Sorry if the switching of POV bothers you, because there's a lot of that in this chapter. And it another bad filler. Warning:Mature themes will be touched on in this chapter. Not really smut, but you'll see.

Alec's POV

The last week has been very hectic, but I feel as if we will be able to win this war. We've managed to accomplish many things this last week, we've made alliances with Magnus's father and many downworlders. After Raphael died the vampires in the New York clan rebelled against Maureen, and that ended up with her having to step down and now a girl named Lucy runs the clan. Now we have the werewolf packs and several warlock's coming to help us. We were going to make an alliance with then, but the battle is going to take place during the day. Tessa Gray came to visit Jace and they talked for a while. Afterwards Jace was just in shock that his to whatever extent great grandmother visited. Turns out she is Isabelle and I's to whatever extent great aunt.

There are two more days left until the war and the institute is packed now. Many warlocks and some shadowhunters that live in New York moved in so that when we leave for Idris they're ready to leave, and they've strengthened the wards. Lucky, the institute is also huge and can hold them all. Even Magnus and Tessa Gray is here, but he's been very distant lately, only speaking with Tessa. The warlocks here mostly snap up their meals, Magnus and Tessa are the only ones who actually come and eat meals with Jace, Isabelle, and I. When we eat he never speaks and makes eye contact with no one. After we eat he leaves back to his room without saying anything to anyone.The only warlock we know who isn't here is Catarina Loss, who went back to her own house because she still has to work as a nurse. A piece of bad news came back in Idris. Sebastian sent a "gift" as he called it, to Julie and Joshua. His gift turned out to be a recording of Luna having a panic attack. I can't even imagine what Julie must be thinking, her sister being hurt and she can't do anything about it. During the time I was "engaged" to Julie I learned that she liked being on control of everything, know how everything will turn out, how everyone is, so it must be heart breaking to her knowing that she can't control or help her little sister when she's being hurt. Julie said during her questioning that she turned seventeen while she was kidnapped, so she probably spent her seventeenth birthday with a beating. That's not good at all. Other than that, we're okay, but I still fear what Sebastian has in store for us. If kidnappings and demon hoards were what he sent us when we didn't even have a set date for the final battle, then who knows what he has set for us in the last few days. Knowing Sebastian, probably nothing good. So when a warlock leaves the institute and comes back when the sky turned dark, bloody, that fills my standard of "nothing good." "Isabelle! We need to go find Catarina," I yelled, taking the injured warlock to the infirmary. She ran to me, it still amazes me how she manages to run in seven inch heels.

"What happened to him?"

"What do you think? Sebastian obviously. Must've been a demon he sent."

"I'll go get Magnus. He can help until we come back with Catarina."

"Come back quickly, I'll wait for you outside." I reluctantly left the injured warlock there and ran outside to wait for Izzy. In a few minutes she met me outside. "Why didn't you stay inside."

"No reason, come." The truth was, it was to avoid Magnus. Every time he's around, everything is just awkward between to two of us. And being the the awkward person I am, I just want to avoid that. That isn't exactly easy to explain to your sister, so I just took her by her forearm and ran in the direction of Catarina's apartment.

Everything after that seemed go in slow motion. Opening her door with a rune because she wouldn't open it, even after Isabelle started beating it. Once we stepped in we immediately knew something was wrong. The burnt sugar smell lingered, and so did the smell of sulfur. Demons had been here. Isabelle walked into her room and everything stopped right then. On the floor was Catarina, lying face down, a knife in her back and a star carved on her shoulder. Blood clumped her snow-white hair together and she was practically bathing in her own blood. The initial shock of seeing someone dead was still controlling my thoughts that I didn't see Isabelle pull out her phone and a dial an all too familiar number. "Isabelle, why did you call him?"

"Because he's her friend and the high warlock."

"Tessa is coming too apparently."

"Why is he spending so much time with her? I don't understand why he's been so closed off to everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't make eye contact or talk to us, or anyone besides her, and somethings happened to him, I just don't know what."

"Awww, poor Alec is worried about his Mags."

"Shut up or I'll take the knife from Catarina's back and stab you with it."

"Clam down, no need for violence." We kind of just stood there, analyzing the situation. It was obviously Sebastian because of the Morgenstern star carved on her shoulder, but why Catarina? She was just a warlock, she did nothing wrong. But, she was working for us. Of course! Sebastian wants to make us as weak as possible, so eliminating our best healer will just weaken us. Next thing I know, I can hear footsteps behind me and Magnus is on he knees next to me. "It was Sebastian. I'm sorry," I cooed to him.

