I yawn for the fifteenth time tonight. "Are you going to sleep at some point?" Heather asks me. "I have to stay up until everyone returns from the exercise, don't I?" I shrug. "I can keep watch and wake you up if we're needed if that's what you'd like," she offers.

"I... I can't sleep," I admit. "Not away from home. I get too worried about what might happen that I would just sleep right through. I guess the extra adrenaline from that is what keeps me awake or something, I don't know. But I can't and I won't sleep any time soon. Not without Citrine or one of the other dragons helping me out, anyway."

"What can the dragons do to help you?" She asked. "Don't think you can use this trick against me because it only works if I allow it to," I start to explain. "And this may sound stupid, but when I'm in the wings of a dragon I trust, it can relax me enough for me to fall asleep. It's all in the blood."

"Why would that sound stupid?" Heather asks. "Everyone feels more comfortable around someone they trust." "Because I can't sleep without cuddling a fire-breathing lizard?" I suggest.

She laughs. "Fair enough. Though I guess if you've been around dragons all your life you get used to it." "They're family to me," I agree, meaning more than she could ever know. "They've been with me my whole life, even when my birth family weren't."

"What... happened to them?" She seems hesitant to ask. Seeing I've finished pecking at my food, Citrine nudges my mask. I nod and pull it back up before she pulls away from me. Heather is looking to me sympathetically. "You don't have to answer. I know it's not the best thing to talk about."

"Well..." I think about it for a moment, choosing my words carefully, before I answer. "My parents stayed with me until I was four or five years old. We did everything together. I don't remember much about them, though. And then one day they just... disappeared. I woke up one morning and they weren't there. They never came back. I looked all over the island for them but they weren't anywhere. I had to fend for myself from that day on. I guess that's what first made me distrust humans. I knew after that that humans never stay. I was always right."

"I'm sorry," she says predictably. When I don't reply, we drift into silence, both watching the stars. I listen to the dragons talking quietly to one another while we wait for someone to arrive.

"How long do we wait?"

"I don't know, but I want Gustav."

"Sven's quieter than you guys."

"Gothi's quieter than Sven."

"Didn't you say Gothi hits you, though?"

"Not properly, only a tap that I can barely even feel. Besides, have you seen her? She does it with everyone!"

"Fair enough."

"Does anyone have dragon nip?"

"Some rocks would be nice right about now, too."

"Oh shut up with you and your rocks!"

"I'll shut up about my rocks when you shut up about your ability to set yourself on fire."

"I can do that, too!"

"I don't see why it's that big of a deal."

"Yeah, I can breathe the hottest fire in the known dragon world. Where's my credit for that?"

"Why should we care that Monstrous Nightmares are walking bonfires when all of us are walking flamethrowers?"

Citrine and I can't help but laugh at that, causing Heather to look at me curiously. "What's so funny?" "Just something Gothi's partner said," I reply tactlessly, still chuckling.

"How do you know what they said?" She's acting like I'm crazy now, so I quickly spin another lie. "Citrine was translating their banter for me. Something about Gothi's partner not knowing why they should care that Monstrous Nightmares are walking bonfires when all of them are walking flamethrowers."

"Oh, okay," Heather smiles slightly, but it's clear that she doesn't find it overly entertaining. I guess it's just that I can relate to it since I'm also technically a 'walking flamethrower'.

Suddenly a wave of fatigue hits me and it makes me feel dizzy for a moment. I rest my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, trying to wait it out, groaning quietly.

"Are you okay?" Heather asks. "Yeah," I reply, though it's slightly strained. "Just feeling weird. Ugh..."

Heather walks over to me and looks me over. When she leans forward to check my temperature, she leaps back in shock and pain. "Ah! Artemis, you're practically burning! You have a really bad fever, something's wrong. You need to rest, even if you don't sleep. I'll grab you some water."

As she runs off, I'm left with Citrine watching over me. "What's going on?" She asks worriedly. "You're as hot as your sylvite fire! Is this normal?"

"If it is, I hate normal," I reply tiredly. Citrine pauses for a moment, then seems even more panicked. "The Alpha Just contacted me. He says he can't sense you or talk to you. He thinks you might be dead. I told him that you're just sick, but now he thinks that there might be a problem with the dragon part of you."

I wipe the suddenly dripping sweat off of my forehead, my breathing becoming laboured and a horrible burning sensation torturing my insides. Citrine lays me down on her wing and roars out to Heather, who runs back. "What happened?!"

"I need..." I pause, feeling worse by the second. When did I suddenly become so sick?! "Hiccup and Astrid... they know... tell them..."

"Windshear, distress signal!" Heather shouts to the Razorwhip, who blasts a cracking flare upwards, exploding in the air like a firework. It's answered by several roars to let us know that the others have recognised that we need them here.

"When Gothi gets here, she'll be able to take care of you," Heather tells me as she lays a damp cloth on my forehead. "No Gothi," I say quickly. "I don't need Gothi... I need... I need Selene."

"Who's Selene?" Heather asks. "I can't say," I tell her. "Hiccup... or Astrid... they need to tell her... tell Stylive to fine Selene... I only need Selene... Selene can help."

I'm sprouting what I hope are not lies now. I just need her to know that I don't want Gothi anywhere near me. She'd remove my mask. She's suspicious of me already. Besides, she wouldn't know what to do if it's a dragon related problem.

Hiccup and Astrid are quick to arrive. "What happened?" They ask, coming over beside me. "No Gothi," I tell them. "I need..."

They look at me with worry in their eyes as I find the strength to speak. "Tell Stylive... to take me to Selene... only Selene... she can help me..."

And then my eyes shut and give in to comforting, painless darkness.