Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Happy New Year everybody, and welcome to Book Eight of the Heart Bind Saga! Let's have a quick refresher, shall we?

Adulfr, son of Hauke, has sworn revenge against Hiccup for the death of his father. It has been five years since his attempt at war, and since then he's sent a dragon hunter after Hiccup, put a bounty on his head, and sent dragon breeders after his Night Fury in the hopes of drawing him out of hiding.

Wolfsbane

Chapter One – Returning

The sun was shining, the sky clear blue. The light reflected off the spires and curves of Urchin's ice ring in beautiful rainbows, and the ice itself seemed to glow with a rich turquoise shade. It was unusually pleasant for the time of year, but it was the perfect day for a very special occasion; for today was the fifteenth anniversary of the Isle of Berk's peace with dragons.

It was on this very day fifteen years ago that Hiccup and Toothless, the current Alphas of Berk, vanquished the malicious Red Death and ended a three hundred year war. Dragon Day was celebrated as part of Bork Week, as a way to connect their tribe's past to their future. It was a brilliant way to round off the festivities, with a feast in the Great Hall and of course, the much anticipated Air Parade.

It wasn't a parade in the traditional sense; instead, riders would lead their own dragon and several others of that kind through an aerial routine of their own devising. There was a segment for graduates of the Berk Dragon Academy to strut their stuff, and any rider could participate even if they weren't in the lead of their formation. The whole affair was really just a competition to see who could put on the most impressive display, despite Hiccup's insistence to the contrary. This year, he and Toothless were gonna be the grand finale.

After a lot of talking, he and Astrid had agreed it was time that Hiccup stopped trying to fake his death. Being unable to do what he loved, acting as the bridge between humans and dragons, was frustrating him. Only a few knew that he was going to be in the Parade, and he couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they saw him and Toothless and their incredible routine.

"We've come a long way, haven't we bud?" he asked Toothless rhetorically. "Hard to believe it's been fifteen years since we met, brought peace to Berk…if I'd known back then what my life would become! Now I'm an Alpha, an ambassador, a husband with two children…gods, I feel old" he grinned. Toothless rolled his eyes. *How do you think I feel? You're thirty. I'm seventy.*

Hiccup chuckled. He didn't quite have two children; at least, not yet. On his birthday earlier this year, Astrid had given him the most wonderful news; she was pregnant! Hiccup had been absolutely thrilled. They hadn't been trying to have another child, but there had been miscarriages and heartbreak before now. Astrid was still bearing, and she'd likely give birth in another month or so. Hiccup couldn't wait to meet his new little baby boy or girl.

He and Astrid weren't the only ones with a child on the way. A few days afterwards, Hiccup witnessed the scary but oddly entertaining sight of Ruffnut screaming at Snotlout for knocking her up. The poor man almost had no choice but to marry her; and by extension, Tuffnut, because the twins insisted they were a package deal. The pair of them had since engaged – in a silent, never ending battle of glares and dirty looks, with flirting so forced it sounded painful. Fishlegs and Tuffnut had offered to help look after the baby once it was born, which was probably for the best. (1)

There were a lot of important guests this year. The chieftains of their allied tribes, Chief Ragnar, Ormar and Mikel, Eret and his crew, Trader Johann and Klaus. The Academy was being used to accommodate all of them and their dragons, if they had one. Brenda and the dragon diplomats had a routine of their own this year, just before the Core Riders had individual performances.

Speaking of the diplomats, they had helped Hiccup discover a new side of his ability to let other humans hear thought-speak. He'd only ever been able to make his parents and wife hear it permanently; until now. Hiccup had let Brenda and the others hear thought-speak, but instead of connecting them to the pack web via Toothless, he'd connected them via their own dragons.

Long after the effect would normally have worn off, they could still hear their dragons thought-speak, and that of any other dragon as well. Hiccup could give anyone the ability to hear thought-speak permanently, so long as they had a dragon with whom they shared a close bond. That bond would hold the connection open without straining their minds, or his own.

Their pack had two new members – Muddie, who had chosen Skulder as his rider, and Aceso, whom Muddie shared a symbiotic relationship with. He defended her, she healed him. Many of her tiny hatchlings had become attached to the Vikings; Hiccup's tiny new companion had been named 'Pipsqueak' by Helena. Scorpia, the aloof Three-Tail, was 'allowing' Sleuther to court her and tolerating the presence of Dagur and other humans.

