Hiccup's POV

"Hiccup! HICCUP!"

Two hands grasp my shoulders and shake me, making my head bounce against my pillow. I groan and rub my eyes, opening them to see Thora hovering over me. Her brown eyes remain stark and wide, her freckled face pale and obviously shaken.

"What? What time is it?" I mumble.

"Morning. But that's not why I'm here," she says, her usually collected voice faltering. "I know why the Night Furies are gone."

I'm instantly more awake. I bolt up and grab her shoulders, staring into her eyes as I pull her closer to me.

"What? How? Who? Why?" I ask.

"I had another dream, or...it was more like a vision," she says, her attention flickering to my grasp on her shoulders for a brief second. "Night Furies can kill demon dragons. That's why..." She swallows hard. "Alrek...had them all...destroyed."

Tears fill her eyes and she pushes away from me, only to sink onto the bed and pull her knees up to her chest. I don't respond, too stunned to form words. The idea of a whole race of dragons being destroyed simply because they could mess up a plan...I can't imagine it, and yet Thora's words have proven to be truthful time and time again.

"If the demon dragons were actually able to kill the Night Furies, then-" I cut myself off, my eyes widening.

"These demons are far stronger than I thought," Thora finishes, a tear slipping down her cheek. "This is such a...a mess."

I pull myself out from under the blankets and crawl closer to her, reaching over and wiping the lone tear off her cheek with a gentle swipe of my thumb. I hate seeing her cry, seeing as she's like a stone statue most of the time when it comes to showing emotion.

"Do you think we'll be ready?" I ask, my hand lingering near her face.

"I know we will." She shuts her eyes, almost leaning into my touch. "I have more thinking to do."

----------

We gather together in the arena again. Thora walks to the front of the group, casting a quick look to our spectating dragons above us. She exhales as she brushes a loose hair behind her ear.

The weapons are even harder to carry today, and I thought they were heavy before. Every one of my friends huffs and puffs as they yank their weapons towards the centre, nearly dragging them across the cobblestone. We drop them in a heap, wiping sweat from our foreheads.

"Did they get heavier or is it just me?" Snotlout asks, massaging his muscles.

"The enchantment has had time to embed itself in the weapon. Now, you have to start working like slayers," Thora says, her voice monotone as she swings her sword with ease.

"We aren't born with it like you. I don't think any amount of training will help," Tuffnut groans. "So unfair..."

"Yeah. I mean, Eret's the strongest person here, and he can barely lift his," Ruffnut adds, giving an obvious gesture towards Eret's biceps.

The former dragon trapper nods. "It's true," he sighs. "Sorry Thora, but I don't think we've got it in us to help you."

Thora sheathes her sword and fiddles with her necklace, biting her lip. Her forehead wrinkles as she delves deeper into her options, her necklace starting to glow beneath her fingertips. As it does, her expression changes and a confident smirk graces her lips.

"I think I know what to do," she says. "But I'll warn you, I have no idea if it'll work or not."

"What is it?" I ask.

"Oh no..." Fishlegs squeaks, as though he's already gone through worst-case scenarios in his head.

She takes a deep breath. "I could use some more of my magic to make you...secondary slayers," she explains, eyeing the stares we're giving her. "I have no clue how painful it will be or what might happen, but the only way to find out is if I have a volunteer."

Before I can step forward, Astrid does, striding over to stand in front of Thora. The auburn-haired Viking gives her a small smile, leaning over and whispering something in her ear.

Astrid nods and Thora takes off her necklace. She rests the jewelry in the palm of her hand, aiming it towards the patient blonde Viking. Thora focuses, and it isn't long before a thread of blue magic emerges from the gem. My friends gasp, but I don't make a sound as it snakes towards Astrid.

All of us stiffen as it enters her mouth. Astrid swallows, her eyes falling shut.

She starts shaking, like she's suddenly too cold, and then she starts sweating just as quickly. As abruptly as they started, the movements stop and she buckles to the ground, letting out an animalistic scream. Thora's face floods with shock as she closes her hand around her necklace.

Above us, Stormfly squawks and claws at the bars, distressed by the sound of Astrid's pain. I whistle as I dash to the dragon door and open it, allowing the Deadly Nadder to zoom in and surround her trainer with her wings.

A bright glow shines around them and the screaming stops. The light dies down after a second or two and Stormfly blinks, confused by the sudden silence.

"Astrid! Are you alright?" Tuffnut asks.

Stormfly unfolds her wings and Astrid stands up, holding her head.

"Yeah. I'm fine. It kind of hurt though..." she mumbles.

"Oh gods, Astrid, I thought I had killed you," Thora says, her forehead creased with worry.

"Nah, can't kill me that easily." Astrid smirks, giving Stormfly a scratch as the Nadder looms in for some affection.

"The question is, did it work?" I ask.

"Let's see," Thora says.

She walks over to the pile of enchanted weapons, picking up Astrid's axe and spinning it. She turns and passes it off to Astrid with a short nod. The blonde holds it for a second before gripping it with both hands and swinging. She grins.

"It worked! Oh my gosh, Thora! You're a genius!" she exclaims, continuing to slice the weapon through the air.

"ME NEXT! ME NEXT!" the twins shout, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

My mouth falls open as I stare at my fiancée. She's blowing me away again with just being herself. As I watch my friends clamber towards her, all of them babbling about becoming secondary slayers.

I will admit, I wasn't sure about everything she was saying at first, but come on. Who wouldn't be at least a little bit skeptical if the girl who'd been one of your closest friends for three years suddenly revealed that she was part of a powerful group of extinct warriors?

I'm worried for her, more than I'd like to admit. She's got an entire army after her and her only, and she only has us to back her up.

I hope to Odin that we don't fail her when she needs us most.