Page 27 of Dragon Keeper

“A place for warm sand to polish my scales. A place to swim with you. A whole room that’s all pillows and blankets.” Tyr played along, but he kept his eyes open.

Which was why he almost jumped out of his skin when someone not him or Sloan cleared their throat. Tyr shrieked, and Sloan was up in a wink, pushing Tyr behind him, ready to defend.

“Your pardon.” A little creature with a shock of red hair, shaped almost like a hat, and a bulbous nose, bowed at them from about three feet away. “My name is Salano. I am a tragaes.”

Tyr tilted his head. “Really? A house spirit?” He scrambled around Sloan to bow back. “Bright welcome, little friend.”

“A house spirit?” Sloan stepped up to peer over Tyr’s shoulder. “Hello, Salano.”

“I heard you call. You are ready for my help, no?”

“Are we?” Sloan poked him in the back.

He chuckled. “We are. We are incredibly grateful.”

Salano bowed to them again. “Then I will get to work.”

“Come on, love.” He took Sloan’s hand. “I think you did a very good job imagining your space.” He tugged Sloan over to the ladder, and he pushed at Sloan to go on upstairs.

“We’re just going to leave him in our storage cellar?” Sloan asked once they got upstairs.

“Yes.” He chuckled. “This is a huge honor. Our union has been blessed. I have lived here so long without a house spirit.” He had thought, especially after Cade and Poe found their house and moved in, that he was doing something terribly wrong.

He had never had a familiar or a house spirit.

Now Tyr thought it was because he hadn’t needed one. He had a mate, however. Soon, he hoped, children. He had new brothers.

So this was a wondrous thing.

“Okay.” Sloan frowned but moved about, making him tea. Sloan liked to be busy when he was thinking about things, Tyr had found. He liked to move, and he liked to do things to make others comfortable and happy.

It was one of the most loveable things about him.

Tyr turned to Sloan and hugged him, his soul full of joy. “We have a house spirit!”

“Okay, so what the heck is a tragae? I’ve heard of brownies and hobs and gnomes…”

“Ah, yes. Gnomes are what Puck and Jules and Andy have. Tragea are spirits of the home who help around the place as long as you feed them. We will have to see what he likes, no?”

“Maybe he’ll like pickles.”

Tyr trilled out a laugh, his scales rattling with it. “Perhaps. We do get a goodly many of those in trade from Joliah.”

“We do. Of all kinds of weird veg.”

“Yes, but in the winter, they will be lovely to add to hot dishes.”

Sloan kissed his neck. “They’re good in salads now. We just have a lot of jars of them.”

“That is because Joliah trades from her garden to everyone, including the winemaker, who gives her goodly supplies of vinegar…” He loved teaching Sloan about how their village worked. “Which reminds me, I need to bring her sea salt when I go to visit my sister.”

“When will we do that?” Sloan winked, because they teased each other all the time about his summer schedule.

“Why not tomorrow? Can you tell Riley and Brayden? I would like them to come.” They had a house spirit now. He could leave the bees for a day.

“That sounds amazing, love.” Sloan nuzzled his cheek. “Thank you.”

“It does, doesn’t it? A small seaside excursion, you can meet my sister, swim in the ocean?” He loved the idea.