"So choose wisely, Rio," I murmured. "Your pain or your family's destruction."
Of course, it was mostly a bluff.
I couldn't reach anyone from the human empire at least not from this fucking academy, where every line to the outside world was sealed shut.
Rio knew that as well as I did.
But right now, knowing didn't matter.
His thoughts were scattered anyway.
After taking that blast head-on, he could barely even stay conscious. I was sure his ears were likely ringing and his whole body in pain.
I had held back just enough with the explosion to keep him functional because breaking him too quickly would have ruined the entire point.
Humans are fragile like that. With enough confidence and just a little bit of proper violence, you can guide their minds wherever you want and at the moment, Rio wasn't in any state to resist.
