive energies but it is rather rare - especially in the form we warlocks use it - and it is very difficult to get it."

"Actually it's one of the most expensive raw materials in the world" Thara said with a serious expression on her face. Apparently she had very good ears and had heard Magnus as well. "It is often traded illegally and I normally take a lot of money for it but Magnus has helped me multiple times when I was in trouble so I made his friend a special offer."

Magnus swallowed visibly. "And you have helped us a lot with this. I can't even thank you enough."

Thara smiled at him. "That's what's friends are here for, right? For helping each other out."

"That's true. I just hope that this ritual is going to work."

"I'll make sure of that" Cat said.

In that moment there was a knock at the door and Magnus stood up from the sofa. "That's probably one of the other warlocks" he said. "I'll be right back." He kissed Alec on the cheek and then disappeared into the hallway, leaving him alone with his friends.

As soon as he had walked out of the room Alec started feeling tense again. He really liked Cat and he knew by know that Ragnor also was nobody he needed to be afraid of but being at the mercy of Thara's piercing looks like that without having Magnus by his side made him feel extremely uncomfortable and he hoped that his boyfriend would come back again soon.

Being in Magnus' living room together with his friends - who all had magical superpowers and were at least 400 years older than Alec was - made him realize yet again how clueless he had been in the past and it felt like his real life had only started after he and his family had moved to Maysfield half a year ago. Because in Maysfield everything had changed.

Alec saw the whole world with different eyes now and he wondered if he would ever get completely used to this. There were so many things he had not known about a bit more than five month ago and that were now part of his daily life. He had seen vampires and magical tattoos and had found out that basically all the creatures he had ever read about in his books were real. Also he had discovered that he himself was a part of this new world as well. That his parents had a past they hadn't told him and his siblings about for many years.

All that had changed him a lot. It had scared him at first and it still did - especially now with Magnus being sick - but Alec felt like it had also made him stronger at the same time. Despite everything that was going on at the moment he didn't regret anything. Despite everything he still thought that them moving here was the best thing that had ever happened to him because here he had met Magnus. Magnus, who had helped him to become more confident and to stop thinking so much about other people's opinions. Magnus, who was always there for him and made him feel protected and loved, even now when he was not feeling well himself. Magnus, who had made him happier than he had ever been before ...