Chapter 18: Deception

"Today is the day!" Dagur loudly announced after climbing onto Windshear behind Heather. They were on their way to meet Eira at their secret island, and he wanted to get his excess energy out of his system beforehand. "I am going to ride that dragon!"

Heather looked back at him with a worried expression. "Just be careful, Dagur. She's still one of them."

"It'll be fine. That dragon won't let me on her back unless she trusts me."

"And why do you want her to trust you exactly? We're allied with dragon hunters."

"So are you, but you have a dragon. Rules are meant to be broken, little sis." Still, it felt good to have her worry about him. He had never had that before. And Eira cared too. Who did not care was Ryker. And just about everyone else on this ship. He had to do something about that.

They rode in silence the rest of the way. Eira and Swiftwings waited on the shore like usual. Heather gave them a nod of acknowledgement as Dagur dismounted. Then she was gone.

"Evening, Dagur," Eira said.

Dagur smiled at her. "Hello, Eira." He turned to the large, red dragon. "And how are you today, Swiftwings?"

The Windwalker snorted.

"She's getting used to you," Eira said. "Though, I'm not sure that's a good thing."

"Of course it is." He held the dragon's steady gaze. He understood the girl's concern, but hadn't she noticed he never shot at her when the hunters and riders were engaged in battle? If he wanted to win over this dragon, he could not scare her like that. He had a goal, and he would accomplish it. He lifted his hand and held it near her face.

"You are getting better at being calm and quiet," Eira observed. "It's alright, Swiftwings. He won't hurt you."

Dagur smiled. She did understand. He risked moving his hand slowly towards the dragon until he touched her snout. He wanted to shout in glee but someone managed to reign in the impulse. He ran his hand over her head, enjoying the feeling of her cool scales.

"Good job, Dagur. You did it!"

Dagur looked at her with a grin. "Do you think she will let me ride her now?"

Eira hesitated. "That might be too big of a step for you to ride her alone, but she might allow you to ride behind me."

Dagur nodded. "That sounds fun too!"

Eira chuckled lightly. "Alright. Let's give it a try." She walked over to the dragon and soothingly rubbed her neck. "Okay, girl, we're going to go on a little ride with our friend, Dagur."

Swiftwings kept her eyes on Dagur while Eira climbed onto his back. Once settled, Eira held her hand out to him. Dagur accepted and let her help him hoist himself up behind her. He let out a breath of relief when the dragon did not throw him off her back.

"Good," Eira said. "Let's take a nice flight around the island. Hold on tight, Dagur. And remember to be quiet."

"I got it," Dagur said in his best quiet voice. At the beginning, he did not understand their aversion to constant noise, but he had come to appreciate the peacefulness of silence. As long as it did not last too long.

He held in a gasp as the dragon spread her wings and lifted them into the air. He had flown plenty of times on Windshear, but this somehow felt different. There was no goal, no destination in mind. They were simply all enjoying the ride. Dagur smiled as he took in the scenery, noting how different it looked from up above. And the breeze felt nice.

He noticed Swiftwings glancing back at him occasionally. At one point he grinned at her, and he swore he saw her roll her eyes. Could dragons even do that? And then it was over. They landed back where they started.

"That was... awesome!" Dagur exclaimed after jumped off the dragon several yards away so she would not blast him with her water ball.

Eira chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"And next time, she will let me ride her by myself." He stared confidently at the dragon, who did not appear convinced.

Eira looked over at the horizon. "I think I see Heather." When she turned back to him, he caught a hint of sadness on her face. "I suppose it's time to say goodbye. I'll see you later?"

Dagur nodded. He shared her reluctance to leave, but what choice did they have? "You know... the invitation to join us is still open." He gave her a weak smile.

Eira looked at him in surprise. "Thanks, but you know I can't." She hesitated. "Although, if you-"

Dagur's eyebrows lifted. "Yes?" Was she going to say what he thought she was going to say?

Eira suddenly looked away. "Never mind. You should go."

Dagur frowned. "Eira?" He took a step towards her.

For some reason she would not face him anymore. "Heather is waiting."

Dagur's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What was wrong? But she was right about Heather. He would find out the truth later. "Good night, Eira. And thank for the great time."

To his relief, she finally looked at him with a smile. Perhaps he had been imaging it. He returned to Heather and got on Windshear. He waved at the girl on the shore just before they took off. They did have a good thing going, didn't they? There was no reason for it to end.

The time had finally arrived. The dragon riders were going after Viggo Grimborn. Heather had finally met the leader of the dragon hunters, and he was taking her on a special mission to capture a Flightmare. She told the riders who, of course, were going to get there first to ambush him.

