The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Nova filtered out Sophia’s chatter, catching only the important points.

She still couldn’t get her mind off Ghost–Hammer’s message.

In the photo Ghost–Hammer sent, he shared his excitement about finally finding Falcony’s sister–but he didn’t mention where she was.

“Nova, are you… even paying attention to me?” Sophia finally mumbled, sounding uncertain.

She’d been talking for ages, basically putting on a one–woman show, before she built up the nerve to ask.

Ugh, I really hope I’m not getting on Nova’s nerves… Sophia worried inwardly.

Nova brushed it off with her usual calm, “I’m listening.”

Multitasking was child’s play for her–heck, handling two or three things at once came as naturally as breathing. That’s just what being a mercenary does to you.

Most mercenaries were practically glued to their guns and blades, day in and day out.

When you’re in this line of work, it’s perfectly normal to shoot with your left hand while swinging a knife with your right–doing both at the same time without breaking a sweat.

It’s kind of like those math teachers who can draw a circle with their left hand and a square with their right, all on the chalkboard–just muscle memory.

“Hey hey, the 47 bus is finally here! Let’s go!” Sophia chirped, looping her arm through Nova’s as they waited at the stop.

She had no clue–what could she possibly know about Nova’s multitasking superpowers?

She quickly flagged down the bus, and together they boarded, heading straight for Evergreen Film Studios.

On the bus, Nova was typing out a text.

‘Where is she?‘

Short and blunt–she fired it off to Ghost–Hammer.

Sophia waved eagerly, calling out, “Hey! Over here!”

One stop later, the bus pulled up at Highridge Station.

The nearly empty bus was suddenly filled with a bunch of stylish teens around Nova’s age as they hopped on.

Sophia’s first instinct was to wave at them, her excitement barely contained,

Nova had just hit send on her message when Sophia clutched Nova’s arm and gave it a panicked shake. “Nova,

we’re doomed!”

She blurted out, “Oh, I almost forgot–my cousin’s kind of a big deal in the business, and honestly, everyone treats him like some kind of celebrity.

“And since he’s going with us, he can totally hook us up with a meeting with some real stars! That’s why a couple of my other cousins around our age want to come too–everyone’s dying to meet the celebrities!

“I just thought, might as well turn this into a group hang.”

Students at Saint Laurel Royal Academy either came from wealth or had influential families. The Rivers family couldn’t quite compare to the Blakes, but in Ravenport, they were still considered one of the wealthiest households around.

These days, even kids from rich families were just as eager to chase after celebrities as anyone else.

For a bunch of teenagers, if you had the connections to meet a famous star, you instantly scored top bragging rights in your social circle.

“Sure,” Nova answered simply, sounding totally unfazed.

Nova couldn’t care less.

She’d already gone on a mission to the Trinova, and even visited the reclusive Greslin family with Damien Thorn.

But with all that, she’d only gotten a tiny taste of the shadowy international world she’d survived in before prison–a mere glimpse at the tip of the iceberg.

She hadn’t really made her grand return to the global scene yet.

But as time went by, she could sense that day wasn’t far off now.

Right now, though, she just wanted to enjoy a moment of normalcy–live like an ordinary schoolgirl for once and let herself breathe.

For Nova, it didn’t really matter where she was headed, or who she was hanging out with–it was all the same to her.

But there was no way Sophia could ever guess what was really running through Nova’s mind.

Sophia relaxed, letting out a happy little sigh as she snuggled up to Nova’s shoulder, nuzzling her like a kitten.

“Nova, you’re seriously the best-” Sophia gushed, her voice soft and sweet.

“Sophia, is that your friend?” The tall, paper–thin guy from the group of two guys and two girls called out first.

He turned to Nova, sizing her up as he spoke,

“Yeah! That’s Nova,” Sophia said, tossing a quick intro her way.

“Hello” The skinny guy was named Ryan Rivers.

He was a distant cousin of Sophia’s, and he nodded politely at Nova.

Nova simply nodded in response, her usual version of politeness–no words needed.

Besides Ryan, the other two girls walked arm in arm, barely paying any attention to Sophia or Nova as they found seats for themselves, laughing and chatting away.

The girl with long hair, dramatic makeup, and a splash of electric blue eyeshadow was Kiki.

The other girl, showing off her manicured nails and leaving a strong trail of perfume wherever she went, was Lily,

Lily was also a distant relative of Sophia’s.

There was also a guy named Leo Rivers, another distant cousin of Sophia’s.

And as for Kiki, she was actually Lily’s friend.

