“I choose to be with him for however many days or minutes we are granted, and to count myself blessed to have them.”

“well that's convenient, i guess blessings are easier to come by than i thought. maybe i should ask for blessings on my mission against all those who wear white after labor day”

“He has fought many battles with us" (Jace) By which you mean one battle" muttered Simon. "Two if you count the one I was a rat”

“How many other people?" Alec asked. "Roughly."Magnus shook his head. "I can't count, and it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is how I feel about you.""More than a hundred?" Alec asked. Magnus looked blank. "Two hundred?""I can't believe we're having this conversation now," Magnus said.”

“Magnus took a deep breath and spoke gently. “Will. You asked me for my wisdom, as someone who has lived many lifetimes and buried many loves. I can tell you that the end of a life is the sum of the love that was lived in it, that whatever you think you have sworn, being here at the end of Jem’s life is not what is important. It was being here for every other moment. Since you met him, you have never left him and never not loved him. That is what matters.”

“I only count the hours that shine.”

“Simon remembered a rhyme his mother used to recite to him, about magpies. You were supposed to count them and say: one for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a wedding, four for a birth, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret that's never been told. "Right," simon said. He had already lost count of the numbers of birds there were. Seven, he guessed. A secret that's never been told. Whatever that was.”