The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131

In that moment, Wendy saw both fierceness and pride burning within Nova.

Strength and aura coexisted in her presence.

Wendy’s dull eyes were suddenly adorned with a vibrant shimmer, as if sprinkled with starlight.

Life returned to her once lifeless gaze.

‘She’s not destined to repeat my fate!

That realization was the first thing that crossed Wendy’s mind.

Wendy felt her guard slowly dropping, her heart beginning to loosen up.

Suddenly, relief washed over her.

After all…

With Nova by Damien’s side, the motherly love Wendy couldn’t provide just didn’t matter as much anymore.

“Thank you,” Wendy said softly.

After she calmed down, Wendy had no doubts about Nova’s sincerity.

Just as any mother would, she thanked Nova.

“Thank you for stepping up for him when his own parents couldn’t,‘ Vivian told Nova in her heart.

‘I’ll be praying for you and Damien.

‘I hope you two can conquer every obstacle and truly find happiness.’

Wendy clasped her hands together, silently offering her heartfelt prayer.

*****

Nova had just opened the door to the room at the very top of the lighthouse, where Wendy stayed.

Before she could catch her breath, she was swept into a fierce embrace by a striking, towering shadow.

It was Damien.

He’d been waiting right outside, in the stairwell.

With his keen hearing, he must’ve heard the whole conversation between Nova and his mom.

Damien’s strong, solid frame held her so tightly, it was as if he wanted to pull her right into his very being.

He didn’t say a word.

But just being wrapped up in his arms, Nova’s racing heart started to calm.

For a split second, her whole world felt right–it was as if she’d finally found where she truly belonged.

The Greslin Gala kicked off at 5:30 PM sharp.

The event was held in the grand hall of the Greslin family’s castle.

Before guests stepped inside, they were met with two separate passageways–one to the left, one to the right -each set up so no one could catch a glimpse of the main hall from the entrance.

“Ladies, please proceed through the left passage. Gentlemen, take the passage on the right,” announced a Greslin family attendant at the door.

Nova and Damien hadn’t even stepped inside before they were stopped at the entrance by two courteous guards from the Greslin family.

They were directed to go through different passages.

Nova said nothing, unfazed by the arrangement.

She didn’t bother with any emotional farewells–while most girls might hesitate, she just coolly walked into the left passage, not looking back at Damien.

The passage was pitch black, so gloomy and tight that it felt less like a hallway and more like the entrance to a prison cell; the air was thick, pressing in from all sides.

In the darkness, Nova could almost taste the foreboding–like she was stepping right into a deadly gala, with danger lurking at every corner.

Nova’s expression didn’t change once, her face completely unreadable from start to finish.

Following the passage, she finally arrived at a huge iron cage–thirty meters squared, cold and imposing, like it had swallowed her whole.

Several women were already inside the cage, having arrived ahead of Nova.

Most of them managed to keep calm, but a few couldn’t help themselves, banging on the iron bars with trembling hands.

“What is this place? What’s going on? Let us out!” one of them cried out, her voice shaking with fear.

Nova swiftly scanned her surroundings, missing nothing.

She realized this was indeed the castle’s main hall–the very place where the gala was supposed to be held.

But unlike any normal gala Nova had imagined, the castle’s main hall was set up with two giant iron cages- one ominously on the left, one on the right.

No exceptions: everyone who entered the event was instantly shut inside one of those cages.

The only difference between them was clear.

The left cage contained only women.

The right cage held all the men.

This place felt nothing like a gala–it was more like a prison built to keep canaries trapped, caging everyone in

cold steel.

Through the iron bars in the center, Nova instantly caught sight of Damien on the opposite side.

He was already looking her way, his strikingly handsome face set in proud indifference, completely unfazed by the looming cages and the anxious dread that filled the hall.

Unlike the tense and anxious women all around her, Nova remained perfectly calm, her composure unshaken no matter how dire the situation seemed.

She made her way right up to the bars closest to Damien, separated by the heavy iron cages, and sent him a sultry wink that cut straight through the steel–pure temptation, even in captivity.

Her every move was irresistibly alluring.

With that flamingo dress sculpting every curve, she was a living masterpiece–her silhouette so breathtaking it practically commanded every eye in the room.

The men in the opposite cage audibly swallowed, unable to tear their gaze away from her for even a second.

If there weren’t these cages between them, if only they weren’t trapped in this mess…

He wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from dragging her beneath him, staking his claim right in front of

everyone.

Even then…

Damien caught the way the guys around him stared at Nova, their gazes burning–and his own face darkened dangerously, jealousy flaring up inside.

“Tsk-”

“Such a shame you’re not locked up in the same cage with lover boy,” one of the men joked, smirking at Nova.

“Let’s see if things get exciting later–who knows what kind of drama we’ll be treated to!”

