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"I'm going to try," said Simon. "Is there any reason why 'Magnus Bane' was the one that felt right?"
"Magnus Bane felt right for a lot of reasons," Magnus said, which was not really an answer. He seemed to sense Simon's disappointment and take pity on him, because he added: "Here's one."
Magnus flipped the coin over and under his fingers, the circle of metal moving faster and faster. Blue lines of magic seemed to spring from his rings, a tiny storm rising in Magnus's palm and catching the coin in a net of lightning.
Then Magnus threw the coin off the tower, into the night wind. Simon could see the falling coin, still touched with blue fire, going beyond the limits of the Academy grounds.
"There's a scientific phenomenon to describe something that happens when an object is in motion. You think you know exactly what path it will take and where it will end up. Then suddenly, for no reason you can see . . . the arc changes. It goes somewhere you would never have expected."
Magnus snapped his fingers, and the coin zigzagged in the air and returned to them as Simon stared, feeling like he was seeing magic for the first time. He dropped the coin in Simon's hand and smiled, a blazing rebel's smile, his eyes as gold as newly discovered treasure.
"It's called the Magnus effect," he said.
*
"Fzzzz," Clary said, her bright red head hovering over the baby's small dark-blue one. She pressed little kisses onto the baby's cheeks, buzzing like a bee as she did so, and the baby chuckled and grasped at her curls. "Fzzzz, fzzz, fzzzz. I don't know what I'm doing. I have never had a close relationship with any babies. For sixteen years I thought I was an only child, baby. And after that, baby, you don't want to know what I thought. Please forgive me if I'm doing this wrong, baby. Do you like me, baby? I like you."
"Give me the baby," Maryse said jealously. "You've had him for four whole minutes, Clarissa."
It was a party in Magnus and Alec's suite, and the game of choice was Pass the Baby. Everyone wanted to hold him. Simon had shamelessly tried to curry favor with Isabelle's father by teaching Robert Lightwood how to use Simon's digital watch as a timer. Robert was now holding the watch in a death grip and studying it carefully. It would be Robert's turn with the baby again in sixteen minutes, and he had clasped Simon's shoulder and said, "Thanks, son," which Simon took as a blessing to date Robert's daughter. He did not regret the loss of his watch.
Clary surrendered the baby, and leaned back against the sofa between Simon and Jace. The sofa creaked dangerously as she settled back. Simon might have been safer in the formerly crooked tower, but he was willing to be in danger if he could stay next to Clary.
"He's so sweet," Clary whispered to Jace and Simon. "It's strange to think he's Alec and Magnus's, though. I mean, can you imagine?"
"It's not that strange," Jace said. "I mean, I can imagine."
A flush rose on his high cheekbones. He edged into the corner of the sofa as Simon and Clary both turned and stared at him.
Clary and Simon continued to stare judgmentally. It made Simon very happy. Judging people together was an essential part of best friendship.
Then Clary leaned forward and kissed Jace.
"Let's pick up this conversation in about ten years," she said. "Maybe longer! I'm going to dance with the girls."
She went to join Isabelle, who was already dancing to the soft music in the midst of a circle of admirers who had come because they heard she was back. Foremost among them was Marisol, who Simon was pretty sure had determined to be Isabelle when she grew up.
The Lightwood baby celebration was in full swing. Simon smiled, watching Clary. He could remember a couple of times she had been wary around other girls, and they had stuck together instead. It was nice to see Isabelle hold out her hands to Clary, and Clary grasp them without hesitation.
"Jace," said Simon as Jace watched Clary and smiled. Jace glanced at him and looked annoyed. "Remember when you told me that you wished I could remember?"
"Why are you asking me if I remember things?" Jace asked, sounding definitely annoyed. "I'm not the one who has problems with remembering. Remember?"
"I just wondered what you meant by that."
Simon waited, giving Jace a chance to take advantage of his demon amnesia and tell him another fake secret. Instead, Jace looked incredibly uncomfortable.
"Nothing," he said. "What would I mean? Nothing."
"Did you just mean you wanted me to remember the past generally?" Simon asked. "So I'd remember all the adventures we had and the manly bonds we formed together?"
Jace continued to make an uncomfortable face. Simon remembered Alec saying Jace was so upset.
