Foreign Wars ─ 𝐚. 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝³

twenty-four.

Kai grimaced jokingly, shaking his head. "Please don't try to make 'pup' a thing."

"No?"

"No."

Kai smiled and leaned down to kiss Magnus' smiling lips. He felt content in that moment, just being able to enjoy his boyfriend's presence for the first time in days without worrying about his parabatai.

The sound of crackling flames whooshing closer made Kai peel his lips from Magnus, reaching his hand out to snatch the fire message as it appeared out of thin air.

"What is it?" Magnus questioned when Kai's brows furrowed reading the message.

"It's a message from Jace," he responded, his eyes widening in surprise. "Clary might still be alive."

❈ ──────────── ❈ 

Back at the Institute, Jace and Alec walked into the Ops Center with Kai, Magnus, and Luke behind them. The five of them gathered around the hologram table as Jace spoke. "We can confirm that the apartment jumped again early this morning," he informed him.

"And we have good reason to believe that Clary was in it," Luke added as they circled around the table.

"The problem is she could be anywhere."

"Well, not 'anywhere'," Magnus corrected Jace.

"What do you mean?" Alec questioned curiously. He had his arms crossed and Kai could see that his friend had a lot of stress weighing on him. He held his phone in his hand and periodically looked down at it, like he was waiting for someone to call him. 

That someone being...Leon.

Magnus swiped up on the hologram table as he answered Alec, "Inter-dimensional domiciles run along ley line grids," he explained as they started at a world map of the ley lines. "Based on the apartment's size and power, there are only a handful of habitable regions with grid junctions large enough to support it."

"Alright," Alec breathed. "Well, let's get a list of all places that fit the profile and check any nearby Institutes for unusual activity." He turned to Magnus. "Magnus, you must have some international warlock friends who can keep an eye out for us?"

"Well, I'm not one to name drop," he teased, sliding a sly look to a knowing Kai, "but...I'll make a few calls." Kai chuckled. 

"Even if we check all these places, it's still like finding a needle in a haystack," Luke pointed out dejectedly.

"Then we better start now," Jace stated. He looked over to a worried Luke while Kai patted his back to comfort him. "Hey, we're gonna find her."

Kai crossed his arms and glanced between his friends. "Has anyone heard from Leon?" he questioned. "He should be here. I'm bloody shocked he isn't."

Alec's face fell and he case his eyes back down to his phone. He frowned deeper and shoved his phone into his pocket with frustration. 

But Jace was the one who answered Kai, shaking his head. "I tried calling him a couple times," he explained, watching Alec walk away. "He probably assumes I'm gonna yell at him for breaking Alec's heart earlier this morning..." Jace scowled. "He'd be right if I wasn't more focused on getting Clary back."

Kai understood Jace's anger toward Leon. Alec was Jace's brother and he was hurting. Not only that but Jace could feel all of it from Alec as his parabatai.

"Jace, I understand you want to protect Alec," Magnus sighed sadly. "But Leon is hurting, too. He's been put through Hell just in the last few weeks." Jace frowned. "He was betrayed and nearly killed by the Consul, whom he trusted. Then was actually killed by his uncle and turned into a hybrid with powers he can't control..."