Riley’s POV

I saw it.

That small crack in her expression.

For a moment, just a moment, everything I said got through to her. Her eyes lifted and her breathing changed, and it felt like I had finally reached something real inside her.

But it didn’t last.

Her face hardened again, and before I could even react, her hand moved sharply through the air towards me.

The force hit me instantly.

My body was thrown backward like like I weighed nothing, and I couldn’t stop it because I still didn’t understand how to defend against something I couldn’t see. 

I hit the ground hard again, sliding across the surface with...