The Soul of a Dragon

Chapter 69

Hiccup

"What are you drawing?" Startled at the sound of her voice, I quickly slam shut my notebook and whip around towards the door.

She stands there, leaning against the frame, looking annoyingly beautiful with that smirk playing on her lips. "Aw, come on, you don't want to show me?"

"It's not finished," I quickly reply, shame colouring my cheeks. I want to show her, but not just yet. It is supposed to be a surprise.

She recognises the tone of my voice in an instant. I am nervous and hiding something. She crosses the space between us in one leap, so I pick up my notebook and clutch it to my chest. But she is infuriatingly strong for her size and wrestles it out of my hand to flip to the most recent page, excitement and victory shining in her eyes. When she sees what I've been hiding, her entire body goes quiet.

Then she slowly looks up at me and her voice trembles, "Is this...me?"

Of course, it's her. Everything I think about is her; everything I am, is her. She has become my muse. Last night, after the third or fourth or whatever day of partying, inspiration flooded through my blood by merely looking at her – her eyes glistening brighter than the stars above our heads, and, by Thor, that smile snatching my heart and cascading it towards infinity. That moment was etched into my brain for forever, I had to bring it to paper so that I could physically hold it in my hands. I've been working on this all night. She was supposed to see it when it was finished.

"I have no words," she whispers. "Hiccup, this is...gorgeous."

"You are gorgeous," I whisper lowly and pull her onto my lap to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you for being...well, you. F-for being part of my life. For making me feel at home and making me feel seen, loved, and...beautiful."

Her words pierce through my heart. I rest my head against hers and breathe her in. She shouldn't ever have to thank me for that. I will happily give her everything of me, everything I can give her, I will – that smile of hers and those eyes looking at me are the only things I need.

"Let's go," she chirps and pulls me up, my legs aching due to having sat for so long.

The evening sky is painted with shades of pink and gold as we fly over the sea, the cool breeze whipping through my hair, the salt air filling my lungs. Vara's idea to go for an evening flight was just the right thing. It has been so long since it was just the four of us and the wide horizon painted with all these colours of the sunset. I feel more alive than I have in days, the weight that usually sits on my shoulders lifting with every beat of Toothless' wings. Below us, the water shimmers like liquid fire, reflecting the last light of the setting sun. But it's not the sky or the sea that holds my attention tonight – it's her.

Vara.

She's flying beside me, her silhouette framed by the glowing hues of twilight. Aria's wings stretch wide and strong beneath her, the white and purple scales shimmering as they catch the fading light. But it's Vara herself who takes my breath away. The way she moves with such grace, such confidence. The way her hair, a rich cascade of deep brown, flutters in the wind, and those eyes... Gods, those eyes. I will never stop talking about them.

To me, her eyes are like a forest on a sunny day – alive, vibrant, endlessly deep. They hold secrets I want to spend my life uncovering, but they also feel so familiar, so much like home. And her smile... Her smile breathes air into me, makes me feel like I can finally exhale after holding my breath for too long. She's everything I never knew I needed, and more than I ever thought I deserved.

I watch as she tilts her head back, laughing, the sound carried away by the wind. Her joy is infectious, a balm to the wounds of the past few months. We've been helping hybrids all day, freeing them from the chains that bound them – some physical, some mental – and it's been exhausting work. But now, as we soar through the sky together, it feels like we're the only two people in the world.