Riley’s POV
She moved before I could even fully react, and the mont she lunged at , everything shifted from words into sothing physical and dangerous in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
Her hand struck hard across the face, and the force of it sent stumbling backward imdiately, my balance breaking as my foot slipped behind and I almost fell completely, but I managed to stay on my feet by forcing myself to steady.
Pain spread across my cheek instantly, sharp and real, and I tasted blood at the side of my mouth as I tried to focus on her again.
There was no pause.
There was no hesitation.
Carian didn’t give ti to recover.
"If you’re not helping ," she said, her voice raised and filled with anger, "then neither of us is leaving this place."
Before I could respond, she lifted her hand again, and this ti I felt it before I even saw it.
Sothing invisible hit hard.
My body lifted off the ground suddenly, and I couldn’t stop it because I didn’t even understand what she was doing fast enough to react properly.
My feet left the ground, and I felt myself suspended in the air, completely exposed, completely unable to block whatever she was about to do next.
"Stop—" I tried to say, but it didn’t matter.
She swung her hand, and the force threw across the space like I weighed nothing.
I hit the ground hard.
The impact knocked the air out of , and pain shot through my body as I rolled slightly before stopping, my hands pressing against the ground as I tried to push myself up.
I coughed imdiately, and blood ca up with it, dropping onto the floor beneath .
For a second, everything felt unsteady.
But I forced myself to look up.
Carian was already walking toward .
Her expression had completely changed now.
There was no sadness left.
Just anger.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, saring the blood slightly, then looked at her properly, my breathing uneven but my mind still clear enough to speak.
"No wonder no one wants you back," I said.
That made her stop.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"You’re obsessed," I continued, my voice steady even though my body hurt. "And you’re selfish. You don’t care about anyone who actually cares about you."
Her jaw tightened.
I didn’t stop.
"I know it was you," I added. "You used the Satyre on your own daughter didn’t you."
Her expression flickered.
"Not only did you use ," I continued, pushing myself up slightly despite the pain, "you’re using your own child, Carian. At this point, you’ve completely lost it."
"Shut up!" she scread.
Her voice echoed through the space, sharp and filled with anger, but I didn’t back down.
I actually smiled slightly, even with the blood still at my mouth, because I could see it clearly now that my words were hitting exactly where they needed to.
"No," I said. "I won’t shut up."
She took a step forward, her hand lifting again like she was ready to strike with that sa force.
"You’re dead," I continued, my voice cutting through the space. "You killed yourself."
That stopped her.
Her hand froze mid-air.
I pushed myself up more, forcing my body to cooperate even though it hurt.
"Why?" I asked her directly. "You killed yourself and made it look like Sebastian did it, didn’t you?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"And now you want to co back and pretend like you didn’t destroy everything yourself," I added.
Her breathing changed.
I could see it.
"You’re not just selfish," I continued. "You manipulate everything to make yourself look like the victim."
"Stop talking," she said, her voice lower now but more dangerous.
"You’ll do anything for a man who doesn’t want you," I said anyway. "And never will."
Her expression twisted completely at that.
"No," she snapped. "That’s not true."
"It is," I said.
"No, he’s mine!" she shouted.
And then she ca at again.
This ti faster.
More aggressive.
I barely had ti to react before sothing hit again, a sharp force that struck my side and sent sliding across the ground painfully, my body scraping against the surface before I stopped again.
I groaned, trying to push myself up again, but she didn’t stop.
She lifted her hand once more, and I felt that sa pressure wrap around , tightening, holding in place like sothing invisible had grabbed onto .
My arms were forced slightly away from my body, and I couldn’t move properly no matter how much I tried.
"You think you understand anything?" she said, her voice shaking with anger as she walked closer. "You think you know what I went through?"
"I know enough," I replied, struggling against whatever was holding .
"You don’t know anything," she snapped. "You had everything without even trying, and I was left with nothing."
"That’s not my fault," I said.
"It is," she insisted. "If you weren’t there, things would have been different."
I shook my head despite the pressure holding . "No, they wouldn’t have."
Her grip tightened, and I felt the pressure increase, making it harder to breathe.
"I tried," she said. "I did everything I could."
"And when it didn’t work," I replied, forcing the words out, "you decided to destroy everything instead."
Her eyes burned with anger.
"I made a mistake," she said.
"That’s not a mistake," I shot back. "That’s was your choice."
She raised her hand slightly higher, and I felt my body lift again, suspended in the air like before, completely at her rcy.
"I can end this right now," she said.
I looked at her, breathing hard but not looking away.
"No, you can’t," I said.
Her expression tightened. "Don’t test ."
"I’m not testing you," I replied. "I’m telling you the truth."
She stared at .
"If you kill ," I continued, my voice steady despite everything, "you lose everything."
She didn’t move.
"You won’t be able to go back," I said. "You won’t fix anything."
Her grip on faltered slightly.
"You won’t even move on," I added.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You’ll stay here," I said clearly. "Stuck in this place."
Her hand trembled slightly.
"Alone," I continued. "Abd for eternity."
For the first ti since the fight started, she hesitated.
"So tell , which punishnt can be worse than that? Because I would rather die than be in your position"
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