ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 654: The Time Has Come

Back in the wider life of the academy, however, the day continued to unfold in warmer colors.

And amidst all of it, Sheila also spent time with others.

She laughed more than she had in days. She spoke with Ariana, Charlotte, Dylan, Maxwell, and even tolerated Asher's presence from a slight distance whenever he happened to remain nearby. On the surface, she looked better. Considerably better, in fact. The heaviness that had clung to her for the last two days had eased enough that those around her could breathe a little more comfortably.

Ariana's help had done what it was meant to do.

It had not erased Sheila's emotions, nor simplified them into something unrealistically neat.

But it had helped her understand them.

And that changed everything.

Because now Sheila knew what she wanted.

That part was no longer unclear.

She wanted her brother back.

Not some imagined version of him. Not the memory of what they once were before everything shattered. She wanted Percy himself, as he was now, and she wanted the chance to rebuild what had been broken between them.

That had remained the one steady truth beneath all the anger, grief, betrayal, and confusion.

And because she knew that now, the entire day had been shadowed by one quiet intention.

Talk to Percy.

That was what she wanted to do.

That was what she had meant to do.

Yet strangely enough, she kept hesitating.

Throughout the day she found herself watching him more than once. Not openly enough to attract comment, but often enough that anyone paying close attention might have noticed. Percy was never especially difficult to locate within the broader movements of the academy that day. As one of the most respected graduates, he was repeatedly drawn into conversations—with instructors, with classmates, with admirers, with those who wished him well, with those who sought a final word before departure.

And each time Sheila saw him, she thought the same thing.

'Now. I should go now.'

But then she didn't.

At first she told herself the timing was wrong. He was speaking to someone. He was occupied. It would be awkward to interrupt. Then, when another opening appeared, the hesitation returned in a different form.

Fear.

Not fear of Percy himself.

Never that.

But fear of ruining the moment for him.

It was his graduation. His final days here. A special point in his life. And no matter how much she wanted to speak with him, a part of Sheila remained afraid that if she approached now, with all the emotional weight between them still so fresh, she might stain something important for him.

That fear lingered more stubbornly than she wanted to admit.

So in the end, she made a quieter decision.

She would wait.

Not forever. Not out of avoidance.

Just… a little longer.

He would still be at the academy for two more days. There was time. And perhaps, Sheila told herself, using a little more of that time would allow her own emotions to settle even further. Ariana had helped her find clarity, yes—but maybe a little space would make her steadier still when the moment truly came.

That thought comforted her enough to keep postponing it.

So the ceremony day passed.

And then the next two days followed.

A strange calm settled over Dark Knight Academy during that time, one unlike what the students were used to. The usual structure of the place remained—the buildings, the courtyards, the training fields, the dormitories, the instructors passing now and then—but the pressure was gone.

No immediate training to prepare for.

No classes to attend.

No lectures to survive.

No combat assessments waiting around the corner.

No academic demands pressing down over every conversation.

It was, in many ways, one of the rarest feelings the academy could offer its students.

Pure relaxation.

Not complete chaos, not lawlessness, but something quieter and rarer than that.

Space.

Students slept late.

Others roamed the grounds at unhurried paces.

Some gathered in groups simply because they could.

Graduates made use of their final time in ways that suited them—some by laughing harder than usual, some by revisiting favorite spots, some by drinking in moderation under faculty indulgence, some by seeking final talks with mentors or rivals, and some by simply sitting beneath the open sky and letting the reality of leaving finally sink in.

The rest of the student body enjoyed the break in their own ways.

For once, the academy breathed. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

And then, just as all calm periods eventually do, it came to an end.

Two days passed.

And the morning the graduating seniors were meant to leave finally arrived.

There was a different atmosphere to the academy that day. Still calm, but touched now with the bittersweet texture of departure. Luggage appeared in corridors and outside dormitories. Carriages were prepared. Final checks were made. Students moved through the grounds with more purpose than they had in the days just before.

Farewells began naturally.

Some were loud and emotional. Others were awkward. Some carried humor to hide what they actually meant. Others were openly heartfelt. Friends embraced. Rivals exchanged last words that were half challenge, half respect. Older students said goodbye to favorite instructors. A few juniors stood with siblings or admired seniors, trying not to make too much of the moment and failing quietly anyway.

There were promises to meet again.

Promises to write.

Promises to visit.

Promises that some would keep and some would not, though no one acknowledged that part aloud.

Still, the warmth in many of those partings was real.

And among all that, Percy stood near one of the waiting carriages while a few of his belongings were being loaded in with efficient care. He was speaking with several of his fellow graduates—young men and women with whom he had spent years training, competing, and enduring academy life. The conversation was calm, respectful, touched here and there by the sort of understated humor that came naturally between those who had known one another long enough.

Eventually, those final exchanges thinned.

People moved on.

One by one, they prepared to leave.

Percy remained where he was for a moment longer, the carriage waiting beside him, his luggage already secured. The academy grounds stretched behind him in quiet morning light. Stone towers, familiar paths, walls that had once seemed immovable in his student life—all of it now stood before him as something he was about to leave behind.

And for just a second, he looked back.

His expression remained composed, but inwardly, a quieter thought surfaced.

He had expected Sheila to come.

Not arrogantly.

Not with entitlement.

But somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had hoped.

After everything that had happened… after the rooftop conversation with Liam… after the ceremony… after the two days that followed…

He had thought maybe she would approach him.

Talk to him.

Say something.

Anything.

But she hadn't.

And as Percy let that truth settle, he did not blame her.

If anything, he thought he had simply hoped for too much.

After all, he had earned this distance.

He had created it with his own hands.

So if she had chosen not to close it now…

Then that was only fair.

With that quiet acceptance in place, Percy turned back toward the carriage and prepared to step up.

Then he heard it.

"Brother!"

The voice cut through the morning air with such force and familiarity that his entire body reacted before his thoughts did.

Percy turned.

And there, in the distance, he saw Sheila running toward him.