"Move along."

Johann spoke and Viggo pushed the blonde Viking down the plank to the docks while her bounded hands held onto the child. An intense glare was shot at the man, but there was no more sign of resistance. The two weren't worried about the Shield Maiden escaping because of the little restrictions they were giving him, and Astrid understood it too. With her hands bound and Aiden in-between them, there was no way of getting a weapon without hurting the child.

Either way, Astrid had figured half way to what she guessed would be the base of the Dragon Riders that they weren't there to harm her. They were using her as a bait to get Hiccup, but she didn't quite understand yet what they needed him for or how they had found out that he was alive. Did they bring him back?

Did they control the Gods – whoever they claimed to be now?

If anything, Hiccup was much like a God in her eyes. He had survived death to the point that rumors spread of his immortality. He didn't seem like a God when it came to his figure, but on the inside, he was no different from the old wife's tales she had heard as a child. It made her believe that the illusion of a God – or a greater power, was far beyond their understanding, and therefore she avoided to question it and took it as it came.

But did that mean the Dragon Hunters believed he was one? Or was Johann one to say the least? The world was bizarre, and the universe even more so. Nothing made sense anymore, and the more anyone dug into it – the more the elders preached about the higher power, the more puzzled people became. Was there a higher person or a higher being above God? Or perhaps nothing at all?

Johann ordered some of his men to bring the sedated dragon to the prison. Astrid found herself unable to call out a word. She was afraid that if she showed too much emotions about her dragon, they would use it against her, but she also feared that if she showed too little, they would find her useless and skin her for their armor. After all, her scales were one of a kind. At least, that's what Valka had told her once.

"What are the plans for these two?" Viggo asked the man in command, his hands gripping firmly on a spear pointing to the Shield Maiden's back.

Johann's eyes met his and he nodded them ahead. "To my hut. I'll arrive shortly," he said and started to walk off. "I need to make sure everything is going as planned."

Viggo nodded and without another question he forced Astrid forward – the girl taking a few quick steps to avoid the sharp blade between her shoulder blades again.

Astrid looked over her shoulder for a moment, her eyes tracking the trader as he wandered off to the left of the docks and up a hill with two hunters. Her eyes went forward again when he was out of sight, and she finally let herself take in the surroundings.

The place was gloomy and dark, much alike the aura now radiating off Viggo and Johann. The island itself lacked nature – the trees were mostly cut down or left for later use and the island was nothing but a docked rock with cliffs and tunnels.

As Viggo led her through a tunnel, she was almost right away met by the sight of a dragon skeleton. It was far too old to be recognizable, but by its size and structure she could only imagine it being a gronckle which was another reason she was grateful that Fishlegs wasn't behind to patrol much like he wanted to.

When they exited the tunnel, she wasn't as surprised as before to see more skeletons laying around in what seemed to be a big, handmade quarry. The quarry was filled with tents and holes that had turquoise-like metal cages. If Hiccup was in her place, he would probably have made a joke about how empty the cages were to calm himself, but Astrid didn't find any comfort in her own humor so she said nothing and only analyzed the situation.

"You seem interested," Viggo hummed and walked calmly behind her.

Astrid could feel his eyes like daggers in her neck. She looked over her shoulder at him for a moment. "I'm just learning from you, seeing as your eyes were pretty interested in my home too," she spat and held Aiden closer.

"I guess it's more of a natural instinct, rather than a copy of behavior, my dear," Viggo chuckled. "It can be quite scary to wander around as a captive without knowing where you are. So how about I show you around for a bit?"

Astrid stopped, and Viggo didn't punish. She turned a bit to him. Johann's tent was only a few feet ahead of them – she guessed it was his by how decorated it was with different jewelry and what not compared to the other tents.

