Book 3: Chapter 10 (2/2)

Alora flinched, her legs freezing mid-kick. Her neck let out creaking sounds as her head crept up and to the side to face him. “You’re less than two decades old…?”

Vur coughed and shifted his gaze up towards the sky. “Oh, the moon looks nice today, doesn’t it?”

“Vur…,” Tafel said. “Why are you avoiding our questions?”

“Yup, it’s a really pretty moon. No clouds to block it.”

Tafel sighed. “You take after Grimmy too much,” she said, recalling all the times Grimmy would avoid conflict by saying random things. Tafel bent over and grabbed Alora’s leg, dragging her back and away from Vur. “Don’t try to kill my husband. And yes, he’s really as old as me.”

Alora’s body went limp as she sighed, deflating like a balloon. “What have I been doing for the past three hundred years? Someone younger than the annoying trio is stronger than me…. Supposedly.” She raised her head off the ground, glaring at Vur. “Is he really? I don’t believe it. Vur, I challenge you to a match!”

Vur lowered his head to meet Alora’s gaze. “No thanks. Mom said I shouldn’t bully people weaker than me.”

“Wow!” Alora shook off Tafel’s grip and jumped to her feet. “I can’t not fight you after hearing that!”

Vur scratched his nose and looked around. He walked over to Tafel and reached into the bag by her waist, pulling out a silver coin. “Okay, let’s have a match based on our luck.”

“Can that even be called a match anymore?” Alora asked, tilting her head to the side.

Vur shrugged. “Well, I don’t know how to turn you back into a dragon without getting rid of all my mana,” he said. “You can fight me like that, though. I don’t mind.”

Alora lowered her head and stared at her palms. “Eh…. Alright, we’ll compete in luck.” She stuck out her hand before Vur could say anything. “Wait! There has to be stakes. The loser has to follow the winner around as a lackey for fifty years!”

“I object!” Tafel shouted. “If Vur loses, then I’ll have to follow you around too since I’ll be sticking by him. And if Vur wins, then we’ll have unwanted company for fifty years.”

Alora’s face fell. “I’m … unwanted?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant,” Tafel said. “I mean—”

“Then there’s no issue,” Alora said, her head bobbing up and down. She pointed at Vur. “Flip the coin!”

Vur nodded. “I pick heads,” he said as he tossed the coin into the air. It bounced on the ground twice before coming to a stop by Tafel’s feet. A strange expression appeared on her face as she stared at the coin before turning her gaze onto Vur.

Alora held her breath as she approached the coin, squinting her eyes to prevent herself from seeing the result. She crouched down and slowly opened one eye. “No! No, no, no! How can this be!?”

“Heads,” Vur said as he grabbed the coin and dumped it into Tafel’s bag. “I win.”

Alora clutched her hair as she dropped onto the ground, rolling back and forth.

Tafel furrowed her brow and whispered into Vur’s ear, “Wasn’t that the coin I confiscated from Mr. Skelly? The one with the same picture on both sides?”

“Oh, hey. The moon’s really bright tonight.”