The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 497

The void was as cold as jumping into a frozen lake and twice as terrifying. I think I screamed, but I wasn’t sure; no sound seemed capable of traveling in this place.

I wasn’t sure how long I fell, or if I was even falling, technically, at all. All I knew was that I was moving, and somewhere in the distance, up or down or in some unknown direction, there was the sound of screams and cheers and feet stomping on wood.

And another sound, too.

Something heavy hitting flesh.

My eyes shot open to bright, blinding light, tinged red with blood dripping down from my forehead. Agony washed over me, the type of pain with no beginning or end, nothing but pure, bone-crippling anguish that was everywhere all at once.

The crowd was going wild. Students were surging, some cheering, others screaming and pointing. Daisy was straddling me now, her fist bloodied, her eyes empty and blank. I felt the warm, coppery tang of blood in my mouth. It was filling my nose, my ears.

She leaned back, pulled up her arm, and came in for another swing.

I jerked my head to the side with what strength I had left just in time. Her fist slammed into the mat, bone crunching from the impact.

The crowd gasped, momentarily going quiet before surging into another wave of noise. Daisy, unfazed, pulled her fist back again.

Survive, I thought. Have to survive.

My fingers fumbled down my leg. I felt the hilt of the knife sticking out, just above my boot, but my fingers were slick with blood and I lost my grip. I jerked my head again, to the other side this time, making Daisy’s fist graze the side of my face.

Pain lanced through me. My ears rang. Daisy reared back again, this time reaching for my throat with both hands. Her fingers found my neck and began to squeeze hard. My vision danced at the edges, but I continued to fumble for my knife until—

I got it.

My arm moved of its own accord.

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