Viggo looked at her with his same smug grin that never seemed to have warned Hiccup. It was after all a part of his personality. Or so it seemed, at least. "Well?" he urged her, motioning with his staff to his right. Unsure, she slowly walked after it. She wasn't sure if she had a choice. Johann could return in a matter of minutes, or they may bump into him on their little "tour", but Viggo didn't seem worried and Astrid didn't want to say no to more free information.

"I know this may all be a bit confusing," Viggo continued as they walked. "You wouldn't have guessed Johann could be behind any of this, am I right?"

Astrid nodded faintly, her eyes still strictly scanning the area as they walked through another, but much longer tunnel. "We knew he travelled a lot, but he was mostly scared of the dragons at first. It's hard to believe he's leading an army of dragon hunters."

Viggo couldn't contain his small laugh. "The man used to be a great hunter because of his deceiving nature. Do you know where he originally comes from?"

Astrid thought for a moment. "Romans. That's where his clothes are from, at least."

Viggo shook his head although he knew she couldn't see. "No," he said. "He's from beyond that. A place no one up here speaks of except for foreigners. Now, you don't meet many of those, do you?"

Astrid shook her head.

"Well, that's not as important," Viggo nodded. "He didn't show up before our leader killed his second in command, Krogan," he said, but stopped there and so did Astrid until her back was poked again. Viggo led her to a halt when they first excited the tunnel and entered a cave at the other end. The cave wasn't filled with anything but another hole across from it, but the thing that caught Astrid's eye was the egg in the middle of it. It was white with a faint blue, and the dots on the egg were smeared out like blood prints. If it had spikes, Astrid could have easily mistaken it to be a Bewilder Beast.

"What is that?" Astrid slowly asked, approaching it. The egg was resting on a bed of twigs and rocks and there was a small hole in the ceiling giving it a ray of sunlight.

"That," Viggo hummed and walked up to her. "Is a dragon egg of a true Alpha."

"The Alpha of destruction."

Astrid looked up at him and Aiden hid into her arms even more at the word. He had heard it numerous of times when he talked with the twins and he knew it was nothing good. But Astrid knew for sure it wasn't anything good, and she was slowly setting together the pieces. "Who...killed Krogan?"

Viggo smirked. "I think you would know who. Your dear boyfriend, Hiccup, seemed to have a very troubling past with him after all."

Astrid looked back at the egg. The dragon hunters weren't another army with the same idea of the dragons as Drago Bludvist had. He had another alpha, and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be used any differently in the hands of Johann.

"And you, my dear," Viggo hummed as he saw it crack slightly before their eyes. Astrid slowly backed away from it. "Will be the lucky one to train it~"

"Heather. Are you confident this was it?"

Hiccup asked as he slowly slid down from Toothless' back. His legs landed in the sand below and he almost slid thanks to his prosthetic. As his eyes scanned the area, he couldn't see anything but untouched nature. The hilltops were packed with snow-covered trees and grass, and the mountaintop didn't show any other sign of life than a dragon that flew into one of its caves.

Heather slid off as well and looked around, puzzled. "This is the place they have been hanging out for the last few months. They can't just...The last I saw them here was a few weeks."

Stoick shook his head. "That's enough time for them to pack up and leave without a trace. It's a dead end-

"We don't know that for sure," Hiccup cut him off and shook his head. He started to search around together with Toothless. "There has to be something that they forgot to bring."

Stoick watched his son for a moment before his eyes went to Valka's eyes. They both shared the same thoughts – they knew Hiccup was desperate to find them and with this being the only trace they had they knew he wouldn't let it go easily.

"Alright," Stoick nodded and looked over at his right where Gobber, the twins and Snotlout were waiting for commands. "Search around with your dragons. We'll take the ground," he said and slid off. They nodded and hurried off right away.

Heather sighed and motioned for her dragon to follow them while she jogged after Hiccup. "I don't understand this at all," she shook her head. "Trader Johann took them?"

