The first morning light rose cheerfully, spilling over the treetops like gold poured from a tilted chalice.

Shafts of sunlight pierced the mist, and the forest birds, already awake sang with reckless joy, as though competing to see who could greet the new day first. Leaves trembled in the breeze as if clapping along.

Simma was already up. He had shaken the night's weight from his shoulders and packed the few belongings he had used.

Now he stood by his horse, untying the rope with hands that still bore the tremor of yesterday's ordeal. His movements were quiet, almost guilty, each knot loosened as if he feared waking the sleeping girls.

Behind him, Sarah and Lucy stirred. They squinted and rubbed their eyes, hair tousled from sleep, voices still tangled with dreams. The fire beside them had collapsed into a cradle of glowing embers.

"Morning, y'all," Simma greeted with a weak smile, trying to sound casual.

Sarah only stared. She had overheard everything from the night before; Lucy's confessions, Simma's guilt, and somehow she wasn't even angry anymore. Or maybe she wished she still was, because at least anger was simpler than this twisting worry inside her chest.

Lucy, on the other hand, returned the smile easily.

"You up already?" she asked, propping herself up on her hands like a sleepy cat stretching.

Simma nodded, then turned to Sarah. "You okay?"

She nodded but said nothing, which made the guilt in him tighten like a rope. He turned back to the horse and began tying his traveling bag to the saddle, slower this time, as if distraction could drown the silence.

Lucy's gaze sharpened. Something felt off.

"Hold on a minute, Simma, what are you doing?"

Simma turned back with innocent eyes.

"What do you mean...what am I doing?...I'm tying up my horse."

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Lucy's tone hardened; her playful morning voice vanished.

"You know what I mean. Were you trying to leave us here?"

Sarah's head lifted. She realized it too; he was all packed up, moving like a thief before dawn.

Simma stiffened like someone caught with a forbidden thought.

"How can you even ask that, Lu..."

"No. No, no, no, no." Lucy snapped, cutting him off.

"I'm serious, so don't play with me."

He furrowed his brow and sighed, his mouth opening and closing like a man chewing words he couldn't swallow.

"Come on...talk," Sarah finally said, spreading her arms in a gesture of exasperation.

Simma sighed again.

"Look, it's not like I wanted to leave you guys here. I just… I was going to tell you to get back to the city before it's too late."

Sarah threw up her hands 'unbelievable' she muttered.

Lucy, however, sprang to her feet, eyes blazing.

"You can't be serious," she hammered, fury climbing her voice.

Simma shook his head, fumbling for the right words but letting them spill anyway.

"I don't want y'all to get hurt. This...this is my journey. Mine alone."

"You nearly died if it wasn't for us!" Lucy threw back.

He groaned; he knew that line was coming.

"I know. I know, okay...and thank you. But you need to get back. It's risky."

"Don't tell me you're this ungrateful," Lucy shot back. "I left what I was doing to come help you, and you're here giving me orders?"

"I..."

"You what, Simma? Want us to leave? Well, it's too late for that. Now it's dawn."

Simma tried to speak but Lucy flagged him down again with a raised palm.

"Yeah, even if we could make it back to the city, we don't want to. All right? We want to help you, and that's not your decision to make."

Sarah just stared at the ground, fists clenching on the blanket she sat on. The anger she thought had faded did a U-turn and returned in a rush. Meanwhile, Simma too was at the edge, his jaw working.

"I'm sorry," he said, biting down on the words, his face hard. "But I won't let that happen."

His eyes glowed blue. A heartbeat later, Goody appeared; blue-scaled and serpentine, coiling out of thin air with a thunderous snort. The dragon's clawed feet thumped against the forest floor, scattering leaves like frightened birds.

Lucy gave a sharp, incredulous laugh.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch"

"Call me whatever you want," Simma cut in, "but I won't see you get hurt."

"Motherfucker, everything is not about you, goddammit!" Sarah's voice cracked like lightning. Anger surged in her, unstoppable.

Her own eyes flared a bright purple, and a lion materialized beside her; a beast with orange-red fur, its mane like burning sunset clouds, its claws gouging the earth with a hiss. It let out a thunderous snarl at the dragon.

Lucy's beast erupted next: a gargantuan creature shaped like some ancient guardian from a forgotten temple. Six muscled arms bulged from its torso, each ending in claws curved like scythes. Its entire body was a blizzard of white fur veined with pale blue streaks, and its eyes glowed an icy sapphire that could freeze a heartbeat.

Two tusks jutted from its lower jaw, gleaming like polished ivory, and when it breathed, the mist came out in cold plumes. A vultigar, beast of portals.

