ShadowBound: The Need For Power

At hearing Ember's confession, Dove practically sprang forward.

"I knew it! She was hiding something," she snapped. "C'mon, you seriously expect me not to use her as a lab rat now?" Her eyes locked onto Ember with a stare that could skin flesh from bone.

"Be quiet, Dove," Mystica said, calm but firm.

"What? She just confessed to working with Sylvathar. What more do you need? Just let me have her already," Dove pressed, that wicked grin never leaving her face.

"She has more to say," Mystica replied, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips. She was fully aware of how twitchy Dove could get at the thought of a second test subject falling into her hands without any of the usual mess.

Dove opened her mouth to argue but froze when Lucy gave her a sidelong glance. A simple look—but potent enough to snap any fool into line.

"Fine then," Dove muttered, folding her arms. "The bitch better say something worth sparing her hide."

"Go on," Lucy said, her voice steady, her gaze sharp as ever.

Ember took a breath before continuing. "After I lost my link with Gordon, I feared the worst—that he'd been killed or captured while trying to go after Liam. Not long after, my connection with Sylvathar vanished too. Alone, with time to think, I started realizing… I was on the wrong side of all this. So, I decided to turn myself in."

"Huh?" Dove scoffed, face twisting in disbelief. "What the hell does that even mean?"

Another glance from Lucy silenced her again.

"Yesterday," Ember said, steady now, "Sylvathar finally reached out to me again—through the mind link. He ordered me to surrender. Said I had to get close to you. Gain your trust. Enough for you to lower your guard around Sheila… even if just a little."

"And then what?" Mystica asked, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "You snatch the princess the moment we look away?"

"No," Ember said quickly. "I wouldn't have been the one to take her. That would've been Morbuan's task."

"Moban?" Dove echoed, her nose scrunching in disgust. "Why am I hearing all these garbage names today? At least Asmir-whatever sounded cool. But Moban? Really?"

"It's Morbuan," Ember corrected, her tone firm. "And he's one of Sylvathar's generals."

Lucy folded her hands behind her back. "So let me understand… if we had trusted you, even for a moment, and looked away—Morbuan would've taken Sheila?"

"Yes," Ember said, without hesitation.

Mystica stepped forward. "How strong is he?"

"I don't know," Ember admitted. "I've only seen him once. He wasn't fighting or showing off. But from the way he looked… I can say this with certainty—he's a cunning killer. And a sadistic torturer."

Silence fell, thick and heavy.

Then Lucy's voice sliced through it.

"Tell me something. If Sylvathar sent you… why reveal all of this? Unless it's still part of his plan?"

"It's not," Ember said. "I'm telling you this because I choose to."

Dove scoffed again. "And what makes you think he isn't still pulling your strings?"

"You scanned my mind, didn't you?" Ember replied, turning her gaze straight to Dove. "Did you find anything? Any trace of control?"

Dove said nothing.

"You mentioned something about a mind link," Mystica said, breaking the silence.

"I did," Ember replied. "Sylvathar has a mind link with all hybrids. If two or more hybrids are sent on a mission together, they're connected mentally. If it's an entire squad, every hybrid in that squad shares the link."

"So you and Gordon were linked because of your shared mission," Lucy said.

"Yes. But that link is broken now," Ember answered. "And I think you're the reason, Mystica. You must've placed the same Suppression Spell on him that you used on me."

"I did," Mystica confirmed, her eyes narrowing. "So that means your connection to Sylvathar is cut off too?"

"It is. That's the only reason I'm able to speak freely right now," Ember said. "And thanks to your spell, Sylvathar can't see through my eyes either."

That last part made all three women's eyes widen slightly.

"You're telling me," Lucy said, her tone calm but sharp, "from the moment you entered this palace to the moment Mystica cast that spell… Sylvathar was watching?"

"Yes. He was."

"So when you said all that earlier… he was controlling you?" Mystica asked.

"No. Just watching," Ember clarified. "If he had been controlling me, my eyes wouldn't have been blue. They would've turned green."

A moment of silence followed as Lucy, Mystica, and Dove processed Ember's words.

'If Sylvathar can see through his hybrids' eyes… then when Aesmirius took control of Liam and crushed Gordon, did Sylvathar witness it all?' Mystica wondered.

