The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 275

Liora’s POV

I was getting ready for bed when the announcement came on. My name was called for tonight’s field exam.

By the time I made it out to the testing area, the moon was high in the sky and a group had already gathered. The proctor waved us over and began explaining the rules of the first challenge.

The exam would begin with gathering herbs. Then, each group of two would locate an “injured” person in the forest, or rather, another student with special effects makeup depicting various wounds and illnesses. Once we applied the correct remedies, we would have to fashion a stretcher out of whatever we could find, then race back to the finish line before the buzzer went off.

“Once everyone has returned, we’ll move on to the next portion of the exam,” the proctor said, pulling out his clipboard. “Now, I’ll pair you up…”

As he began to read off the names, I took a moment to look around. The group was sizable, with more wolfless than I expected. I spotted Amy standing a ways off and jogged over to her.

“Hey,” I said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and be partners.”

She smiled. “I hope so too. Oh, you left your water bottle.”

I looked over to find that, indeed, I had left my water bottle on the ground. Bianca was holding it and looking at it. I felt my stomach sink. Of course she would be here tonight. That was just my luck.

“That’s mine,” I said, walking over to her. She looked up at me, grinning.

“Is it? It’s all dented, so I figured it was trash.”

I snatched it away. “It’s still a perfectly good water bottle.”

“Mhm. I’m sure it is.”

“What is it?” she asked, noticing me staring. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” I picked a few sprigs of wild rosemary and tucked them into my pouch. “It’s nothing.”

Bianca sighed, and we continued to work in silence. Soon, we’d collected enough herbs, and decided that it was time to start searching for the decoy. We walked quietly alongside each other, keeping our eyes and ears open for signs of someone in “trouble”.

After a few minutes, Bianca stopped and pulled out her water bottle. “Can we take a quick break? I’m thirsty.”

I nodded, honestly thirsty myself, and uncapped mine. The water was cool going down, although it had a strange taste that made me wrinkle my nose. I smacked my lips, peering into the bottle, but the water was perfectly clear.

“What’s wrong?” Bianca asked. “You look like you just drank a mouthful of piss.”