The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 107

Chapter 107

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Watching Nova drain her glass without missing a drop–even after she called the liquor counterfeit–Silas’s. face couldn’t hide his obvious delight.

‘Looks like he’s pulled off stunts like this plenty of times himself, Nova thought.

Another fish has bitten the hook!‘ Silas felt a rush of satisfaction deep down.

On the surface, he just shrugged and said, “Doesn’t matter if it’s not the real deal. Tastes good enough for me.

“Nova, I’m excited to see what you do in the self–defense competition!”

With his trick having succeeded, Silas made up a half–hearted excuse and quickly slipped away.

“Nova, are you okay? He gives off such a weird vibe, like he’s up to no good,” Casey muttered, watching Silas walk off into the distance.

“I’m fine,” Nova replied.

But in her eyes, a flash of deadly intent flickered.

The party rolled on like every teen gathering–drinks flowed, karaoke got wild, and people shamelessly tried to flirt their way into someone’s good graces.

Throughout the night, Nova was kept busy downing drinks as exchange students from other schools lined up to toast her, each eager to show off a little goodwill. No surprise she ended up pretty buzzed.

Back when Nova was out on the battlefield, aside from her guns–her constant companions–her favorite indulgence had always been a good drink.

Of course, she’d only ever sipped on the world’s priciest spirits before, century–old bottles worth millions.

This was her first time tasting regular, bottom–shelf booze–and honestly, it was as bland as she’d figured.

As the party was wrapping up, Nova noticed Silas hanging back in the shadows, stealing glances at her with a look that was straight–up baffled.

If eyes could talk, his were practically shouting, ‘Why do you look totally fine? Didn’t the drug do anything?”

Nova acted like she was giving him exactly what he wanted.

“Sorry, I’m feeling a little lightheaded. I’m gonna go to the restroom,” she said, pressing her fingers lightly to her temple. With that, she got up and slipped out of the private room.

Silas’s eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

Not wasting even a second, he hustled straight over to Zane, grabbed his arm, and all but dragged him out of the room.

13:13 Mon, Nov 17 M.

Chapter 107

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“We’re heading outside for a smoke, be right back! Keep the party going,” Silas called over his shoulder.

Once the door closed behind them, the two quickly slipped down the hallway, hot on Nova’s trail.

Zane kept frowning the whole way, clearly uneasy. “This just doesn’t feel right,” he said.

“I mean, yeah, I want to be with her, but not like this…”

Silas shot him a sleazy grin. “The drug’s already in her system. You really gonna back out now?

“Are you even a man? Once she’s all out of it, just get her upstairs to the hotel. Don’t think, just go ahead and do it–make her yours, by force if you have to!

“If you don’t have the guts, then I’ll do it myself!

“With a babe that smoking hot, even I wanna get a taste. Slurp-”

Zane kept quiet, looking like he was deep in thought.

They rounded the corner, thinking they’d find Nova knocked out and half–collapsed over the sink, totally out of it.

But what they saw next floored them.

Instead of a dazed mess, Nova was chilling against the wall, arms crossed, looking completely in control–not a trace of the drug’s effect. She was staring straight into the eyes of a tall, strikingly handsome guy, the tension between them thick enough to cut.

Nova had come here with one thing in mind: making the scumbag who slipped her something pay for it.

But out of nowhere, she bumped into Damien.

Maybe she hadn’t seen him in forever, or maybe compared to the crowd of scheming teenage boys tonight, he was just so much easier on the eyes. Without even thinking, she found herself reaching out to pull him

closer.

And that’s how this scene came to be.

“W–wait, wasn’t she just about to keel over? How is she just standing there like nothing happened? Maybe the stuff wasn’t strong enough?” Silas muttered, voice shaking with panic.

He’d thought he’d won for sure, but when Nova showed up totally unfazed, it rattled him so bad he blurted out his doubts without thinking.

Suddenly, a chilling realization flickered through his mind.

‘No way… Did she just pretend to be drugged to lure us out?‘ Silas thought, heart thudding with dread.

‘But seriously, how the hell could that be?‘ He couldn’t wrap his head around it, disbelief quickly turning into panic.

13 13 Mon, Nov 17 M.

Chapter 107

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Everyone there had watched her drain that glass–so there’s just no way she didn’t actually drink the stuff.

And even if she was a total self–defense genius, her body was still just an ordinary schoolgirl’s. There’s seriously no way she could have fought off a drug like that, right?

Zane’s eyelids flickered wildly when he saw Damien with Nova–dude looked way too close for comfort.

Zane had met Damien before, but only with a black mask on, hiding all that ridiculously good–looking face.

This was the first time he’d seen Damien with his mask off, and for a second, he almost did a double–take–he didn’t even recognize him.

Zane’s heart clenched hard as he stared at Damien’s profile, looking a thousand times better than him. It was as if Nova herself had betrayed him, and he couldn’t help blurting out, voice laced with envy, “Nova… who is he?”

Nova raised an eyebrow at his question, then caught Damien by the collar and yanked him down until his face was right beside hers.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s my boy toy,” she replied, her voice low and full of teasing.

At her words, Damien’s dark eyes flickered, but he didn’t protest–just went with it, like he was perfectly fine being called that.

“I don’t buy it!” Zane practically shouted, clutching his chest like he’d just been stabbed in the heart.

“No way! Since when did you have a guy? How did I not know about this? Nova, were you really seeing someone else behind my back? How could you do this to me? You…”

“Don’t believe me? Fine, whatever…” Nova cocked her head, completely tuning Zane out. Right now, she was way more interested in having some fun with Damien.

With a wicked little smirk, she leaned right over–in front of Zane, no less–and gave Damien a playful kiss on the cheek. She wanted to see his reaction, after calling him her boy toy and then straight–up teasing him like that.

“This is gonna be a riot!‘ Nova snickered inwardly. Sure, messing with Damien was a blast, but she wasn’t about to lose her first kiss over it. The cheek was more than enough.

Thinking exactly that, Nova cocked her head, rose up on tiptoe, and tugged Damien down by his collar, bringing his tall frame closer until her lips were just a breath away from his cheek.

But Damien saw right through her move. In a swift, unexpected turn, he angled his head and, right before Nova’s widened, stunned eyes, reversed the game–his lips captured hers in a direct, shameless kiss, turning her playful tease into a heart–stopping first kiss.