The Institute's training room was a crucible, its stone walls echoing with the clash of steel and the sharp commands of Isabelle's voice. Sweat dripped down my brow as I gripped the stele, its warmth pulsing against my palm like a second heartbeat. The Binding Rune on my arm—the jagged star I'd drawn in the warehouse—glowed faintly, a constant reminder of the power I'd unleashed and the danger it brought. I'd stopped a demonic portal, scattered Asmodeus's minions, but the cost was etched in Aldertree's cold gaze and the Clave's tightening grip. Every step I took in this world felt like a step further from Mira, and the ache of her absence was a wound that wouldn't heal.
"Focus, Lilia!" Catarina called from the sidelines, her blue eyes sharp but encouraging. She'd been drilling me for hours, trying to teach me to control the Binding Rune before it controlled me. "The rune's tied to your emotions—anger, fear, desperation. Channel it, don't let it consume you."
I nodded, my jaw tight, and pressed the stele to my forearm, picturing calm, control, the quiet strength I'd felt when I swung my sword in the mines. The rune flared, its glow brighter than the Strength or Precision runes I'd mastered, and a surge of energy flooded me, sharp and wild. The air around me crackled, and the training dummy across the room shuddered, its wooden frame splintering as if struck by an invisible force.
Isabelle let out a low whistle, her whip coiled at her hip. "Damn, girl," she said, grinning. "You're gonna give Jace a run for his money."
Kyle, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. "If she doesn't blow up the Institute first," he said, but there was a glint in his eyes, a mix of amusement and something deeper that made my stomach flip.
I lowered the stele, my arm trembling from the effort. "It's… intense," I admitted, my voice hoarse. "It's like it wants to take over."
Catarina approached, her expression serious. "That's why we're here," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The Binding Rune is ancient, tied to angelic and demonic forces. It can link worlds, but it can also tear them apart. You need to master it before Asmodeus exploits it."
The mention of Asmodeus sent a chill down my spine. His voice from my last vision—*The girl will open the way, or she will break*—lingered like a shadow, and the image of Mira hiding in District 12's alleys haunted me. I clutched the pendant, its crescent moon rune cool but heavy, and forced myself to focus. "What's next?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
"Visualization," Catarina said, handing me a leather-bound book open to a page of rune diagrams. "Picture the rune's energy as a river—guide it, don't fight it. Try drawing it again, but smaller, controlled."
I took a deep breath, the stele steady in my hand, and began to draw. The rune took shape, its lines precise but softer, like a flame tamed. The glow was gentle, and the energy flowed smoothly, warming me without overwhelming. The dummy didn't splinter this time, but a faint hum filled the air, like the rune was singing.
"Better," Catarina said, her smile approving. "You're learning. But it's not just technique—it's trust. Trust yourself, Lilia."
Trust. The word felt foreign, like a luxury I'd never afforded in District 12. I'd trusted my mother, and she'd left me with secrets. I'd trusted myself to protect Mira, and now she was worlds away. But as I met Kyle's gaze, his steady presence a quiet anchor, I wondered if trust was something I could learn.
Before I could try again, the pendant flared, its glow blinding, and pain seared through me. The training room vanished, replaced by a vision so vivid it stole my breath. I stood in a snowy forest, the same one from my earlier visions, but now my mother, Elara, was alone, her black Shadowhunter gear torn and bloodied. The pendant glowed around her neck, its rune pulsing like a dying star. A figure loomed before her, wreathed in flame, his eyes burning coals—Asmodeus.
"You cannot hide her forever," he said, his voice a low rumble that shook the ground. "The Binding Rune is mine, Elara. Give me the child, and you may live."
Elara's face was fierce, her sword raised despite the tremble in her hands. "You'll never touch her," she spat, her voice raw. "She's beyond your reach, in a world you'll never find."
Asmodeus laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "No world is beyond me," he said. "You've only delayed the inevitable. The rune will call to her, and she will come."
Elara's eyes filled with tears, but her resolve didn't waver. She raised the pendant, its glow flaring, and a portal opened behind her, its edges crackling with blue light. "I'd rather die than let you have her," she said, and with a final, defiant scream, she plunged her sword into the ground, the rune's energy erupting in a wave that forced Asmodeus back. The portal swallowed her, and the vision shattered, leaving me gasping on the training room floor.
"Lilia!" Kyle's voice was sharp, his hands on my shoulders, his face inches from mine. Isabelle and Catarina hovered nearby, their expressions a mix of worry and alarm.
I clutched the pendant, my chest heaving. "My mother," I said, my voice ragged. "She fought Asmodeus to protect me. She used the rune to escape—to Panem. But he knew I'd come back."
Catarina's face paled. "If Asmodeus marked the rune," she said, "he can track it. Every time you use it, he sees you."
Kyle's grip tightened, his eyes dark. "Then we keep her safe," he said, his voice fierce. "No one's touching her, not Asmodeus, not the Clave."
Isabelle's whip cracked, a restless gesture. "We need to find that lab's source," she said. "If Asmodeus is working with the Capitol, there's a traitor feeding them intel. Someone in the Shadow World—or closer."
Her words hung heavy, and I thought of Aldertree's cold smile, his insistence on my guilt. Could the Clave be compromised? Or was the traitor within the Institute itself?
