The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 521

Liora’s POV

Callum spotted the first patrol two blocks out from the palace. Four guards were moving in a loose line, torches throwing long shadows across the cobblestones. One glanced down our alley.

I held my breath and pressed deeper into the shadows, but they kept walking, boots fading into the distance.

We gave it a count of ten before we moved again.

Marcus was ahead of us, keeping close to the buildings, darting from shadow to shadow without making a sound. He’d shaved in the inn bathroom, changed into clothes he borrowed from Zane, and looked almost normal again. Almost.

His shoulders were still hunched from the chains. But it didn’t seem to stop him from moving with the same quiet efficiency as he always did.

He stopped us at the corner where the main road swept up toward the palace gates. The wide boulevard was lit by tall lampposts, every other one hung with one of those posters, our three faces staring back at us. The gates were maybe two hundred yards up. Four guards visible from here. Probably more inside the courtyard.

“This is where I leave you,” Marcus said, keeping his voice low. He glanced between the three of us. “When you’ve got their attention, I’ll move to the barracks.” His eyes landed on me last. “Don’t rush it. Give me time to get in.”

“Don’t let them kill you before the wedding,” I said.

The corners of his eyes creased. “I’ll do my best.” He put a hand on my shoulder, squeezed once, then turned and disappeared between two buildings like the shadows simply ate him up.

The three of us stood at the corner a moment longer, looking up at the gates.

Zane turned to me first. He opened his arms and I walked into them without hesitating. He pulled me in tight, both arms around my shoulders, chin dropping to the top of my head. I dug my fingers into the back of his jacket and clutched on tight.

“Be careful,” I whispered into his chest.

We pulled back, pressing our foreheads together, eyes shut, both a little breathless.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you.” He leaned back just enough to cup my face, his thumbs brushing over my brows in tandem. “Come back to me.”

I nodded once and turned away before the moment could stretch any further, because if I stood there looking at him I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do this. I heard him behind me for a second, then nothing, and I knew he was gone.

I crossed the boulevard alone.

The lampposts threw pools of light across the stones. I moved between them at first, staying in the shadows for as long as I could. My heart was hammering, but my feet stayed steady, and I kept them that way by watching the ground directly in front of me rather than the gates growing larger ahead.