The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110

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Nova had Damien pinned against the wall, the cramped space crackling with tension–before anything else could happen, a sudden knock shattered the moment.

Bang, bang, bang!

The door rattled and Casey’s voice floated in from outside.

“Nova, Nova! You’re still up, aren’t you?

“I need to talk to you. Mind opening the door?”

The interruption jerked Nova back to reality, forcefully cutting off whatever she’d planned to do next.

Damien’s face instantly darkened.

If Nova hadn’t been restraining him, with that cold–blooded vibe he gave off, he wouldn’t have hesitated to shove a machine gun to the intruder’s forehead and pull the trigger.

Nova paused for a beat, still straddling Damien. Her crimson eyes glinted with mischief as she leaned in, letting her hand linger on his striking face and sliding her fingers teasingly along his jawline.

She spoke in a quiet, steady tone, “My boy toy, looks like I won’t be able to spoil you tonight after all.”

She didn’t seem bothered by the interruption for a second.

If anything, she seemed amused by Damien’s iron–faced assassin facade turning even gloomier–clearly enjoying teasing him.

‘Honestly, this was just way too interesting,‘ Nova thought, thoroughly entertained by the whole situation.

Damien, the undisputed king of the Shadow Sanctum, his icy expression unchanging, flipped Nova beneath him in one fluid, dominant move, pinning her down and reclaiming control.

Like a noble duke showing unwavering loyalty, he pressed a reverent kiss to his queen, worshipping her with every motion.

Damien followed the curve of Nova’s lips and, in perfect rhythm, stole a kiss–possessive, urgent, and loaded with promise.

“Next time, you won’t be leaving that bed for three days,” he murmured, his voice low and intense.

He sounded so serious, like he meant every word.

Nova’s smile briefly froze on her lips, his bold words almost making her blush–‘Did he just dare to challenge me for real?‘ she thought.

Sure, Damien was a total beast from all those years of training–strong, ripped, and with enough stamina to put anyone to shame.

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But she was the top mercenary out there, forged by battles and missions galore. She could tear through enemy lines herself and command the entire battlefield without breaking a sweat.

She could keep up with him any day. No way she was falling behind.

Nova wasn’t about to back down; she shot right back with that signature fire in her eyes.

“Who says I’ll be the one stuck in bed? Don’t be so sure,” Nova shot back, her voice laced with cocky defiance.

Their voices were so quiet that Casey couldn’t hear a word from outside the door.

Nova felt the pressure lift from her body.

Glancing over at the window, Nova noticed the curtains swaying faintly by the sill.

In an instant, Damien–shadowy, handsome, unpredictable–moved with assassin’s grace, vaulting out the window and vanishing without a trace.

Nova got up and, cool as ever, opened the door as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Outside was Casey, who’d clearly been waiting a while. As soon as she saw Nova, she couldn’t help but crack a joke, “I thought you were already asleep, or maybe hiding a guy in there–the way you took forever to open up!”

Playing along with her own teasing, Casey craned her neck to peek around inside, still grinning from ear to

ear.

She had no idea Nova really had a guy stashed away in there.

“What’s up?” Nova asked, sounding totally chill.

“Nothing big, really!” Casey replied, sticking out her tongue with a playful grin.

“I just realized I never got your contact info! Oh, and everyone from the party tonight put together a group chat–let me add you.”

After swapping contact info, Casey pulled Nova into the group chat like it was no big deal.

With Nova joining in, the group chat now had forty–five members.

Forty–five exchange students from all sorts of schools.

When Nova joined the group chat, nobody paid much attention, but the messages were already flying fast and furious.

“Don’t Fall for Me“: [How many people are still not in yet?]

“Sweetie Pie“: [Ten! Come on, drag everyone in–get the whole squad together!]

“W“: [Any girls in here? I’ll carry you all through team battles, easy wins guaranteed!]

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Nova squinted, clearly a bit entertained–this was her first time mixing it up in a teen group chat like this.

Back when she was still abroad, WhatsApp was basically the only messaging app Nova ever bothered with- the one everyone used all over the world in almost two hundred countries.

But something like group chat was pretty much out of her wheelhouse.

