Heart of a Berserker: Trust (School of Dragons)

Chapter 22

"You love me, but you don't know who I am
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand
And you love me, but you don't know who I am
So let me go
Let me go

I dream ahead to what I hope for
And I turn my back on loving you
How can this love be a good thing
When I know what I'm goin' through"

- "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down

Chapter 22

"The dragon hunters have the dragons?" I said in disbelief. "And you had nothing to do with that?" I eyed Harald suspiciously. I might still see the good in him, but that did not mean I trusted him.

"Yes, that's what I said," Harald said. "The dragon hunters and I have had some business in the past, so they'll let me into their camp unhindered. If you wear a disguise, I can take you in with me. I'll distract them and you can free the dragons. If we hurry, they won't be harmed. Luckily for us, I happen to have an extra set of dragon hunter armor with my supplies. And it's just your size!"

I stared at him as if I could deduce the truth from his eyes. But his amiable attitude successfully cloaked all other emotions. This guy was good. "So, let me get this straight," I said. "You stole the dragons to sell them to the highest bidder, but the dragon hunters took them from you, and now you want to help me rescue them so they can be free? Oh, and you just happen to have a disguise that's my size? It's not like there are many female dragon hunters..."

"It does sound awfully hard to believe," Astrid said. "How do we know you're not setting her up?"

"Because even I would not do that," Harald said, giving her a serious look. He turned back to me. "This job isn't for the faint of heart. It will be just you and me, in the heart of darkness. The dragon hunters know the faces of all the dragon riders, so they can't come along. We can't take your dragon either, unless you want precious Bolt to be taken right from your hands."

I gave him another long, hard stare. "Even if you're not setting me up, you're still getting something out of this. And don't say you're doing it so we'll go easy on you. I'm sure you could find a way to escape from us if you really tried."

"Thank you for the compliment, Brennda," Harald said with a small smirk. "What I get out of this arrangement is my business. It has nothing to do with you."

I narrowed my eyes. So, I was right. I wanted to figure this out, but I knew that was not what was important right now. I turned to Hiccup. "What do you think of this plan?"

"I don't like it but he's right," Hiccup said. "They've seen us in action too many times, but you might be able to sneak in without detection. I don't want to choose for you, Brennda, since it's so dangerous. If you decide to do it, we'll all fly cover for you just outside of the dragon hunters' range. We'll be as close as we possibly can to help out if thing go wrong."

Harald feigned a look of offense. "'Things go wrong'? You don't trust me? I'm wounded, Hiccup."

"None of us trust you right now," I said. "After what you did, how can you expect me to just follow you into enemy territory? Why should I believe a word you say?"

"Because I am your only hope of freeing those dragons."

While this was technically true, it did not exactly instill confidence. I turned to Bolt to see what he thought of the situation. As soon as my eyes were on him, he perked up and moved to stand in between Harald and me. Then he bent his head and nuzzled him affectionately. I stared at him in shock. "B-Bolt?"

Surprise flashed on Harald's face. Then he smiled as he rubbed the Skrill's head. "You still trust me, don't you?"

"But why?" Astrid said. "Surely he understands what's going on?"