The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 522

Two hundred yards. One fifty.

I kept walking.

One hundred.

The guards noticed me somewhere around fifty yards out. I could tell by the way one of them straightened and said something to the man beside him, both of them squinting in my direction. By the time I reached the edge of the torchlight thrown by the gate itself, they had their hands on their weapons and were watching me like hawks.

I reached up and pushed my hood back.

The nearest guard froze.

“Prince—”

“She’s not the princess anymore, you dolt,” the one next to him grunted. He moved toward me, reaching for his sword. “Don’t move.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” I raised my hands in surrender. “I would like an audience with Princess Bianca.”

The guards looked at each other, murmuring quietly amongst themselves. I saw the first one’s eyes glow yellow for a moment as a mindlink opened. Within two minutes the gate was open and there were six guards around me rather than two.

They searched me, thorough and impersonal, checking for weapons I hadn’t brought, and then I was moving through the courtyard with guards on all sides, the gate drawing closed at my back with a sound that echoed ominously in the quiet air.

I didn’t look back to see if Marcus had slipped in behind me. But I knew he had.

The corridors inside were lit but quieter than usual. Servants vanished into doorways as we passed. I recognized the route they were taking me after the first two turns: not toward the cells, and not toward any of the private rooms. The throne room doors were already open at the far end of the corridor, candlelight spilling out into the hall.

“Seize her.” My father’s voice was flat and certain. “Take her to the cells.”

The guards at my back moved.

Before their hands could close around my arms I dropped to my knees.

“Please.” The word came out loud enough to carry to the dais, loud enough to bounce off the high ceiling. I pressed my palms together and lifted my face toward them both. “Please. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m not. I’ll do what you want. I’ll go to Falcon’s Reach. I’ll marry Ambrose.”

Bianca’s eyes glimmered.

“Just give me a chance,” I said. “I’ll do what you want me to do, so long as you don’t kill anymore of my friends.”