---
The war room was a hive of activity, maps and scrolls strewn across the table as Maryse briefed us. Catarina's research had pinpointed a residual energy signature in the Institute's lower levels, a possible link to the Capitol's demonic runes. "It's faint," she said, "but it's here. Someone's been tampering with our wards."
Aldertree, ever-present, scoffed. "You're suggesting a traitor in my Institute?" he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Absurd. The girl's presence is the breach."
Kyle stepped forward, his posture rigid. "The girl stopped a portal and destroyed a demonic lab," he said, his voice low but cutting. "Maybe you should focus on the real threat instead of scapegoating her."
Aldertree's eyes narrowed, but Maryse intervened. "Enough," she said. "Lilia, Kyle, Isabelle, Alec—investigate the lower levels. If there's a traitor, we need proof."
We descended into the Institute's underbelly, a maze of damp stone and flickering torches. The air was heavy, the runes on the walls dim, as if drained. My pendant hummed, its glow faint but persistent, and I gripped my sword, the leather jacket Isabelle had given me a comforting weight. Kyle led the way, his daggers drawn, while Isabelle's whip trailed like a serpent, and Alec's bow was ready.
The trail led to a sealed chamber, its door etched with wards that sparked when Kyle touched them. "These are new," he said, his voice tense. "Not Institute standard."
Isabelle's eyes narrowed. "Someone's hiding something," she said, drawing a rune—Unlock—with her stele. The door groaned open, revealing a small room lined with crates and a single table. On it lay a piece of Peacekeeper armor, its surface carved with red runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Capitol," I whispered, my stomach twisting. "How did this get here?"
Before anyone could answer, a figure stepped from the shadows—a young Shadowhunter, his blonde hair and nervous eyes familiar. Robert, one of the Institute's trainees. His hands glowed with red runes, and his face was pale, twisted with fear and defiance.
"You weren't supposed to find this," he said, his voice trembling. "I didn't have a choice—they threatened my family."
Kyle's daggers flashed, but I grabbed his arm. "Wait," I said, my voice urgent. "Who's they?"
Robert's eyes darted to the armor. "The Capitol," he said. "They've got warlocks, demons. They promised to spare my sister if I helped. I just… I opened a small breach, that's all."
Isabelle's whip cracked, pinning Robert to the wall. "You let those creatures in," she said, her voice icy. "You betrayed us."
Alec lowered his bow, his expression grim. "We need to take him to Maryse," he said. "He'll talk."
But before we could move, the armor's runes flared, and a portal tore open, small but violent. A single creature emerged—not a Peacekeeper, but a Drevak demon, its needle-like spines glinting. It lunged, and we scattered, Kyle tackling Robert to safety while Isabelle's whip sliced through its side. I drew a rune—Speed—its energy surging, and swung my sword, severing the demon's head. It dissolved into ash, but the portal flickered, spitting sparks.
"We need to close it," I said, clutching the pendant. The Binding Rune glowed, and I pressed the stele to my arm, drawing it with a focus I hadn't felt before. The portal shuddered, its edges collapsing, but the energy backlash hit me like a wave, and I stumbled, my vision blurring.
Kyle caught me, his arms steady. "You're pushing too hard," he said, his voice rough. "You're gonna burn out."
"I have to," I said, my voice fierce. "For Mira."
He held my gaze, his eyes raw with something that made my heart stutter. "You're not alone," he said, his hand cupping my cheek for a fleeting moment. The air between us charged, and I leaned closer, his breath warm against my lips—
The chamber shook, a new alarm blaring. "Breach!" Alec shouted, his bow raised as footsteps echoed above. The moment shattered, and Kyle pulled back, his expression torn.
We dragged Robert to the war room, where Maryse and Aldertree waited. Robert confessed, his voice broken, and Maryse's face was a mask of fury. "You've endangered us all," she said. "You'll face the Clave."
Aldertree's eyes locked on me. "And you," he said, "used the Binding Rune again, against my orders. You're a danger, Thorn."
Before I could respond, Magnus Bane swept in, his presence a burst of color in the grim room. "Oh, please," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "The girl's saving your hides while you bicker. I've got intel—Asmodeus's enclave was just a front. The real lab's in Idris, hidden under the Clave's nose."
The room went silent, Aldertree's face paling. "Impossible," he said, but his voice wavered.
"Very possible," Magnus said, tossing a rune-carved crystal onto the table. "And if you want to stop it, you'll need Lilia. So maybe stop threatening her."
Maryse nodded, her eyes meeting mine. "You're with us," she said. "We'll find this lab. For your sister, and for our world."
In my room later, Kyle lingered, his presence a quiet comfort. "You scared me back there," he said, his voice soft. "Don't do that again."
I smiled, my hand finding his. "No promises," I said, and for a moment, the weight of the world lifted, his touch a promise of something more. But the pendant's glow, the rune's burn, and Asmodeus's threat loomed, a storm on the horizon.
---
**Author's Note**
Shadowhunters and Tributes, you're the GOATs for diving into Chapter 7! 😱 This one's a rollercoaster, and I'm OBSESSED with Lilia's rune game and that *almost* kiss with Kyle—talk about tension! 👀 What's your vibe on Elara's sacrifice, the traitor reveal, or Magnus stealing the show? Drop your theories and feels in the comments—I live for your thoughts! If you're loving *Flames of the Shadows*, please smash that vote button and add it to your library. Next chapter's coming soon, and it's gonna be INSANE. Thanks for being the best readers in all the worlds! 💖