Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
GETTING ANSWERS

(   trigger warning for physical and verbal abuse from a parent   )

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     It had been a week ever since Adrian had seen the picture in Rosewell Bakery, and nothing at all had happened save for the fact that Simon had gotten better, then had immediately been shipped back home. Alec had delivered him to the Gard a few days earlier. Even though Adrian considered Simon a dear friend, he was glad he was gone. Alicante wasn't a good place for Downworlders, or anyone, for that matter. Not when it was so full of people who hated them. With him gone, it was one less thing for Adrian to worry about, and now he could spend all his days obsessing over the girl in the picture and wondering how in the hell he could get his father to tell him anything about her. He'd always shut down whenever Adrian asked about her, always got irrationally angry. At first, Adrian just assumed it was grief. Now, after hearing Mary Rosewell say that he should ask his father for the story, he wasn't so sure.

Adrian and Alec were walking to the Gard. It was morning, and Adrian could see families and friends going out to get breakfast. Alicante was full of people, and it felt livelier now than it had a week before. This was the Alicante Adrian was used to. This was the city that was beautiful and friendly. If only the actual people living in the city was the same way.

Adrian stopped in his tracks when they reached the Gard, staring up at the large fortress with narrowed eyes. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. He hadn't wanted Alec to see them shaking, and he hadn't wanted to fidget as they walked. Alec was slightly ahead of him, having to meet his father in the Gard to learn how the Clave worked, so he was a few steps up the stone steps before he noticed Adrian was no longer beside him. He twisted on his heel to frown at Adrian, opening his mouth to ask why he had stopped. He hesitated when he saw Adrian's face. Slowly, he walked back down the steps to stand at his side again. Adrian slowly peeled his gaze away from the ornate double doors of the building and looked at him, slightly pale.

"Why do I feel like I'm willingly walking into a lion's den?" he asked, voice quiet. Small, almost. Adrian had never been small before, not in New York, at least. Alec cupped his arm without a second thought and stepped closer to him, not caring if anyone saw and thought it was odd that they were in such close proximity. Adrian swallowed, a hand coming out of his jacket pocket to clutch at Alec's jacket sleeve.

"I wouldn't compare your father to a lion," Alec said after a moment of silence. "More like a cranky old cat." Some of Adrian's nerves melted away at that, and a small laugh left his mouth. He took a deep breath, then shook his head and elbowed Alec in the side, dropping his hand from his sleeve. Alec didn't pull his hand away from Adrian's arm.

"That's an insult to Church and I'm going to make you apologize when we get home," Adrian commented as he started up the steps. He was moving slowly. Everything inside of him didn't want to be there, didn't want to go talk to his father about something he had always gotten angry about before.

"That cat hates me," Alec complained. Adrian shot him a smile, nudging him again. Alec's hand had fallen from his arm when Adrian had started walking, but they were so close that their hands brushed with each step they took. Adrian wanted to take it, but didn't dare when they were about to enter the Gard.

"That cat is a sweetheart," Adrian argued. "He just knows you don't like him." Alec made a sound that Adrian missed when the gate surrounding the building was pushed open, and more Clave officials came walking through. They barely paid Alec and Adrian any mind, they just circled around them to enter the building.