"Wait, was that actually it?" Simon asked incredulously. "Did you miss me?"
"Obviously not!" snapped Jace. "I would never miss you. I, um, was talking about something specific."
"Okay. So, what specific thing did you want me to recall?" Simon asked. He eyed Jace suspiciously. "Was it the biting?"
"No!" said Jace.
"Was that a special moment for you?" Simon asked. "One that you wanted me to remember that we shared?"
"Remember this moment," said Jace. "At the very next opportunity that offers, I am going to leave you to die at the bottom of an evil boat. I want you to remember why."
Simon smiled to himself. "No, you won't. You would never leave me to die at the bottom of an evil boat," he muttered as Alec strolled over to the slanted sofa and Jace looked outraged by what he was hearing.
"Simon, normally it's a pleasure to talk to you," Alec said. "But could I have a word with Jace?"
"Oh, right," Simon said. "Jace, I'd forgotten what I was trying to talk to you about. But now I remember very clearly. Alec and I had a little talk about his problem with me. You know, the one you told me he had. The terrible secret."
Jace's golden eyes went blank. "Ah," he said.
"You think you're hilarious, don't you?"
"Though I realize that you are both a little annoyed with me, and this might not be the time to shower myself with praise," Jace said slowly, "honesty compels me to tell you: Yes. Yes, I do think I am hilarious. 'There goes Jace Herondale,' people say. 'Cutting wit, and also totally cut. It's a burden Simon could never understand.'"
"Alec's going to kill you," Simon informed him, and patted Jace on the shoulder. "And I think that's fair. For what it's worth, I'll miss you, buddy."
He got up from the sofa. Alec advanced on Jace.
Simon trusted Alec to exact terrible vengeance for both of them. He had wasted enough time on Jace's dumb joke.
George was dancing with Julie and Beatriz, clowning around to try and get them to laugh. Beatriz was already laughing, and Simon thought Julie would soon.
"Come on, dancing with me isn't so bad," George told Julie. "I may be no Magnus Bane . . ." He paused and looked over at Magnus, who had changed into a black gauze shirt with blue sequins twinkling underneath. "I definitely could not pull that off," he added. "But I do work out! And I have a Scottish accent."
"You know that's right," said Simon. He high-fived George and smiled at the girls, but he was already moving past them, on his way to the center of the dancers.
On his way to Isabelle.
He came up behind her and slid his arm around her waist. She leaned back against him. She was wearing the dress she'd worn the day he'd first met her for the second time, reminding him of the starry night over Shadowhunter Academy.
"Hey," he whispered. "I want to tell you something."
"What is it?" Isabelle whispered back.
Simon turned her toward him, and she let him. He thought they should have this conversation face-to-face.
Behind her, he could see Jace and Alec. They were hugging, and Alec was laughing. Jace was patting him on the back in a congratulatory way. So much for terrible vengeance, though Simon couldn't really say he minded.
"I wanted to tell you before I try to Ascend," he said.
The smile dropped off Isabelle's face. "If this is an in-case-I-die
speech, I don't want to hear it," she said fiercely. "You're not going to do that to me. You're not going to even consider dying. You're going to be fine."
"No," Simon said. "You've got it all wrong. I wanted to say this now, because if I Ascend, I get my memories back."
Isabelle looked confused instead of angry, which was an improvement. "What is it, then?"
"It doesn't matter if I get my memories back or not," Simon said. "It doesn't matter if another demon gives me amnesia tomorrow. I know you: You'll come find me again, you'll come rescue me no matter what happens. You'll come for me, and I'll discover you all over again. I love you. I love you without the memories. I love you right now."
There was a pause, broken by irrelevancies like the music and the murmur of the people all around them. He could not quite read the look on Isabelle's face.
Isabelle said in a calm voice: "I know."
Simon stared at her. "Was that . . . ," he said slowly. "Was that a Star Wars reference? Because if it was, I would like to declare my love all over again."
"Go on, then," said Isabelle. "I mean it. Say it again. I've been waiting awhile."
"I love you," said Simon.
Isabelle was laughing. Simon would have thought he would be appalled to say those words to a girl and have her laugh at him. But Isabelle was always surprising him. He could not stop looking at her. "Really?" she asked, and her eyes were shining. "Really?"
"Really," said Simon.
