The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 496

Liora’s POV

“Princess… Princess…”

My eyes cracked open. The thrum of voices and stomping feet against wooden platforms had faded, replaced by something warm. Familiar. The sound of a single bird chirping in the tree outside my window. The rustle of the breeze through the curtains.

I sat up, my sheets pooling around my hips. My room at the palace was exactly as I had left it; the windows wide open to let in the summer air. A gown draped over the side of my vanity. A book open, face-down on my other pillow, like I had fallen asleep last night while reading.

“Princess…”

The voice called to me again, clearer this time, not a figment of my imagination. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It wasn’t my father, nor was it my mother. Callum and Mia and Zane were nowhere to be found.

How had I gotten here?

I threw the covers off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. The reflection in the mirror sitting on the other side of the room showed a disheveled, dirty woman in a blood-stained training uniform, and yet I didn’t feel any pain. Slowly, I lifted my hand to my face, wincing at the memory of Daisy’s enormous fist coming at me right before everything went dark.

My fingers came away clean and bloodless.

“What the…”

“Princess! Come here!”

I perked up. “Mrs. Oakes?” I called out.

“Come into the hallway!”

I turned in the direction of the voice, which I had just now placed as the headmistress. I didn’t know why she was in the palace or how she had gotten here—I still didn’t even know how I had gotten here—but I felt compelled to stand.

My legs were sturdy beneath me. I walked across the room, pulled the door open, and stepped out into the palace corridor.

I froze.

My room behind me was bright, awash with morning light. The corridor, on the other hand, was dark, as if the blackest night had fallen. In either direction, the hall fell off into shadow, leaving only a few feet around the spot where my bedroom door sent a shaft of light spilling across the floor. The tall windows were pitch black on the other side, and when I walked over to one and pressed my fingers to the glass, it was ice cold.

I drew in a deep breath to steady myself. “How do I wake up?”

“In approximately thirty seconds,” Mrs. Oakes said, moving to open the window, “you will have to jump.”

“Jump?”

She opened the window fully and stuck her hand out. The other side was still black, still cold. I could feel the chill creep into the palace, into my bones. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself, but walked over to the window and looked out.

“Nothing but a void,” I whispered.

“When you wake up,” Mrs. Oakes said, shifting behind me, “you’ll have to move quickly and with no hesitation. There is not enough time to break the spell on your classmate. You have to survive, Liora—not just for yourself, but for the future of the entire kingdom.” Her hands splayed across my back. I stiffened.

“The knife in your boot,” she said. “Use it.”

I opened my mouth. I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want to kill anyone, that there had to be another way. But before I could speak, Mrs. Oakes shoved me, hard, and I went sailing through the open window.