CHAPTER 21 - MEDRA

After class with Professor Hassan, Medra anxiously arrives early to Rodriguez’s office seeking guidance. She confesses what she read in the dossier: plans to soul-bind her once Nyxaris is controlled, and records of Nyxaris’s brutal “punishments.” Rodriguez is shaken and warns that dragons are dangerously powerful, criticizing Medra for awakening one.

They argue over culpability. Rodriguez asserts dragons make moral choices and calls Nyxaris’s actions crimes. He admits that killing Medra could avert catastrophe, then rejects the idea, emphasizing the broader danger if highbloods seize Nyxaris amid weakening coercive control and rising rebellions likely to be crushed by an enforcer through her.

Rodriguez instructs Medra to keep the discovery secret, especially from Florence Shen and Hassan, to avoid increasing her risk. He advises Medra to speak with Nyxaris to understand and secure his cooperation but firmly warns her not to bond, since a bond would expose both to highblood control.

Shifting from strategy to practice, Rodriguez tells Medra to show strength, not victimhood, because dragons respect power. He then begins an intensified thrallguard lesson so Medra can better resist Viktor or any future mental intrusion.