ANGEL WINGS - SHADOWHUNTERS

[15] threats and traitors

Rowena opened her eyes to the familiar Institute infirmary and groaned. She lifted herself into a sitting position and moved her t-shirt up and turned her back towards the mirror, the wounds on her shoulder blades were barely scars and the pain she felt had vanished. She stood up out of bed and grabbed the set of clothes that Magnus had been kind enough to fetch from her apartment for her. She changed out of the infirmary clothes and into her familiar black jeans and burgundy sweatshirt before grabbing her phone and keys and leaving the room. On her way out of the Institute she bumped into Magnus.

"What are you doing, Sunshine?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing and a concerned older-brother look glinting in his eyes. He placed his hands on Rowena's shoulders, "You should be resting."

Rowena smiled and let out a small chuckle, "I'm fine, Mag." She said, removing Magnus' hands from her shoulders, "Nothing but a scar on my back." She paused for a second, "Have they found Jace?"

"Not yet. We think he's still over water. Warlock and shadowhunter tracking aren't working." He said, huffing in frustration.

Rowena smiled, "Don't worry, I'll get out there. I'll fly over the waterways in the city and see if I can see any ships or anything."

"No, Sunshine. You just got out of the infirmary; there could be something wrong with you. If you use your wings you could be putting yourself through even more pain and danger than normal." Magnus protested. He was about to open his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by Shadowhunters all moving past them to the Ops Centre. The two shared a look before following them, seeing Maryse Lightwood standing above the crowd.

Rowena moved through the crowd and stood next to Izzy and Lydia. "What's going on?" She asked, getting two shrugs in return.

"We are at war." Maryse started, before Clary, Simon, Jocelyn and Luke ran in to hear what was happening, "Valentine now has the Mortal Cup, with which he is, no doubt, raising a new army, and one of our own has joined him."

Isabelle huffed and frowned, "Looks like the queen's taking back her kingdom."

"As a result, the Clave has declared a state of emergency at the Institute. Their first priority is to replace the current leadership, who they have deemed wholly ineffectual." Maryse continued, looking down towards Lydia who was shaking her head and smiling a very fake smile, "It is an honour to introduce the newly appointed head of the New York Institute, Clave representative, Victor Aldertree." Maryse moved her hand, gesturing for Aldertree to come forward as she walked down the steps.

"Did you know about this?" Alec said behind the girls, leaning down towards Izzy.

Izzy shook her head, "No. But maybe this is why dad went back to Idris."

"Maryse went behind my back." Lydia scoffed.

Aldertree stepped forwards a few times before addressing the crowd, "My fellow Shadowhunters. It's an honour to be here with you all. We have to find Jace Wayland. He's a Shadowhunter and we don't leave our people behind. The answer to his location may very well lie in this room. So, I want to speak with everyone who went on a mission where Jace disappeared." He said. He turned to leave, but before he did he continued, "One last thing. Effective immediately, the Institute is on lockdown. But it's only temporary. Let's turn this Institute around."

"Wait, if we're on lockdown, who's out there looking for Jace?" Clary asked from next to the group.

Rowena scoffed, "Lockdown? Are you kidding me?" She questioned, shaking her head at someone she knew she would come to dislike.

"We'll think of something. Don't worry. Jace is tough. Valentine will never break him." Izzy replied to Clary's question.

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