Book 3: Chapter 68 (1/2)

Vur scratched his snout and lowered his head to the ground. He coughed and shifted his gaze away from Tafel. “Deedee’s a nice person.”

“That’s not what I meant by having something to say about Diamant!” Tafel strode up to Vur’s face and placed her hands on her hips. Vur was still looking away. Tafel sighed and lowered her arms. “Alright. I’m not going to blame you for going off on your own. Just don’t do it again, okay?”

Vur blinked before making eye contact with Tafel. “Really?”

“Really,” Tafel said and nodded.

“Wait, why not?” Alice asked before Tafel could say anything else. “He endangered the whole party by leaving without warning us. I can charge in recklessly because I know he’s there to take care of any problems if things go south. And he’s our healer! What kind of healer runs off in the middle of a dungeon exploration to do his own thing? Do you know how much more stressful it is to fight without a healer watching over you? This past week was a nightmare.”

Tafel chewed on her lower lip. “You have a point….”

“You already said you wouldn’t blame me,” Vur said. His body shrank as he turned back into a human. He stood up and nodded. “That’s why you’re the best wife.”

“I did say that too,” Tafel said, avoiding Alice’s glare. Her eyes drifted onto Vur. “Uh, Vur? Did you get new tattoos?”

“Hmm?” Vur raised an eyebrow as Tafel pointed at his torso. He followed her finger and tilted his head towards his stomach. Two jagged, red lines extended down from his shoulders to his torso, disappearing into his pants. They were like lightning bolts, lining the sides of his abs. Vur tucked his thumbs into the band of his pants and pulled them away from his waist. “Oh, so that’s where they stop.”

Tafel pulled Vur’s hands away, causing his pants to snap back into place. “Don’t do that in front of Alice!” She raised her hand and traced the red line running down Vur’s body. “Is it a new elemental?”

“I’m not sure,” Vur said. He tapped the purple flower tattoo on his chest. “Stella? Do you know?”

“They’re home renovations,” Stella’s voice said. “Don’t pay them any mind.”

“Oh.” Vur nodded. “Okay.”

“How is that okay!?” If she knew how to, Tafel would’ve reached into Vur’s tattoo to yank the fairy queen out. “What do you mean home renovations? They’re just decorations? And don’t treat my husband as your home!”

Stella’s arm popped out of Vur’s chest, and the fairy shook her fist at Tafel. “You’re the one who treated my home as your husband. I was here first.” Stella’s arm disappeared back inside before Tafel could grab her hand. “And these aren’t just for decoration. They’re power-ups! Vur loves power-ups.”

Tafel’s eyes widened as she stared at Vur. “You … got stronger again?” Her expression fell as her shoulders drooped. She seemed to deflate as she let out a sigh, hanging her head. She muttered to herself, “It’s okay, Tafel. It’s okay. One day. One day it’ll happen.”

“Are you alright?” Vur asked and tilted his head. Tafel didn’t respond. Vur looked down and tapped on his flower tattoo again. “What do the red things do?”

“They’re a strength increase,” Stella said. “I absorbed the chimera queen while you were sleeping, and this power was left over because why would a fairy need physical strength? So I gave it to you.”

“One day, you’re going to run out of canvas space on your body,” Mr. Skelly said. He and Alice had climbed down to the bottom of the pit. “And then what’ll you do?”