Cruz, Kurt, and Eskin–the trio Nova ran into at the boutique–were caged up right alongside Damien.

Cruz stood at the front, perched about four meters away from Damien, flashing a mocking grin as he led the

taunts.

He made sure everyone knew Damien was stuck in a separate cage from Nova–so when things went south, he’d be helpless to save her in time. The sneer in his voice made it sting even more.

With that, Cruz turned his attention elsewhere, ignoring Damien completely.

Little did Cruz know that if he’d kept running his mouth, he might’ve just lost his head–literally.

Cruz jeered across the bars at a woman trapped in the opposite cage.

“Mamie! You’re my date tonight–so don’t embarrass me. Show these people what you’ve got!

“And hey, Sius’s little sweetheart–do me a favor and really ‘take care‘ of her, will ya?”

Of course, everyone knew “take care” was just code for “trip her up however you can.”

The woman Cruz mentioned was Mamie Kegsall, his date for the night.

She towered at nearly six feet, rocking a plain black gown that showed off arms like an Amazon warrior- bulging muscles, deep tan, clearly built to break more than just hearts. One glance at her and anyone could tell she was pure battle material.

“No worries, Cruz. I’ll make sure to ‘take care‘ of her–just like you asked.” Mamie promised.

She flexed those iron arms and giggled, confident and loud enough for the whole cage to hear.

Her enthusiasm set off another round of snickers from Cruz and Kurt–they were loving every second of this scheming.

Eskin, meanwhile, looked genuinely worried–his lips parted like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just shot a nervous glance at Damien and Nova, clearly on edge about what might happen next.

While everyone else was getting worked up, Nova just folded her arms and watched with a sly, amused squint -clearly getting a kick out of the whole spectacle.

With that, the little sideshow wrapped up and things moved on.

Roughly half an hour later, the passage leading from outside the gala into the cages was firmly sealed off from behind.

Up on the sweeping spiral staircase, right in front of the two massive iron cages, five figures stepped into view.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Greslin family’s International Gala,” Dean’s voice echoed through the hall, full of power and authority.

Leading the group was Dean–the patriarch of the Greslin family, and Damien’s own father.

Behind him stood four elderly figures, their hair shockingly white with age,

No matter how vibrant the Greslin family’s bloodline was, even their copper locks would eventually lose out to time, fading to white as age spots claimed their skin.

These four elders were the true Elders of the Greslin family.

At a glance, they might have appeared to be dignified ministers standing dutifully behind Dean like loyal advisors to a king.

But within the Greslin family, each of these four wielded even more authority than Dean himself.

And when Dean said “welcome,” what he really meant was herding every family member into separate cages according to gender–locking them away as honored ‘guests‘ for the night.

But…

Nova didn’t feel the slightest bit welcome here–in fact, if anything, the whole setup reeked of mockery and

menace.

After Dean finished his so–called welcome, one skinny old man standing behind him fixed his sharp, hawk- like eyes on the crowd locked inside the iron cages.

He scanned everyone from his vantage point above, his cold gaze slicing through the air, seeing straight through each person trapped below.

Then he spoke, his raspy voice like a judge pronouncing a death sentence.

“Let me lay it out for you–since you set foot in here tonight, you better be ready to meet your maker,” he sneered, his voice like a death knell echoing through the hall.

“You see that coffin–sized crate sitting right in the middle of your cage?”

Nova had already noticed the massive wooden box parked right in the dead center.

There was one identically positioned in both the male and female cages.

And…

Nova squinted, and in an instant she sensed it–the unmistakable presence of weapons inside that crate. That familiar thrill surged through her veins after so long.

A sharp snap cut through the air.

Someone stepped up and lifted the lid of the box.

Sure enough, the crate was stuffed with a wild array of weapons–pistols, submachine guns, machine guns, grenades–all glinting beneath the harsh lights.

Someone blurted out in shock, “Weapons!”

One of the women reached into the box first, gave a sharp gasp that cut through the tense silence.

The skinny old man nodded in front of everyone, making it clear he was the top dog among the four Elders.

He carried even more weight in this family than Dean himself.

Then he spoke, slow and chilling–and suddenly, the whole crowd went pale.

“Our Greslin family has made it this far because we play by one rule: only the strong survive.” His voice was icy, slicing through every ounce of hope in the room.

“Listen up! Arm yourselves to the teeth–choose whatever weapons suit you best, and get ready to turn all three floors of this castle into your own personal battlefield. This is all–out war, so fight like your life depends on it and give us a savage show!”

“You’ve got thirty minutes.”

“For every person you take down in those thirty minutes, you’ll walk away with a cool three million courtesy of the Greslin family.”

“There’s no cap–stack those bodies as high as you want, and the payout just keeps climbing.”

“We’re here to crown the fiercest warrior on the floor. Let’s see which one of you, after all your years tearing up the underground, will prove yourself as the true King of Combat tonight!”