'If so, Liam will become a target. But if Ember and Gordon tried using Liam to bait Magnus, does that mean Sylvathar already knew of him?

"What does Liam have to do with all this?" Mystica asked.

Ember blinked, caught off guard. "Nothing. He was just a means to an end. Gordon targeted him because he figured Liam was close to Galen—and if Liam was close to Galen, then he was probably close to Magnus too. Taking Liam would've pulled Magnus away from Sheila."

"So Sylvathar never ordered you to go after Liam specifically?" Mystica asked.

"No. That was our own idea. Using Liam was just a way to distract Magnus from protecting Sheila."

"I see."

'Looks like I was right telling Gordon not to go after the kid,' Ember thought. 'Seems Liam means more to Mystica than Sheila does.'

Reading the concern laced through Mystica's questions, Lucy understood exactly what was at stake.

"For now, you'll remain imprisoned here," Lucy said calmly. "As for your fate—whether you'll be allowed to help, or executed—that'll be decided at the summit, three days from now."

She turned toward the dungeon exit, her voice steady. "Until then… try not to give me a reason to change that decision early."

With that, she, Mystica, and Dove stepped out, leaving the guards behind to keep watch.

The iron door slammed shut with a low, echoing groan, sealing Ember inside the shadowed chamber. The air hung heavy, filled with the soft clatter of her chains and the distant hiss of torches burning low in their sconces.

"She's hiding something," Dove muttered once they'd put enough distance between themselves and the cell. Her arms were crossed tight, and her voice was sharp. "Way too calm for someone who just betrayed a damn apocalypse."

"I didn't sense any lies," Mystica said, her eyes narrowing in thought. "She's afraid—but not of us. She fears him. Sylvathar. And that kind of fear doesn't fake."

Lucy nodded slowly, her brows furrowed. "If what she said holds weight, then Morbuan's probably already on the move. And if he's as brutal as Ember made him sound, he won't stay quiet for long."

Mystica's lips curled into a faint smirk. "Which means we'll be getting guests soon."

They entered the inner halls of the palace. A few elite guards bowed as they passed, their faces grim, their weapons already drawn from uneasy anticipation.

Once out of earshot, Lucy stopped and turned toward Mystica. "We need to relocate Sheila. The academy won't stay safe forever."

"You're not wrong," Mystica agreed. "But if we're doing that, the Solara and Crescent Kingdoms must be informed. Silence now could lead to chaos later."

"That's the plan. I'll speak at the summit. Three days from now," Lucy said, resuming her stride.

"Very well," Mystica nodded. "Also—found Galen."

"Finally," Lucy muttered, a breath of relief escaping. "Where the hell's he been?"

"In the Nether Realm," Mystica replied, almost casually.

Lucy stopped in her tracks. "I'm sorry—what?"

Mystica shrugged. "After fighting Sylvathar's right hand back in the Ruined Lands, he wasn't satisfied with how it ended. Guess he decided to go stretch his muscles somewhere more... chaotic."

"So he got bored and walked into a literal nightmare realm to spar with monsters?" Dove said, deadpan.

"Basically. But he came back yesterday."

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "And where is he now?"

"No idea."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Relax. He said he'd show up for the summit," Mystica replied with a lazy wave of her hand. "Don't stress."

"You're acting like we haven't dealt with Galen before," Lucy said, rubbing her temples. "If he says he'll be there, I'll just have to pray he keeps his word."

As Lucy and Mystica exchanged hopes and sighs, Dove huffed beside them, her scowl obvious.

"What's got you salty?" Mystica asked, smirking.

"You two just cost me a perfectly good test subject," Dove grumbled. "I was gonna use Ember to test the new detection crystal before giving it to the task force. But nooo—we've gotta spare the hybrid freak."

"Sorry," Mystica said, smirk growing. "But Ember's actually a wild card we need right now. I doubt we'll find another hybrid willing to throw themselves into the fire to help stop this Crisis."

Dove rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Tch. Still think it's a waste. That crystal's gonna end up backfiring without real-world testing."

"And risking a potential ally just for calibration?" Lucy shot her a sidelong glance. "You can be cold, even for a scientist."

"Correction," Dove said, holding up a finger. "I'm efficient. There's a difference."