The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 114

Liora

You’re either desperate or stupid.

A bit of both, I thought, breathless.

I could hear the curve in my fathers smile, having interrupted my training. I knew what he wanted. Information, what I didn’t know was what he wanted to do with it. And how are you going to win without your wolf?

I dropped into the dirt, knees absorbing the hit. The question dangled in my mind like bait. I didn’t bite.

You trained me, I shot back, wiping sweat before sprinting for the target track. You know how.

He laughed, low, proud, the kind of sound he’d never make in public. I suppose I taught you well enough. Even without a wolf, you can hold your own.

I can do more than hold my own. I lunged left, dodging a swinging pendulum. I can win. Besides, how’d you hear about the competition so fast?

He was silent for a moment. I know all that happens on this campus, sometimes against my will, he said at last. You’re playing a dangerous gamble, Liora. You’re strong, yes, but still one person. You don’t have what was given to you at birth—claws, teeth. Every fight will cost you twice as much as your opponents. And if you’re harmed, you won’t heal as fast.

I twisted between the pendulums, one clipping my hip and jolting me sideways. “You think I don’t know that?” I muttered aloud, though he heard it all the same.

I know you do. His voice softened, just enough to sound human. That’s why I’m asking—do you need anything? Extra training? Information? Resources?

I vaulted the final hurdle, lungs burning. “No.”

No?

“No. I told you, I need to do this. If I can get the right prize, the rest falls into place. I’m closer than I’ve ever been. Maybe this was the point all along.”

He was quiet again, not approval, more calculation.

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