no longer needing to urge me on as I closed in on its meal.
When I came abreast of them, I halted. Trace didn't realize it until he'd already passed me by a step, but he played it smooth as he twisted, turning to the taller of the pair. Trace glowered but remained silent, his gaze boring holes into the Legacies' backs.
Shadow climbed up my leg, scurrying until she rested on my shoulder. Her tiny, cool palm landed on my face as she thrust her memory at me. It spooled through my head rapidly—the boys' voices sounding like squeaks.
I had to slow it down to understand, and when I did, I smiled. Apparently, instead of listening to anything I had to say, the pair discussed how they would get out of traveling to Earth and the OMIEB altogether. When they bored of that, they started reminiscing on how they'd treated my trio before they'd transferred. The tricks, lies, and sabotage weren't unusual, and truly, that wasn't what angered me so much. No, that was rather typical for the life of a Grim.
What left my monster clapping in glee and my gut swirling with liquid fire was their discussion of Bevan's death and its aftermath. Perhaps Reapers did develop a detachment from death. After all, we saw it constantly. We certainly couldn't cry over every single soul that we brought in. No one could survive that.
Still, as Reapers—as Grims especially—the value of life should have been higher. Particularly when that life had been attached to someone they'd known since such a young age.
Their crude insults, hints at being involved, and laughter at how weak the trio was for running away didn't sit very well with me, to say the least. I threw my hood up and thanked Shadow for her help.
Time to feed the monster.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Names!” I barked, causing the problematic Reapers to jump.
The explosion of fizzy surprise and sour fear was quickly gulped down by my monster. It slapped its hand on the edge of the well, licked its lips, and vibrated with anticipation for the next wave.
The pair spun around, wide-eyed at first, but when the initial surprise dissipated, that cocky tilt of the lips returned.
“Names,” I growled.
“Grim Iril Dal, and he's Grim Kev Rin,” the taller one answered, his smirk growing.
Do they think I care who their ancestors were, or that they were the earliest to settle this sector? Their mockery of a bow and careless grins told me that they did. Perhaps they thought I was too stupid to realize what their tipped heads meant. Oh, I knew exactly how insulting it was since it was something I offered the King whenever I was forced into his presence. Only, the King held his tongue, not wanting to draw attention to my subservience lest it catch on.
I didn't give a shit, though.
In an instant, the temperature dropped around them, the molecules in the air slowing so much that the moisture froze. Icy white lines crept across their plain black cloaks, creating a path upwards from the bottom.
“Elite Grim Haffin, is this how the Reapers of your former sector behave?” I asked Trace without pulling my eyes from the assholes in front of me.
“Master Healani, some do. Some have better sense.” Trace's tone did nothing to hint at the amusement I felt building inside of him.
I floated a bit closer to the pair. “Who is your Grouping leader?”
“I am, Master,” Grim Dal answered, his chest puffing out just a little.
The frost spread upwards on his cloak, but neither noticed.
“Excellent. Then you will tell me what you found to be so…” I paused, allowing their emotions to delve deeper into the uncertainty of what would happen next. Each moment I didn't speak pushed more of that elitist attitude out of the way. Eventually, I asked, “Elite Grim Haffin, what is the word I'm searching for?”
“Interesting? Funny? Important?” he spat out rapidly.
“Ah, yes. Important. Thank you. So, Grim Dal, what was more important than learning about your new service, the planet none of you have experienced, and the souls you are tasked with retrieving?” I leaned forward, forcing my hooded, hidden face so close to his that my hood nearly swallowed his nose.
“Oh, we were simply astonished that the rumors were true,” Dal answered, a smarmy grin punctuating his lie.
Perhaps it was a tactic that enabled them to get away with whatever they pleased with the Masters of this sector, but I wasn't from Dalrin. I thickened the ice along the bottom