The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 182

Liora’s POV

Callum and I walked in silence for a while, the only sound between us the crunching of our boots on the ground and the occasional shout.

“Marissa!” I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth. My voice echoed into the ravine below, bouncing back at me several times before the silence fell again.

No response.

After a few more minutes of walking, I couldn’t take the uncomfortable quiet any longer. Curious, I glanced sidelong at Callum and asked, “What happened to your group, by the way? I thought you would be with Bianca.”

“I was.” He lifted his shoulders. “Needed some air.”

“So you broke your own rule,” I pointed out with a chuckle.

For a moment, I thought I saw a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Callum’s mouth. That was a first in… a while. The last time I’d seen something similar to that look was the night he’d given me a ride. The night he decided that I was a no-good liar who was not to be trusted.

His smile faded quickly, though, and I didn’t comment further.

Reaching the edge of the ravine, we paused, peering below. The thin stream that usually ran through it was frozen now. I could see a few tiny waterfalls that had turned into icicles glistening in the cold sun like little winter fairy grottos.

“It’s pretty out here,” I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets, “if you don’t think too hard about what might have happened to her.”

Callum merely grunted in response. I looked over at him to see him crouching nearby, brushing his fingers across the base of a boulder. “Find something?” I asked, walking over, but he just shook his head.

“No. Thought I did, but… No.” There was a disappointment in his voice that took me off guard. Almost as if he blamed himself for Marissa’s disappearance. As if he could have somehow done something about it.

“There you are,” Bella said, looking at Callum. “You wandered off from the group.” She shot me a withering glance. “Seems you found a new buddy.”

“You should be with the group,” Callum mentioned.

“I couldn’t take it anymore. No offense, but it got a little too… boisterous for me.”

The curt nod Callum gave indicated that he felt exactly the same way. I could already picture Bianca trotting ahead of the group, making everything about her, and getting upset every time her pink boots got a little mud on them. But I tried not to think about it.

“You can join us,” I said. Bella shot me another one of those looks, but nodded and fell into step beside us.

We walked quietly for a few more minutes, stopping occasionally to look through the underbrush or call out Marissa’s name. At one point, Bella sidled up beside me, and I feared she would bring up Zane again. But to my surprise, she sighed and said, “Man, I kind of needed that reward money for the brooch. I guess the Princess found it, though.”