ShadowBound: The Need For Power

The words settled into her slowly, each one placing a colder weight in her chest.

Sheila looked down for a moment, then back up. "Do you know who is helping him?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly to be satisfying.

Liam noticed the flicker in her eyes and added, "He is getting help from someone close enough to you to know useful details. I do not have enough proof to give you a name. Guessing wrong would only make things worse."

Sheila’s fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the bed.

Someone close enough to her.

That was worse than Chris acting alone. Chris’s pride, resentment, and desire to reclaim influence were problems she could understand. They were frustrating, but visible. Someone close enough to her to feed him information was different. It turned every familiar face into a possible question. Every conversation, every moment she had lowered her guard, every piece of guidance she had accepted or shared with someone around her became something that could have moved toward Chris without her knowing.

A quiet frustration rose beneath the fear.

And disappointment.

She did not want to feel it, but it came anyway. Part of her had expected Liam to say he had already taken care of it. That the problem was gone, or at least contained. Not because she thought he owed her that, but because Liam had a way of making dangers seem smaller once he started moving. He found routes other people missed. He cut through nonsense. He acted before most had finished naming the issue.

But he was sitting there telling her the problem remained.

Liam watched her for a few seconds.

Then he said, "I have not removed the problem for you."

Sheila’s eyes lifted to his.

"And I am not going to," he added.

The hurt that crossed her face was faint, but real.

"You are not?" she asked.

"No."

Sheila drew in a slow breath, trying to keep her voice steady. "You told me you would help."

"I am helping."

"It does not sound like it."

"It is not the kind of help you wanted."

That landed more sharply than he probably intended, or perhaps exactly as sharply as he intended. Sheila looked away, her jaw tightening just enough to show the pressure she was holding back.

"Are you abandoning me to deal with it alone?" she asked quietly.

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

Liam leaned back slightly in the chair, his red eyes steady on her. "Not becoming the hidden solution to every leadership problem you face."

Sheila did not answer.

"If I secretly remove every obstacle before it reaches you," Liam said, "your leadership will look strong only because I kept clearing the path around you."

Sheila’s fingers loosened, then tightened again.

He continued, blunt and even. "Chris will likely try to divide the second-years before deployment. Either by presenting himself as a better commander choice or by weakening confidence in you. Maybe both. If you want to prove you deserve command more than him, you need to face that directly."

Sheila swallowed. "And if I fail?"

"Then you learn before Eldervale."

"That is not comforting."

"It is not meant to be."

Her eyes sharpened slightly. "You make it sound simple."

"It is not simple."

"Then why do you sound like it is?"

"Because being dramatic about it will not help."

Sheila stared at him for a moment, then let out a quiet breath that almost became a bitter laugh but did not fully make it. "You are terrible at making people feel better."

"I know."

At least he admitted it.

That almost helped. Almost.

Sheila looked down at the notes scattered near her feet. The Bastion Assessment guide sat within reach, its dark cover visible beneath a loose page of Core Myst formulas. She had been reading it before her shower, trying to absorb as much as she could while her mind kept returning to leadership. Commander and vice commander could be chosen before deployment.

That meant the pressure would begin immediately. It had already begun, really, the moment Lucia dismissed them. Students would talk tonight. They would talk tomorrow. They would look toward her, toward Chris, toward Asher, toward Liam, and probably toward Edith if the conversation between them became known.

And now Chris had help.

Someone near her.

Her voice lowered. "I do not know if I am ready for this."

Liam watched her quietly.

She seemed to hate that she had said it, but the words were already in the room. They could not be taken back.

After a moment, Liam said, "You probably are not."

Sheila looked up sharply.

He continued before she could speak. "Not fully. No one is. That is why the academy is doing this."

Her expression remained tense, but she listened.

"Eldervale will be worse than Chris," Liam said. "Chris is only pride, influence, and sabotage. In the Bastion Assessment, you will deal with fear, divided loyalty, exhaustion, injuries, disagreement, poor judgment, resource problems, students who do not trust you, students who pretend they do, and students who follow only until following becomes uncomfortable."

The room felt smaller with every word.

"If you cannot handle Chris’s pressure before deployment," Liam said, "you will not be ready to command everyone once the assessment begins."

