ShadowBound: The Need For Power

Mabel’s fingers rested lightly against Nyxie’s back. The small dragon leaned into the touch, still pleased with herself, apparently unaware or unconcerned with the full implications of what she had done.

Liam, meanwhile, was already thinking.

His irritation had shifted into analysis, though the faint ache in his head remained. What he experienced raised more questions than answers.

Was the memory sharing something Nyxie could do because she was a Nyxarion? If so, then this skill belonged specifically to her nature. Nyxarions were tied to death, shadow, Myst balance, and strange forms of growth that Liam still did not fully understand. It was possible her species had always possessed deeper memory resonance, and she had only become capable of using it now because her bond with him had strengthened.

Or was it because she was his shadow?

Extraction had already proven that Liam’s shadows were not simple summons. They were stored through him, sustained through dark magic, shaped by Myst, and tied to his own growth. If memory sharing came from that bond rather than Nyxie’s species, then perhaps his other shadows might eventually do the same once they reached a certain level of power, intelligence, or stability.

Smoke could not do it now. Liam was certain of that. The wolf was intelligent in the way a hunting beast could be intelligent, but he did not possess Nyxie’s layered awareness.

Still, the possibility remained.

If it was the former, then only Nyxie could perform it because she was Nyxie.

If it was the latter, then every powerful enough shadow might one day become not just a combat asset, but an information-gathering extension of Liam’s will.

Then again, it could be neither.

It could be something born specifically from Nyxie’s nature and Liam’s bond together, a skill that existed only because she was a Nyxarion turned shadow under a dark mage who had recently ascended and deepened his connection to her.

The fact that she had triggered it herself mattered. Liam had not pulled those memories from her. He had not opened the connection intentionally. She had done it under her own will, in direct response to his criticism.

That made him lean toward the former.

But leaning was not knowing.

He looked at Nyxie, who looked far too proud for someone who had just assaulted his mind with five days of unfiltered observation and multiple privacy violations.

Liam exhaled slowly.

As much as he wanted an answer, he was not going to get one tonight by staring at her. Nyxie could not explain herself in words. Mabel could speculate, but speculation would remain speculation. Mystica might have theories, but involving her would mean giving her information, and giving Mystica information was often the same as giving her entertainment, leverage, and twenty questions he did not feel like answering.

Tomorrow was the beginning of a new week.

That alone was enough reason not to spend the entire night dissecting a mystery with no immediate conclusion. The academy would throw something at him, because it always did. Classes, instructors, assignments, training, Isolde’s existence, Sheila’s new responsibilities, Seraphina’s mind games, Kaine’s brutality, and whatever else the world decided to add to the pile. Rest was practical.

Liam pushed himself up from the chair.

Mabel watched him carefully. "You are truly fine?"

"Yes."

"You looked like someone drove a blade through your skull."

"It felt closer to a needle."

"That is not reassuring."

"It wasn’t meant to be."

Mabel sighed faintly but did not press further.

Liam turned his attention to Nyxie. "Thank you for the memory sharing."

Nyxie lifted her chin, accepting the praise as overdue.

"But next time," Liam continued, "learn how to share only the important parts. I have no use for having images of people basically naked engraved into my memory."

Mabel went still.

The secondhand embarrassment that passed through her was brief but real. Her fingers paused on Nyxie’s back, and her eyes shifted toward Liam with a look that seemed caught between disbelief and the decision not to ask for details under any circumstances.

Nyxie’s pride collapsed.

The little shadow dragon’s wings tucked in. Her head lowered slightly, and she looked away toward the room’s far wall with an expression so clearly embarrassed that Mabel almost laughed despite herself.

Nyxie made a tiny clicking sound, not quite defensive or apologetic, but very much like someone who wanted the subject buried immediately.

Liam stared at her for another second.

Then he said, "I’m going to sleep."

He moved toward the bed, then paused and looked back at Nyxie again. "Also, I know you have no intention of going back into my shadow tonight."

Nyxie’s head snapped toward him, eyes widening with exaggerated innocence.

