Rehab for SuperVillains (18+)-Chapter 285: sighed

Kael sighed, rubbing his temple as the tension eased a fraction. "It’s fine. Just... remove the cuffs. And this black void thing you’ve made. All the light’s gone. I feel like I’m in a cave."

"Mmm... okay."

And just like that, the shadows scattered, retreating like obedient tendrils uncoiling from the air.

The darkness peeled back like smoke clearing from his eyes, light filtering in gradually—soft, ambient glow from unseen sources.

Kael blinked, squinting as his vision adjusted—and realized he was lying on a bed.

A soft bed, the mattress yielding beneath him, warm sheets rumpled around his legs. A faint scent of perfume and something older, darker—like aged wood and faint smoke—clung to the pillows.

It was not his bed. Not the villa’s sparse furnishings.

"...Where am I?" he asked, slowly sitting up, his muscles protesting the sudden movement.

Lital sat beside him, perched like a queen on her throne, one leg crossed elegantly over the other.

One hand rested lazily on his chest, her black-painted nails tapping his shirt like a idle rhythm, each tap sending a subtle vibration through him.

"Oh, this?" she said sweetly, her black eyes sparkling with mischief. "One of my houses."

Kael stared, processing, his mind catching up to the implications.

She grinned, wide and unapologetic.

"And guess what?" she added, voice sing-song, leaning in closer.

"I’ve kidnapped you."

She leaned down again, her curls brushing his shoulder, eyes glinting playfully as she hovered just inches away.

"Welcome to our house."

"Stop playing, Lital," Kael said, his voice flat, edged with exasperation as he pushed the words out through gritted teeth.

She blinked once, her black eyes unreadable, a veil of calm masking whatever storm brewed beneath.

Her hand lingered on his chest, nails tracing idle patterns that sent unwelcome shivers across his skin.

"What do you want?" he asked directly, already shifting on the mattress, muscles coiling as he tried to crawl away from her side, putting distance between them.

But before he could slide off the bed, tendrils of shadow slithered out from beneath the sheets—fast, silent, cold as midnight fog.

They wrapped around his ankle with a firm, insistent grip, coiling like living ropes.

Yank.

He was dragged back, spun across the sheets like a ragdoll, the fabric whispering against his clothes as he twisted involuntarily.

Pulled tight against her again, his back flush to her front.

Lital spooned him from behind, one arm draped over his chest in a possessive hold, her body warm, solid, and terrifyingly calm, her curves pressing into him with unyielding presence.

Kael grunted, the sound frustrated and breathless. "This is getting annoying now."

"I’m not playing," she said softly, her lips brushing the back of his neck, warm breath sending a traitorous tingle down his spine. "I’m serious."

"About what?"

She didn’t answer right away. Her grip tightened slightly, possessively, like she was anchoring him to her presence, fingers splaying wider across his shirt as if to feel his heartbeat beneath.

"It’s dangerous out there," she said finally, her voice low but firm, carrying a weight that made the room feel smaller. "Too dangerous for you to be walking around like you’re not being watched."

Kael’s eyes widened, his body tensing in her embrace, every muscle going rigid. "...Why would you say that?"

"Because I know," she whispered, the words ghosting against his ear like a secret unearthed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

A pause hung between them, heavy and unspoken.

Then she continued, her voice dropping even lower. "You’re being hunted. By someone very strong. Very quiet. Someone who’s already marked you."

Kael tried to turn in her grasp, twisting his torso against the shadows that held him fast, but they tightened just enough to keep him in place, unyielding as iron bands wrapped in silk.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice sharp, laced with a edge of alarm that he couldn’t quite suppress. "I was safe at Liss’s. That place has high-end security—cameras, barriers, alarms. The district’s full of S-class heroes for backup. No one gets in without a fight."

Lital chuckled, a low rumble in her chest that vibrated against his back.

And then—laughed, a deep, unsettling sound that rolled out of her like smoke, echoing faintly off the walls of the unfamiliar room.

She pulled him tighter, her chin resting against his shoulder, her curls tickling his neck.

"Was it safe?" she asked, a wicked smile curling in her tone, playful yet pointed. "Because I just snatched you right out from under an S-class hero’s nose. Liss didn’t even notice until it."

Kael swallowed hard, the truth of her words sinking in like lead in his stomach.

That... wasn’t wrong.

The shadow box, the sudden vanishing— he didn’t know how she did it but it had looked effortless for her.

"I can’t stay here, Lital," he said after a moment, trying to keep his voice steady, though his pulse betrayed him under her palm.

"You can," she murmured, her fingers tracing a slow circle on his chest. "And you should."

"I need to go back."

"This place is safer," she replied, her tone unshakeable. "Safer than anywhere you’ve been. Hidden. Fortified. Mine."

Kael was quiet, thinking, his mind racing through options, scenarios, the feel of her arm like a cage he couldn’t quite hate.

Then he said, "Fine. Then I’ll call Freya. Rhea. And Liss. They’ll come here too. We’ll be together—safer that way."

Lital’s answer was immediate, sharp as a blade.

"No."

Kael turned his head slightly, as much as the shadows allowed, his hazel eyes narrowing in confusion and suspicion. "Why not?"

Her voice came soft, but edged with something colder. "Because I’m still your maid."

"...What does that have to do with anything?"

"You don’t need anyone else to protect you," she said, her breath warm against his skin. "You have me."

Kael’s brow furrowed deeper. "That’s not the point—"

"I’m very strong, Kael," she added, her voice dipping into a whisper that carried quiet pride. "Stronger than you realize. Stronger than before."