Hiccup was excited for this year's parade, perhaps more than any other. The riders and their dragons could communicate better than ever, all of Berk's allies and friends would be there to cheer them on, he and Toothless were coming back from the dead. The fifteenth anniversary of Berk's peace with dragons was definitely going to be a day to remember.

"Master Klaus! Tighten the ropes there, would you?" Johann called from the deck, "There's a good lad." His fifteen year old cabin boy, scrambling about in the rigging, did as he was told and called back, "Like this, sir?"

"Perfect!" the ageing trader agreed, looking out over the prow and taking a deep, invigorating breath of salty air. "Ah, 'tis a fine day to be on the high seas. The wind is just right, the waves not too high…and we have quite the heading! Are you looking forward to the festival, master Klaus?" he inquired. It was the boy's first time attending the celebrations; they had been invited last year.

Klaus smiled brightly and nodded. "Oh, yes, sir. I can't wait to see everyone again; Hiccup and Magnus and Brannild…I wish I could see them more often" he sighed. Of all the places he'd seen as Johann's apprentice, he thought Berk might be his favourite. After all, where else could dragons cease to be demons and become creatures of God? There was no place like it in the world.

He was especially looking forward to seeing Hiccup again. When he and Trader Johann had sailed to Berk last year, the Dragon Whisperer wasn't there, but the dragons remained peaceful. Klaus prayed every day for the Good Lord's work to continue through Hiccup, removing the Devil's curse on dragons. They were really quite helpful, friendly creatures, once blessed and befriended.

"Well, when you grow up perhaps you can sail a boat of your own, and then you could visit them as much as you like" Johann suggested breezily. Only when Klaus' back was turned did he mop his wrinkled forehead with a handkerchief, expression worried. The poor thing didn't know about Hiccup's unfortunate fate, and Johann, the coward, had never been able to bring himself to tell him.

He was going to be crushed when they arrived at Berk and Hiccup was still nowhere to be found. Blast it all, why couldn't Astrid have just broken the news to him last year? On the other hand, perhaps it was for the best he didn't know. Klaus went on and on about Hiccup, and how God was working through him to bless dragons…what would he think if he found out Hiccup had died?

So Johann, against his better judgement, held his tongue. Eventually Berk's ice wall appeared on the horizon, and Berk itself behind. They steered the boat in through the gates, and manoeuvred past all the other ships to tie up at the much longer dock. As soon as Johann's boat was secure, Klaus stepped off onto the pier. He staggered a bit, trying to get his land legs after so long at sea.

"Klaus!" he heard a familiar voice call from somewhere over his head. He shaded his eyes and looked up to see a Lucifer's Bird…wait, no, they were called Spike-Tail's here…hovering above him, with a familiar person on its back. The dragon landed in front of him and Magnus waved at him from behind the spikes on its head. "You remember me, don't you?"

"Of course I do" Klaus smiled. "You're riding a dragon" he observed.

"Wow, nothing gets past you, does it?" Magnus teased. "This is Carena, she chose me just this spring. Carena, this is my friend Klaus" she introduced them.

"Hello" Klaus said politely. He carefully reached out a hand towards the dragon; he always felt a little nervous doing that, even though he knew the dragons here were blessed. Carena sniffed at his fingers and pressed her scaly nose against his palm. "She's very pretty" he complimented, admiring the Spike-Tail's yellow and purple markings. The dragon trilled happily, and groomed under her wing.

"Thanks. Hey, I just had a great idea! Let's find Brannild, and then we can both have a race around the island" Magnus suggested with a grin. Klaus gulped.

"Uh…no, thank you. I don't really feel like flying" he admitted, trying not to sound too nervous. "I would like to see Brannild though. And, um, do you know where Hiccup is?" Klaus asked hopefully. He expected her to tell him straightaway, but instead her brow furrowed as if she were worried.

Magnus looked over his head and asked reproachfully, "Trader Johann, ent you told 'im?" Confused, Klaus turned to Johann behind him. The man winced.

"Told me what?" he asked, worried. Had something happened to Hiccup?

"Oh dear. Oh, Johann, you old fool!" the trader lamented, wringing his hands. "I'm so terribly sorry, my boy. I ought to have told you much sooner, but I…I just couldn't bring myself to upset you. I've grown quite fond of you, you know."

