The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Initially, Frank was overwhelmed by a strange void, a hollow sensation that quickly gave way to a terrifying realization—the finger he had been pointing at Nova was no longer there.

His hand, once rigid and accusing, was now a mangled, bloody stump where the finger had been severed.

He stood frozen, struggling to comprehend Damien’s chilling words. Then, a searing wave of pain shot up from the base of the missing finger, exploding through his nerves and crashing into his mind with brutal intensity.

“Ah!” Frank screamed, a raw, piercing sound that echoed through the room as he crumpled to the floor, twisting and writhing in unbearable agony.

That scream, coupled with Damien’s ruthless act and his cold declaration that Nova was “his,” stunned everyone present. The members of Verdant Reign, who had once thought Nova was doomed, and the crew from Frostwave Bar, who had believed their fate was sealed, all stood in shocked silence.

Victor and Ethan exchanged wide-eyed glances, their hearts pounding in their chests.

“Nova… that terrifying man… do you know him?” Ethan asked in a trembling voice, casting a fearful look at Damien. “He said… you’re his?”

But Nova’s reaction was far from what anyone might expect. She didn’t respond with naive awe or break down into tears of gratitude, as a typical girl might upon hearing such a possessive claim.

If she had indulged in such romantic illusions, she wouldn’t have survived so long in the ruthless international underworld.

Instead of interpreting Damien’s gesture as a sign of romantic affection, she recognized it for what it truly was—a calculated move, a signal of alliance from the leader of Shadow Sanctum to the head of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

With circumstances as they were, there was no middle ground: they could either form a partnership or fight to the death.

“Yeah, we’ve met a few times,” Nova answered Ethan flatly. “But we’re not close.”

Both Ethan and Victor couldn’t help but wonder silently, *Someone you barely know, and yet he’d go this far for you?*

They almost voiced their disbelief but sensed it wasn’t the moment to question it. Swallowing their doubts, they remained quiet.

Even Aiden, standing near Damien, was taken aback once more.

He knew Damien’s nature better than anyone—Damien never extended goodwill to any faction, much less did something as irrational as drawing a blade for a woman.

One thing was clear: Damien had taken a genuine interest in Nova.

Ignoring Frank’s agonized cries beneath him, Damien strode directly toward Nova, stepping over Frank’s mangled, bleeding arm as if it were nothing more than a crushed insect, unworthy of human consideration.

Brody had been trembling since hearing Damien’s possessive words, “she’s mine.”

Suddenly, it dawned on him that he had aligned himself with the wrong side. He should have approached Frostwave Bar and Nova instead.

As Damien advanced, Brody dropped to his knees, voice shaking with desperation. “Sir, I didn’t know she was yours. I was wrong. I’ll change, I swear! Please, spare me.”

Damien’s dark, intense eyes didn’t linger on Brody for even a moment. With a few long, deliberate strides, he stopped right in front of Nova.

Since breaking free from his dark past, Nova had become Damien’s one true vulnerability.

Every encounter with her chipped away at his control, especially after that fleeting moment in the tent during the SLRA wilderness survival training.

Though he had deliberately avoided her afterward, trying to regain his usual icy composure back at Shadow Sanctum, he couldn’t erase the memory of his fingertips brushing her skin or the subtle fragrance that clung to her.

Before meeting Nova, Damien had never believed any woman could stir his emotions. As the ruthless ruler of Shadow Sanctum, he had no room for attachments.

But since crossing paths with her, his heart—long buried in darkness—seemed to have brushed against a faint glimmer of light.

Tall and imposing, Damien’s shadow engulfed Nova’s smaller frame. To any onlooker, the two looked strikingly matched, standing so close together.

Without thinking, he reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he moved to touch her cheek.

He showed no fear and spoke quietly, “You need me.”

To heal her mother’s legs, Nova had to go through Damien to reach the poison doctor. That was why she hadn’t killed him.

She wasn’t surprised he knew this. After all, her return to the Blake family and her mother’s injury were hardly secrets.

As the master of Shadow Sanctum, it was only natural Damien would piece it together.

Still, Nova refused to back down. “So what? Right now, you’re at my mercy.”

Their tense exchange left the members of both Verdant Reign and Frostwave Bar utterly baffled. Ethan and Victor just stood there, completely dumbfounded.

None of them had any clue what the two were really discussing.

From their vantage point, no one could see the pistol pressed against Damien’s chest.

“Uh, what are they even talking about?” Ethan whispered to Victor.

Victor sighed, shaking his head. “I’m getting old. I can’t keep up with these young folks.”

Though the words were confusing, the intense energy radiating between Nova and Damien made everyone else in the underworld seem insignificant.

At that moment, Claire, Hannah, Zane, Jessica, and Charles quietly slipped in through a nearby window.

They froze, caught off guard by the tense scene unfolding before them.

The fearsome black market figures they had imagined were now gathered around Nova and Damien, heads slightly bowed.

Even more shocking was how close Nova and Damien stood—so near, their posture almost intimate, as if the world around them had faded away.