You’ve been assigned mandatory training — tactical influence, behavioral control, all the things they say you’re lacking in the field. It’s tedious, exhausting, and not something you ever asked for. But as the week unfolds, you start to notice something strange: the tension between you and Sylus is shifting.
He’s always been steady, unreadable, maddeningly composed. But now? Every tease, every challenge, every offhand remark seems to pull something darker to the surface. You’re not trying to test him... but maybe you are. And by the time you realize what the training’s really done to you, it might be too late to take it back.
