I exhaled deeply, a long breath of relief escaping my chest. "That was close," I muttered. My head still throbbed faintly from the mental backlash, but at least it hadn't cracked open like I'd half expected.
Truth be told, I hadn't thought that far ahead. My only goal had been to push her past her limit, to force her to awaken that buried potential—but I hadn't considered what would happen once she did. Reckless. Stupid, even. But since my brain was still intact and she wasn't dead, I figured everything had worked out fine.
I took a step toward her, but Nira was faster. She rushed past me and dropped to her knees beside Zivra's unconscious body, gently lifting the girl's head onto her lap.
"Please… don't kill her," she said quickly, her voice tight with panic. "She didn't mean it."
I stopped a few paces away and crossed my arms. "I already told you," I said, my tone even. "I don't intend to spill any more blood."
