The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 6

Sophia cried, "Whoa! That severed head in the picture is insanely creepy. So much blood on it... Looks way too real. Must be photoshopped, right?"

Sophia glanced up and immediately spotted the bloody head front and center on Nova's screen, right on the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps site.

She was startled by how real it looked, but she quickly shook it off and kept talking, "Damn, photoshop skills are getting insane these days. That severed head looks so real. It almost gave me a heart attack..."

Sophia thought for sure the gruesome image was just some clever photoshop.

Nova looked over, her voice flat. "It's real."

That bloody head belonged to her mortal nemesis. In a brutal, life-or-death showdown, Nova killed her nemesis, earning her legendary status in the mercenary world—and she went on to found the world-famous Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

She put her nemesis's head right on the organization's homepage, always reminding herself what it took to survive.

If she didn't want to become someone else's prey, she had to get stronger—strong enough to be the apex predator, sitting at the very top of the food chain.

Nova never bothered to hide her past. She was totally used to it by now—people learned who she really was would keep their distance. She tossed out the truth just to see how Sophia would handle it.

But the second Sophia heard the truth, her face blanched—then turned purple. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

A hint of loneliness flickered in Nova's eyes, gone so fast that no one would ever notice.

"Come on, just kidding," she said, her tone suddenly light.

That was exactly why she never breathed a word about her past to her family.

As she spoke, Nova casually opened the org's site on her phone and tapped into the login page, logging in with her Bloodforge handle.

She lied as easily as breathing, without a hint of guilt on her face.

"It's just some foreign game," she said, her tone offhand.

Maybe it was just because the site's login page looked so much like something from an online game, Sophia let out a relieved sigh, totally convinced by Nova's story. "Whoa, Nova, I didn't know you were into foreign games."

Seeing Nova log in successfully, Sophia looked away, shoveling rice into her mouth as she mumbled, "So, what are you playing? Is it some scary game? Any good?

"I'm totally into gaming. Maybe next time, you can show me that game?"

Sophia had no clue this wasn't your run-of-the-mill online game—it was the kind of deadly underground scene that could get you killed for real.

If she ever tried to join, she'd basically be signing her own death warrant.

This time, Nova didn't reply.

She clicked into a DM from Ghost-Hammer, a fellow mercenary.

Nova typed smoothly in Aurevian. [Hey, old buddy, still breathing? How's Bloodblade doing since I've been gone for half a year?]

Ghost-Hammer was one of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps's founding members and Nova's most loyal right-hand man.

Before she left, she put him in charge of running the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps's day-to-day operations, dragging the new recruits into the thick of battle and making sure they got their hands dirty.

He was a hulking brute, a mountain of muscle built like a giant sledgehammer—scary strong, the kind of guy nobody in their right mind would dare mess with.

After shooting off the message, Nova didn't bother sticking around for a reply.

This time of day, Ghost-Hammer was probably right in the thick of it—leading a squad of rookie mercs, ducking for cover as shells exploded all around them.

No way he could kick back with his phone like Nova, who was just enjoying the quiet life of a freshly minted student.

Nova logged out of the site and got right back to her meal.

"Hey Nova, check it out. Isn't that Hannah and Claire at that table?" Sophia called out.

She waved frantically and pointed towards a nearby table, her voice bubbling with surprise.

Nova followed her finger and saw two absolute knockouts sitting together, face to face, laughing and chatting while enjoying their meal.

One of them was her biological sister, Hannah.

Nova arched an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering in her eyes.

''With a cafeteria this huge, what are the odds I'd bump into her again so soon?' Nova thought, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

"The girl sitting across from your sister is Claire Woods. She's the one I mentioned, one of the top three campus queens," Sophia said, visibly excited.

Sophia added, "She and your sister are totally inseparable—like, best friends who do everything together. Seriously, gorgeous girls always seem to stick together."

After Sophia finished, she suddenly blurted out, "Nova, don't you wanna say hi to your sister?"

Nova's hearing was almost superhuman; even if Hannah and Claire were muttering under their breath, she heard every single word, loud and clear.

But she couldn't care less. She just kept eating, totally unfazed.

Not even three minutes had passed, a crew of nasty-looking troublemakers—guys and girls with the kind of attitude that screamed trouble—swaggered right in. There were a good dozen of them.

They crashed through the doors, loud and aggressive, eyes scanning the place like predators. As soon as they locked onto Nova and Sophia, the whole crew made a beeline straight for their table.

Leading the pack was a beefy dude with a dragon tattoo curling up his arm—rude, arrogant, and built like a schoolyard bully.

He was the kind of guy who just screamed trouble.

The beefy guy marched right up, looming over Nova with a nasty glare, his tone pure menace. "So, you're Nova Blake, huh?

Sophia's heart skipped a beat when she saw him. She almost jumped out of her seat, instinctively shrinking back, voice trembling. "L-Logan, what... what are you doing here? Why are you looking for us?"

At Saint Laurel Royal Academy, everyone knew Logan Drake.

He wasn't one of those absolutely untouchable campus heartthrobs, but he was still one of the biggest bullies you'd ever run into around here.

Plus, he was basically a legend in the Taekwondo club.

He was the type who'd tear people apart without blinking.

Rumor had it that if someone brushed against his shoulder by accident, Logan would unleash just three brutal punches and leave the poor guy's nose gushing.

Around here, not even the campus heartthrobs dared piss him off.

Once Logan heard Sophia's trembling words, he instantly locked his eyes on Nova—so she was the one he was looking for.

Scowling fiercely, he just hauled off and slammed his foot into the table right in front of Nova, sending it flying.

The table went sprawling across the floor with a sharp, earsplitting clatter, making everyone in the cafeteria jump.

Logan didn't even blink at the chaos he'd just caused. He fixed Nova with a nasty glare, shouting, "So you actually had the nerve to mess with someone from Taekwondo? I don't give a damn who your family is.

"Listen, get down and kiss my foot. Maybe I'll be generous and let you walk away. Or else? You're dead."