Veronica's Fallacy

29.

-HIM-

I stared at the list of the names of the missing souls again. The list had grown a few inches since last night, puzzling me even more. I had never seen something like this. All the names overwhelmed me. There were hundreds of them, about to turn into thousands soon.

I reared the scroll from Rhendohr, the King of the Underworld. In the scroll, he explained everything about the missing souls and what happens when they aren't taken to the Underworld soon. His scroll overwhelmed me even more, making me aware of the time slowly slipping from my fingers.

I had a lot to do — find the missing souls, find that missing council member, deal with the Godwicks and deal with the court stuff. It was easy to get overwhelmed, and the little heated conversation I had with Veronica in the morning didn't help.

She was still sceptical of me due to my Underlordship, but there was more. She didn't believe me or my work, which slightly hurt, but I understood her point of view. She was from the Council, after all, and they did a good lot of brainwashing. The Council liked to show off our crimes to hide theirs. The Council had a darker history than all of the Night Court combined. It was frustrating, but I was hopeful Veronica would learn the truth someday.

Though more than this, she didn't seem to take it well when I called her mate. Again, I couldn't help but wonder if this had something to do solely with my unusual title or if she despised mates in general. She had said something similar to me the first night Gunner brought her home. Last night, she was playful for one moment and shut off immediately. I couldn't stop thinking about that moment.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts before Gunner walked in. He was about to make a snarky remark but held back his tongue after seeing the solemn look on my face.

"I spoke to Karrson," He declared. "He says he needs to talk to you,"

"Was he the one to fuck up the date?" I asked, shoving the scroll into the secret drawer and standing up.

"Yes, he confessed to that," He nodded.

"And he wants to meet me after that?" I asked, bewildered, but I shouldn't be. It was Karrson, after all. That dhampir was slightly messed up in the head.

"Yes," Gunner replied, "He said he could come meet you here,"

"He has some balls," I noted, still furious about the failed date. I wouldn't have batted an eye about the event if Veronica hadn't been involved. I'd have shrugged it off.

"Or maybe he wants to die," Gunner shrugged, "Either way, would you like to hear what he has to say? Because he seems to be dying to meet you,"

"Oh, he'll definitely die once we meet," I muttered, thinking about this. It could end in two ways— we meet and talk things through or try to rip each other's heads off. The latter seemed most likely, but I was still eager to do this. I needed to know his intentions behind the attack and if it had anything to do with Veronica.

"I'll talk to him," Gunner nodded, leaving me with my thoughts again.

~

I stood in my living room and watched a slick black car pull up in front of my house. It had the unmistakable symbol of the Godwicks right above its number plate.

Karrson was here.

I watched him get out of the car and walk up the front stairs of my house. He noticed me watching him through the window but said nothing. His face was unreadable as he stood at my front door, waiting.

I opened the door for him, scanning him from head to toe before letting him inside silently. He didn't say anything, either. Just silently observing the surroundings.