The sun slowly descends by the time they reach the canyon entrance. It's easy to forget sometimes how fast being airborne can be. But travelling from the southern end of the isle through the wooden land to reach the start of the canyon on the other side takes them hours. The sky past the tropical canopy is saturated, hinting at the approaching darkness.
Stormfly stops shortly before entering the rocky grounds.
"Why are we stopping?" Hiccup asks, his voice bouncing off the bare stone walls ahead.
"I'm not sure…" Astrid says, narrowing her eyes on the trail ahead.
The cliff wall is split, with a trail narrowing ahead until it darts to the side. Shadows stretch with the setting sun, and gravel snakes from the cliff crevice like spilled blood.
"Come on, Stormfly," Astrid urges, and the Nadder squawks before obeying.
They walk the trail, the open sky above allowing escape should anything go south. Astrid isn't too sure if her dragon would've liked the idea as much if the terrain resembled a gorge more. She knows how much her Nadder hates tight spaces. She's been trapped too many times to count, and she wouldn't force her to go anywhere she doesn't want.
Astrid casts a look over her shoulder. Hiccup's blank eyes are a painful sight and a scary recall.
"You know I know what it's like," she says softly.
"You're much braver than I am," he replies with a short-lived chuckle. "I'm not you."
"Well, you're gonna have to pretend for a little while," Astrid says firmly, refusing to have Hiccup believe he has lost his skillset and worth just because of his sightlessness… The way she thought she had when she was in his shoes. "This island is crawling with Dragon Flyers."
"What about the Armorwing?" Hiccup wonders.
"Always worried about the dragons more than yourself, aren't you?" she teases. "Don't worry about it. Snotlout and Dagur are protecting the Armorwing from the rest of them. Well, as best as they can, at least. Toothless is with them. Krogan doesn't have the lens yet; he was too busy chasing you."
"Always nice to hear I'm his priority…" he says, sarcasm dripping like warm honey.
"There's no concerning yourself with a wild dragon right now," she says sharply. "We need to get you out of here and get you a medic. There will be other battles, Hiccup. Right now, we got one of our own, and your mission is surviving these Flyers and making it back to Berk."
Hiccup hates putting himself before anything or anyone else, but Astrid's tone leaves him no choice but to agree.
The sun sets as the hour stretches, and the first stars dot the navy-blue sky. The chorus of nocturnal insects is a reassuring sound. It's when the boastful music dies in a heartbeat that Stormfly halts.
"You hear that?" Hiccup mutters under his breath, attentive to every little sound.
"I don't hear anything…" Astrid whispers back, alarm to her tone. It feels as if every critter around them is holding its breath.
"The crickets stopped," he notes. "There's something big nearby."
"Like Krogan's Titan?"
Hiccup doesn't answer.
Stormfly's head snaps to attention. She erects her crown of spikes and barbed tail. Hiccup and Astrid need no other signal to recognize that the tracker dragon has picked up a scent.
"We need to get out of here." Astrid urges her dragon forward, but the Nadder won't budge an inch. Her focus is locked on something ahead of them, but Astrid can't make it out in the growing darkness of nightfall.
"There's no way Krogan could have figured we'd come all the way out here…" Hiccup mumbles. But part of him argues the contrary.
Krogan may be a brute, but he's also clever… Clever enough to figure out why, when his scouts reported his presence on the island, he was chasing the Armorwing. It could have been many things: he could have been after the Armorwing because it had been injured or to use its fire for his makeshift Dragon Eye. It could have been anything else he'd tried to collect from the wild dragon.
But the Flyer's suspicions were spot on. Krogan is not the brute Ryker was. He may not be as observant and smart as Viggo, but he's proved resourceful and equally deceitful in the past. His guesses have always been educated, and Hiccup realizes now how much he's underestimated Krogan.