Hiccup nodded and kicked a rock away with his prosthetic – his gaze heavy on the ground. "That's what the twins are saying," he murmured and finally looked up. "Don't take this to heart, but are you sure this was the island? They wouldn't just pack up their base and move it without a reason."

"And I know that," Heather said and looked around. She lifted her hand and pointed it towards the forest. "It's a big island, but their tents were at the edge of the forest. I never spotted anyone entering it."

Hiccup followed her finger and jogged up towards the edge. Upon arriving there, he only spotted a few broken logs and splints. "Did anyone enter it?" he asked as he looked up at the forest.

Heather shook her head. "Not that I know of," She explained as he kept searching around for anything. Hiccup slowly stopped. Their dragons had been hesitant, even Toothless, when they spotted the island on the horizon. Fishlegs had concluded that it could have been dragon root – something they came across when harvesting Mildews old home after he passed. Heather had been the one to say that the island was safe even so, but that they still had to be cautious incase of any leftover dragon hunters.

"Weird..." Hiccup murmured and picked up the logs. He looked over it for a moment before he set it down again and started to walk towards the forest. Toothless immediately ran ahead of him and stopped him. He warbled, his ears laying flat. "We have to go in and see," Hiccup protested and tried to push past him, but Toothless pulled him back by his arm.

Hiccup stopped and looked at him with a small glare, but it soon fell as he saw the look in his eyes. He sighed and backed away as he looked up at the trees in front of him. "What can possibly make an alpha this scared?" he whispered and slowly backed away with Toothless pulling him more and more back.

Heather followed them unsure. "Do you think it could have been a primary place for the hunters? It's a huge island and I've only seen a couple of species that dare to enter."

Hiccup looked at her at that. "So, there are dragons that willingly enter the forest?" Heather nodded. Hiccup looked up at the mountain for a moment but shook his head. He took out the notebook from Toothless' saddle and a charcoal pen as well. "What dragons?"

Heather went quiet for a moment before she said, "Speedstinger, Sandwraith, Sweet Death...Night Terror and Rumblehorn-

"Rumblehorn?" Hiccup looked at her. His father had one, but then why did he react the same as their dragons did?

Heather nodded but stopped him from running to get his father. "But the thing is that these dragons didn't look the same as they normally do," she said and gently took the pen from him and the book. She used Toothless for support – which he didn't mind despite his curiosity. "Speedstingers are usually blue and white, but these were yellow and green. The closest I got to one was when I approached the nest up in the mountain. Its scales looked more like rocks-

"Like a camouflage?" Hiccup asked and watched her draw the dragons as she remembered. Heather nodded silently and didn't comment more until she had finished a rough sketch of the species. He picked up the notebook and held it up beside Skullcrusher in the distance. "Huh..." he whispered.

"The only dragon we know of that could go against dragon roots would be gronckles, but Meatlug was hesitating too," Hiccup said and looked up at the forest again. "But if the hunters didn't want to enter either..." he slowly said. "Then it can't be dragon root. There has to be an alpha on this island," he said, his eyes brightening up a bit more. Toothless whimpered and nodded to confirm it.

"But what kind of alpha?" Heather asked as she too looked to the forest.

"It can't be any good if it scared the hunters off in a hurry like that," Hiccup said and put the notebook back in the saddle. He mounted Toothless and helped Heather up before the dragon ran back to regroup with the others.

"Did you find anything?" Fishlegs asked hopefully as he saw Hiccup's small excitement. "New species? Another dragon maybe?"

"There's an alpha here," Hiccup said right away, and all eyes were on him. Even the dragons were looking at him, but they were only confirming the information more and more as it came to them. "This isn't the dragon hunters base. This was only a look out-they must have figured it out too, but that still doesn't explain the reason for their leave," he said and looked up as the others were back from their search. "Anything?"

"Aye," Gobber nodded and held up a broken arrow. The handle was stained in red and the tip of the arrow was a slightly grin color. The dragons hissed right away, but Meatlug stood completely still. "Dragon root arrows. They were spread across the beach on the other side of the island."

