Somewhere Along the Western Bank of the Golden River

“Come on, pick up the pace, big guy!” Silas called over his shoulder, urging Orion to pick up the pace as they fled westward. “We don’t know if that four-winged atrocity is coming back, or if Valerian will, for that matter. But I know one thing—I don’t want to be here when it does!”

“Right...” Orion sighed, his thoughts seeming far away.

“That’s the spirit!” Silas said, clapping Orion on the back with forced cheer. “Valerian may have given his life in order to keep us safe and ensure our mission’s success, but that doesn’t mean we should get bogged down by grief and end up as dragon chow. We have to keep moving!”

“Watch how you speak of him, bard...” a low voice cut in unexpectedly. Finn emerged from the shadows cast by the trees, his expression dark as he stepped in front of Silas, forcing him to stop.

“Shit, you scared me!” Silas yelped, jumping back. “What do you want?”

“Show some respect!” Finn barked. “Valerian didn’t ‘sacrifice’ himself for us; put his life on the line. There’s a difference. He will come back.”

“And how can you be so sure of that?” Silas shot back coldly. “You saw that thing, right? No matter how strong Valerian is, he can’t defeat that monstrosity, nor outrun the death waiting for him at the end of this road.” Silas paused, his breath heavy as the spark seemed to fade from his eyes. “Clinging to hope just means you’ve already lost. Hope will drag you down into the mud, mock you, and leave you in despair when it’s gone. Trust me, kid, I know...”

“What I have isn’t hope; it’s certainty,” Finn retorted, his tone unyielding. “Valerian will return. A man who has cheated death once can do it again. Don’t project your own fears onto the rest of us.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you...”

“Are you two in love with him or something?” Orion cut in, his voice breaking the tension. “He’s a grown man. He knew the risks and took them anyway, buying us time to finish what we came here to do. Wasting time wondering if he’ll make it back is pointless—especially if we don’t survive long enough to tell the tale. We’ve got two people to rescue: Kaela, who matters more to me than anything, and Lyra, who’s clearly caught Valerian’s interest. He’s done all this not just for us, but for them, too. So instead of squabbling like children, let’s focus on what’s ahead of us. Otherwise, we’d be disrespecting Valerian’s efforts and his trust in us.”

No one had anything more to say, so they pressed on westward, a heavy, uncomfortable silence hanging in the air.

Before long, the Golden River guided them to a small, rocky hill, its surface covered in moss and dotted with a few sparse pines clinging to its base.

“I hate the smell of pine,” Silas grumbled.

“Over here!” Finn called out. “This boulder is marked with yellow paint, just like the old Quassari said.”

“Well, move it, then!” Silas barked.

The boulder looked as if it had grown naturally out of the landscape, so perfectly camouflaged against the grey, wet rock of the hill that it was almost impossible to notice there was an entrance behind it—even with the knowledge there was one. Faded yellow paint marked the edges near the moss, barely discernible from the surrounding rock.

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“If it weren’t for our assassin’s keen eyes, how the hell would we find this stupid piece of rock? When Rundire said it was marked with yellow paint, I expected a big cross or something—not a speck of faded paint that looks like moss!” Silas griped again.

“Then it wouldn’t be much of a secret passage, now would it?” Finn snapped back. “Now help me with this thing. It won’t budge!”

Both Silas and Finn positioned themselves beside the boulder, straining with all their might to push it aside. Despite their best efforts, the massive stone refused to move.

“The key to moving this thing is in the legs!” Silas shouted, his face flushed and sweat dripping down his brow as he braced his back against the boulder. “Use those damn legs, will you?”

“Screw you, bard!” Finn’s patience was wearing thin, and it was only a matter of time before he snapped.

“Excuse me?” Silas said, momentarily surprised by Finn’s outburst.

“All you do is complain! Ever since I met you, every other word out of your mouth has been a complaint! Enough already! Less whining and more pushing!”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed...” Silas muttered, slightly stung by Finn’s words. He couldn’t really argue with the accusation; even he knew he’d been on edge for the last few years.

“There was no bed! I woke up on the floor—the cold, fucking floor...” Finn’s anger gave way to frustration and sorrow. He was on the verge of tears, pushing against the boulder with all his strength, but it still refused to move.

“Move, before you embarrass yourselves any more than you already have,” Orion said, stepping confidently toward the boulder.

Without hesitation, both Silas and Finn gladly stepped aside. With a surprising ease that belied his size, Orion grabbed the massive boulder—nearly twice as big as he was—and lifted it onto his knee. Then, with a grunt, he raised it just high enough for Silas and Finn to crawl underneath. Just as they were about to do so, a shattering scream tore through the air, making the rubble inside the cave tremble. All three of them looked up toward the sky as a blue light burst above the clouds, so intense that it illuminated the entire sky.

“Valerian, he’s alive!” Finn shouted joyfully. But as quickly as the light appeared, it vanished, and with it, his smile faded.

Moments later, the sky lit up again, and their hearts surged with renewed hope. Maybe Valerian would return to them after all. If he had survived one of the dragon’s attacks, perhaps he could survive another. Their hope was strong, but one among them wasn’t willing to wager Valerian’s life on something as uncertain as hope. He was about to take matters into his own hands.

“Damn it... I can’t just leave him out there,” Orion muttered, his gaze fixed on the flickering blue light.

“What are you doing?” Silas asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Listen carefully, both of you,” Orion began, his tone firm and serious. “Kaela is the person I care for the most, and I’m leaving her life in your hands. You, Finn, should understand how much trust I’m placing in you, considering I was ready to kill you that night she got hurt. Don’t make me regret sparing you... I trust you both to get her out of there.”

“I...” Finn stuttered, taken aback by Orion’s words. But he quickly found his resolve. “I won’t let you down, sir. I promise!”

“Don’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep,” Orion replied with a faint smile. Then he carefully set the boulder down, leaving just a small gap for them to return through once they had freed Lyra and Kaela.

With the boulder now standing between them, Orion looked up at the sky and began sprinting toward the flickering blue light. As he picked up speed, lightning sparks danced violently across his armor, quickly engulfing his entire body. His eyes blazed with a bright blue light, like lightning trapped within a bottle. Then a pair of long, slightly curved horns sprouted from his forehead. The clouds above darkened, and bolts of lightning rained down around him, scorching the ground beneath his feet. Flames spread from the nearby trees, licking the earth, and from the rising smoke, a deafening roar echoed, shaking the ground. Emerging from the smoke was a white dragon, its tail crackling with lightning, racing toward Valerian’s direction.