ShadowBound: The Need For Power

"You've grown… a lot. That little spectacle just now?" Seraphina's voice poured out like silk. "That wasn't just power. That was art."

Liam didn't move a muscle. Still as stone, eyes locked on her with that cold, unreadable stare. But the air around him shifted—subtle.

"You were watching," he said, voice barely above a breath.

"I always watch my favorites," she said with a sly tilt of her head. "Shadow Rend, hmm? Such a savage, elegant move. You could've used that on me… back in our little dance."

"Wouldn't have worked," he replied, deadpan. "You'd just flirt your way out of it."

A rich chuckle bubbled from her lips as she stepped forward slowly. "Maybe. Or maybe I'd let it slice right through me… just to see what you'd do next."

Nyxie hissed, her wings flaring like blades. Liam reached up and flicked her lightly on the snout.

"Don't waste your breath. She's always like this."

Seraphina flashed a grin, all teeth and mischief.

"You're becoming quite the little monster," she said. "Sharper. Meaner. Smarter. But there's been something gnawing at me for a while now…"

Liam raised a brow, not answering, just watching.

"Your little act during the simulation exam…" Her voice dropped into that honeyed, dangerous tone. "You know, the part where you were supposedly killed? Everyone's still scratching their heads. But me? Well… since we have this thing between us, I figured I'd skip the formalities and ask directly."

Liam gave a lazy shrug, letting out a quiet sigh. "I don't know. It just… happened."

Seraphina pouted. "Oh, darling. Don't treat me like the others. You do remember that I'm one of the few who knows what you really are, right?" she purred, stepping closer.

"I haven't forgotten, Lady Seraphina. I'm just telling the truth," Liam answered flatly, eyes like steel.

"Are you really?" she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck with a smooth, practiced motion. Nyxie squeaked in protest and sprang to the top of Liam's head.

Seraphina leaned in, her lips almost brushing his ear. "You know why you weren't yanked from the exam. You know. And if you told me the truth… I'd know more about you than anyone ever has."

She giggled. "Well, except for Mystica. She's basically your mom, so she gets a pass."

Liam scoffed under his breath. "Mom? Please."

"But if I do tell you… you've gotta give me something in return."

Seraphina blinked once, then let out a pleased sigh. "Ohh… look at you, all grown up and cutting deals instead of begging for favors. I'm so proud." Her cheeks turned faintly red, whether from amusement or something more dangerous, only she knew. "Kaine really did a number on you, huh? Taught you how to play the long game…"

She leaned back, eyes gleaming. "So… what do you want, little shadow?"

"At first? Nothing. But now?" His tone was even. "Now I want you to teach me things you'd never offer in a class session. The kind of things you only whisper to your third-years… not someone like me."

Seraphina's smirk deepened, her tongue pressing to the inside of her cheek. "Ooooh. Ambitious." She circled him slowly. "You wanna get ahead of the game, huh? Jump the line. Bite into the secrets before they ripen."

"Something like that."

She paused behind him, her voice trailing along his spine like frost. "And what makes you think I'm not already feeding you third-year material?"

He glanced over his shoulder, not missing a beat. "Nothing." A half shrug. "But if you are… then up the stakes."

"Up the stakes, he says." She laughed, low and dangerous. "Alright, then. What's the ask, shadow boy?"

"Teach me how to be like you. Stealthy. Dangerous. Untouchable. I want the real lessons. No handholding."

That caught her. She stilled, one brow arching. "You want me—" she tapped a black-painted nail to her chest "—to teach you how to be a ghost with a dagger and a kiss like poison?" Her grin spread slowly. "Darling, that's not something I give. That's something I carve into people."

"Then carve it," Liam said flatly. "If I'm going to survive the path I plan to take… I don't have time to be average."

Seraphina stared at him in silence for a long second. Then she laughed—full and rich, like someone who'd found their new favorite toy and was already imagining the ways to break it. "Gods, you've really changed," she whispered, stepping close again, her breath dancing against his cheek. "Fine. But no whining. No complaints. And if you bleed…" she licked her lips, "...clean it up yourself."

Liam gave a nod. "Deal."

"Oh, I'll start tonight then," Seraphina purred, her tone smooth as sin. "No use wasting all this juicy momentum. Meet me in my chamber at midnight—fifteen minutes from now. Quietly. If anyone sees you…" she tilted her head, eyes gleaming, "you fail."

Nyxie squeaked irritably from his perch on Liam's head, wings twitching in protest.

Seraphina glanced up with a wicked smile. "Relax, little shadowkin. I won't break your boy—just bend him a little, sharpen his edges where they're dull."

Liam's eyes narrowed. "Problem is… I don't know where your chamber is."

"Ohhh, right," she said with a mock gasp, tapping her lip. "How careless of me. It's on the southern wing of the academy. That's all you get."

"That's it?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, voice like a velvet rope around his neck. "If you wanna walk my path, you start like I did—tracking ghosts in the dark. Consider this your first lesson."

She turned, long coat billowing like living shadow, and melted into a dark violet mist that shimmered and vanished with a whisper.