"Seems like the whole island has a never ending beach," Tuffnut hummed happily. "I would love to take a vacation here one day!"

Valka slowly took the arrow from him and looked at it. She searched around for anything that could brighten her memory, but Eret did it for her. He took it from her and held rubbed the red color away with his shirt. It revealed a scorch mark – a crest.

"This belonged to Drago," Eret said and looked up at them, his eyes avoiding Hiccup. "He used to have a massive supply of dragon root – one arrow and even the toughest of Rumblehorns were downed."

"And...that means that Johann had a connection to Drago," Snotlout slowly concluded out loud.

Eret nodded. "He must have been one of his secret dealers. Drago had a few of them who not even I knew of, as his second in command."

Snotlout looked at Hiccup worriedly. "Do you think he's back-

Hiccup shook his head. "He's not. Trust me...I just...know," he said and looked at his parents who nodded. He took a moment before he finally looked at Eret who he had been avoiding looking at as well. "Do you know if he had a base anywhere else?"

Eret slowly looked at him, sensing his cold glare was lifted. He nodded. "I know of several places, but the closest one here would be the island of his last second in command, Krogan. He was the one that found the Bewilderbeast egg for Drago."

Hiccup nodded at that and took a deep breath.

"Then that's where we're heading first."

"Hey!"

Astrid grunted at Viggo as she kicked her behind her knees and she landed roughly on the ground before a desk in Johann's hut. She held Aiden closer as he cried out in fear and assured him that everything was fine.

"I'm just making sure you won't run off, dear," Viggo snickered slightly and walked in front of her since there were hunters guarding the door for him. "And I'll make myself clear again," he said and lifted her chin. "You will train that dragon, but Johann won't know any of it. Understood?"

Astrid glared up at him. "And what if I tell him? What if he finds out that the egg is already-"

"Oh, he'll know that the dragon is born," Viggo laughed faintly and let go of her chin. He stood up straight again and began pacing back and forth before her, his arms folded behind his back. "But he has different plans for the egg than I do."

Astrid's glare didn't fade. "And why would that be? He's your leader, isn't he?"

Viggo grinned at that and stopped pacing. "I'll have you know, that no one will ever command me. Especially," he spat. "Not a maniac like him-

"Sir," Two mutters came from the outside and the tent soon opened. Johann walked inside, his posture straight and slightly proud, but his face said otherwise. His eyes glared intensely at Viggo as he walked inside and towards the other side of the desk. "And who is that maniac you are speaking of?"

Viggo glared slightly back at him and stood beside Astrid. He watched him silently.

Johann shook it off for now, but the comment still lingered in the back of his head. He looked at Astrid and Aiden. "Pardon his behavior, lass," Johann hummed, and his strict face fell, but Astrid's didn't. "He doesn't quite understand how important it is for you two to be in well-condition."

"Well-condition for us must mean different things, then," Astrid hissed at him. "Seeing as we're here in the hands of a traitor used as bait-

"Oh, so you do understand," Johann laughed. "What you're doing here."

"I do," Astrid nodded and straightened up. "But I don't understand why you took yourself the bother to bring my son all the way from Berk when I'm enough-

"Well, without your son you wouldn't have willingly come with us, now would you?" Johann said with a small smirk. "It's been hard to plan this, you know. How to get Hiccup back, well and alive, and how to get him back in our grip-

"What did you do?" Astrid glared at him. "How did you get him back here? He was..."

"Dead?" Johann laughed. "I know. And thanks to him, he killed Drago so that I could take over. I owe him that, but you see, I didn't bring him back here to repay him – oh no, we both know that he would one day find out about us and take care of it the same way he did with Drago."

Astrid didn't say anything and just watched him.

"I brought him back," Viggo rolled his eyes slightly. "So that he could tame dragons for me. The old classic."

