The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 498

Callum’s POV

The arena was in chaos.

I pushed away from the post where I had been leaning, momentarily too stunned to move more than that as I watched Liora being dragged away by a small army of royal guards. Her head was lolling against her chest, blood dripping down her face. I would never forget the sound of that sickening crunch that had echoed across the tournament grounds as Daisy slammed her fist into Liora’s face.

I would also never forget the way that knife caught the light when it plunged into Daisy’s neck.

Bianca was coming down from her dais, flanked by her gaggle of cronies and more guards. She was shouting something that I couldn’t hear through the chaos, but her lips were forming the word: treason.

Indignation surged up in me, giving me the strength to move again. Liora hadn’t committed treason. It was self defense—Daisy was going to kill her if she didn’t do anything!

My wolf snarled as I pushed through the crowd, keeping my eyes on the guards that had Liora. They were dragging her toward the exit, her feet barely even touching the ground. I picked up my pace, not caring that I shoved a few students so hard they were knocked into nearby abandoned food carts.

But just as I was about to reach the exit, a tall, dark figure stepped in my path. A male royal officer with a dark uniform towered over me, upper lip slightly curled back to reveal his fangs. Like I was some kind of threat to be neutralized.

I went to shove past him. “Move,” I hissed. But he held firm, shoving me back with enough force to make me stumble into a girl behind me, who gasped and scurried away in shock.

“What the hell?” I snarled. “Get out of my—”

“Callum. This is unnecessary, don’t you think?”

I turned to see Bianca walking toward me with the long skirts of her gown clutched in her hands. Her face was pale and full of shock, but I knew her well enough to know it was all an act. I knew that look in her eyes. The one that she got whenever she thought she had won.

“Yes,” I said, turning fully to face her while keeping the guard in my periphery. “It is.”

Bianca stopped a couple of feet away from me. She waved her hand at her cronies, who exchanged looks with one another before disappearing into the crowd, although I knew they hadn’t gone far. The guard remained, but I ignored him.

“Why are you arresting Liora?” I asked, dropping my voice. “You know as well as everyone else here that what she did was self defense. Daisy was going to kill her if she didn’t react.”

Bianca released her grip on her skirt, smoothing down the fabric with a heavy sigh. “I know. But she’s not under arrest for what she did to Daisy.” She glanced up at me through her lashes. “Why do you think she had that knife on her to begin with, Callum?”

I shrugged. “She knew she was going to have to fight Daisy. Who, let’s be honest, had some… preternatural abilities that would be a concern for any fighter.”

Bianca’s eyes flickered faintly, but she didn’t confirm nor deny the spell she had on that student.

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