Burning Sky // Alec Lightwood ➰

No turning back.

The three of us approach the institute with heavy steps, all wandering what will finally happen when we enter. I take a look at the tall walls of the Victorian church that seems abandoned. From the outside it resembles a building that is close to collapsing to the ground any minute now. I think of the inside of it, how different it is form the image now presented at us, a whole other world.

I stop a few steps away from where the detectors are supposed to be and cause the other two to stop too. Adam calls my name and I take a moment before removing my gaze from the haunting building and turn to look at him.

"Do you think they know?" I ask silently but they hear me and sigh.

Isabelle moves to my side and smiles at me. "Does it matter? We did what we thought was right. We should be proud." She states and I nod at her words, I know she is right.

After all it's not me I'm scared for.

A gust of wind blows making me shiver and I move some hair that has gotten in my eyes.

"What about you?" I ask her and she shrugs at me, her lip glossed lips form into a frown.

"What about me?" She asks back not realizing what I'm thinking.

Adam however nods at me with an understanding and moves his hand to rest it on the brunette.

"This is important to you, it's your life. You can't risk it." He points out at Isabelle who stops to look at both of us for a second before letting out a breath.

Before she has the time to answer I speak up.

"I'm talking about you too Adam. You can get in trouble, lose this." I say gesturing towards the church, or more accurately to what's inside of the church.

He knows I'm right, I can see it in his eyes, he is scared. He has grown to think of this place as a home.

"And you? Won't you lose this?" He asks and I shake my head at him while running a hand through my hair, contemplating how I should continue.

"I know that you think that it doesn't matter about you, that it's gonna be fine, but it does." He insists and paces back a forth causing dust to rise from the ground and cloud the atmosphere.

Isabelle sighs into the silence and places a hand on his shoulder to make him stop.

"Okay, what about this, I will go inside with Sky and you will come some minutes later. They won't pay that attention if we are divided." She proposes and Adam is hesitant for a moment before speaking up.

"Why don't we go inside and Sky comes afterwards, we can create a distraction, she won't be noticed." He offers with a worried look and I shake my head at him.

"No Isabelle is right, we will go, you wait ten minutes and then come in."

Before he has the time to react and refuse I move and step forward making myself known as the cameras of the institute turn to me.

I turn my head to look back and Isabelle nods at Adam before joining me, leaving him no other option but to wait there. We take a last deep breath, preparing ourselves and climb the stairs to enter the institute.

When we open the doors and slip in at first it seems like our plan worked and we go completely unnoticed by the other shadowhunters running up and down all over the place.

However, the moment of triumph doesn't last much longer as a fuming Lydia makes her way towards us with a quick step.

"Where were you?!" She demands at us and we freeze for a moment before Isabelle quickly recomposes herself and clears her throat.