Madzie pushed herself back onto the couch, tucking her legs up in front of her. She tried to listen to what Alec and Magnus were saying in the other room, but she was much more interested in the warm bowl of food in her lap. She scooped the spoon down into the bowl and quickly stuffed more oatmeal than she should have into her mouth. She didn't want them to take away the food like the bad man had done. She was halfway finished when the voices in the other room grew louder. Madzie stopped the spoon from clinking against the ceramic bowl and tried hard to listen to the conversation happening behind her.

"No, Alexander. You cannot tell anyone about this. Not yet."

"I think she's hurt more than she's letting on. And she could have information..."

"And that's for us to work out here. Together. She just... she reminded me of someone else who'd been hurt, unloved as a child, and I was... overwhelmed. I'm fine, Alexander."

Alec reached out and gently wiped the tear off his boyfriend's cheek. He brought his head down slightly to make better eye-contact with the warlock. "I only want to do what's best for her. For you. If this is too much-"

"-No, no. We have to help her." Magnus ran his hand down the Shadowhunter's runed arm, interlocking their fingers together when he reached Alec's hand.

Alec took hold of the other hand as well and moved his thumbs soothingly over the tops of Magnus' knuckles. "When Jace first moved into the Institute, he used to have these terrible nightmares about Valentine," Alec said. "I'd find him crying in his bed all alone. He would never want to tell me about it, but once in a while I could hear him talking in his sleep. Sometimes it would just be mumbling, but other nights... he'd almost scream, begging Valentine not to hurt him, pleading for him not to break his hand at the piano bench or to beat him in training. When I saw Madzie tonight, I remembered what Jace had been like at 10. I can't imagine what life with Valentine would be like for someone half that age. Even if it was only for a few days."

"Alexander. No one will hurt her again. We will both see to that," Magnus said. He leaned forward and softly pressed a kiss to Alec's lips, squeezing Alec's hands when he pulled away. "She will stay here, and we'll learn why she refuses magic, and we will heal. Together."

Madzie placed the bowl back on the table and slowly inched her way off of the couch, tiptoeing toward where the voices came from. She stood against the wall, afraid to turn the corner, but listened closely to every word.

"Are the wards still up at least?" Alec asked.

"Of course. I will not risk your safety while you're here, Alexander... or my own... or the girl's, even if she doesn't understand why the magic is needed. Just because we're playing mundane in here does not mean I would stop using magic to protect the building."

Madzie's eyes grew wide. She was surrounded by magic this whole time? She sprinted back over to the couch, but rather than sit on the cushions, she let herself sink down to the floor...

Alec and Magnus stepped back into the living room, and when Alec saw the couch was vacant, he put out his forearm to stop Magnus from going any closer.

"Where is she, Alexander?"

Alec crept forward slowly, scanning the room for any sign of where she could be hiding. She couldn't have gone out the front door - not with the wards up - but Alec gestured for Magnus to check near the door and in the kitchen while he looked behind curtains and in closets.

"Madzie," Alec said to the living room, "I know you're scared, but we won't let anything bad happen. We know you're hurting and-"

He stopped when he saw the shoe sticking out from under the couch. "Magnus," Alec said calmly, calling for the warlock to join him.

Alec moved the coffee table aside and got down on his stomach so he could have a better view of the scene under the couch. Madzie was lying on her side, her head buried into the crook of her arm.

"Hi," Alec said simply. "Why are you hiding, sweetheart?"

Madzie shook her head back and forth.

"You don't know why?" Alec asked.

"No magic," she whispered.

"We're not using any-" Alec paused.

"She heard us." Magnus sighed.

Alec nodded at Magnus and then turned back to Madzie. He reached his hand out to her under the couch.

"There's something that goes all around this building," Alec said. "They're called wards." He snaked his hand under one of her palms, hoping she'd take hold of his fingers. "But they keep us safe. It's like a giant shield to stop any bad guys."

Madzie's voice cracked as she spoke. "He can see it."

"Who can see it?" Alec asked.

"He'll find us."

"Who will find us?"

Magnus was listening intently now, but he was also intrigued by Alec's demeanor. Belly on the floor, his tone so soft and actions so gentle. He couldn't help but smile even under the circumstances. But as he listened to Madzie's answers, he realized that he had solved the puzzle.

"Alexander," Magnus said. "She's under the impression she'll be tracked, that all magic will be tracked."

Alec turned his focus back to Magnus. "She was afraid he'd come for her?"

"He'll find us," Madzie repeated. "He'll hurt you too."

Alec's heart was breaking, but he let a small smile escape. "You were trying to keep me safe?" he asked. He gently ran his hand across her forehead.

Much to Alec's surprise, Magnus joined him on the floor, eager to try and help coax her out of her hiding spot.

"The thing about wards, Madzie," Magnus explained, "is that they cannot be tracked."

In reality it was much more complex than that, but the goal was to gain her trust, and they both knew Valentine's abilities did not go as far as to be able to track magic. Her fear of magic was just a manipulation tool.

"Not even tracked by monsters?" she asked.

"Not even by monsters," Magnus said. "If a monster even tried to come near us, it would blast him far far away."

Alec waited a few moments for Madzie to process the information.

"Are you ready to come from under there now?" he asked.

"...Ok," she said.

Alec pulled his hand back and the two men got up from the floor, each standing on opposite ends of the couch. They lifted it up and walked a few feet back, placing it behind where Madzie was curled up. Magnus looked down at the girl, but then shut his eyes and took a breath.

"Talk to her," Magnus said. "I'm going to get some supplies to help."

Alec look confused for a moment, but then he saw what Magnus had seen. Madzie's shirt had lifted up on the side, the extension of a dark purple bruise now visible.