Rehab for SuperVillains (18+)-Chapter 282: resonant

Her voice had the same cadence, the lilt that echoed Tila’s sass and Lila’s softness.

But deeper.

Richer.

It rang like a bell forged in shadow, resonant and commanding.

"Lila?" Liss asked, her voice steady but her lightning still crackling, tightening her grip on the energy.

The woman chuckled softly, a sound like velvet over steel. "Wrong again..."

She stepped forward slowly, her movements fluid, predatory yet poised.

The gravel beneath her heels melted into shadow with each step, reforming seamlessly behind her.

"...you could say we’ve become something new."

Kael stared, unblinking, his mind racing to piece together the impossible. "You fused."

She stopped just before him, eye to eye now, her black gaze locking onto his hazel one with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Not just fused," she whispered, her breath warm against his skin, carrying a faint scent of night-blooming flowers and ozone.

"Merged and reborn."

Kael hesitated, his hand twitching as if to reach out, to confirm she was real. "Then who are you now?"

She smiled wider, her black lips curving with a mix of amusement and revelation, her black eyes gleaming.

"I think you already know."

Silence stretched, taut as a bowstring.

Then Kael said, "Lital?"

Lital smiled.

A slow, sultry curve of her lips as Kael said her name, the sound of it hanging in the air like an invocation.

"You’re right," she murmured, her voice a low purr that vibrated through him.

She took a step toward him—slow, her hips swaying with a confidence that was entirely new yet achingly familiar.

Kael, instinctively, stepped back.

Just once.

It wasn’t conscious. It wasn’t rejection.

It was fear—primal, unbidden.

Because the last time he saw this version of her—the real her—she had reduced the Reaper, an S-Class nightmare, into nothing but red smears on the pavement, her shadows twisting like living blades.

That image was burned into his brain, a warning etched in blood.

She noticed, her black eyes glinting with amusement.

But instead of stopping, she lifted a hand—and behind Kael, shadows rose silently like a tide, coalescing from the ground in inky waves.

They formed a smooth, dark wall, sealing off his escape, brushing his back like cold breath, making him flinch involuntarily.

"Wh—what are you doing?" Kael asked, his voice unsteady, his hazel eyes darting to the barrier.

Liss, a few feet away, turned her gaze, her lightning fizzling out as she assessed the scene.

She could feel it—no hostility radiating from Lital, no threat humming in the air.

Just... gratitude, warm and grateful.

She sighed, looking elsewhere with folded arms, her voice dry, laced with reluctant humor. "Oh, I know what’s happening."

Lital reached for Kael.

Her black-painted fingernails traced the line of his collarbone, grazing the fabric of his shirt like a whispered promise.

The heat of her touch lingered, trailing after her as though her fingers had sparked something beneath his skin.

She leaned in, fingers tightening at his collar—not yanking, but guiding, claiming.

Her black lips found his with a hunger that didn’t explode but ignited—slow-burning, deep, and consuming.

There was no hesitation, only heat and certainty, her mouth moving against his in a rhythm that curled into his lungs and stole the air from them.

Her body pressed into his, curves fitting like a secret meant only for him, her breath warm and urgent against his cheek.

And then her scent wrapped around him—smoke laced with something floral and untamed, like jasmine blooming in the dark.

It filled his head, coaxed his thoughts to scatter, and all that remained was her—on his mouth, in his hands, sinking into him like she’d always been there.

Her nails curled into his shirt, digging just enough to anchor him.

Her tongue brushed his, teasing at first, then insistent, finding its way as she tilted her head and deepened the connection until it wasn’t just contact anymore—it was a claim, raw and consuming.

Kael’s world narrowed to the press of her mouth, the warmth of her breath mingling with his, the subtle taste of her—like shadowed sweetness, lingering and addictive.

He gasped faintly against her, trying to pull back for air—but her grip only tightened, one hand sliding up to cup the back of his neck, holding him in place.

His thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm, overwhelmed by the intensity, the way she moved with purpose, as if she were a woman who had spent lifetimes caged and now finally had a body to express the fire within.

Liss turned her back fully, groaning under her breath. "Oh great. Guess she’s on Team Kael now too."

But her lips curled slightly, a smirk tugging at the corner despite herself.

It wasn’t all bad.

There was something vindicating about it, watching from the periphery.

This wasn’t Tila clinging to Kael in the throes of trauma, desperate for solace.

This was Lital choosing him with full clarity, her presence commanding and assured.

And damn it...

Lital was strong.

Stronger than Tila ever was, her shadows more precise, more potent than Liss remembered from their clashes.

Her instincts whispered: This was the form that had killed the Reaper—not a mask, not a rage outburst, but her true self, unleashed and whole.

Inside the shadows’ embrace, Kael felt his knees weaken, the wall at his back the only thing keeping him upright.

The kiss deepened further, her fingers threading through his hair, tugging gently to angle him just right, her hips pinning his to the barrier behind.

He tried to gasp for air, to form words—but she captured them, her mouth moving with a hunger that left no room for hesitation.

"Lital—" he managed, breathless, the name escaping in a ragged whisper when she finally allowed a fraction of space.

And then, with a sharp motion, she clenched her fist.

Fwump.

A perfect cube of shadow erupted around them—cutting out wind, sound, and light in an instant.

A barrier. A cage.

A sanctuary, solid and impenetrable, the world outside muffled to nothing.

Liss blinked at the sudden enclosure, staring at the opaque black box that now stood where they had been.

"...You’ve gotta be kidding me."