"Fifteen minutes, Liam," her voice echoed softly. "Don't disappoint me."

The silence returned like a breath held too long. Nyxie growled, a low hum of disapproval vibrating through Liam's skull.

He sighed, stretching his neck once. "Yeah, yeah. I know."

He reached up and gave Nyxie a soft pat on the head. "Alright, time to move. But if I'm gonna avoid being spotted and track her at the same time... my flames are off the table tonight."

'Only dark magic will cut it for this...' he mused. 'But using it on academy grounds? That's pushing it. Even if I suppress my myst, some of it might leak out... and the last thing I need is the Assistant Headmaster sniffing around.'

Nyxie gave a tiny, annoyed squeak, and Liam smirked. "Yeah, yeah. We've already lost a minute. Back to the shadows you go."

Nyxie gave one last growl before melting into the black beneath his feet.

"I can test out a few spells I've been holding back on," he muttered, as dark tendrils began slithering from beneath his boots, snaking up his limbs and wrapping around him like living cords of ink.

"Void Passage."

With that command, he sank into his shadow like water down a drain—gone in an instant.

**

He emerged moments later from a flickering patch of shadow atop one of the academy's tallest towers in the southern wing. Wind kissed his face, wild and cold, as he crouched low on the edge.

"Whoa… didn't think that'd work," he muttered. "Thought I'd land in a hallway closet or something. Guess as long as I have a strong image in mind—somewhere I've seen or been—I can hit my mark. Still, the coordinates matter..."

He stood, the rooftops sprawling below him, moonlight splashing over slate tiles.

"This is perfect. Quiet, high up. No guards. No patrols. No prying eyes."

His voice dipped into a soft chant:

"Let my breath dissolve into stillness. Let my soul tread lightly. Let no shadow know me—Whispered Shroud."

A ripple passed over him—his aura dimming, his presence vanishing like fog in a breeze.

"This should keep me off their radar," he said, glancing at his pale, nearly translucent hands. "Assassin's Veil."

Another layer of magic folded over him—this one snuffing out all sound, his steps now silent as death. He hadn't mastered the full extent of the spell yet, but the silence part? That he had nailed.

"Now… let's find her. Shadow Sight."

His eyes glowed faintly, the world shifting into a grayscale hue. Faint trails of myst, invisible to normal sight, glimmered like smoke on water. Traces left behind by spells, steps, emotion—even breath.

He grinned. "Finally. A test to put all these to work."

Seraphina had handed him the perfect opportunity and Liam was not about to waste.

Liam slipped down from the rooftop like a phantom, his feet barely making contact with the stone tiles as he dropped silently into the courtyard. The Assassin's Veil kept him silent. The Whispered Shroud kept him hidden. And the faint trail of Seraphina's myst was the thread that guided him through the south wing.

He passed beneath arched windows and towering columns, tracing the corridors. The myst was faint, like the lingering scent of perfume, but Shadow Sight made it pulse in his vision—violet wisps drifting near the edges of doorways, curling along the floor.

He moved quietly through one hallway. Then—

Click-clack. Click-clack.

Footsteps.

His body moved before his mind caught up. Liam ducked behind a support pillar, shrouded in darkness as two academy guards strolled into view. They were armed, but far too casual.

"I'm just sayin'," one grumbled, "we're the ones walking these spooky halls at night while the instructors sleep in beds that cost more than my salary."

The other scoffed. "Right? I caught Lady Vale yawning during the council meeting last week. Probably stayed up drinkin' wine in some silk robe while we chase shadows."

They chuckled, their boots echoing faintly off the marble, then drifted out of sight.

Liam waited. Ten seconds. Twenty. A slow exhale.

Then he was moving again.

The myst trail wound sharply to the right, slithering down a narrow corridor. It was tight and dark. As he stepped inside, his eyes throbbed—just slightly, but enough to notice. The lines of myst were blurring.

'Tch. Already?' he thought, squinting. 'It's only been five minutes…'

The pain was growing behind his eyes, like pressure building in his skull. He winced, then whispered, "Spell cancel."

The glow faded from his vision, and the world returned to its natural tones. He blinked the sting away and kept walking, fingers trailing lightly along the stone wall for guidance.

The hallway seemed to stretch deeper than it should have. Finally, at the very end, he found a door. Matte black and smooth as onyx.

He raised a hand and knocked. Once. Twice.

Silence.

He turned the handle slowly and the door creaked open just a crack.

The room beyond was... beautiful.

The walls were a deep wine red with subtle gold filigree designs dancing up from the floor to the ceiling. A chandelier hung low, casting soft glows over velvet couches, bookshelves, and a faintly glowing crystal orb perched on an obsidian stand. Everything was pristine—almost unnaturally so.

Then—

"Oh good," came Seraphina's voice. "You made it."

Liam froze. He hadn't seen her yet.

"But you're late by…" She appeared from behind a partition, brushing her long green hair over one shoulder, "thirty-seven seconds."

She raised a brow and smiled. "Lucky for you, I find that charming."