Now, Klaus was very worried. He'd always been taught not to lie, but grown ups kept secrets, and he'd learned that when a grown up 'didn't want to upset him', it meant the secret was something very bad. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I'll tell ya" said Magnus, "C'mon, meet me up at the village." With that, Carena took off from the edge of the pier. Klaus ran down it, and scrambled up the slope to the village. He was quite out of breath when he reached the top. Magnus and Carena landed nearby; the dragon crouched to let Magnus climb off her back, and she dragged him away by his sleeve to somewhere quiet.

"Now will you tell me what's happening?" he demanded when she stopped.

"I know it's bad to lie" she insisted, "but Chief Astrid told me to, last time, and it's bad to disobey the Chief as well. Everyone was worried if we told ya, you'd be with Johann all that time feeling upset. I reckon you oughta know, but you gotta keep it a secret" she explained, kicking at a tuft of grass.

Last time? She must have meant the last time he was here. "Magnus, please tell me what's going on. Has…has something happened to Hiccup? I won't tell."

Magnus chewed her bottom lip with bucked teeth, and looked around to make sure no-one was listening. "You know last year, when they said Hiccup wasn't around?" she asked, and he nodded. "He's in hiding, cos he faked his death."

Klaus' eyes went wide. That wasn't what he'd expected at all. "Why?" he asked.

"Bad people wanted to get him, so he tricked 'em all into thinkin' he were dead, so they'd leave him alone" Magnus explained. "But he can't go into hiding from us, so we know about it. You just can't tell anyone who ent from Berk, alright?"

"I promise I won't tell" Klaus declared, although he hoped he wouldn't have to lie to keep the secret. It felt like he was keeping a lot of secrets lately, and he wasn't sure he liked it. Then he thought of something else. "Does that mean I won't get to talk to him, if he's still in hiding?" he asked, disappointed.

Magnus shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe if you tell the Chief you know 'bout it, she might ask him if you can see him. But I think she might want to pretend he's dead. Mama says I'm growing up, but I still don't get grown ups. They're weird."

That was true; he was fifteen now, and he still didn't understand a lot of what adults did. When did one become an adult anyway? "When we're grown up, we shall have to be careful not to be so odd" he suggested. Magnus liked this idea, and got him to pinkie promise they wouldn't be weird when they grew up.

A certain reddish orange Fire-Scale landed nearby. "Brannild!" Klaus exclaimed happily, pleased to see his dragon friend. Brannild snaked closer and purred, lowering his head to be petted. Klaus scratched him under the chin. "There's a good dragon. Who's a good dragon, then? You are, yes you are" he cooed, as if Brannild were a dog. The Fire-Scale gurgled, and coughed up some fish.

"Uh…no, thank you" Klaus grimaced a bit when Brannild nudged the half-eaten smelly stuff towards him. "I just ate." He retreated when Carena padded closer to sniff at the fish and lick it up before Brannild could. The two dragons snapped at each other, fangs clacking, and growled.

"Oi!" snapped Magnus, "Break it up, you two. You know you gotta be on your best behaviour today" she declared. The two dragons croaked apologetically.

A commotion of sorts began to sound; dragon roars and human shouts. "Oh my Thor!" exclaimed Magnus. "Look at the size of that Fire-Spinner!" She was pointing up at the sky, towards a large broad winged dragon that was heading right for Berk. "Klaus, c'mon, we gotta see this!" she exclaimed, running over to Carena and swinging into the saddle. Before he could protest, they took off.

"What about me?!" he called as they flew towards the Academy. Brannild lowered his head beside the boy and made a 'climb on' gesture. Klaus hesitated. He'd never flown on a dragon before, much less by himself…but it wouldn't be too far, and he was rather curious about this new dragon. What had Magnus called it, a Fire-Spinner? He'd never seen anything like it before.

Quickly, he pressed his hands together, closed his eyes and whispered a prayer. "Please, Lord, forgive me and protect me with this dragon blessed with your Grace." When he opened his eyes again, Brannild was staring at him. The dragon looked confused. "Don't go too high" Klaus begged as he scrambled onto Brannild's neck and tucked his feet up. He held on tightly to the dragon's horns as Brannild rocked back on his legs and jumped into the air.

It felt strange in his stomach; he was so nervous that he shut his eyes tight and didn't open them until he felt a jolt when they landed. "Phew! Thank you, Brannild" he said, climbing off. His legs were shaking. "Thank you, Lord."

They were in the training ring at the Academy. Magnus and Carena were already there, as was Chief Astrid and her dragon Stormfly. The Fire-Spinner landed awkwardly in the ring, but Klaus was distracted by something he couldn't help noticing about the Chief. Turning to Magnus, he exclaimed "You never told me your Chief was expecting a baby!"