"It's okay. Tessa, help me with her. If she's dead she might as well have a proper burial. I'll clean her up." Magnus started to clean her up with magic. The blood started to evaporate into the air. By the time he was finished, it was almost as if she wasn't attacked at all. Then he carried her out of the room, Tessa trailing behind. "Well that was, brief," I said uneasily.

"Yeah, I guess. Now I see what you meant when you said that he's closed off."

Magnus's POV

It started raining, which officially made it the most cliché funeral ever. Tessa and I found a near by graveyard and found a spot for her, beside some blue forget-me-nots. It was very quick, mostly because I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Even though I'm looking at her death right in the face, I'm in denial that she's actually dead. She was the last of the few people I had left in my life. Ragnor, her, and even Camille, she was a bitch but she held a part of my past. Ragnor and Catarina where the only friends I've kept throughout the years, the only people who I've spent centuries together with. Catarina was the most toned down of us. We were like the hold trinity, just not holy, like at all, seriously. Anyways, I'm going to miss her. I still remember on my first date with Alec she asked to be my best woman at the wedding. Now that's impossible. I used magic to dig a hole in the ground and lowered her into the ground. Like a mundane funeral, I said a few words to send her off. On the outside I might seem cool and collected, but I'm dying on the inside. She was the last thing that kept the anchored to the ground after I broke up with Alec. "Magnus, do you want to go back to tell institute?"

"Yeah, okay." We walked back in silence, complete silence.

Back at the institute she followed me to my room. "What do you want Tessa, I'm perfectly capable of going to my room by myself."

"Your friend just died, I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm okay, Yeah I'm okay. I'm perfectly fucking fine." My eyes started to burn.

"Magnus, you're clearly not okay. I've known you most of my life, so I know when you're not okay."

"No shit. That's it, as soon as this is over I'm leaving. As soon as possible I'm leaving this city and never turning back. There's literally nothing left for me now."

"What about Alec? Your blue-eyed Lightwood."

"What about him. What we had is no longer there, and there's just too much wrong with us."

"So? You can fix that, and tell me, why did you give up your immortality so easily? It's because you hoped that with one problem in your relationship fixed, you can fix the others. You can offer him a lifetime of love now, so why don't you?"

"Because he won't accept it. He doesn't know that I'm mortal now. That I'm now nineteen because that's when I stopped to age. I've told him I won't let him back in my life because of so many problems, and it looks like he accepted it. He doesn't talk to me anymore, he hasn't since he showed up drunk at my doorstep."

"Then talk to him yourself. Stop being so...weak. Don't just sit here and watch your blue-eyed boy you love leave you. He could die in the next few days and he'll never know how you felt."

"There's no point now, just let me be. If you want to join me when I leave to the other side of the earth, you're welcome to do so."

"Magnus. Just stop it right now. You just lost a friend, you don't mean any of this." It was clear that she was trying very heard not to yell at me for being ridiculous.

"Theresa Gray, I mean all of it. I'm leaving and not turning back." I sunk down on my bed and she sat next to me.

"So you're not saying this out of grief?"

"It's true, but that doesn't mean that I'm not grieving. Oh Lilith, she's dead." Now I really did start to cry. She put and hand around my shoulders and pulled me against her. I rested my head on her shoulder and allowed myself to cry as much as I wanted.

"It's okay Magnus, she's in a better place. It's kind of a good thing for her. Her life is over so she doesn't have the grieve over deaths anymore, or yours. It probably would've hurt her more than you think. It's okay, it's okay."

Alec's POV

This isn't stalking, I repeatedly told myself. After Catarina died Isabelle and I went back to the institute. It wasn't until Magnus returned that I actually got up from my bed. Magnus stalked off to his room without a word, Tessa behind him. When they closed the door I pressed my ear to the door. I've even convinced myself that I'm not eavesdropping, I have problems. But maybe this wasn't such a bad decision. So far I've learned that his relationship with Tessa is completely platonic, and that he still wants to get back together. He thinks it me who won't want to, that's what I though about him. If he asked, I would give him another chance. Wait? Did I hear that right? He's mortal? That must be been what his father wanted in exchange for him working for us. That's why he avoids me at all costs because he doesn't want me to know before he leaves, so that I don't chase after him. You have to give him credit for knowing me so well, that I won't give up that easily, and now I have another reason just not to. Plus, Tessa is comforting him in a time of need. I can't help but feel like that should be me. Telling him everything is going to be alright, calming him, holding him. It will be like that soon, hopefully.

