Alec grimaced. "Six months, Jace," he repeated. "Magnus has been here two and a half years. You think if there was a way to get home he wouldn't have found it? There's hundreds of powerful people here. None of them have found a way to come and go when they want. It's all just when the city takes you or when they let you go. No one knows how it happens or why. We all get the same story when we show up, and all Submissives get sent here. Dominants get sent to the Up."

Alec looked at him. Jace apparently knew he was dating Magnus ... which he guessed he was doing at home. After walking out on a wedding to who knows who. And he didn't seem to care, which ... Alec expected. Deep down he hadn't really thought Jace or Izzy would turn on him for liking men. It was more complicated than that.

But knowing that was a world away from knowing what Duplicity was like, or what Alec was like in Duplicity. He'd started to forget to be ashamed here, but Jace showing up, more than Izzy, reminded Alec that in the eyes of most people he'd ever known - he had reason to be.

He put off talking about any of that in favor of a question. "Who the hell is Clary?"

He glanced at the room and nodded. "This way," he said, turning to lead Jace toward his room. He couldn't help asking though. "... you lived with Magnus?"