Astrid turned, hands on her back, at the sound of his voice. "What are you two doing here?" she demanded, "This isn't a meet and greet, you know."

Magnus explained, "We wanted to see the Fire-Spinner. Who are they?" she asked bluntly, pointing at the four people climbing off the larger dragon's back. Two middle aged men and two teenagers, a boy and a girl.

"Don't be rude" Astrid scolded at once. "These are important guests. Chief Ragnar", she greeted one of the men, "Welcome back to Berk; although I must admit, I wasn't expecting you to arrive on dragonback."

"Neither was I" said Ragnar. "Ah, allow me to introduce Isak; he offered to accompany me in Ormar's stead whilst my usual right hand man keeps an eye on Smoking Bay" he explained, gesturing to the other man, who gave Astrid a short but respectful bow. Then Ragnar added, "And this is my son, Mikel, and his betrothed Ingrid." At his pointed look, the teenagers bowed as well.

"It's good to meet you all" Astrid smiled politely, "And I believe I recognise your dragon; Torch, isn't it?" Upon hearing his name, the Fire-Spinner gave a trill and bent his long neck down to sniff at her.

Mikel grinned broadly. "I trained him" he said proudly, "I did what Hiccup taught us and it worked, Torch and I hit it off right away! Oh…uh…I heard about what happened. I'm sorry for your loss" he added, looking sheepish and glum.

Astrid hesitated, glancing back at Klaus. "Ah, well…"

"It's okay, Chief Astrid" Klaus felt the need to say, "Magnus told me all about it."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I hope you can forgive us for not telling you sooner."

"Of course, ma'am. I understand; you didn't want to upset me, but I'm okay."

"Good, now if you'll just excuse me…" Astrid turned to Ragnar once more, wincing at her sore back, and explained "I'll send for someone to take your luggage to your rooms. In the meantime, if you'd like to come with me to the Great Hall for some food…Mikel, would Torch prefer to sleep in the stables or find somewhere to nest outside?" she inquired.

Mikel shrugged, ignoring the disapproving frown from his father. "He'll just sleep outside, I guess. He usually does. Oh, and you can call me Mik. Uh, Chief Astrid, with respect and all, I just wondered…if Hiccup is gone, then who's the father?" he asked, gesturing at her baby bump. Ingrid, his fiancé, slapped her forehead in exasperation. Klaus wasn't sure why; it was a reasonable question.

"Mikel!" snapped Ragnar, "We are here as guests, this is not the time to be nosing into our host's private" –

"It's fine" Astrid said firmly. "I don't take any offence; but I'm afraid I can't answer your question, Mik. You'll probably get to meet the father after the parade this afternoon, I imagine" she explained. Mikel somehow managed to look disappointed and excited at the same time.

"Now then, we were heading to the Hall, weren't we? As for you two", she looked down at Magnus and Klaus, "stay out of trouble and go play. Magnus, don't take Klaus flying" Astrid instructed. The girl reluctantly agreed not to. Then the chief made her way to Stormfly, who obligingly crouched down so Astrid could perch side saddle, holding onto one of her spikes for balance.

After the adults (in their minds, even Mikel and Ingrid counted as adults) had left the arena, Torch made a sad whistling sound. Magnus approached him fearlessly, reaching up to pet his snout. "It's okay, Torch. Do you wanna know a secret?" she asked him. Torch nodded slowly. Magnus whispered in his ear – or where his ear would be – and his eyes widened. "It's true. But it's a secret!"

"Is it the secret you told me?" Klaus inquired curiously.

"Yep. Torch was sad cos he thought Hiccup was dead" she explained.

"How do you know?"

"He said so. Oh, yeah; Hiccup found a way to let all us dragon riders understand dragons, all the time. Carena, Brannild and Torch all say 'hello', by the way."

Klaus' eyes were wide as saucers. "I didn't know he could do that!" He remembered Hiccup saying that dragons could understand humans, but nothing about it being the other way around. "How does he do it?"

"He just sorta…" Magnus shrugged. "You gotta have a bond with a dragon, and he puts one hand on your forehead and another hand on your dragon, and you sort of see your dragon in your mind's eye, and imagine you're reaching out to touch them. Then it kinda feels like…like a thread's snapped taut, in your head, and you can understand them all of a sudden" she explained.

