The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Yellowcat was taken aback. En though she’d joined Bloodedge later, she’d still been with them for about five years. She knew all too well how busy Nova was.

She’d only ever mentioned her background and the fact that she’d never gone to school once.

That day, she was just chatting with Snowfang at Bloodblade’s headquarters when Nova happened to overhear.

But for someone like Nova, Yellowcat figured she was just one of many underlings–Nova probably wouldn’t even remember.

It turns out she was dead wrong.

‘Wait, she actually remembered that detail so vividly?‘ Yellowcat thought, astonished.

“Absolutely! Getting to chase my dream of going to school with you, boss–that’s the biggest honor for ine!” Yellowcat said eagerly.

Yellowcat only called Nova “Ms. Blake” around outsiders; when it was just the two of them, she always stuck with “boss.”

Nova placed a hand on Yellowcat’s shoulder and gave it a gentle pat. “Okay, I’ll tell you when school starts.”

*****

Natasha wasn’t at Frostwave Bar’s training base.

She was a student at Grinston University in Satury City, and thanks to her top grades, she could usually get time off from school whenever she needed.

But there were still some exams she just couldn’t skip.

Ever since Natasha bumped into Nova at Rena University, the two of them had been paying frequent visits to Ravenport together.

So when Natasha heard from Ethan that Nova was back in Ravenport today, she didn’t even think twice.

She grabbed a last–minute ticket for the high–speed train, dropping everything just to rush straight to Frostwave Bar in Ravenport.

She burst in, dressed with bold flair–petite, vivacious, and impossible to ignore.

Natasha was bouncing through the doors of Frostwave Bar when she smacked right into the solid chest of a man towering at 6 feet 2 inches–all muscle and strength.

Natasha startled.

From above, she caught that familiar male voice–the one she’d least wanted to hear again.

“Well, well, kiddo. Only gone a few days and now you’re practically jumping into your big brother’s arms?”

It was Aiden Cross, the assassin.

With his tousled golden hair and the kind of sharp, handsome features only a guy with half Western blood could have, Aiden was a total knockout.

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Chapter 16

bark and he surely don’t expert them in

Forget the cold blooded hitit ary–Aide only ever dropped it and turned d the charm when Natasha was around

To everyone else, he was will just the icy

killer

“Liar‘ Don’t make stuff up!” Natasha retorted,

Ming her eyes

“Seriously, what the hell are you doing here?” she demanded

“Wait

are you here to fight me for Nova again?” Natasha snapped

As soon as Natasha saw it was Aiden, she sprang back, quick and sharp, like a little wildcat on alert

She glared at him, bristling like a hedgehog with all its quills up–eyes fierce, sizing him up as if he was an enemy.

Seeing the kid he’d been missing for ages shooting him that suspicious glare, Aiden just found her even more adorable

Aider’s smile softened, a rare warmth lighting up his usually cold features.

Sure, sticking by Nova’s side as her bodyguard was the task he’d been assigned…

..but honestly, what really amused Aiden was this girl right in front of him–so clueless she’d probably help count cash for whoever tried to sell her off.

“Oh, you better believe it–I’m here to snatch someone from you,” Aiden said, baiting her with a tease.

“Ha! I knew it! That’s exactly what you’re after–trying to take Nova away from me!” Natasha shrieked, voice rising in protest

“Ugh, grown–ups like you are seriously the worst!” she grumbled, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.

“No way I’m letting you win! I’ll take you on for her, just try the!” Natasha shot back, balling up her fists, fire in her eyes.

Natasha didn’t even hesitate.

She always tried to look all grown–up and fierce, but in reality, she’d just turned sixteen.

There was no way she could tell Aiden was just messing with her, setting her up to fall right into his trap.

Dressed in her bold, revealing outfit, Natasha’s instincts kicked in–she curled her right hand into a claw and lunged straight at Aiden.

Aiden, far more seasoned in the underworld than Natasha, dodged her strike smoothly and twisted around with effortless skill.

His iron–strong, muscular arm slipped around her shoulder and neck with practiced ease, locking her in place.

He held her tight, not giving her even a fraction of room to break free.

No matter how fiercely Natasha struggled–kicking, thrashing, twisting–she was caught fast, completely immobilized.

To match Natasha’s height, Aiden leaned down with suave case, scooping her up and carrying her petite frame right out of

Frostwave Bar.

His voice–velvety, undeniably masculine–lingered close to Natasha’s ear, scuding a shiver

down her spine.

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Chapter 163

he one I want to steal away is you,” he drawled, teasing and unmistakably bold.

“Be good and let big bro have you all to himself for a bit, bm?” Aiden joked, his tone both playful and a little wicked.

*****

A few days slipped by in a blink, and Andrew had already pulled some strings–securing Nova’s spot at Suntry Academy with impressive speed.

Nova was her own woman–independent, decisive, never second–guessing herself. She barely spared her family more than a courtesy heads–up before setting off for Suntry City.

And of course, Yellowcat tagged along at her side.

Andrew was the one driving them over to Suntry Academy.

