"There's no crown," Alec grumbled. But he didn't argue any further. He made a low sound as Jace's teeth worried at his skin.

"Not picks on him. I think Magnus tries to nudge him out of his shell a little," Alec said. "He blames everything on Magnus anyway." He groaned. "If I'm in the ROOM with them and they know I'm there, even if I'm not ... touching them at that exact moment, I'm still a part of things. So it's not just ... watching."

Alec returned the favor and bit at Jace's lip, and then at his jaw, letting Jace rock against him and pull him in closer.