Lyra's POV
My pulse hammered against my ribs. The way Ash stared at me with those dark, calculating eyes made my skin crawl. Did he suspect what I really was? His locked jaw suggested he might be testing me, probing for answers I couldn't give.
Panic drove me to action. I planted both palms against his chest and shoved hard, desperate to create distance between us and the tree trunk that had me trapped.
Then something impossible happened.
No electric shock. No burning sensation. No overwhelming pull that usually left me breathless and confused when our skin made contact.
Nothing.
Ash stumbled backward, his eyes widening in the same shock I felt coursing through my veins. He pressed a hand to his chest, staring at me like I'd just performed some kind of magic trick.
"Don't play games with me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Your jokes aren't amusing."
