Chapter 45: Do I look like a hero to you?

The door was opened, and several men in uniform entered. Seeing Ruby’s lifeless body, they were all stunned.

"Guess the people have started threatening her," one of the men commented, disgust clearly visible on his face and in his voice as he stared at Ruby’s lifeless body.

Raymond nodded. "Get some men to handle her body, I have other things to handle right now." Raymond ordered and left.

"Yes, boss," the men replied.

..... Late at night .....

Nova stepped onto the porch of Cassian’s house. She was just about to push open the front door when she suddenly stopped, turning her head slightly to the side.

"Guess I’m the one you are waiting for. It’s cold tonight, don’t let the wind blow you away," she said, not moving an inch from where she stood.

A figure in a long black coat jumped down heavily from the fence behind Nova and slowly rose. She stared at Nova and pulled back her hoodie, revealing her face.

It was Sonnie, one of Cassian’s maids. "Young madam," she called, her voice choked as if she had been crying for a long time.

Nova turned back and stared at her, instantly noticing a huge scar around her neck. It looked so terrifying that it seemed almost impossible for someone to have survived it.

"Not hiding anymore?" Nova raised an eyebrow, folding her arms together as she leaned against the door, not looking like she had even noticed the gruesome scar around her neck.

Sonnie immediately dropped to her knees, tears escaping from her eyes. "Young madam, please help me!" she cried, kowtowing heavily against the hard floor until her forehead started bleeding.

"Help you?" Nova snorted. "Do I look like a hero to you?" she asked. "Do I resemble Supergirl or Spider-Woman?" she added in a mocking tone.

Sonnie bit her lower lip. "I... I am willing to trade the fire stone as long as you can help me," she said, looking up at Nova.

"Fire stone!" Anah’s shocked voice echoed in Nova’s head as she materialized beside Nova immediately. Time completely froze at her appearance, the wind halting in mid-air, as she flew towards Sonnie, scanning her whole body. "It’s indeed a fire stone," she murmured.

"What is it now, foggy face?" Nova asked.

"Collect the fire stone," Anah replied, returning back to Nova’s side.

Nova stretched out her hand, and a stone smoothly floated out from Sonnie’s hidden pocket, landing gently in Nova’s palm. It looked as ordinary as any other stone, with only one letter carved into it: ’S’.

Nova’s brows knitted in confusion. Somehow, she found the stone familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. "So this is for..." she asked, not tearing her gaze away from the stone.

"Just collect it," Anah replied.

Nova stared at her, speechless. "But why is it called a fire stone? This thing is neither hot nor releasing any fire," she questioned.

"Tsk," Anah hissed in annoyance. "Just collect it," she repeated and vanished. Instantly, time resumed its natural flow.

Nova poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue, feeling annoyed. She looked at Sonnie. "This ordinary stone?" She raised an eyebrow at her.

Sonnie was stunned and quickly checked her pocket, only to find it completely empty. "How... how did she take it from me? I didn’t even notice when," she thought in absolute shock, her eyes widening.

Nova smirked. "This stone, I want it and I have it. I don’t need to negotiate with you." Nova shrugged and was about to enter the house, but Sonnie’s voice immediately echoed again in the quiet night.

"I beg you, please help! I will agree to any condition you lay down, just please help me this once!" she cried sorrowfully.

Nova paused. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She snapped her head to the left, peering into the deep darkness of the distant rooftops. Her eyes narrowed sharply. In the blink of an eye, she vanished and reappeared directly behind Sonnie, grabbing her by the collar of her coat and dragging her backward with brutal speed.

The moment Sonnie was yanked away, a silent, high-caliber sniper bullet struck the exact spot on the concrete where she had been kneeling a microsecond before, sending sharp debris flying into the air.

Sonnie was entirely terrified, gripping Nova’s arm tightly with trembling hands as the reality of her near-death settled in.

"Get lost." Nova shoved her hand away from Sonnie and locked her piercing stare on the distant darkness. "Shoot the sniper again, and you are all dead," she commented in a low, bone-chilling voice that seemed to carry straight through the wind.

A very long distance away, a man was laying flat on a house roof with his sniper rifle perfectly set up. Seeing Nova staring in his direction—no, seeing her staring directly into his eyes from that impossible distance—a wave of pure, icy terror rushed through his veins.

"Boss, there’s an abnormal girl here. She saved Sonnie from the sniper," he whispered into the communication device at his lips, his voice trembling.

There was a long silence before a husky voice echoed back. "Location?" he asked.

"Cassian’s mansion," he replied.

"To hell with you, retreat immediately!" The husky voice completely broke into a panic as he shouted.

"Yes!" the man replied and immediately signaled his subordinates to fall back, not daring to linger a single second longer.

Seeing that the assassins had fled into the night, Nova frowned slightly, the lethal tension in the air slowly dissipating. "Why is there no security around? Cassian isn’t this careless," she murmured.

She was just about to enter the house, but Sonnie immediately lunged forward and hugged her leg.

"Young Madam, please help me!" she cried.

Nova took a deep breath, getting highly irritated. "I don’t..." She didn’t complete her statement when a sudden, chilling smile slowly spread across her lips.

"Meet me tomorrow at the LV Grand Coffee Shop at 2 PM," she said.

"Thank you, young madam! Thank you!" Sonnie kowtowed several times happily and immediately put her hoodie back on, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the night.

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Anah questioned, her voice flat and lacking any trace of curiosity.

"That scar on her neck... I’m interested in it... or should I say, the person who made it," Nova replied. She walked back to the entrance, finally pushing open the door, only to be met with complete darkness inside the house.

"Cassian," Nova murmured. The air inside the room was thick and wildly tense, completely devoid of sound. She reached out, about to turn on the light, only for her wrist to be suddenly and forcefully grabbed by a firm, strong hand.

Before she could react, she was swiftly pinned against the wall in the pitch-black room. And before she could utter a single word, her lips were sealed into a hot, possessive, and dangerously deep kiss.

Nova didn’t resist. Instantly recognizing his familiar scent, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body tightly against his firm, shirtless chest as the kiss hungrily deepened in the dark.