"You sound just like Alvin," Astrid said and slowly moved her hands down to Aiden's. She stroked them gently. "Speaking of-you were the one who took him, didn't you? You weren't supposed to visit Berk before the end of the month and then you show up so suddenly after the word went out about his grave?" she said and glared up at Viggo for a moment.

Johann laughed. "Dear, I knew about the grave all along. But it wasn't until Viggo informed me that it was already dug up that I decided to go in and get it. It was the only way to do so without getting caught or making anyone suspicious."

"But your plan never was for Snotlout to find Hiccup – or for Toothless to find him, and bring him home, was it?" Astrid said as she put the pieces together. "Something happened along the way."

Johann slowly looked up at Viggo, a glare directed towards the black-haired man. "Indeed, lass. Something did happen. But that is dealt with and out of discussion. So," he hummed and looked back at her with a smirk. "You wondered how I brought him back from the dead?" he hummed and changed to his story-telling tone. The one thing that Astrid had wished was an act when she found out that he was a traitor.

"I travelled deep across the ocean, letting the waves carry me to-

The tent soon opened again and a bulky man stepped inside, cutting Johann off. Two guards followed him inside and soon threw a bag down behind Astrid.

"Ahh, Ryker," Johann said half-cheerful and walked away from his desk. He went to the bag that Astrid soon realized was a corpse by the sight of all the blood. It couldn't have been Alvin's corpse, right? It didn't have any blood left.

"What do we have here?" Johann asked as one of the hunters undid the tie at the top of the bag. He pulled it down to reveal the head and sure enough it wasn't Alvin, but a poor victim. Astrid quickly covered Aiden's eyes and turned forward again.

"The man couldn't do anything with Alvin's corpse," The man called Ryker, explained. For the split second Astrid allowed herself to see him, she noticed he wore much the same as Viggo now did, but the man himself was bulkier than him. He wore dragon scales and even had a dragon skull at his belt. Astrid could only guess he was another one of Johann's trusty men. "It turned out it was all a lie – he never brought back a single human from dead. He was merely a man searching for money."

"Ah, I see," Johann nodded. "Dump him in the ocean. And come here and clean up later," he muttered and went back to the desk before Astrid. Ryker and Viggo shared a small look before the three men left the hut again and they were left alone.

"As I was saying, I-

"I think it's clear to her now that you never had Hiccup in the first place," Viggo stopped him with a small scowl. Johann glared daggers at the man and looked down at Astrid who merely shrugged her shoulders.

"He has a point there, so spare yourself those boring stories," Astrid muttered the last part and Johann seemed to almost flip off his cool. The man contained himself and looked back at Viggo.

"The Dragon Eye. Where did you hide it this time?" Johann asked, taking his dagger out of his belt. He dug it into the table as he watched the man's expression.

"If you would take a moment to look around and perhaps think," Viggo suggested. "You will see that I hid it in the same place as I always do."

Johann's glare hardened, but relentlessly he moved over to the chests that were piled up on one another behind his desk. He moved a few aside, and Astrid made sure to watch closely for whatever object they were speaking off. Her hands were still covering Aiden's just in case he pulled out an eye of a dragon, though she highly doubted it.

Soon, the trader pulled out a chest and set it on top of the desk. Astrid took notice that unlike the other chests sprawled around, it had golden features to it. When he had opened it, he pulled out a long, silynder shaped object that had a dragon's head at the end of it. It seemed almost like a device that Hiccup would have made from his crazy fantasies.

Johann pulled out something from the chest which looked like a piece of transparent material with wooden edges, but he soon stopped as if realizing they were still there. He glared at Viggo. "Well?"

Viggo nodded slowly and pulled Astrid back up on her legs. "I'll take her to the prison," he muttered and pushed her towards the opening of the tent. Astrid stopped to glare at Viggo. As she walked out, she took notice of the same, baldheaded guy entering. Their eyes met for a moment, but she broke the gaze as she saw the terrible terror in his arms.

