The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 237

Zane and I turned to leave. I gave him a push, promising to be right behind him. But just as I went to follow, another rogue leapt out from behind a tent, separating us. I recognized him as the one who had chased me down the other night. Julie’s killer.

“Go!” I shouted to Zane. “I’ll be fine!”

I could see him curse, but he took off running with Bella.

“Ah, if it isn’t the princess,” the rogue sneered, stalking closer to me. “If I had known you would turn yourself in, I wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble chasing you down the other night.”

“Fuck off,” I hissed, raising my dagger. “I’m not—”

I couldn’t finish. Because hands roughly pushed me from behind, sending me to my knees. My dagger went skittering across the ground, right up to the rogue’s boot. He stepped on it before I could snatch it back up.

“Oops,” he chuckled, picking up my knife and twirling it in his fingers. “Looks like your friend isn’t so friendly after all.”

I turned to see Bianca backing away, her eyes wide. The moment she saw us looking, she turned and fled back up the slope, after Zane.

“And now you’re all alone,” the rogue said.

I looked around. The combat raged on, Gammas and rogues clashing into walls of flesh and metal. Callum was gone. Zane had escaped with Bella. Bianca reached the top of the slope and disappeared.

She wanted this, didn’t she? She was just waiting for her opportunity to get me killed.

Like hell I was gonna give her the satisfaction.

I lunged just as the rogue moved toward me. Something sliced across my shoulder, hot and sharp, but I didn’t stop. Muscle memory kicked in, and I knocked his legs out from under him, slamming him to the ground.

The rogue gasped, clearly surprised. He hadn’t expected a wolfless girl to fight back. He thought I would just turn myself in.

But he reacted quickly. He grabbed my ankle as I made a run for it and yanked me down after him. I scrabbled in the dirt, fingers digging into the soil, but he was bigger and stronger. He flipped me onto my back and straddled me.

I slammed a fistful of dirt into his eyes.

“You pushed me!” I shouted. “You fucking pushed me into that rogue and left me to die! You’re a backstabber! And you think you can call yourself a princess!”

Bianca was frozen. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen her so frightened before. Good. I wanted her to feel that way. I wanted her to be terrified of me.

But she smoothed it over quickly and shoved me back, making me stumble into Zane’s chest.

“I did no such thing,” she hissed, wiping the dirt off of her shirt with a grimace. “You fell. It’s not my fault.”

“I felt your hands on me, you little—”

I launched myself at her, but it was too late. Callum stepped between us. I slammed into him like a solid brick wall, and he just stared down at me, refusing to budge.

I glared up at him. “You think I’m the liar and the thief,” I whispered, “but it’s your precious girlfriend who should be interrogated.”

I turned and stormed off after that. Zane was the only one who called after me.