It also growled at Goody, rearing violently. But Goody was way past that level, they could only snarl and yell, but if any makes a mistake of stepping close, then, they will start digging beast graves.

Simma's lips tightened.

"So this is it, huh? You think you two can take me?" He narrowed his eyes at them and their beasts. They looked back, unflinching.

"Really?" he added.

"What are you going to do, huh?" Lucy shot back.

"Burn us with your lazy-ass dragon? That's not happening." She stepped closer, unfazed by the dragon's looming head.

"I'm not here to help your ass; I'm here to make sure Sarah is fine." She thumped her finger against his chest with each word.

"Master," Goody rumbled, voice thick as rolling thunder.

"I think you should let them come. You can't do this alone."

The voice startled Sarah and Lucy so badly they actually blinked at the dragon.

"Damn... your beast can talk?" Lucy exclaimed.

Simma breathed out, "Yes."

"Well, he's also smarter than you," she added.

"Come on, let's get outta here."

Simma exhaled slowly. They had won. And thanks to Goody's mouth.

"I'm gonna kill you, Goody," he whispered under his breath, a mock-threat.

"Goody is ready then," the dragon answered, unbothered.

---

Moments later, the three had assembled. The only beast still summoned was the dragon. Simma spoke while tightening the straps on his bag again.

"I've already sent my dragon ahead...he picked up their trails."

He narrowed his eyes briefly toward Sarah, unsettled by their earlier fight. He'd gone too far. They cared for him, and all he'd done was push them away. The thought sat heavy on his tongue as he continued.

"Here's the plan. Lucy, you and Sarah ride on my horse. I'll ride with Goody."

Lucy raised a brow.

"Who the hell is Goody?" she asked, throwing up her hands in a dramatic flourish.

The dragon roared, reared, and stomped, scattering the forest's dried leaves. Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin, and even Lucy's sarcasm faltered.

"Oh," she nodded quickly. "You are Goody. Nice."

Simma smirked despite himself.

"Remember," he continued, "what we're looking out for are bike trails and car trails, probably a truck, because only that can carry many Singriths."

"Okay then, let's go," Lucy said.

She and Sarah mounted the horse. Simma clambered onto Goody's back, and off they went... Lucy and Sarah galloping forward while Simma soared just above them on the dragon, low enough that his shadow skimmed the treetops.

Simma knew it would be a long ride to the Haydes...yes, the Haydes.

He was sure the Singriths had returned already.

It was a long journey, but not impossible with Lucy's power. Once they found where the trail led, she could start portaling them. Maybe he'd been stupid to think he could do this alone.

He made Goody dip lower toward the two riders. When he got close, he bellowed over the wind, "I have to go higher so Goody can show me the trails!"

Lucy nodded, but Sarah said nothing; she was still mad, very mad. Simma felt it, hesitated, then let Goody rise.

They climbed above the trees into open sky. Wind tore at Simma's hair, streaming it back like dark banners.

The sun had fully risen but drifted behind clouds, casting silver veils over the world. The day was bright yet soft, like a blade hidden in silk.

Patches of mist still clung to the forest, curling upward as though reaching for the dragon's wings.

Simma drew a slow breath, staring at the horizon.

"You think I'm making a mistake?" he asked dully.

Goody twisted midair, his serpentine body flowing like liquid cobalt, wings flexing in perfect rhythm. Simma gripped the scales, steady but used to the motion by now.

"Every action we take has a reason," Goody said, his voice booming over the sky like a sermon.

"But not every reason is worth the risk."

Simma swallowed.

"If your reason carries too much risks," Goody continued, his voice thick as rolling thunder, "then that reason must outweigh every possible cost. Ask yourself, master...does yours?"

His big eyes blinked once, heavy as doors.

Simma couldn't answer. He couldn't even think. Was he on the right track? Yes, he wanted to do this for Sonja. But if he peeled away the layers of grief and anger, what was left? He wanted it for himself too. For his own redemption.

He'd been treated like refuse in the Haydes, but if he truly wanted redemption as a cursed, he had to start somewhere. Maybe this was the start.

And maybe this wasn't just about avenging her. Maybe it was about proving himself, proving he could rise from the ashes of what the world had made him.

He breathed out. "I think so, Goody," he replied at last.

The dragon's scales glistened brighter, and his mouth curved in what almost looked like a smile.

"There," Goody burst out suddenly. "There are the tracks."

Simma looked down and saw them clearly now: twin scars in the earth where tires had pressed. Some were huge, the heavy grooves of a truck. Others were thin, the slashes of bikes.

"Come on," Simma said, urgency rising. "We have to go tell them."

And with that, the dragon banked in a graceful arc, sunlight sliding across his wings like spilled mercury, and they began their descent back toward the two riders below, the forest waiting like a held breath.

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