The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Felix and his team had absolutely no idea that the new arrivals were actually operatives from the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

Felix’s mind raced, *Are they here to eliminate us?*

In an instant, the five men sprang up, moving swiftly to surround Nova, their eyes sharp and alert as they scanned every shadow and corner of their surroundings.

“Wait, they’re here?!” one of them blurted out, voice edged with disbelief.

“Nova, what’s the plan? What do we do now?” another asked, anxiety creeping into his tone.

All five instinctively turned to Nova, looking to her for direction.

Nova didn’t waste a moment. Her lips barely parted as she spoke, her voice steady, calm, and commanding. “The ambush failed. They’ll come back. We need to leave—now.”

That assassination attempt? There was no doubt about it—she had been the target.

And the mercenaries sent after her? They were none other than her own subordinates from the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

Being betrayed by her own team—stabbed in the back by those she trusted most—that was a betrayal that cut deep.

*My situation is unlike anyone else’s,* Nova thought quietly, her mind tracing the tangled roots of the chaos engulfing her.

As the leader of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps, she was more legend than a familiar face to the thousands who now made up the group. With the corps swelling beyond ten thousand members, most didn’t even know what she looked like.

Apart from a handful of senior officers, nearly all Bloodblade mercenaries were unaware of who she truly was.

With so many members and the organization’s growing notoriety, Bloodblade was flooded with orders from all manner of clients.

Only the largest, most lucrative contracts ever reached her desk directly.

For everyday jobs—assassinations, bodyguard assignments—Bloodblade’s rank-and-file handled negotiations themselves, no need to involve the upper echelon.

Even if Snowfang, that traitorous senior member of Bloodblade, had somehow tracked her down, he wasn’t foolish enough to send inexperienced rookies after her.

Putting all the pieces together, there was only one logical conclusion.

Someone had actually hired her own people—from her own corps—to come after her.

Nova’s eyes narrowed, a cold, deadly gleam igniting within them.

Felix gave a sharp nod. “Alright! Move out—let’s get the hell out of here, now!” he commanded, rallying his team.

Without hesitation, he signaled the others and led them swiftly away from the scene.

Though the assassination attempt had been dangerously close, the guns were equipped with silencers.

In a bustling, noisy place like the lounge, the muffled shots blended seamlessly into the background clamor—no one noticed a thing.

All anyone saw was Nova flipping the table in frustration.

Most assumed she and Claire were having a petty argument.

Girls bickering? That was nothing new, so nobody gave it a second thought.

Only a few students seated at Nova’s table—Maxwell, Hannah, and Claire—caught sight of Nova clutching a bullet in her hand, fully aware of how narrowly they had escaped disaster.

As Nova and her group turned to leave silently, Claire finally snapped out of her shock.

She jumped to her feet, voice rising in disbelief, “What the hell just happened? Nova, seriously, how many secret masters have you got hunting you now?”

“Hannie, look at your sister! Can you believe this?” Claire added, her frustration boiling over.

She continued, her voice sharp and urgent, “I’ve told her before—these secret masters aren’t just some random troublemakers! Getting tangled up with them is basically signing your own death warrant!”

“But does she ever listen? Nova, don’t you dare just walk away like nothing happened! You nearly got us all killed, and now you’re acting like it’s no big deal?”

Claire’s outburst shattered the tense silence, drawing every eye in the room.

Zane, who wasn’t far off, had been watching Nova closely the entire time.

He had witnessed every tense moment, every shout from Claire, and the urgency in the air hit him like a punch to the gut. There was no way he could just stand by and watch.

In a flash, Zane rose and took off after Nova, determined not to miss what would come next.

Maxwell shot Claire a cold glare and snapped, “Nobody tells my sister what to do—least of all you.”

“If you’re so scared, then just stay out of our way!” His words were ice-cold, leaving no room for argument.

Without hesitating, Maxwell hurried after Nova.

Claire swallowed hard, nerves jangling under Maxwell’s frosty stare.

Muttering under her breath, Claire tried to rope Hannah into her side, “Hannie, did you see the way your brother acted just now…?” But before she could finish, she noticed Hannah slipping away after Maxwell.

“You really believe that rubbing shoulders with them every day makes you one of the big shots?”

“Keep dreaming—even if you’re dying to join them, you don’t have their power backing you. Face it, Nova, you’re just playing pretend. Like Cinderella—the magic fades at midnight, and boom, you’re nobody.”

Claire made it painfully clear she thought Nova’s struggles were futile—that she would always be just another small player, barely scraping above average, nowhere near truly making it.

*Quit the fantasy,* Claire sneered silently.

But Claire was caught off guard when she met Nova’s glare—those crimson eyes flickering with raw, murderous intent.

They looked like a demon clawing up from the depths of hell, ready to drag her down into the darkest abyss imaginable.

Frozen in fear, Claire nearly jumped out of her skin. She instantly fell silent, too scared to say another word.

“Novie, we’re not trying to interfere,” Maxwell said, voice steady and warm.

“Hannie and I may not be as strong as you, but as your big brother and sister, all we want is for you to remember us when things get dangerous.”

“Let us help, even if it’s just a little.”

Maxwell looked her straight in the eyes, his tone calm and sincere.

That earnest expression finally softened Nova’s guarded demeanor.

She was about to respond when Zane cut in.

“There’s always more ways than problems,” Zane said with a confident grin, glancing at Maxwell. “Even though I’ve got beef with Max most days, sometimes the guy really knows what he’s talking about.”

He looked over at Nova with a smirk. “Nova, sure—none of us can take you down solo.”

“But if we combine all our strength and brains, who knows? You might actually have to work for that win.”

For once, Zane didn’t call her “woman” or anything teasing like that.

He was back to his usual aloof, cool campus heartthrob self—one hand in his pocket, striding over with that signature swagger.

And for once, he offered a surprisingly practical suggestion.

“Doesn’t matter why those assassins came after you—in the end, they’re just working for a paycheck, right?”

“So why don’t we flip the script? Pool some cash, reach out, and hire some of the world’s top assassins or mercenaries to take out our enemies for us?”