The Queen's Curse- Alec Lightwood and Clary Fairchild

Ch. 2

Alec coughed, his throat parched and dry. He opened his eyes and glanced around. He was in his room. The memories of what happened in the Seelie Court rushed back towards him and he grabbed his chest. He didn't feel any different. He was still wearing the clothes he had left in, and was seated in the chair in the corner of his room. Alec pushed himself out of the chair, groaning as soreness washed over him. He stiffly walked out of his room and into the hallway, silence filling the Institute.

"Hello?" He called out. Morning sunlight streamed through the grand stained glass window that adorned the entryway. "Is anyone there?"

As he wandered through the seemingly abandoned church, his anxeity spread. He jumped as his ears picked up hushed conversations.

"Anybody?"

A crash sounded and Alec spun around, facing the direction of the weapons room. He saw Jace sprinting towards him, his blonde hair gleaming.

"By the Angel! Everyone! He is in here!" He shouted, grabbing Alec's shoulders. "Where have you been? Are you alright?!"

Hodge and Isabelle bolted in following him. "Alec!" His sister hollered.

Alec stammered. "I-I just woke up in my room, what do you mean?"

Jace stared at him. "You and Clary have been missing for three days after you went to the Seelie Court. Where is Clary?"

"I-I don't-"

Isabelle smothered him in a hug. "Thank God you are okay. I hate the Seelie Queen and her army of-"

"You have no idea where Clary is? What do you remember last?" Jace cut her off. "Tell us everything!"

"Jace!" Hodge snapped.

"What is all the noise?" Clary wandered into the parlor.

"Clary!" Jace swept her up into a big hug. "Where have you been?"

"I don't know..." Her voice was muffled by Jace's shirt. He set her down. "The last thing I remember is leaving here with Alec to visit the Seelie Court."

Alec's heart dropped. Clary didn't remember anything. But he did. He remembered how the Queen blatantly threatened him about the Clave, and told him the plan of casting a spell, and locked them in the Seelie realm.

"Do you remember anything Alec?" Isabelle asked, her arms still wrapped around him.

"Um, no. I don't remember. Like Clary." The lie tasted sour on his tongue.

"I am just so glad you two are safe. We were about to contact the Silent City." Hodge stated.

"Yeah, we are fine. I just find it unnerving that I can't remember where we were for the past three days."

Isabelle nodded. "I spoke with my faerie contacts and they said that you never arrived in Faerie."

Alec groaned inside. It wasn't a lie-they hadn't entered the kingdom of the Faerie, only the mid-dimensional throne room. He didn't know what the Faerie Queen had done to them, but every part of him hoped that the curse she spoke of hadn't actually existed.

Hours later, Clary sat in the kitchen alone with Alec. After hundred's of briefings and questions, all they wanted to do was relax. They were wrapped in blankets, drinking tea and cocoa. Hodge had insisted in lowering the heating systems to decrease the bill, and it felt like the Institute was a freezer.

"Are you still cold?" Alec laughed when Clary shivered. "You are wearing about twenty fleece blankets!"

She nodded, eyes gleaming and shuffled closer to him. "Maybe we could share some?" She asked.

"I-" the words choked in his throat. He wanted to say that it wasn't appropriate, that she shouldn't, but it died on his lips.

Without a response, she lifted the side of his blankets and slipped closer to him. He moved his arm to push her away, but when he got close, something stopped him. It was as if an invisible hand held him back. Clary pressed into him, arms wrapped around his chest. "Thanks, Alec."

He grimaced. Crap.