My eyes threatened to droop closed, but I forced them open again. This is the latest Alec's ever been, and it has me worried. I could go back to my house into my bed. Albeit, an uncomfortable bed, but a bed none the less. It's just that I'd rather know that Alec was just late and safe. The thought of him ditching me was more unlikely than him getting hurt. That wasn't how Alec was. He was a Shadowhunter, he could handle himself. But, it would help me sleep better if I knew he was okay.
I put my legs into the water, which is as far as I went into the water. It was a cool night. Fish swam by without care. The only sounds were the ocean and my own breathing. It was the exact definition of peaceful, but something felt off. Nothing looked off, but the atmosphere of the night made me uneasy. I was probably just imagining it. Even being alone felt off because Alec was always with me out here. I was imagining it.
What felt like hours later, the ocean was still quiet. Not a stir in the water minus schools of fish swimming by. My skin began to prune due to being in the water for so long. The salt water must not be good for my skin. I should go to bed and worry about Alec tomorrow. My eyes were heavy and my mind was hazy. My body needed sleep, but I wanted to stay awake. What if Alec showed up and I wasn't here? And as the night went on, I got more worried. Where is he? He always came here on time. He was never this late. He was a man of his word, and I trusted him. That is why I worry about him. If something kept him behind, it must be something serious. It could be the King though. Alec told me how strict he was, and if he ran into him while leaving he wouldn't been able to make it tonight. That was more than likely what happened. The King was not a good man. I could tell from everything that Alec had told me.
Just as I got up to walk home, the waters surface broke. I looked back to see if it was Alec, but it wasn't. It was a Mermaid. She was beautiful, as many mermaids were, but she did not compare to Alec. I was extremely confused as to why she was here, so I walked back to her. "Hello? Who are you?" This couldn't be Alec's sister, Isabelle. She was no doubt a Mermaid, not a Shadowhunter. She opened her mouth to speak, and suddenly I couldn't hear and my vision went blurry. My mind was already fuzzy from sleep, but now I couldn't understand anything. I couldn't even control my own legs. I wasn't in control of my body and I didn't know what to do. I could barely tell what I was doing, but I felt my body go cold, and I could no longer breathe. I wanted to scream, cry for help, anything, but I couldn't. I was terrified because I didn't know what was going on. All I knew is that I couldn't breathe. The edges my vision began to go black, and I knew I was going to die. I wanted to fight for my life, but what I did was no longer up to me. It was up to whatever had taken control of me. God, I couldn't die now. Who would tell Alec? What would Ragnor do? Is there any way I could survive this? The chance of that happening was not very high. I could feel the intense pain of water making its way into my lungs.
Without warning, I was being forcefully shoved upwards. I could breath again, and I was placed on the rocks again. I began coughing violently and placed a hand against my chest. My vision retired back to normal, and the only thing I saw before I started coughing again was black blood spilling into the ocean and black hair and blue eyes.
A hand was on my back, rubbing in circles. "Are you okay?" Alec asked. After nearly coughing out my lungs, I was able to answer. "I'm okay, now. Oh God, I almost died. What happened back there?" All I could see in Alex's eyes was worry for me.
"A Spellsinger put you in a trance and tried to drown you. That's really odd because Spellsingers usually try to take you to the shore, not away from it. But you're okay now. I killed it, and I really doubt it's coming back. But are you really okay? You're shaking and I know you don't like the ocean." Alec tripped over his words and he was as shaken up as I was.
After catching my breath I replied, "I'm okay. I couldn't even tell what was happening, just suddenly I couldn't breathe and I thought I was going to die. I could've died if you didn't show up. Thank you for saving me."
"Of course I saved you. There's no way I would've let you die in a million years."
"I still want to thank you. I'm glad you came."
"I would've came earlier if I could've. Jace and Isabelle forced me to spar with them for hours. There was no way out of it. As soon as I saw my chance, I snuck out and here I am. I wish I could've gotten out of it, thought. Maybe if I was here you wouldn't have gotten attacked." Alec was beating himself up for something that was out of his control. He just naturally feels responsible for everything, and if something happens that he could've prevented he feels horrible about it.
"That wasn't your fault. I'm fine now. Tired, but fine." He gave me a sincere smile, and I felt my heart melt. Alec was the most important person to me at the moment, and I want him to be happy. He is beautiful, caring, and brave. Every quality about him was perfect. I knew I was falling for him, but I was attempting to keep that from happening. That never worked for me. He took time out of his nigh and risked being caught for me. He cared for me, I knew that, but did he feel the same way I did?
I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. His hand was calloused. I leaned in closer to him and my heart was screaming at me to kiss him, but my mind was telling me it was a bad idea. But he didn't turn away, he didn't flinch. He looked at me with wide bottle blue eyes. "You said you were tired, I think you should go to bed," he whispered. That is when I realized this was a horrible idea.
"You came all the way out here and saved me. The least I can do is talk to you." I just wanted him to stay a bit longer.
"I want you to go to bed. Get some rest, you need it. I'm safe, you're safe. Now, go to bed because I care about you and want you to rest. You must be exhausted."
"But-"
"Go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He said it more out of concern for me. He gave me another smile that lit up the night.
"You sound like a mom." He laughed.
"Good night, Magnus." He smiled one more time and swam away.
I was tired, but now I felt more wide awake than ever.