The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 320

Zane didn’t ask questions, just followed me to the car and opened the door for me. I appreciated that he didn’t press. I wasn’t sure if I could speak right now, what with the lump in my throat.

The drive back to the palace felt like an eternity. My mother’s mental health was fragile on a good day, and whatever had set her off tonight had apparently sent her into a spiral bad enough to warrant healers. That hadn’t happened in over a year.

It could likely only mean one thing: she’d found out about my late-night escapades. And knowing my mother, this wasn’t going to be something she could just bounce back from. The last time she had gotten this worried about me was when I broke my wrist falling off the swings as a kid, and she was bedridden for weeks.

When the palace gates came into view, I thanked Zane and climbed out. He drove away, and I quickly walked over to the gates and opened them with a wave of my hand. The moment they swung open, I ran up the driveway and took the front steps two at a time.

The palace was noisy for this hour when I entered. The staff was running around like chickens with their heads cut off when I entered. One of my mother’s senior attendants broke away to intercept me when she saw me.

“She’s in her suite, Princess,” she said, walking with me. “The healers arrived about twenty minutes ago. Your father is with her.”

I took the stairs quickly, gripping the railing to haul myself up faster, and went straight to my mother’s suite at the end of the second-floor hall. Two royal healers were stationed outside the door, and they stepped aside without a word when I approached.

Inside, my mother was in bed, propped up on pillows and looking small and sick like a fragile child. I hesitated in the doorway, not sure if I should approach or what.

“Liora,” my mother whimpered, turning her head. “Liora…”

I looked over. My father was seated beside her, holding her hand. He looked up when I came in. His eyes narrowed at me, at the dark hoodie, the bandana around my neck, and the sunglasses sitting atop my head, but he said nothing.

He just stood and walked past me without a word, leaving me with my mother and the healers.

I sat there for a long time, my mind reeling. A sick feeling overcame me as the realization sunk in.

Liora had opened the gates. The gates that could only be opened by someone with a key or a bloodline ability, and she definitely didn’t use a key. She’d just waved her hand and they swung open like she belonged there.

This could only mean one thing, I realized with a sinking feeling. I looked down at my hands, spreading my palms wide in my lap. Liora and I shared a bloodline. Half of one, at least.

She was the female Alpha.

Liora Belrose was the princess I had just spent months impersonating.