THE BLACK QUEEN REBORN Book 2

PROLOGUE: THE LAST DREAM OF THE DRAGON QUEEN

The fire in the hearth had burned low, casting dancing shadows across the walls of Dragon's Edge. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III-known to all as the Dragon Queen-lay in her bed, surrounded by her family. Dagur and Marla held her hands, Heather and Kaelen stood beside them with their children, Copper and Johan watched from the foot of the bed, and Toothless curled up at her side, his warm breath a gentle comfort against her old bones.

"I've lived a good life," she said, her voice thin but clear. "Longer than I ever could have imagined. I built a world where humans and dragons live in peace-just as we promised we would."

Heather squeezed her hand. "You built more than that, sister. You built a legacy that will last a thousand years."

Hiccup smiled, her eyes drifting to the window where dragons soared across the moonlit sky. "I know. I can feel them-all the dragons who've come after us, all the humans who'll carry our story forward. The work is done. It's time for me to rest."

Toothless let out a soft rumble, his green eyes shining with tears he couldn't shed. Hiccup reached out to touch his head, her fingers
tracing the familiar scales she'd known for so long.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. "For everything. For being my friend, my family, my partner in every way that matters."

As she closed her eyes, she felt the familiar pull of magic-the same magic that had brought her here so many years ago. She thought it would be the end, the final journey to whatever lay beyond. But instead of darkness, she saw light-bright and warm, wrapping around her like a blanket.

You have one more journey to make, a voice whispered in her mind-Queen Aemma's voice, though Hiccup had never met her. A world that needs you as much as yours did. The Black Queen waits for her second chance.

Then there was nothing but light.