Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
DEMON TOWERS

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     It was late by the time Alec and Adrian arrived back at the house, so late that Max should have been in bed. They both paused in the foyer to listen. Everything was eerily quiet, but then they heard the click of heels. Sharing a glance, they both threw their coats on the rack by the door and followed the sound into the lounge. Aline and Sebastian were both stretched out on the couch. Aline had a thick book in her hands, while Sebastian was flipping through one of Max's comic books. Adrian raised an eyebrow when he saw. He knew Max didn't like it when people touched his stuff without permission. He kept his mouth shut as he made his way into the room, not wanting to cause a potential argument after such an amazing and peaceful day. Isabelle was pacing by the window, peeking through the curtains every few seconds with a worried expression. Her whip was coiled on the coffee table, as well as swords and daggers. She had probably obsessively cleaned a bunch of weapons, either in boredom or in anxiety. Adrian was guessing the latter, considering how anxious she looked now.

Alec slumped into the remaining chair, and Adrian sat on the floor at his feet, leaning his back against Alec's legs. He rested his head back against his knees, not particularly caring how intimate the position looked. Everyone in that room, save for Aline, knew about Adrian and Alec anyway, and he wasn't really worried about what Aline thought. She had come to him talking endlessly about Helen Blackthorn a few times, since Adrian was the only one who knew the girl well, and he had a feeling he knew where it was going before Aline herself did, despite her admitting to him that she didn't like kissing boys at all. It had been an offhanded comment, one said while they were having lunch in the square a few days ago, but it had been bouncing around inside of Adrian's head ever since.

Isabelle paced once again, her heels clicking, and then she jerked the curtains open and stared outside. Everyone looked at her.

"Izzy," Adrian said slowly once she made a sound of frustration and started pacing again. "Why do you keep looking out the window?" Isabelle let out a growl that immediately made Adrian regret opening his mouth. He wished he and Alec had just gone up to bed when they had arrived. Just watching Isabelle pace back and forth was making him stressed, and the last thing he wanted was to be stressed.

"I'm looking for Jace," Isabelle said after a few minutes of tense silence. Adrian was glad that Isabelle had spoken. Alec had started playing with strands of his hair, off in his own thoughts and probably not even noticing he was doing it, and Adrian was finding it very hard not to focus on the small tugs on his scalp. "He said he was going for a walk, but that was hours ago. It's almost midnight. He ought to be back by now." Adrian frowned at that, but his concern quickly went away. This wasn't the first time Jace had gone off on his own. Hell, it wasn't the first time Adrian had gone off on his own. Jace was fine, wherever he was.

"Be reasonable, Izzy," Alec said, still tugging on Adrian's hair. It made Adrian wonder if he actually was aware that he was doing it. It made Adrian bite back a smile. "Jace does this when he's upset, goes off and wanders around. You said he was going for a walk. It's not like he disappeared without any warning. He'll be back." Adrian nodded in agreement. Isabelle glanced between the two of them. She was so worried and anxious that she didn't even smile knowingly at Alec playing with Adrian's hair, like she normally would have.

"But he knows New York," Isabelle pointed out, wringing her long hair around her hands, twisting it and starting to put it into a braid over her shoulder. She had to fidget with something. Adrian was just glad it was her hair and not her whip. "He doesn't know Alicante—"