Eira could not help feeling anxious as they flew during the night. She had a feeling this would not be as simple as everyone assumed. So much could go wrong, and there were factors the others had not considered. She had been feeling this way for some time now.

Not too long ago, she got into an argument with Heather over Dagur. She wanted to find a way to get Dagur over onto their side, but Heather needed him with the hunters so she could continue with her undercover operation. If today's mission was successful, that would be a moot point, but that merely raised another question.

"Are you alright there, Eira?" Hiccup said, flying beside her. "It seems like you've got something on your mind."

"Sorry," Eira said. "I know I need to focus, but..."

"You're worried about Dagur."

Eira looked at him in surprise. How had he known? Had she really became that transparent? "Yes, I am."

"I know Viggo suspects him of betral-"

"-which is probably my fault."

"- but after tonight, that won't matter."

True, but... "And what do we do with him afterwards? When he learned Heather was with us the whole time?"

Hiccup gave her a long, steady look. "You know him best. I will trust you to do what you think is right."

Eira nodded. "O-Okay, Hiccup." No pressure or anything.

A few minutes of silence passed. Then an island came into view. "There!" Hiccup said, pointing. The riders landed on the island next to the glowing algae trail that was the Flightmare's food source. "Let's stay together. We need to make sure Viggo doesn't get anywhere near that dragon."

"How will we know when Viggo's here?" Fishlegs said.

Hiccup looked out at the ocean at a ship. "He already is." He turned to the twins. "Okay, Ruff, Tuff, make sure you get enough algae-"

"-to lure the Flightmare away," said Ruff. "We know."

Eira remained on Swiftwings' back as she waited for directions. She tried to push her nervousness down, but it was no use.

"Uh, Hiccup?!" said Astrid. "You might wanna see this."

"Hiccup, you might wanna see this, too!" said Fishlegs.

Eira and the others immediately flew to them to check out the problem. The young girl gasped when she saw dozens of ships headed straight for the island.

"Uh, I don't understand," said Snotlout. "I thought Heather and Viggo were coming alone."

"They were," Hiccup said. "Which probably means they're not coming at all." Suddenly, the ships fired at the riders. "Everyone, look out!"

Eira swerved to avoid getting hit. Something else nagged at her now. While the others focused on the dragon hunters, she slipped away to check something out. She led Swiftwings across the island until they reached the other side. There! A single ship sailed towards the others.

Eira's heart pounded in her chest. If this had been a setup, that must mean Viggo knew the identity of the true traitor. While she was not Heather's biggest fan, she could not just abandon her. Besides, Dagur needed his sister. Swiftwings flew low above the ocean. As they neared the ship, they heard the sound of fighting.

Eira steered her dragon straight up and took in the scene. On the deck of the ship, Heather ran to free a caged Windshear with two dragon hunters on her tail. "I don't think so," Eira said. "Swiftwings, fire!" The Windwalker shot two water balls at the hunters, throwing them off their feet.

After freeing her dragon, Heather looked back in surprise. "Eira?"

"We've got to go," Eira said. Her eyes swept over the ship once more, and she froze when she caught the gaze of a newcomer: a man with black hair and beard and ice cold brown eyes that sent a shiver down her spine. This had to be Viggo.

"Eira?" said Heather. "Are you coming?"

Eira tore her gaze away to look at the other girl. "Right." They took off together to join the other dragon riders. Thankfully, they were not followed.

When they arrived at the other side of the island, they found the Flightmare attacking the men on Ryker's ship while the riders watched from the air. Hiccup and the others appeared relieved to find Heather safe.

"How are we going to save that Flightmare?" Eira asked.

"I... don't know," Hiccup admitted.

Just then Ryker captured the wild dragon in a large net, pinning it to the deck of the ship. "Its mouth!" Dagur shouted. "Get its mouth now!" Ryker muzzled the dragons so it could no longer attack. "That's it! Yeah!"

Heather glared at the ship. "Sorry. Not gonna happen." Then she sped right for the Flightmare.

"Heather, no!" Hiccup cried. A second later, the hunters captured Heather before she could reach her target. Hiccup tried to move forward but was stopped by the hunters' attacks.

Eira decided on a different approach. She flew straight down until Swiftwing's belly touched the water. Then they gently glided towards the ship. The dragon flew around back and moved up just high enough for Eira to see everything happening on deck from behind. The hunters were dragging Heather below deck, and there were too many for her to stop them. Soon, only one person remained.

"Dagur!" she cried. This was a risk, she knew, but she had to try.