“Nova, I’ve already pulled some strings for you. The moment you step onto the campus, you’re officially a Suntry Academy

student.” Andrew said with a wink.

“If your friend wants in too, you’ll have to split up once you arrive.”

“She’ll need to check in with admissions and prove herself before she can enroll.”

“And since you’re coming in through different channels, there is no way you two could be in the same dorm building…” Andrew added.

Nova wasn’t worried at all about Yellowcat passing Suntry Academy’s entrance exam.

Once they got out of the car, Andrew handed Nova the official ops team badge and her firearm permit–both pre–approved by higher–ups.

“If you guys need anything, just give me a call. I’ve got to head back to the warzone, so I’m out,” Andrew said.

With that, he hopped back in his car and drove off.

Outside the front gate, Nova and Yellowcat split up for the time being.

Suntry Academy’s gate looked super basic and old–school–traditional western vibe, faded buildings and a guard hut honestly not that different from any average high school.

But the campus is way bigger–like ten times the size of a typical high school or middle school.

Nova made her way up to the sixth floor of the women’s dorm building–the place was so ancient, the only reason she’d ended up here at all was because of how run–down it looked.

Her assigned room had its number slapped across the door in old, flaky red paint–four digits, barely hanging on after years of wear and tear.

Right above the handle, it read: 6088

Nova dragged her suncase with one hand and pushed open the dorm room door with the other.

“Lillian, enough already, stop with the makeup. We’re at a military school–you know we really shouldn’t be painting our faces here” a girl said.

“Oh, it’s just for fun! Seriously, what girl doesn’t want to look good? Yvonne, you should try some too- Come on, come on

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Chapter 163-

an laughert

The door wasn’t locked, go as soon as Nova walked in, the first thing she save was four beds lined up–yep, definitely a four- girl dorm

Just off to the left was a small bathroom and shower area.

Inside, two girls were goofing off. Lillian, rocking some loose curls and a swipe of foundation, looked charming and totally adorable

The other girl. Yvonne, was a striking 5 feet 9 inches with short, choppy hair–a total tomboy vibe, zero girly features.

Lillian was waving her makeup around, chasing Yvonne all over the room while Yvonne dodged her face twisted in pure. stubborn resistance to anything cosmetic.

All in all, this dorm had a pretty great atmosphere.

The moment Nova walked in, the two girls instantly froze in place–like someone had hit ‘pause‘ on their wrestling match- and both turned to check out the newcomer.

“Alright, quit fooling around, our new roommate’s here.”

Yvonne had a total tomboy look, and her voice sounded just like one of the guys–deep and a little rough around the edges.

She nudged Lillian out of the way and walked straight up to Nova Blake. “You must be our new roommate, Nova Blake, am I right?”

Lillian paused her antics, popped out her lipstick, and started swiping it on in front of the mirror with a playful giggle.

“So I heard you joined the ops team! Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, yeah?” Lillian flashed Nova a friendly grin.

Both girls carried themselves with an easy, no–nonsense kind of confidence–real fighter vibes. There was zero trace of hostility, just a warm welcome.

Nova nodded. “Yeah.”

“Yvonne, go ahead and fill our new roommate in on how things work around here. Oh, and don’t forget to hand her the smartwatch,” Lillian said.

As she spoke, Lillian shot Nova a playful wink, her eyes narrowing with mischief.

“Whoa, I didn’t expect our new roommate to be this gorgeous, heh!” Lillian teased.

Yvonne grabbed a smartwatch, strode over to Nova, and handed it to her with a no–nonsense look.

“Nova, welcome to Suntry Academy. This is yours–take good care of it.”

“You probably already know that most of the students here are with the youth ops team, right?” Yvonne added.

Compared to Lillian’s bubbly energy, Yvonne was all crisp edges and maturity–just like her cropped hair, straightforward and to the point:

Nova immediately got a solid impression of her

“Yeah, I know, Nova replied, taking the smartwatch.

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Chapter 163

besides the regular time in the top right corner, front and center were the words ‘Star Points”

that there was a number 0

i

Star Points is how we rank everyone’s strength here. Yvonne explained

Basically the more stars you’ve got the more of a genus you are. If your Star Points’s low, well you’re officially bortom of the barrel,’ she added with a shrug

wwwne went on

Just forget everything you know about what a normal university is like before you settle it here

“If it’s about training or leveling up, and you don’t cause a huge scene on campus, it’s all fair game at this school

“Here at our school, there are four Shadow Chambers–the Mission Chamber the Intelligence Chamber, the Command Chamber, and the Administration Chamber.

“The Mission Chamber is where you get to take on missions. Students go there to pick up tasks, and if you manage to complete them, you earn money and Star Points…

“Both the rewards and your Star Points bump depend on how tough the mission is.

“Out of all four Shadow Chambers, the Mission Chamber is easily the toughest to crack, which means it’s also got the biggest payouts–both in cash and stars.

“I heard just recently, two seniors who basically live in the Mission Chamber each racked up ten thousand stars! They blew right past a school record that’s stood for fifty years!” Yvonne added, her eyes bright with excitement.

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