Page 83 of Dragon Keeper
She’s feeling a little ignored, friend. She said she wasn’t special. I told her she was, but?—
Ah. Well, I will make sure she knows how wondrous she is.Abe smiled at him, those pale eyes glinting with humor.Remember this when yours starts to fly.
Listen. I’m still trying to work out what I’m going to do when the baby actually decides to come. I’m not sure that flying is in my wheelhouse right now.He patted his stomach.
Riley came in, staring at all of them face-to-face in confusion. His arms were filled with loaves of bread, and it smelled like heaven, Tyr’s stomach growling ferociously. “Well, looks like I showed up just in time. I’m glad I got extra. Hello, all.”
Tyr started laughing, almost rolling with the sheer joy—spring was here, his twin was here, his mate was here, Riley was here with bread, babies were here. The whole thing was delicious.
It was sheer magic.
“You brought breakfast. Nicely done.” Salano came and simply snatched the bread out of Riley’s hands. “I’ll start eggs.”
“Thank you.” Riley bowed because they had all learned to show respect to such a devoted house spirit. Meals appeared regularly when no one else was able to do the job, and he wondered how he’d ever coped without such a wondrous friend.
“Brekkie!” Stella crowed. “Can we stay, Daddy?”
“If Tyr and Sloan say we may, then yes.” Abe was smiling at his daughter, love shining in his face.
“Of course you can stay. You are all welcome.” This was family, of course they were welcome.
“Yay!” Fredda started to bounce, clapping her hands. “Do you want to see my dolly? I have a dolly.”
Stella nodded. “Yes, please. I would like to.”
“Come on, come on. Her name is Iris.”
They ran off, and Abe shook his head. “I’m so sorry about this, Tyr. I can’t believe she ran off.”
“She said that she feels like Penny is special, and she’s not.”
Abe rolled his eyes. “Seriously? She’s possibly the most special of all of us. Ridiculous girl.”
Tor chuckled. “Sometimes it’s hard to see how magical you are when everyone else seems to be effortless at it. Tyr never understood how amazing he was when we were children, did he, sister?”
Aleana snorted. “He still does not.”
Tyr rolled his eyes. He wasn’t special. He wasn’t amazing.
But he was happy.
And it was all right to be simple. He was a vital part of this community—him and his bees. And he couldn’t wait to introduce his daughter to all of it.
Sloan hugged him tight, one hand curling around to cup his belly. “He’s amazing. In fact, this entire place is amazing. You should see the village; it’s beautiful right now. I didn’t think anything could beat the Yuul celebration, but this? I love all the colors!”
“Spring is here, with all the rainbow of life.” And Tyr loved it.
“It is, love.” Sloan kissed the top of his head.
“After the celebration, Mari will be coming up to get us. Not to put a damper on the joy.” Aleana chuckled. “But we’ve enjoyed it so. Even you, my wandering brother,” she told Tor.
“I look forward to meeting your mate.” Tor smiled at her, nodded once. “He and I have many things to discuss.”
“I think that you’re going to have to take trips between the mountain and the ocean, though. The both of you. Those girls are going to be best friends.” Tyr loved that for them. He loved the ties that were forming between all of them, creating a web of community that gave all of them a safety net if they fell.
Sloan beamed at him.It’s happening. I’m so proud, love. I knew we needed family and friends to be with us.
He had to laugh. Don’t be smug.