Dagur spun around, his eyes narrowing when he spotted Eira. "You!" he exclaimed. "Were you a part of this?"

Eira faltered. "W-What do you mean?"

Dagur stalked to the end of the ship. "Were you working with my sister behind my back to betray me?"

Eira's heart plummeted. This was why they should have talked about this beforehand. If she did not do some serious damage control, all her hard work would fly out the window! "It's not like that, Dagur. Heather betrayed Ryker and Viggo, not you."

His eyes tightened. "But she used me to get to them."

"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about you!"

"She was going to attack me!"

"She was trying to save the Flightmare!"

"A dragon is more important that her brother?"

"She could say the same thing about you!"

Dagur went silent as he glowered at her. Finally, he said icily, "And you? You were just a distraction, weren't you?"

Eira bit her lip. She had thought about what she would say if this happened, but nothing seemed adequate. "Yes, but that's not the whole story."

"You were using me too!"

"No! If anything, that was an excuse to see you! I do care about you, Dagur. This doesn't change that. I saved your life, remember?"

Dagur's eyes were almost as cold as Viggo's. "Get out of here, Eira," he said in a dark tone.

Eira shook her head. "Dagur, you have to help Heather. They'll kill her!"

"Get out of here or I'll kill you!"

Eira's eyes went wide. It was time to leave. She gave him one last remorseful look before turning and flying back to the others. Something struck her as odd about his last comment. She was almost certain he did not mean it. So... did that mean he would help Heather?

Hiccup gave her an anxious look when she landed on Viggo's now-empty ship. "Heather?"

Eira shook her head. "I couldn't get to her."

"There were too many of them," Astrid said, landing beside her.

"What about the Flightmare?" said Hiccup.

"Gone."

Hiccup looked around the ship. "Viggo, too. Astrid, Eira, this guy isn't messing around."

"No kidding."

"I told you the dragon hunters were tough," said Eira.

"And I should have listened to you," said Hiccup. He sighed. "Our dragons may not be enough. We're gonna have to out-think this guy, outsmart him somehow or Heather and Windshear have no chance of-"

"Don't say it," Astrid said, her eyes wide in fear. "Please, just don't say it."

"We'll get her back," Eira said. But even as she spoke the words, her chest tightened. This had gone way worse than even she imagined.

"I don't get it!" Hiccup said in frustration. "How did Viggo get away?! How did we lose Heather, Windshear and the Flightmare?!"

"I don't even wanna think about what they're going to do to her and those dragons," Astrid said.

"They outsmarted us," Eira said softly. Maybe she should have pushed harder about her concerns. She looked up at Fishlegs and the twins landed on the ship.

"You guys find anything?" Hiccup said.

Fishlegs shook his head. "No, the fog was too thick. They used it as cover and just vanished."

"We should've just pulled Heather out, Hiccup," Astrid said. "I knew something like this was-"

"Astrid!" Hiccup said. "She wouldn't have come with us."

"True," said Eira.

"It could be worse," said Tuff. "We could've brought the Dragon Eye." Ruff hit him. "Ow!"

Hiccup gave him an odd look. "How do you know I didn't bring the Dragon Eye?"

Tuff blinked. "How did I know you didn't bring the Dragon Eye?" Ruff hit him again and smiled innocently. "OUCH."

"Yeah. Okay. You're right . I didn't bring it."

"Thank Thor!" Astrid said.

"No kidding," Snotlout said as he landed. "Then Viggo would have had Heather, Windshear, the Flightmare AND the Dragon Eye."

"Which is back on Dragon's Edge completely unguarded," said Hiccup.

The riders immediately took off. When they arrived at the Edge, they found their base tone to pieces. Eira's heart sank once again. The hunters really had thought of everything. Thankfully, they had not found the Dragon Eye because Ruff had stolen it earlier in order to get into Tuff and Snotlout's 'secret club.' They found the Dragon Eye safe and sound in the messy cave.

"I can't believe you took this without telling me!" Hiccup exclaimed. "You know, all you had to do was ask and you could've used it. It belongs to all of us."

"Yeah, you two, do you know what could've happened if Viggo got a hold of this?!" Snotlout said.

Ruff crossed her arms. "Seems to me, if I hadn't removed the Dragon Eye from your masterful hiding place, we'd be having a very different conversation right now."

Hiccup turned away to hide the mournful expression on his face. He silently led the way out of the the cave. The others followed.

Eira's head swam with everything that transpired that night. The sun was rising, but she had a feeling none of them would be able to sleep. They needed to figure this out. Now. The future of more than just Heather and Windshear might depend on it.

A/N: There you have it, folks! The next chapter will wrap up season two.