Page 29 of Dragon Keeper

She held out her arms to him, so Sloan stepped up to take her. Hello, little one.

I Fwedda! Hello!She threw her arms around Sloan’s neck. Mama! Tyr here!

“So I see.” Aleana came out, drying off her hands. She was far more dragon-like than Tyr, orange scales glinting in the sun and her hair more a fall of the ridges of scales along her scalp and back. “Mari, my mate, is swimming and fishing for our lunch and will join us later. Please, come in.”

Aleana’s home was open to the elements, facing the joys of the ocean. Everything was hidden with white gauzy curtains thatflapped in the wind. The simple furniture of weathered wood and cloth looked comfortable, and the climate here seemed warmer and much more humid.

“This is a lovely home,” Brayden told her, smiling, charming as usual.

“Thank you. It’s ours, and we love it.” She came to Tyr and kissed his cheek. “How are you, Keeper of the Bees?”

“I’m well. I wanted you to meet Sloan, his family.”

“Ah, your mate, yes.” She smiled at him, her eyes softening when she saw her daughter clinging to him. “You are the one from across the veil.”

“I am, yes. Tyr has a lot to teach me.”

“You seem to be doing just fine on your own.” She nodded to little Fredda. “She’s an exceptional judge of character, my little one.”

“She’s adorable.” He grinned down at the little girl dragon, who offered him something weird and slimy from her hand. Good thing he’d learned this game from Nevvy. “Thank you, sweetie.”

“That’s a weed! It’s salty.”

“Salty is it?”

Tyr’s sister nodded toward him. “Seaweed. We cook with it quite a bit as seasoning. I’m very excited to meet you. We weren’t sure Tyr would ever mate, and now to find out that he was waiting for someone from another place altogether? It’s amazing.”

Sloan could hear Riley and Brayden in his head like the buzz of Tyr’s bees.How do they keep the rain out? How do they keep bugs out? How do they keep the baby in? This place is insane. It’s beautiful. It’s gorgeous. I don’t know. It’s very different. I don’t mind different.

He growled.Guys, remember. Everybody can hear you.

Brayden and Riley looked at Tyr’s sister and smiled. “Your house… Well, I said it was amazing, but it’s also fascinating.”

“Thank you; we quite love it. Mari built it for me. And I— Well, who wouldn’t love something that someone built just for you?”

“Dis my house,” baby Fredda told Sloan. “I gots my own home.”

“You have your own home?” He went wide-eyed, because she seemed so young. He couldn’t imagine it.

Tyr chuckled softly. “Yes, she has her own room.”

“Ah. Right. That’s very, very neat.” Sure, that made sense.I’m an idiot.

She’s a baby.

He could see Tyr beaming at him, so pleased.She’s so excited to tell completely new people. You’re making her very proud.

Hey, I’m her uncle now too. It’s my job.

“You absolutely are. Please everyone come and have a sit. Would you like to sit outside where you can see the ocean?” Aleana asked. “It’s lovely at this time of day.”

“No, I think you could probably just say it’s lovely and go with that,” Tyr murmured. “I admit, sometimes I think if it weren’t for my bees I could stay here but…”

No, Sloan couldn’t imagine Tyr being anywhere but where he was. With his bees, just below the mountains, with the flowers and the sunshine.

“So that’s the magical part, isn’t it? Makes it easy to visit.” Sloan patted his mate’s arm.

“Yes. I love to visit here.” Tyr reached out and tickled little Fredda. “See my sister and Mari and their little minnow.”