She’d heard there were going to be celebrities, so she basically begged and tagged along, refusing to take no for an answer.

They acted like Nova and Sophia didn’t even exist, just kept gossiping about their own love lives.

“That jerk, Jasper, actually had the nerve to break up with me a couple days ago! I’m so pissed!”

“Seriously? Then just dump him already!”

“But I still love him…”

Kiki and Lily were just talking about the usual stuff girls loved to gossip about–boys, breakups, and all that drama.

They were totally in their element, chatting away like there was no tomorrow.

For teenage girls, life and love pretty much boiled down to dating a guy, breaking up, crying it out, and then jumping straight into the next relationship.

And when girls hung out together, it always came down to comparing looks or whose boyfriend was more impressive.

All the while, Nova sat there, looking every bit as jaw–droppingly gorgeous as the hottest celebrities on TV.

Every now and then, Kiki and Lily couldn’t resist sneaking glances her way–she was just that hard to ignore.

The 47 bus was practically deserted today–just their little group on board.

Once things quieted down, the whole vibe got awkward and tense. After Kiki and Lily hopped on, Sophia just clammed up and didn’t say a word.

Thank goodness, they finally got off the bus.

Evergreen Film Studios.

Just as Nova stepped off the bus, her phone chimed from her waistband–a new message had come in.

The six of them had just gotten off and were now standing at the bus stop.

By now, the only person who’d be texting her was Ghost–Hammer. Nobody else would bother.

Nova fished out her phone and checked the message.

Nova caught someone trying to sneak a peek over her shoulder, so she shut off her phone in a flash.

“Geez! Why’d you have to close it so fast?

“I was just curious–what’s with all the secrets, huh?”

Kiki tried to sneak a peek over Nova’s shoulder, but when she couldn’t catch a glimpse, she just rolled her eyes and finally spoke up, attitude all over her face.

“Kiki!” Lily called out, noticing her friend’s words had gotten a bit too snappy.

“I’m right here,” Kiki snapped, tossing another eye–roll and jutting her chin out, sounding every bit the rebellious brat.

Seriously, she looked just like a junior troublemaker in action.

No way was she going to look soft in front of Nova–even around her own friends, she had to act tough and keep her pride high.

She was trying so hard to act tough, like some boyfriend was standing behind her ready to back her up.

“What’s with calling people stingy? Watch your mouth,” Sophia shot back, her tone sharp.

Sophia didn’t even really know Kiki–Lily had simply asked if she could bring her friend along for the ride.

But seeing Kiki mouthing off at Nova, Sophia’s temper instantly flared.

She spun around and shot Kiki a glare, her eyes practically screaming, ‘Back off.”

Everyone at Saint Laurel Royal Academy picked up some self–defense skills. Sophia couldn’t match Nova’s intimidating vibe, but compared to her average person, she totally had that private school aura going for her.

Kiki got spooked by Sophia’s sudden fierceness; plus, she knew she still needed Sophia to get into the film studio, so backing down was pretty much her only move.

Instantly, all that tough–girl swagger faded, and Kiki’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“I mean… I was just curious what she was looking at, honestly…

“Just curiosity, that’s it…”

Their conversation made Nova lift her cool gaze, fixing her eyes on Kiki.

“You really want to see? Sure you won’t regret it?”

Her tone was cold and chilling.

Kiki, totally clueless, just nodded, thinking, ‘Seriously, what’s there to regret?‘

“Fine. As you wish.”

Expressionless, Nova swiped open her phone.

Sophia, Ryan, Lily, and Leo were all buzzing with curiosity–they’d all noticed the way Nova had purposely turned away to check her phone in private.

What could be on there… everyone was dying to know.

…that she didn’t want anyone else catching a glimpse of?‘

As soon as Nova’s screen lit up, everyone crowded in, practically elbowing each other for a peek.

They were just a bunch of teens, all caught up in the typical high school whirlwind of crushes and romance.

So naturally, the five of them immediately jumped to conclusions…

…assuming Nova must be secretly texting her boyfriend, probably sharing some cringey, lovey–dovey stuff she didn’t want anyone else to see.

After all, constant flirting and sweet talk with a guy–that’s just standard teenage girl behavior.

But none of them could have guessed what would actually pop up on Nova’s screen–a photo message that made their blood run cold.

The image showed a burly, dark–bearded foreigner, standing six feet two inches tall and built like solid iron. His arms looked like sledgehammers, and in one hand, he was gripping a bloody, severed head.

All around him, the ground was littered with corpses and severed limbs, while behind him, thick smoke billowed in the chaos of war.