~o~

One more day, that's it. One more day until the battle that determines whether or not we live. A warlock that moved in made a portal to transport us to Idris, so we can prepare. Most of the people left to Idris, including me. Only Isabelle, there New York pack, and another warlock stayed, and Isabelle only stayed because she wanted to spend the last say with Simon. No one has really grasped the concept that we can die tomorrow. We're shadowhunters, we face death everyday, but this time is different. We won't die in the hands of a demon, we'll die in the hands of our own kind. Friends, family, parabatai, lovers, even if they're not there anymore. They're not the people you knew any more, it's just a shell of them. I push those thoughts to the back of my head and start to prepare for tomorrow.

Isabelle's POV

Everyone has been gone for the whole day. It's just me and some warlock, I think Jeff was his name. Tomorrow is this big battle, and I'm feeling pretty confident. The only thing I'm worried about is Magnus. Alec told me that he became mortal, and that he's leaving as soon as all of this is over. It sucks for Alec, but he also told me that he's going or ask Tessa when he's leaving exactly so he can go talk to Magnus before it's too late. They both love each other and their relationship problems can be fixed, and we can't have my brother unhappy for any longer.

The sky outside finally turned black, and its almost time for me to go out. Simon asked me to spend the rest night with him because who knows if I'll come back tomorrow. He isn't going because he's helping Lucy, the new clan leader, track down Maureen, who went into hiding after she stepped down from power. It terrible that he can't go, but New York is probably the safest place for him. He said to meet him at Central Park at seven, it's six right now, so I start to get ready. Since its not that fancy of a date, I decided to keep it simple, but it'll still pop. Red lipstick and black smokey eye shadow, my hair loose and flowing, and a red dress with a black belt. It wasn't quite seven yet, so I just sat at my vanity table to look for any flaws in my makeup. There was a cold laugh from behind me and my breath hitched "You look lovely tonight. What's the special occasion?" My blood boiled with hate for him. He's the reason Max is dead, he's the reason lives will be lost tomorrow, and he's why I'm clutching a knife I keep in my vanity table drawer.

"Get. Out. Now."

"You're so unwelcoming. What's the rush to make me leave?"

"What do you want? You already go what you wanted. Shadowhunters going to war because of you, what else do you want?"

"I've always been know to make things dramatic, and I've already got the younger Silverscale with me. So why not steal the precious Lightwood girl, surly that will start an uproar." His breath was hot on the back of my neck, an I really want to kill him right then and there.

"Don't touch me or-"

"Or what? You can't do anything to me. You're unarmed, and so...innocent. I see why so many men have taken interest in you." Before I could stop it, he lifted me off the chair and and pinned me to the wall. "You can add me to that long list of men now. Isabelle Lightwood." Him saying my name sent chills up my spine. The knife lay on the floor from when I dropped it when he picked me up. Instinct kicked in and I kicked him in the kneecap. The pain is horrible. He groaned, but didn't let me go. Instead he pulled out a long, thin, silver dagger from his belt. "Now, you're going to be good or else very bad things will happen to you."

"Not a chance." I kicked him again, this time to his crotch. Surely enough, he let go and recoiled in pain. With the sudden distraction, I got on the floor and got my knife.

"Not a smart decision, girl." By some miracle, he revived in seconds and was on me. "Stupid, stupid girl." He pinned my hands above my head, making me immobilized. "No reason to have that knife there. Kidnapping you will cause people to hurt because of you, but first. I'm going to mark you as mine."

"No!" I screamed. I wasn't going to give up. He started to take the straps of my dress and cut them with his dagger. He stopped from doing that, and punched me in the face. The pain was awful, but I had to fight back. While doing this, he let go of my hands, fatal flaw. In one swift movement, I sliced side of his face, probably damaging an eye too. Blood started pouring from the deep gash in the side of his face. "You bitch. I'll let you go for now, but you'll pay for this." Right on beat, I got up and charged at him, fully prepared to end his life. Just as the knife was going to pierce his skin, he vanished. He has Valentine's ring with him, which gives him the ability to vanish at will. Dammit. Tomorrow, I swear to the Angel, I will kill him.