Page 60 of Dragon Keeper
“I would love that. I think Tyr needs people around him. Dragons to keep him company. This isn’t a solitary experience, pregnancy, and we live away from the village a bit. I’m worried.” He wanted Tyr to have what the other members of the clutch did, but Tyr had always been rather solitary.
“All right, well I’m here for the duration. Or at least until the summertime, when there’s all that work to be done, and I can think of more fun things to do.”
Sloan snorted, laughing. Brayden amusing the hell out of him. His brother was the absolute opposite of lazy. But working the hives with the bees had not been his idea of a great time.
“Where are you headed next?” Brayden asked.
“Just wandering. I think that I’m done with the actual shopping. There’s no need for new clothes for Tyr yet; his belly’s not gotten large. It’s a sweet little bump, but nothing big. And I’ve already spoken to someone about clothing and extra pillows and— Do you know how many of those big goose-looking birds they used to make a pillow?”
“I guess hypo-allergenic is just not a thing here,” Brayden deadpanned.
“Have you ever met a dragon with allergies?”
“Not yet, but give me time. I’m meeting lots of different dragons.” Brayden chuckled and shook his head. “I tell you what, I’m just in awe of these mer-dragons.”
They grabbed a hot drink and a pie from the common area. It wasn’t coffee, but it was damn good, and every morning someone in the village was pouring out cups like it was just the most natural thing in the world. The sense of community here made him very happy. He loved how, while he could pay for things with coins, the economy really worked on a barter system.And the fact that he was Tyr’s mate and part of the guard was enough to trade with him.
They headed back out toward the hives together, deciding to go through the woods instead of back the way that he’d walked in. There was just enough space on the trail for the wagon.
The woods fascinated him because they were familiar and yet different. The birds were different, the trees, the flowers unfamiliar, but theywerebirds and trees and flowers, and little creatures scurried up along the ground, gathering up nuts and seeds and packing them away. It felt very normal, even if there were birds that only had a single eye in the middle of their forehead. Also, there were large, smoke-gray birds that had tiny, bright yellow birds that seemed to live in between their wings, following them everywhere that they went.
They rounded a bend, heading toward the river so they could follow it into the hives. A man stood in the way, wearing all black. Still and quiet, he stared down into the river.
Sloan frowned deeply because he didn’t know this dragon, and he didn’t like that he didn’t know the man. There was something itchy about the way the man stood. “Can I help you? Are you lost?” Sloan asked.
“Would that I were.” A low chuckle seemed to bubble out of the hood of the cloak. “I am the sad bearer of bad omens.”
“Well then we don’t want any,” Brayden said. “No bad omens today.”
Sloan stepped closer. “What business do you have here in town?”
“My business isn’t here. My business is higher up the mountain, and also…” The cloak’s hood tilted, and the dragon breathed in deeply, as if he was scenting them. “Ah, honey and salt water. You’re the one with the pregnant mate.”
“I am.” Sloan bristled, rage building up in his chest.
“No need to incinerate me, my friend.” The cloak slid back enough for him to see a pair of ebony eyes. “I mean your mate no harm, but beware. Someone might mean his sister’s child just that. She’s a bright one with a touch of the fey in her, just like the little copper coin up the mountain.”
“You leave those kids alone.” Brayden stepped up, looming, and the man laughed softly.
“I would never hurt them. I just bring the warning. Not all is as it seems in this land. Please. Keep them safe, your loved ones.”
“Tell me what the threat is, then,” Sloan growled it out.
“It’s not that simple.”
“God! I am so sick of riddles and shit. It was always this way hunting vamps in the human world. Some asshole was always throwing prophecies but not actually giving us any goddamn information!” Brayden just blew up, waving his hands in the guy’s face.
“I understand your frustration.” Those eyes looked like a cloudless night in the depths of the cloak. “And I wish I could tell you more. But watch over the little ones with that spark.” The cloak seemed to disappear as a black dragon unfurled from it, making Brayden and Sloan both stagger backward. Thank the goddess they were not the ones with their backs to the river.
They watched him fly up the mountain, and he sent a message to Cade on the mental band he was learning to use with better accuracy all the time.Black dragon on the way up the mountain. He was spouting mumbo jumbo about someone trying to hurt the kids.
I will see if I can intercept. We had an incident not too long ago.
Well, Tyr’s sister is bringing our niece up soon, and I want her safe.
Of course you do, my friend. And I want mine safe as well. We were told something was coming.
That’s what this guy said.