“Please! The competition starts tomorrow and they’re still wasting time gaming instead of practicing?” Casey snickered, scrolling through the group chat.

She gave Nova a playful nudge, joking with her about it.

Nova didn’t answer–her focus had already shifted to the next message popping up in the chat.

The message popped up from someone whose avatar was a cartoon anime boy.

“Bloodforge“: [Ugh, this chat is blowing up nonstop. Can you all chill for a second? Give it a rest already!‘]

What really caught Nova’s eye wasn’t the avatar or the message itself.

That wasn’t what grabbed her attention–it was his username.

“Bloodforge?” Nova muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing at the sight of that oh–so–familiar name. ‘No way… it can’t be just a coincidence, right?‘ she thought, a ripple of recognition stirring deep inside her.

“Oh, that guy! He’s from our university–everyone calls him the edgy kid. What do you think? Don’t you think his username is super over the top?” Casey couldn’t help giggling, barely stifling her laugh.

Casey said, muffling her laughter behind her hand, eyes twinkling.

“Apparently, he’s gone through a whole list of bizarre usernames–like Blackforge, Crimsonforge, Redforge… You name it.

“And now he’s settled on Bloodforge. Honestly, I think this one’s got a better ring to it. Don’t you think so,

Nova?”

‘Guess it really is just a coincidence,‘ Nova mused, her expression unreadable.

Made sense–teenagers were always coming up with quirky usernames.

Stuff like this happened all the time; Nova wasn’t surprised in the least.

What made Nova chime in just now was her sneaking suspicion–could that Bloodforge guy really be Natasha? The girl who gave her such a weird feeling of familiarity?

‘Am I just imagining things?‘ Nova thought, second–guessing herself for a moment.

‘That girl… The thought just wouldn’t leave Nova alone.

Nova’s gaze grew shadowed; she gave a subtle nod, keeping her thoughts to herself.

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“Mm.” Her reply was cool and inscrutable.

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Before most people even opened their eyes that morning, Nova was already tearing around Rena University’s track, powering through twenty laps without ever slowing down.

No extra gear, just pure stamina–this was Nova’s idea of an easy warm–up.

By eight a.m., she was already at the sports hall, joining the other fifty–four exchange students for the morning roll call.

This time, the selection included both exchange students and Rena University’s own, totaling fifty–five people -but only fifty–four had actually shown up that morning.

One person was still missing.

“Hey, one of the exchange students isn’t showing up. Word is, something happened,” someone whispered, eyes glinting with gossip.

“Seriously? Like what could even happen?” another chimed in, half skeptical, half nosy.

Nova could hear a small group of gossiping students clustered nearby, their voices low as they exchanged hushed rumors.

“Nova!”

She’d barely been standing there a moment when Casey spotted her from across the gym and jogged over, waving.

As soon as she got to Nova, Casey grabbed her arm, steered her toward a corner and wanted to share something.

“The teacher just sent another notice–the competition doesn’t start until nine. Looks like all of us showed up too early.

“Oh, Nova, did you hear about that insane thing that happened yesterday?” Casey blurted, eyes wide.

“After the party, one of the exchange students just disappeared. When some people went looking for him, guess what they found–his manhood had been sliced clean off.

“It was tossed right there on the ground, blood everywhere… totally gruesome.

“Nobody has any clue who did it! Seriously, it’s freaking me out!

“I heard that exchange student’s name is Silas Bridges–yeah, the same dude who tried to toast you in front of everyone last night!” Casey said.

Casey was practically yanking Nova along, keeping her head down and charging ahead as if nothing else mattered.

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Casey didn’t even notice that, while she was pulling Nova along, Nova brushed shoulders with another girl in passing.

The gym was huge, but barely any exchange students had shown up.

Funnily enough, the girl Nova just brushed shoulders with was none other than last year’s Morales self- defense champion–the same girl who kept making her feel that weird spark of familiarity.

Natasha.

As Natasha brushed past Nova, she flashed her an enchanting, sly smile.

Leaning in with a voice just for Nova’s ears, she whispered, every word dripping with playful provocation.

“Nova, I’m really looking forward to our battle,” she teased, leaving Nova with a surge of anticipation.