To Klaus, this sounded very much like the work of God. To understand a blessed dragon, one had to believe they were blessed; they had to have faith. Hiccup laid a hand on them just as Jesus laid his hands on the sick to heal them. They were given a vision that opened their minds…to dragons free of Satan's curse, and thus to His Glory. Klaus wanted to experience this for himself.

"Magnus? Do you know where…where he is?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, maybe" she replied, doubtful. "He might be out flying, but we can go look for him, if you want. I think I know where he'll be, if he's still on Berk." Magnus walked over to Carena and climbed into the saddle. "You coming, then?"

"Um…" Klaus hesitated, "I thought your Chief said you couldn't take me flying."

She rolled her eyes at him. "She said I couldn't take you flying. She never said nothing about taking yourself flying. You flew here on Brannild, didn't ya?"

"Well, yes…" he said uncertainly. The Fire-Scale rumbled in an encouraging sort of way and lowered his head for Klaus to climb on, but the boy didn't move.

"C'mon, Klaus, don't be such a scaredy-cat" Magnus teased. He glared at her, indignant. "There's rope all over here. Let's find some and tie you on, if you're scared of falling off" she suggested, climbing out of the saddle again.

They found a long piece of rope and Magnus showed Klaus how to loop it around his legs and waist and tie a nice, tight knot to make a harness. Then he climbed onto a patient Brannild's neck and they tied the other end around the dragon's horns. Klaus felt a little bit safer, but he was still going to hold on and pray. He clung tightly to Brannild as the Fire-Scale reared up.

"Follow us!" Magnus grinned, sitting proud on Carena's back. The Spike-Tail spread her wings and leapt; Brannild did likewise, and the two dragons flew around the back of the island, out of sight of the village. "Klaus, open your eyes!" Magnus cried, but he didn't want to. If he did, he might look down.

At last they landed again, and Klaus peeked. They were in some kind of gorge, with a waterfall plunging into a lake, and mossy stones, and the roots of big trees growing down the cliffs. It felt like a special place, peaceful and secretive. There was nobody else there but them. "Where are we?" he asked quietly.

"The cove" Magnus replied in a murmur, "This is where Hiccup first made friends with Toothless. It's like their secret hideout, 'cept it's not a secret anymore. I really thought they'd be here…" She huffed, disappointed.

Looking around, Klaus suddenly felt similar to the way he did in church; as if this were a sacred, holy place. He sensed that they were intruding somewhere they should not. "Magnus, let's go" he begged anxiously, "We shouldn't be here."

"Hang on. Carena's trying to pick up their scents! Spike-Tails are great trackers."

"We'll find them later. I'm hungry" Klaus insisted. This was true; he'd been too excited to eat, and he didn't want to be seasick; but also a convenient excuse. Magnus reluctantly agreed to abandon the search for Hiccup, and they returned to the village to get something to eat for themselves and the dragons.

Meanwhile, far to the southeast, an armada was gathering. It was an eclectic mix; crews comprised of dragon hunters, pirates, thralls and other lowlifes, under the command of knights sent by lords and earls with a noble purpose. To eradicate these heathen, dragon loving Vikings for the glory of Jesus Christ.

That was their goal, and the undesirables they had to lead were merely means to an end. Yet the knights were only pawns themselves, as far as the admiral of the fleet was concerned. Adulfr had another agenda, yet their goals aligned. He too wanted to rid the world of dragon lovers, but not for the Glory of God. No, his true goal was to seek revenge on Hiccup Haddock for robbing him of his honour, and his only chance to earn the respect and admiration of his father.

Adulfr stood on the forecastle of the Black Death, watching a Singetail wrestling a Nadder into submission beneath a chain-net tent. He could hear the Nadder's screams, the Singetail's bellows, the hollers of the men watching the brutal display. Stalking back and forth behind him was Skadi, her claws scratching on the wood. She snarled in displeasure at the aggravating noise.

It was almost over, anyway. The Singetail pinned the Nadder down; it thrashed for naught, as jaws closed around its neck and fangs sank into its throat. With a few last kicks and a drawn out, rasping screech, the Nadder finally grew still. The Singetail roared in triumph and fired a blast of fire at the chains above.

"Stop!" a voice cried out, from a man who strode into the makeshift arena wielding a whip. He cracked it against thin air, but the Singetail stepped away from the body of its victim and bowed to him. A smirk played around the corners of Adulfr's mouth. Hiccup Haddock was not the only one with trained dragons anymore. Discipline, not disobedience, as his father would have said.