Sheila’s throat tightened slightly.

He was not cruel in the way he said it. That almost made it harder. Cruelty could be rejected. Harshness could be defended against. But Liam spoke as if he were placing tools on a table and naming each one for what it was. He was not telling her she was weak. He was telling her the pressure was real, and that avoiding it would only make the real test worse.

Sheila looked at him, the hurt in her expression slowly changing into something heavier.

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"Act like commander before the academy forces everyone to decide whether you deserve it."

Her brows drew together.

"Speak to Edith," Liam said. "Make your arrangement clear. Not publicly in a dramatic way, but enough that the right students begin seeing structure. Identify who still leans toward Chris. Do not accuse them. Understand why. Some want power near him. Some are Tempest loyalists. Some dislike Crescent. Some doubt you. Some simply follow confidence because thinking is tiring."

A faint, unwilling breath left Sheila. It was almost a laugh, but there was no amusement in it.

Liam continued. "Do not try to win everyone by being agreeable. That will only make you look soft to the ones waiting for weakness. Be clear. Be fair. Be firm. If Chris challenges you, do not let him turn the discussion into pride. Make it about what the year needs."

Sheila held his gaze. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"What will you do?"

"I will help where necessary."

"That is vague."

"Yes."

"Liam."

He sighed faintly. "I will not let Chris damage the year beyond repair. I will not let someone place you in danger if I can prevent it. And if something becomes too large for you to handle before Eldervale, I will intervene."

"But only then."

"Yes."

Sheila looked away again.

It hurt, but she understood more than she wanted to. Liam was drawing a line. Not because he did not care, and not because he wanted her to fail. He was refusing to let her leadership become dependent on the unseen work he did around her. If she became commander while Liam quietly removed every threat before it reached her, then the second-years would not truly be following her. They would be following a structure he had protected without their knowledge.

That was not leadership.

That was shelter.

And Eldervale would not be kind to sheltered command.

The silence stretched between them for several seconds before Liam stood.

Sheila looked up. "You are leaving already?"

"I said what I came to say."

Her expression made it clear she had expected more, though she did not ask him to stay.

Liam adjusted his coat slightly, then paused near the chair. "One more thing."

Sheila straightened.

"Do not trust anyone blindly," he said. "No matter who they are."

She frowned faintly. "Anyone?"

"Edith. Ariana. Charlotte. Asher. Maxwell. Anyone you respect. Anyone who makes you feel safe. Anyone who gives you advice that sounds useful." His eyes stayed on hers. "Not even me."

Sheila’s face tightened at that.

Liam continued, "The only reason Chris has this much leverage is because someone close enough to you is giving him information. That does not mean everyone around you is an enemy. If you start treating them that way, you will become paranoid and useless. But you need to learn how to verify loyalty without pretending trust is proof."

Sheila absorbed the words slowly.

Trust without blindness.

Suspicion without paranoia.

Leadership without relying on Liam as the unseen blade clearing the road ahead.

It sounded simple when arranged that way. It was not. It was probably going to be one of the hardest things she had ever done, because Sheila wanted to believe in people. Not foolishly, not without reason, but enough that the idea of measuring the loyalty of those close to her felt like stepping into a colder version of herself. Yet the Bastion Assessment would not care what felt unpleasant. Neither would Chris. Neither would whoever was helping him.

Liam walked toward the door.

Sheila remained seated on the edge of the bed, damp hair resting over one shoulder, her hands loosely gathered in her lap. The embarrassment from earlier had vanished completely now, replaced by the quiet weight of understanding. This was not only about Chris. It was not even only about the commander position.

This was her first true test before Eldervale.

At the door, Liam looked back once.

"Good night," he said. "And good luck."

Sheila did not answer immediately.

By the time she found her voice, Liam had already opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"Good night," she said softly.

The door closed behind him.

Sheila sat in silence for a long moment, listening to the faint sound of his footsteps fade beyond the room. Around her, the scattered notes, open books, and Eldervale guide seemed heavier than before. The mess no longer looked like ordinary exam preparation. It looked like the beginning of command, disordered and unfinished, waiting for her to decide what kind of leader she would become before the realm forced the answer out of her.

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