Veronica's Fallacy

37.

-HER-

"You said you were going to snap my neck if I didn't give you an answer right away!" Karrson shot. I bit my lower lip to contain the laugh that was about to erupt. It was frustrating and amusing to watch the two. They acted like two kids who hated each other but were put together to work on a project.

Grim let out a frustrated noise at Karrson's answer.

"You're tempting me to snap your neck!"

"What did I do now!"

"Why did you mention the missing souls in front of her? She's not supposed to know!" Grim growled at Karrson, and this time, the glasses in the house were shaking again. Before he could lunge at Karrson, I stepped in his way.

"What's the deal with the missing souls?" I asked. Whatever it was, he didn't want me to know about it, and that was enough reason for me to find out everything about it. This was now an established law in Grim and my relationship... or whatever it was called at this stage.

"This has nothing to do with you. You don't have to know," Grim said dismissively, but I wasn't going to let this go. I was a curious girl, and I never shied away from following it.

"What is this all about, Karrson?" I asked him, and he gave me an apologetic smile.

"It's something the two of us have been working on," Karrson dared to only reveal this much to me under Grim's murderous glare. "Nothing to concern you, sweetheart,"

"I'm looking for someone missing too," I chimed in, "And I've been looking for him for months without any hint,"

"Who's this person you're talking about?" Karrson asked warily. I licked my lips and wondered if I should finally tell him I was someone from the council.

"There's this council official. His name is Victor Stein. He has been missing for months now," I replied after a brief thought. Karrson's eyes widened slightly.

"You work for the council?" He asked something unfamiliar flickered in his eyes. Briefly, Grim looked less murderous and cocked an eyebrow at Karrson instead. It was as if he was curious to find out how Karrson'd react to my profession now that he knew we were mates.

"She works at the council?" Karrson asked, stunned. He continued when none of us answered, "You're telling me an Underlord has been paired with a council member? Fucking brilliant. A match made in heaven, indeed," Karrson grinned at the two of us. "Does Arkadius know that his sister-in-law is—"

"Cut it, Karrson," Grim snapped before Karrson could say anything more. I didn't miss the name. Arkadius. I didn't know why, but it sounded somewhat familiar. I was sure I had heard it somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. I tried to rake my brain for any memory but couldn't find anything, but if Karrson referred to me as Arkadius' sister-in-law, then I was sure it was Grim's brother. Surely an Underlord, too. I was now getting more curious about his family.

"Tell me about the missing souls," I said before the two of them could find a way to dismiss the matter. "I need to know what's the matter," Grim shot Karrson another glare, and the latter simply shrugged.

"She should join us," Karrson quipped, "I'd especially love to know what a council member would think about it," He grinned.

"What do you mean?" Grim asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

"You'll have to come with me to see it, and she has to come too," Karrson replied severely, all the flirty, playful nature he had been sporting a few moments ago evaporated in thin air. He looked pretty lethal without his charming smile or the playfulness in his eyes. He looked like a true Underlord. No one could ever mistake him for that now that his smile was gone.

Grim contemplated it for a few moments. I could tell that he was hesitant to take me wherever Karrson wanted to take us. I wondered if he was hesitant because he didn't trust Karrson or because he was unsure about me. I had not given him much to rely on, but I still waited for his response. Not that I was going to listen to him anyway.

"Is this some sort of a trap?" Grim asked Karrson after a long pause.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Lucarious?" Karrson asked, his tone growing more and more unrecognisable. It was as if a different person was talking.

Lucarious. He addressed Grim by that. I wondered if it was Grim's other name. Fuck, now that I thought about it, I hardly knew much about him, which wasn't a good thing. But then again, I had spent much of my time focused on the case and trying to maintain a solid distance between us despite the mating bond gnawing at me to give in.

"Well, you kidnapped Romulus' daughter once and tried to overthrow your Uncle, so maybe you are stupid," Grim shot.

"Let's not bring up old business. I was a young man then, figuring out myself," Karrson briefly slipped back into his jester side. He offered me his charming smile again, yet I didn't miss something vicious gleaming in his eyes.

"And you've figured yourself out now?" Grim asked, his gaze drilling into Karrson.

"Figuring out oneself is an ongoing process, isn't it?" Karrson replied, rising from the floor, "There was a time when you used to think yourself as undefeatable, but then see what happened to you. You discovered you weren't as invincible as you thought and that everything could be easily taken from you while all you could do is watch,"

I didn't know what Karrson was referring to, but whatever it was, it rubbed Grim the wrong way. Karrson seemed to have a death wish because I couldn't think of any other reason why he'd try to aggravate Grim when his eyes were already pitch black, and the dangerous aura oozing off of him could be felt deep into the bones. He was a powerful Underlord, for sure.

Another reason why I shouldn't be with him.

"What do you mean to say, Karrson?" Grim asked. His voice was calm and composed, which was scarier. It felt like the calm before the storm. Karrson didn't respond to that. Instead, the two stood there with their eyes locked in stalemate while they seemed to have forgotten that I was still there.

"Er... Karrson, you said you wanted to show us something about the missing souls," I decided to speak up because I didn't like how they looked at each other. I had a feeling that what they had done previously was nothing more than a playfight, and if I didn't stop them this time, blood would surely be spilt.

"Oh yes, the missing souls," Karrson spoke, his voice was chilling. "You two must come with me," he said before spinning on his heels and leaving the house.

"You'll stay by my side no matter what," Grim warned me, but I had something else in my mind. After all, I did say that I was going to run. 

~

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