He had chosen only the best – the fiercest, strongest specimens of the fiercest, strongest species in each class. Singetails, Snafflefangs, Rumblehorns, Razorwhips, Seashockers and Triple Strykes. All trained from hatchling-hood to be obedient to their handlers, and utterly fearless in battle. They would fight to the death; whether it was their own, or the deaths of those who opposed them.

Skadi growled at the approach of another man. "It's okay, Skadi" he assured her, curling his fingers into the scruff of her neck. It never failed to calm her. Adulfr turned to Savage and demanded, "What do you want? And you should salute in the presence of your commander-in-chief" he added pointedly.

His self-appointed second-in-command quickly gave a clumsy salute. "Ah, yes, Admiral! I just came to tell you that – well, the others are wondering" –

"Spit it out" he snapped impatiently.

"Are we moving against Berk tonight?"

"Not yet" Adulfr replied tersely, "There are still a few matters to attend to…but actually, now that you mention it, there's no reason we shouldn't start now. Have the crew dismissed and the dragon flyers sent to me for their assignments" he ordered. Savage gave a proper salute and strode away.

He could see right through the older man; Adulfr knew damn well that Savage would stab him in the back given half a chance. He'd have to kill the other man first, but for now he needed someone to help keep the riff-raff in line. Skadi whined and pawed at his thigh. "Fetch her some meat" he ordered the thrall standing nearby. Sigurd bowed and replied, "Yes, master", before retreating.

Soon, Adulfr had all his elite warriors stood on the deck below the forecastle, looking up at him expectantly. He took a brief moment to savour the power. "You all know why we've come to this backwater archipelago. To rid the world of those dragon-loving heathens, in the name of the Lord!" he announced. They all cheered and applauded. Name of the Lord, indeed. Gullible idiots.

"There can be no peace between humans and dragons until all dragons are either dead or under control, but the Dragon Whisperer intends to have them run amok in our lives, our world, this Earth made for humans, and we say no more!" Adulfr cried, throwing a fist in the air. More cheers followed. "We must end his tyranny before it even begins. But first, we must take care of business.

"Teams one and two, search out the Screaming Death. Team three, search out the Flightmare. That dragon we need alive, for now, so collect the algae it eats to feed it later. However, if the beast proves too elusive, don't worry. I have an…alternative in mind, and we'll be using it anyway. Dismissed" Adulfr ordered. The men snapped out salutes and left to prepare for their assignments.

"As for the rest of you, patrol the waters and locate our main target. We need to get it out of the way if we're to have a hope of winning this war" Adulfr continued. That…creature was far too much of an unfair advantage for the other side; but once he had control of it, then none could stand against him. The other flyers saluted and went to carry out his orders. Discipline, not disobedience.

Satisfied, Adulfr made his way below deck, Skadi padding faithfully at his heels. There in a cage, with its feet and tail manacled to the floor, stood a Speed Stinger. The dragon hissed at him, blood red eyes narrowing in hate. "Oh, don't worry" he said with fake casualness, "you'll be able to sprint and sting to your wicked heart's content soon enough. That is, if you ever want to see your precious 'Queen' again" he threatened. The Stinger screeched at him viciously.

Adulfr had the dragon kept here as a bargaining chip with Nicole Stormheart. He didn't trust her; he should have known those insufferable dragon riders would convert her. The last thing he needed was to have her sailing to Berk and warning them about his plans; so to that end, he'd imprisoned Nicole and her entire crew aboard their own ship, the Tempest. Well, it was his ship now.

They had put up a good fight, he'd admit. Adulfr had waited until the last moment to board the Tempest and attack. This wretched Stinger had been streaking about like a mad thing, freezing everyone it could jab its tail into. But it was no match for the trained Razorwhip that Adulfr's men had brought, and soon the crew was locked, ironically enough, in cages that once held dragons.

Before the attack, whilst he was letting Nicole believe that he believed her on his side, he had asked why she was so attached to the Stinger. She'd laughed at him and retorted, "Wrong way. He's attached to me; probably thinks I'm his, what-d'you-call-it, Alpha or Queen or something. But he's very useful, so why not keep him around?"

"And she was right" he remarked, wisely not touching Skadi as she growled at the dragon, and it growled back. She snapped if he did that. "You are going to be useful. A dragon that can freeze people in their tracks is just what I need."

/

(1) A few people were confused by this, so allow me to clarify; Fishlegs and Snotlout are still a thing, and Ruffnut is a surrogate for them. The marriage is a cover.