The Soul of a Dragon

Chapter 28

Vara

At the sound of his name, my blood runs ice cold with range. Grimmel.

That bastard.

I clench my fists and stare at the ground as everyone is arguing loudly about what to do. Suddenly, silence falls over our group like a soft blanket. That's when I realise that everybody's staring at me now.

My eyes immediately find Hiccup's and even though his face is tense with anger and frustration, he sighs deeply and offers his infamous half-grin. "What do you say, Vara, in the mood for some serious butt kicking?"

Relief washes over me. He's worried, I can still see that, but he won't stand in between me and my dragon. I roll my shoulders and answer with a wicked smile. "Always."

The group, especially the twins who try to imitate Heather's Berserker call, yell in unison and all of us start gathering weapons and getting our dragons ready for battle. Instinctively, I make my way over to Toothless but change my decision with a shake of my head and, instead, head for Astrid and her Deadly Nadder. A strong hand grabs my upper left arm and turns me around. Against my own will, my heart skips a beat at the anticipation of who's holding me back. Images of Hiccup kissing me flash before my eyes and I can feel my cheeks turn red.

"And where do you think you're going?" Malcom's white smile feels like a punch to my gut. I should have known better than to think Hiccup would approach me. He's been distant ever since that kiss, though I know I haven't been Miss Sunshine either.

"Hey, Mal," I say and try my best to give him a believable smile. I must suck at acting because his brows furrow slightly and he opens his mouth to most likely ask what's wrong, but luckily, Fishlegs interrupts us. The sheer amount of questions Fishlegs has prepared for Malcom is enough for him to lose focus on me. Apparently, Mal was supposed to be on lookout and didn't mention the dragon hunter ships offshore which he should have been able to spot.

I decide to let the men be...men and finally reach Astrid. "Hey," I begin hoarsely, "Can I fly with you?"

Astrid turns around and beams at the sight of me. "Of course, of course!" Her expression downcasts as she observes me closely and then throws her arms around me to give me a tight hug, "By Thor, I was so worried, Vara. I'm so glad you're alright." I reciprocate the gesture and say muffled against her blonde hair, "Me too. I'm so grateful to have you as a friend. All of you, actually. I've never thought it possible for me to find a real...family."

Saying that makes me realise it's true. This gang has become my family.

"Well, you better believe it because we're not letting you go that easily." At the sound of that husky and slightly high-pitched voice my stomach turns upside-down and all of my senses are suddenly drawn to the man standing in front of us – that boyish grin of his making my heart flutter.

Astrid releases me fully from our embrace and she exchanges a short glance with her chief, a silent conversion that ends with both of them nodding and Astrid giving us some privacy to talk.

I question Hiccup with a look but he simply waves it off and says, "Story for another time."

I nod and we both stare at each other, both of us not knowing what to do or say to each other. Behind us the gang is still preparing for take-off. I laugh internally at the sight of Snotlout rallying up the twins who got distracted by one of their head-butting games.

Trying to break the silence, I want to ask Hiccup, how Toothless is doing, but at the same time he asks me about my well-being. The result is a tangle of words and we both chuckle at our nervosity.