The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 452

Liora’s POV

I wasn’t sure how long Callum and I had been running for. Long enough, at least, for my bare feet to ache and my soles to turn raw from the gritty forest floor, and for my leg to give out under me multiple times, forcing Callum to carry me twice.

Finally, once we were certain we were no longer being followed, we both collapsed beneath a copse of trees to catch our breath. The moon shone high and bright above us, sending shafts of silver light spilling across the ground. The forest was quiet save for the breeze rustling through the trees and the occasional hoot of an owl.

I leaned back against one of the trees and pulled my skirt up, revealing Marcus’s knife, still strapped to my thigh, right above my scar. The wound hadn’t reopened, thankfully, but it hurt like hell. I winced as I began massaging the muscle around it.

Callum laid back on the pine needles beside me, breathing hard. I looked over at him, and he looked at me, and for a moment, we just stared at each other, too shocked by everything that had happened to put it into words just yet.

“Come here,” he finally said, stretching his arms out toward me.

I scooched over to him and fell against his shoulder, still breathless. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, peppering kisses across the top of my head, my face, everywhere.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did anyone hurt you?”

I shook my head and looked up at him. “No. You?”

“No.”

Exhaling, I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. “I’m worried about Marcus,” I said. “I want to go look for him.”

Callum propped himself up on his elbows. “Tonight?”

“Time is of the essence.”

I also thought about my father. That strange look in his eyes, the way he wasn’t acting like himself lately. I thought about what Marcus had said about the affair he was having with Belinda, and the spell he seemed to be under.

I thought about my mother wasting away in her bed while Bianca and Belinda had free roam of the palace like they belonged there, systematically removing anyone who might get in their way of power.

None of it sat right with me. Obviously.

“I’m worried,” I murmured. “About my parents.”

Callum sat up fully. “We’ll figure it out. Just like we always do.”

I shot him a wry look. “I’m beginning to wonder if there’s a limit to ‘figuring it out’.”