Vur scratched his head and looked around. “Where did everyone go?”

“Don’t they normally leave a message behind when they disappear like this?” Tafel asked. She was standing beside Vur, frowning at the empty courtyard. The only evidence that any dragon had been there were the staves lying around on the ground. And the massive fissure that Sera had left behind while taking out her anger on Zyocuh.

“I can ask,” Mary said. Her head moved from side to side, looking for something. A boulder caught her eye, and she walked up to it before tapping her foot into its shadow. “Come out.”

A man dressed in black crawled out from underneath the boulder and knelt in front of Mary, one arm pressed across his chest while keeping his head lowered. “My liege.”

“Where’d the dragons go?” Mary asked. “And what happened to … Zyocuh?”

“The dragons grouped up and flew north to the ritual site of the Treva Empire,” the Shadows member said. “And Sir Zyocuh was taken away by one of the sky-blue dragons that split off from the group; I’m not sure to where.”

“Are these magic staves?” Tafel asked and crouched down. She picked up one of the charred pieces of wood and furrowed her brow at it. “I feel like this would help my fire magic.”

“Those are the staves that the dragons were creating,” the Shadows member said. “We dare not touch them in fear of drawing their ire.”

“Smart,” Tafel said and nodded. “I’m keeping this one.” She tucked the black staff away into a portal and nodded. “I doubt they’ll notice anyway if they left them behind like this.”

Vur tilted his head. “But when I offer to give you equipment from Grimmy’s hoard, you don’t want them?”

“This is different,” Tafel said. “I found it, and I’m taking a risk by keeping it.”

Vur blinked. “What risk?”

“Well, they might get mad,” Tafel said. “Acquiring great equipment has to come with equally challenging ordeals. Like this leviathan armor”—she plucked at the scaled armor pressed tight against her body—“was obtained after slaying a leviathan. And this staff is obtained from stealing from a dragon. See?”

Vur rubbed his chin. “Oh. Then why don’t you just steal from Grimmy?”

Tafel cleared her throat and avoided her husband’s gaze. “You see,” she said and looked up at the brightening sky. “There’s risks, and there’s rewards. Sometimes, the rewards aren’t worth the risk. There’s nothing in the world that you can offer me that’ll make me get on Grimmy’s bad side.” She nodded and tilted her chin down to meet Vur’s eyes. “And with that being said, why don’t you take a staff too?”

Vur shook his head. “I don’t like carrying things.”

“Didn’t you wish for extra arms to carry more things?” Stella asked, popping her head out of Vur’s chest. “Where are they anyway? Why do you keep them retracted all the time?”

“Tafel doesn’t like them,” Vur said and shrugged. “How is Mervin’s beansprout doing?”

“Oh, I planted him in the dirt,” Stella said. “He’ll be fine. There’s nothing inside of your soul that’d want to eat him anyway.”

“Didn’t you want him to leave Vur’s soul?” Sheryl asked from the runes on Vur’s shoulder.

“I did for a while,” Stella said and hummed. “But it turns out he’s a really useful guard. You saw how he delayed that army. It’d be a waste to let him go free when I can work him to the bone instead.”

“Is that the only reason?” Only Sheryl’s voice could be heard, but the image of a red boulder smirking came into the minds of the people who heard her.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Sheryl?” Stella asked with narrowed eyes. She flew out of Vur’s chest and landed on his head, placing her hands on her hips as she glared over the edge at the runes on his shoulder.

“Nothing,” Sheryl said. “I was just wondering if you got more attached to Mervin or not after he gallantly sacrificed himself for you.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Stella said and pursed her lips. “Fairies don’t feel attachment except to their family.”

“Wouldn’t he be your family if you married him?” Sheryl asked, the runes on Vur’s shoulder flashing twice.

Stella’s face turned pink, but she spoke with a hardened voice, “I’m going to have one of the prisoners shoot you in the butt with an arrow again. If you want to tease someone, then tease Deedee. He still has lots of love troubles.”

A deep sigh came out of the brown runes on Vur’s forearm.

“I don’t think Mistle and Zilphy will like that very much if I do that,” Sheryl said in a small voice.

“Hey! How come you said Mistle’s name first, huh?” Zilphy asked. “I’m the one that’s married to Deedee. I’m the one who should be first in the not liking that very much!”

“Obviously, the stronger elemental should be named first,” Mistle said with a sniff. “You’re just a gust elemental, not even greater than a strong breeze. I embody the ocean. We’re in vastly different leagues, with yours not even being able to dream of reaching mine. What makes you think you deserve a mountain elemental like Diamant? You should’ve aimed for someone on your own level, like a pebble elemental.”

“Say that to my face, octopus legs!”

“Shouldn’t you do something about your elementals?” Tafel asked Vur. “It can’t be good for them to hate each other, right?”

Vur shrugged. “It’s Deedee’s fault, so Deedee should fix it.”

“Excuse me?” Diamant asked. “How is this my fault? You’re the one who forcibly wed me to Zilphy as a representative of your church. If the blame must lie on one of us instead of one of them, then it’s your fault, not mine.”

“What do you mean forcibly wed?” Zilphy asked, her green rune turning red. “It was a consensual marriage! A matrimony between two loving elementals! Which part of you was forced?”

Tafel furrowed her brow at Vur. “I think you just made things worse.”

“Sometimes, things have to get worse before they get better,” Vur said and nodded.

“Alright.” Tafel placed her hands on her hips. “Who’s teaching you all these sayings? First it was that thing about someone’s character, and now it’s a profound statement about life.”

Vur pointed at the bag on Alice’s waist. “I heard it from the genie that Alice keeps in the jam jar.”

“Really?” Tafel raised an eyebrow. “What else has it said?”

Vur cleared his throat. “Please, let me out to use the bathroom. I’m begging you. Have mercy.”