The Flyer witnessed a single blast and instantly assumed the injury. Hiccup heard it loud and clear. Krogan knows Hiccup is blind and dragonless. He knew Toothless wasn't with him, probably because he saw his Night Fury… and fully decided to ignore the dragon. He knew he'd be alone. He knew he'd be defenceless. He didn't know exactly where he'd be, so he sent out his soldiers to cover more territory. He took one out, and Astrid took care of another. But this island is still crawling with Dragon Flyers, just as Astrid mentioned. Krogan learns. And he probably studied Hiccup enough by now to know which type of calls he makes. All Krogan has to do from there on is follow his hunch, and it's bull's-eye.
"We walked right into his hands…" Hiccup states as he straightens up, a quiver in his voice as his blank eyes widen.
The thundering roar of the Titan Wing vibrates through every molecule—the ground trembles from the power of the sound.
"Take to the air!" Hiccup shouts, knowing that with Krogan so close now, remaining to the ground will only lower their chases of escape.
Stormfly doesn't need to be told twice, and with one powerful beat of her wings, they're out of the canyon. Astrid's heart rate doubles as she takes in the number of Dragon Flyers surrounding them.
"He knew exactly where we'd be…" she says, breathless. "He was planning on flushing us out the entire time."
"Gain altitude!" Hiccup orders. He doesn't need to see to predict the enemy's next move.
Stormfly climbs the sky in a vertical line. Hiccup holds on to the edges of the saddle as he leans against Astrid's back, eyes shut tight. He focuses on his breathing to avoid losing his bearings. The last thing he must do right now is faint from the disorientation. The air grows colder as they climb, and Hiccup can hear the Singetails' cries as they fall back, unable to keep up. But he knows better than to think they're safe up here. Krogan's Titan Singetail has always been able to keep up with him and Toothless, no matter how high they climbed. He may not be able to see, but the beating of wings nearby is indicator enough to agree with his fears.
"Stormfly, don't stop!" Astrid shouts over the whistling wind. The Nadder squawks, working her wings to beat faster. "He's right behind us!"
Hiccup can almost feel the Titan's warm breath on his neck. He realizes it's more likely the blaze it's about to fire that carries so much heat.
"Dive!" Hiccup orders. "Now!"
Stormfly's wings clasp to her flanks, and they escape the flames. Hiccup holds on even tighter as they plummet faster than an arrow.
"Hang on!" Astrid yells over the roaring wind.
Her back straightens, and Hiccup follows suit. Stormfly's wings catch in the wind as they try to slow before meeting the hard ground. It feels like forever passes before they regain control of the descent. They don't count on Krogan and his Titan's maneuvering abilities, and the fireball's heat scrapes the Deadly Nadder's flank, sending her in a spiralling downfall. There's not enough reaction time available. They're too close to the island to regain balance, and Stormfly goes down, aiming for the first clearing visible by moonlight.
Hiccup can only pray this isn't the fall that kills him.
The impact is brutally harsh, and the fall's momentum carries Hiccup multiple yards away from the dragon. He slows to a halt without meeting any obstacles but hard dirt and bushes. His skin burns from abrasion. His entire body feels like it's on fire. His knees, elbows, back, and torso—the armour is worn off, and Hiccup thanks the leather for taking most of the damage.
Uncomfortable silence settles.
"Astrid!" he calls out to the night.
Nothing.
His heart threatens to beat out of his chest as his breathing picks up. The Nadder's soft burble signals her location.
Hiccup isn't offered any opportunity to get to them when a heavy dragon lands between them. The gust nearly knocks him backwards, and Hiccup cows his face in the crook of his arm as dust rises. He buries his nose and mouth against the fabric of his blouse and narrows his eyes to see if he can somehow make out the Titan's proximity. But his vision is as blurry as before, like looking through a maladjusted spyglass.
"Take him." Krogan's voice is so close.
But before he can fight—before he can resist the soldiers closing in on him, the butt of a hilt meets the back of his head, and his world goes completely black.