"Move along," Viggo muttered and poked her in the back again. Astrid moved right away and looked over her shoulder as he did. What was that object and how did Johann get the hold of it?

As Viggo led her out and a good distance away from the tent, Astrid noticed he wasn't leading them towards the cages, but instead he was taking them towards the tunnel-system again. "You won't get away that easily," Viggo hummed as they walked. "Johann will be busy for a while and while he is, you will take care that his dragon is well trained."

"And if I don't?" Astrid asked as she looked at him.

Viggo smirked. "Well, the dragon will eat you of course."

Astrid's glare slowly hardened. She held Aiden closer and continued to walk deeper into the tunnel until she was led into a bigger cave than the one she had previously been in together with the dragon egg.

Viggo stopped and lowered his spear. When Astrid had turned around to face him, she had already realized where she was.

A dungeon.

Viggo held his hand out and Astrid held Aiden closer which made him raise his eyebrow. "Alright. If you want to risk his life as well," he hummed and backed away to a handle.

Astrid's eyes widened as she saw the bars in the roof. She hesitantly looked at him before she moved Aiden towards the man.

Aiden whimpered right away. "Mama!" He ran back to her and hugged her leg tightly.

"Aiden," Astrid shook her head and gently pulled him off. She kneeled down to him and lifted his chin. Her eyes met his, both filled with tears. "It's only for a few minutes."

Aiden whimpered again. "B-but he's mean..."

"He won't do anything," Astrid assured him with a small smile. She looked up at Viggo for a moment before she gently pushed him towards the Viking. "A few more minutes okay?"

Aiden's tears fell down his cheeks as he stumbled backwards. He slowly looked up at the man, his little hands clutching the necklace he had received from Hiccup. His dragon was back on Berk since he dropped it when Johann came, and now it was the only thing he had for comfort except for Astrid.

Astrid whispered a small "I love you," and slowly got up on her knees as the bars went down and split them. Right away, Aiden ran to the bars with a terrified scream.

"Mommy!" He whimpered.

"Quiet!" Viggo hissed at him and wrapped his arm around his neck. Astrid ran towards the bars right away but stopped as she realized he was just holding his hand over his mouth. He didn't want Johann to know that they were there.

Viggo and Astrid's eyes met for a moment, before she slowly nodded. She looked up as she heard an ear-piercing scream and covered her ears right away. She barley had time to react and to prepare herself before she saw a dragon hatchling coming into sight. It was completely white except for the spikes on top of its head which were covered in red, blood like patterns much like its egg.

However, the feature of the dragon wasn't the regular kind. It didn't have legs and reminded her more of a huge worm than a dragon – its tail became thinner and thinner but also grew redder and redder. Its blood red eyes were staring intensely into her own, and she knew then and there:

The dragon wasn't tamable.

The first blast came as a surprise, but enough years of encounter and practice with baby dragons gave her an advantage. She rolled away immediately but remembered what position she was in before. Her eyes right away went to the bars. She was relieved to see Aiden backed up without any burns, but he was clearly terrified for her, and Astrid was too. It had been a while since she had encountered untamed dragons and thankfully it wasn't anything new.

"Okay...okay..." She whispered to herself as she got back up on her feet. She knew that if she was to ever train the hatchling, she had to use the dragon to her advantage. She had to make sure that Viggo didn't get his hands on it or bond with the dragon, and for that exact reason she made sure to try and keep the attention on her.

Her plan was simple:

Don't get killed.

Don't get hurt.

Don't hurt the dragon.

Make Viggo afraid of it once trained.

Grab Aiden and flee to the ships.

She had a hard time believing the dragon would be able to fly far distances since it was a newborn, but she was sure that because it had an unusual size it would be able to carry the two at least a few feet away from Viggo and Johann's grip.

