Page 198 of Villainous Rise

We followed Havoc inside and he led us to his personal quarters. Annie leaned heavily against me the entire way, exhaustion evident in every line of her body. Once we reached Havoc’s living room, I helped Annie sink down onto the couch.

“You should rest,” Havoc told her, moving toward the door. “I’ll be back, but I don’t know when. I need to deal with Valor. It will take some time for him to come around. Then I need to check on Helios.”

“I’ve got her,” I said. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. I couldn’t stop watching the way her pulse fluttered at her neck, the way her knuckles turned white from how tightly she was gripping me.

“Alright,” Havoc said and started to leave.

“Wait,” Annie called out, twisting in my arms to see him.

Havoc turned back with one eyebrow raised.

“That day in the Crucible, when you said Valor had potential,” Annie asked, her voice still rough but focused, “did you mean as a Hero or as a Villain?”

I stared at her, not sure what she was talking about.

“Which do you think, Annie?” he asked.

Annie didn’t answer, just held his gaze steadily.

“Hopefully it won’t take much convincing to get him to the side he belongs on now,” he said, a knowing smile forming on his face. “The man’s been fighting his nature since day one.”

I watched Annie carefully, expecting shock or at least surprise at the revelation that Valor was apparently League material. Instead, she nodded thoughtfully, clearly processing this information against her own observations.

“He’d do well with the League,” she said quietly, then turned to me with a questioning look in her still-reddened eyes. “Wouldn’t he?”

I considered the question. Valor was powerful, charismatic, at least to the cameras, and had a natural flair for the dramatic that would serve him well as a Villain. But he was also arrogant and impulsive. Not exactly bad traits for the League either.

“As long as he doesn’t piss off the wrong person before he can get established,” I replied carefully, thinking particularly of myself.

The thought of Valor joining the League, potentially becoming a regular fixture in my professional life, sent a surge of irritation through me. But there was also a certain poetic justice to it. The Alliance’s shining star falling from grace, trading his pristine reputation for the freedom to be the self-centered asshole he truly was.

I suppressed a smile as I thought about what his first season in the League would look like. Namely, how fast I’d fucking kill him.

Annie collapsed back against me, her body finally surrendering to exhaustion as Havoc left.

“Talk to me,” she whispered, her voice thick with fatigue. “Please just keep talking.”

I pulled her closer. “What should I talk about?”

“Anything,” she murmured against my chest. “Just your voice.”

I smiled softly, understanding what she needed. Not content, but sound, something to drown out her thoughts.

“Did I ever tell you about the first invention I ever built?” I began. “I was six. It was this ridiculous contraption meant to feed our cat automatically. Looked like a Rube Goldberg machine made of cereal boxes and string.”

She gave a small huff of breath.

“It worked exactly once before catching fire,” I continued, my voice low and steady. “My mother was furious about the scorch marks on the kitchen counter.”

I fell silent, suddenly aware of what I’d just said. My mother. Why the hell had I brought her up? I never talked about my parents. Never. They were a locked door in my mind, sealed shut and buried.

Annie shifted against me. “What was she like? Your mother?”

I felt my jaw tighten, muscles locking into place. A reflexive response to keep the words contained, to maintain the wall I’d built.

“Not important,” I said finally.

I could feel Annie processing my response, weighing whether to push or retreat.