Liam ignored the performance. "So you can tag along with Mabel on the mission she has tonight. If she allows it."

Mabel looked at him sharply. "Liam."

Nyxie’s reaction was the opposite.

The small dragon sprang upright on Mabel’s lap, wings flaring with sudden excitement. Her tail whipped once, nearly striking Mabel’s wrist, and she let out a bright chirp that sounded far too loud for the quiet room. Her entire body seemed to vibrate with anticipation, as if she had just been granted permission to accompany a queen into glorious battle rather than follow Mabel on what was likely a routine surveillance or security task somewhere in Grandeur City.

Mabel lifted one hand before Nyxie could launch herself into the ceiling. "Wait."

Nyxie froze, though her tail continued twitching.

Mabel looked at Liam. "Do you think that is a good idea?"

"Yes."

"You do not know her exact range."

"The whole of Grandeur City," Liam said.

Mabel’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You sound very certain for someone who has not tested it properly."

"I have tested enough."

"Enough is not exact."

"She is not being sustained the same way the others are," Liam said. "She does not draw on my Myst reserves to maintain her form, at least not in any meaningful way. Her distance from me has been increasing for months without strain. Grandeur City should be within range."

"Should be," Mabel repeated.

"It will be."

Mabel gave him a flat look from behind the half-mask. "That is not how certainty works."

"It is how mine works."

"That is unfortunate for everyone around you."

Nyxie, sensing that the matter was still undecided, turned toward Mabel and deployed the most shameless expression Liam had ever seen on a creature made of shadows.

Her eyes widened. Her head lowered. Her wings drooped just enough to seem pitiful. A soft, pleading sound rose from her throat, delicate and wounded. She even placed one claw lightly against Mabel’s sleeve, as if begging not merely for permission, but for mercy.

Liam stared. "That is disgusting."

Nyxie ignored him.

Mabel looked down at the small dragon.

Nyxie’s eyes grew wider.

Mabel held her resolve for several seconds.

Then she sighed. "Fine."

Nyxie exploded into movement, bouncing once on Mabel’s lap with a gleeful trill before pressing her head against Mabel’s hand.

"But," Mabel said firmly, holding up one finger, "you obey me. You stay quiet. You do not wander. You do not harass anyone. You do not decide that a mission is boring and invent your own."

Nyxie nodded rapidly.

Liam said, "She’s lying."

Nyxie shot him an offended glare.

Mabel’s mouth curved faintly. "Probably. But I will hold her to it anyway."

"She will make your already easy mission easier," Liam said, pulling the blanket back. "You have nothing to worry about."

"That is not what I am worried about."

"Then worry less."

Mabel looked at him as he climbed into bed. "Excellent advice. I will treasure it."

Liam settled against the pillow and turned slightly onto his side, facing away from the room’s main light. "See you tomorrow."

Mabel studied him for a moment. He had ended the matter in that usual way of his, as though deciding sleep was the conclusion and everyone else could organize themselves around it. Yet Mabel had no issue with it.

Mabel rose from the wardrobe with fluid ease, landing silently on the floor.

Nyxie flew from her thigh to her shoulder at once, landing with a small flutter of wings and curling her tail around the back of Mabel’s neck for balance. The dragon looked painfully pleased with herself.

Mabel turned her head slightly toward her. "You had better be a good girl tonight, or Liam will hear about it in the morning."

Nyxie nodded solemnly.

It was a very convincing nod.

Too convincing.

Only the stars knew whether she meant it.

Liam’s voice came from the bed, already quieter. "She won’t."

Nyxie opened her mouth in silent outrage.

Mabel chuckled under her breath. "We will see."

With that, Nyxie’s body softened into liquid shadow and sank from Mabel’s shoulder into the darkness beneath her feet. The shadow there deepened for a moment, gaining a faint shape that did not belong to the lamplight. Mabel glanced once toward Liam, who had already closed his eyes, then lifted two fingers in a small gesture.

Space folded around her.

A breath later, Mabel vanished from the room.

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