The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 486

Chapter 486 

Liora’s POV 

My first opponent went down in under two minutes. 

He was a big guy, a quarterback on the football team, all muscle and size. But he was slow and clumsy, and relied too much on his strength to win-not enough combat technique to hold his own despite his larger stature. 

He came at me swinging as if he was a battering ram trying to knock down a wall. I dodged the first punch, ducked under the second, and swept his legs out from under him, all before he even had a chance to blink. 

The crowd roared. I pinned him down, the referee counted to three, and that was it. 

One win down. 

I looked up, tucking my chin, as my second opponent was called to the ring. Bianca was leaning back in her throne, picking at her nails as if this whole thing were a bore to her. 

Her eyes caught mine only briefly, lips curving faintly before she leaned close to one of her followers and said something. The other girl giggled at whatever she said. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my opponent. 

The second fight was harder. It was a girl from my combat class, someone who actually knew what she was doing. We circled each other for a while in the beginning, trading tentative blows and testing each other’s defenses. 

She was fast, but I was faster. When she lunged for a takedown, I twisted out of the way and caught her in a headlock. She tapped out after ten seconds. 

Two wins. 

By the third fight, I was starting to feel the adrenaline taking its course through my body. My senses sharpened, and the world narrowed to the sparring ring. I hardly noticed the noise of the crowd or the feeling of Bianca’s eyes 

on me. 

My third opponent was another guy, smaller than the first but quicker. He managed to land a few hits, one to my ribs that made me gasp, but I recovered fast. I caught his arm mid-swing, twisted, and flipped him onto his back. Three-count. Done. 

Three wins. 

I looked up again. Bianca was still lounging back in her chair, completely unbothered for someone whose sworn enemy was currently working her way up through the ranks to kick her ass. When she caught me looking, she smiled and blew me a kiss. 

My fourth opponent forfeited before we even started. I didn’t recognize her, but she took one look at me and shook her head. 

“Nah. I’m not getting my face smashed in by some wolfless ex-princess for this,” she muttered, and walked off the mat. 

Four wins. Sort of? 

The referee raised my arm, and the crowd went wild. I caught sight of Mia and Zane in the stands, both of them on their feet, screaming and waving. Zane was throwing pieces of popcorn in the air, and Mia was pumping her fists and shouting so hard her face turned red. 

I couldn’t help but smile, bolstered anew by my friends’ enthusiasm, even if I didn’t spot Callum anywhere in the crowd-right after he had told me last night that he would be cheering me on, no less. 

By the time I finished my fifth match, the sun was starting to set. The tournament organizers announced that the final rounds would be held tomorrow, giving everyone a chance to rest and recover. 

I climbed out of the ring, my body aching, but in a way that actually felt pretty good. My knuckles were bruised, my ribs were sore, and I had a cut above my left eyebrow that stung every time I blinked. But I’d made it through. 

Five wins. Five fights closer to facing Bianca. 

I still wasn’t sure who had signed me up for the combat. I hadn’t seen Mrs. Oakes all day. I didn’t know what was to come tomorrow, exactly, but I kept holding onto the faith that whoever had placed me in this arena had a reason for it. 

Assuming it wasn’t Bianca who had done it in the hopes of destroying me in front of everyone tomorrow. 

Mia ran up and threw her arms around me. “You were amazing!” 

“Thanks.” I winced as she squeezed a little too hard. “Can you maybe not crush my ribs?” 

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