Silently cursing because of her tied hands, she rolled to the side again when the big ball of fire came towards her. The dragon was by now closing in even more, but just like any other dragon it would have to have a fire limit. And so she counted.

3.

Astrid ran to the side.

4.

"Come on-"

5.

The fifth blast came faster than she expected, but her great reflexed set her in motion.

6.

"And you're out..." Astrid sighed relieved and got back up on her feet. She looked over at Aiden with a reassuring smile before she slowly started to approach the hatchling with her arms stretched out. "See?" she looked down at the chains, silently hoping the dragon did too. "I'm captured in here just like you," she whispered and spoke softer for every step she came to the dragon. Being a mother gave her a sense of control – the hatchling was in distress and perhaps islands away from its mother.

The dragon eyed her carefully, but didn't attempt to shoot any more fireballs. As Astrid closed in and stood only a few feet away from the hatchling, she relaxed fully and was about to turn her head away when the dragon suddenly flew up and dove down to the ground. To Astrid's shock, it dug a whole and in only a few seconds the ground below her started to give in.

Astrid jumped to the side, but she wasn't quick enough and her leg got caught up in it's teeth. She hissed in pain as the sharp teeth went up against her leg. The dragon tried to grab it again, but she tore her leg away and rolled away from her next attack. When the dragon was recovering from its attack, she crawled away and looked down at her right leg. It was bleeding heavily – the tooth had only ripped so much of the fabric for her to see, but she could only guess how bad it was.

Viggo cursed under his breath and pushed Aiden further into the hall. The child squeaked and whimpered as he fell on his butt, but the Viking paid no mind. He opened the bars when the dragon was going for another attack and immediately ran towards them.

Just before the dragon could get ahold of Astrid, it stopped and started to back away. Viggo slowed down and took out the little piece of dragon root he always brought with him. "Come here, boy," Viggo said and waved it around in the air. He backed away a few steps but started to run as the dragon followed with top speed. He threw it into one of the tunnels, and as the dragon sped after it, he turned direction towards Astrid and fetched her up in his arms.

Astrid hissed in pain as her injured leg moved, but she held onto his chest either way as he brought them to safety. The sound of the bars going down again was heard and the only thing keeping her awake was the terrified child calling from her side.

"I-I'm okay," She whispered, but hissed as she felt pressure on her leg. She gently took Aiden's hand and held it to assure him everything would be alright.

"M-mommy hurt!" Aiden whimpered and hugged her to try and make her better.

Astrid laughed a bit at that. She held him close and looked over at Viggo who was wrapping a piece of cloth tightly around her leg to stop the flow.

Soon footsteps were heard running towards them and upon looking after them Astrid discovered the man Ryker running ahead of Johann to their position. She tried to move Aiden behind her which he thankfully did himself and sat up.

"What happened?" Johann almost roared as he got to them. He looked between Astrid and Viggo, but before the man could come up with one of his excuses, the hatchling returned and tried to break through the bars. Johann's eyes widened as he realized it had hatched and almost hypnotized, he walked towards the bars.

Ryker eyed Viggo for a moment before he looked at Johann. "I don't think ye should stick yer hand in there-

"Oh!" Johann laughed and pulled it back just in time. The dragon only seemed to get more annoyed by it and flew at the gate harder. "Start digging the holes above the tunnels," he commanded Ryker as he watched the dragon bewildered.

"Aye," Ryker nodded and jogged out of the tunnel.

Viggo wrapped his arm around Astrid's shoulder and helped her up despite her protests. He started to walk away with her, but Johann stopped them.

"You better make sure she stays locked up this time," Johann said and slowly looked over his shoulder. "We can't afford more of your mistakes. You'll ruin everything."

Viggo glared back at him. "Very well, sir," he spat and continued to support her as they walked. When Astrid looked over her shoulder, she could see Johann whispering something to the dragon, but it was out of her reach.

She had a feeling that training the dragon for Viggo wouldn't be the hardest thing she'd had to do.