“Y-your bestest friend is a dragon?” Erin asked, staring at Grimmy’s approaching figure. “Wait, wait! There’s a holy dragon right behind it! They’re going to fight each other; you have to run away or we’ll get caught in the crossfire!”

“Oh, that’s just Leila,” Lindyss said as she stopped and hovered in the air, waiting for Grimmy to get closer. “She’s Grimmy’s mate.”

“Mate? Have you gone insane from the pressure?” Erin asked, tugging on Lindyss ear. “Hurry and run away or we’ll die.” She let out a squeak as a shadow covered her body.

“What are you doing here?” Grimmy asked as he grabbed Lindyss and placed her onto his head. “Having trouble finding the earthquake creator?”

Erin whimpered. “We’re dead. I hate dying.”

“A fairy?” Grimmy asked, rolling his eyes up to get a better look. “On your head? I thought you hated them.”

“I do,” Lindyss said. She pointed at Erin. “But this thing is more like an insect than a fairy.”

“Don’t refer to me as a thing!” Erin shouted. She flinched and stiffened before covering her mouth with her hands, hiding herself in Lindyss’ hair to avoid Grimmy’s eyes.

Grimmy chuckled before poking Lindyss’ side. “Well?”

“I was on my way to the dwarven capital. I made Vur a necklace from some souls,” Lindyss said. “Oh, he was also the cause of the earthquake.”

“Vur? What’s Vur doing here?” Grimmy asked, his brow furrowing. “Give me a second.” He paused in midair, his wings flapping to keep them aloft. A grunt escaped from his throat every so often. “Ah. That’s interesting. Vur conquered the dwarves and the humans, huh? I guess my righteous quest to pacify the dwarves is done.” He patted his chest. “Damn, I’m good. The moment I leave the cavern to get started, I finish my quest.”

“You finished your quest?” Leila asked as she caught up to Grimmy. “Did Lindyss’ skeletons really conquer the dwarves?”

“My skeletons?” Lindyss asked. “What do they have to do with the dwarves?” A wrinkle appeared on her forehead as she brought her hand to her ear. “Testing.”

Mistress! Mr. Skelly’s voice echoed in her head. You’re safe! How—

Lindyss lowered her hand and glared at Grimmy. “Explain,” she said. “Why did you bring them here? This is a continent run by holy dragons!” She stomped her foot as Grimmy laughed. “What are you laughing about? If that crazy old coot finds out I’m a necromancer, you won’t be able to use me as a shield anymore.”

“You’re a what?” Erin asked, her head popping out of Lindyss’ hair.

“Did you just call my mother a crazy old coot?” Leila asked. She rubbed her chin. “It is an apt description….”

“I didn’t bring your skeletons here,” Grimmy said. “They just came over, and I decided to use them to help me complete my quest.”

Lindyss rolled her eyes. “Yeah, they just crossed an ocean because they missed me. Okay.” Her brow furrowed. “Wait, you said Vur conquered the humans?”

“Yeah, go have a chat with your minions,” Grimmy said. He glanced at Leila while Lindyss preoccupied herself. “Vur’s hosting a party on this continent in a week, want to go? He even invited your mother.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to let my mom meet Vur,” Leila said, biting her lower lip. “She doesn’t like Nova’s kin, remember? And what’s Vur doing here? I thought he was at Fuselage.”

Grimmy shrugged before smiling. “Hypothetically speaking, if your mother met Vur and a fight broke out, who would you help?”

Leila snorted. “I’d mediate,” she said. “Instead of helping one side, we should break the fight up.”

“That’s no fun,” Grimmy said. “I thought for sure you’d choose to help Vur.”

“If his opponent wasn’t my mother, I would,” Leila said. She arched her neck and turned her head to the side. “Oh, Leo and Luke fled too.” She nodded. “Smart. Dad probably sacrificed himself as per usual.”

Erin groaned and grasped her hair with both her hands. She muttered, “Maybe if I don’t make a sound, they’ll forget I’m here. Even I, the great Erin Koller, can’t fight four dragons.”

***

“Eh? Vur’s hosting a party in a week?” Tafel asked, lifting her head. There was a skeleton in front of her that was wearing clothes to prevent its face from being seen. She dusted off her hands as she stood up, a set of silver runes in front of her on the ground. “Where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” the skeleton said, shaking its head. “He came to the imperial capital and destroyed the palace, claiming the humans’ territory for himself. Then he said he wanted to find a water elemental before the party started, so he left. I was sent to find you.”

“How’d you know where I was?” Tafel asked, her eyes narrowing at the skeleton. She glanced behind herself at the field of silver runes. Emile was playing around one, nudging rocks onto the runes, causing the rocks to vanish.

“The phoenix matriarch informed one of our men who informed me,” the skeleton said. “She had a feeling her son was here and that you’d be with him.”

“She can do that?” Emile asked, raising his head. “I didn’t know she could track me down. What if she found out about my secret hideout?” He blinked at Tafel. “I hide everything there.”

Tafel raised an eyebrow. “What do you even have to hide?”

“Percy’s stuff.” Emile flew into the air and landed on Tafel’s shoulder. “But you can’t tell her that.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t like her,” Tafel said. “She seemed nice enough.”

“Well, she didn’t try to drown you,” Emile said, raising his beak into the air. He puffed his feathers out and closed his eyes while turning his head away.

“Did this drowning attempt occur before or after you started hiding her stuff?”

“After,” Emile said. “But that’s irrelevant. She’s a bully.”

The skeleton cleared its nonexistent throat. “You’ll be attending the party then?”

“Yes,” Tafel said. She muttered to herself, “Lulu’s probably going to be there as well, huh? Then the fight will occur then.” She grabbed the skeleton as it was turning to leave. “Get some people to help me transport these runes to the party venue. Dig them up, but don’t break them. And bury them in a spot with plenty of open space.”

“Sure, I’ll do that,” the skeleton said. “What are they for?”

“I’m going to use them to teach an adulterous dragon a lesson,” Tafel said, her eyes glinting.