Izzy's suggestion about Adam having a reason for why he acted certain ways came to mind as he watched the magician as he stood by the piano. Jace had sometimes acted like that. Like he shouldn't be around. Like Alec would be annoyed by his presence. When he was a kid, that had happened a few times, but once he realized how different Jace's upbringing had been from his own, Alec had given up on his petty jealousies.

"Thank you. I can never really tell since I compare myself to Jace." Not because he wanted to be better than his parabatai but because Jace had been his teacher. Suddenly uncomfortable with his memories of how Jace had reached that level of perfection, Alec shifted from classical to one the jazz songs that he'd taught Jace.

"You survived an Izzy talking-to? No wonder you look exhausted." Glancing over at Adam, he wondered how much his little sister had meddled. "Was it a good talk?"