Page 81 of Dragon Keeper

Stella tilted her head, her big eyes blinking. “No, I have not. Hello, Tor!”

“Bright blessings, little one.” Tor took the little feathery hand Stella held out, then bowed over it. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

She squinted at him. “You’re like Penny. You glow.”

Tor’s eyebrows went up. “Do I?”

“Oh, yes.” She nodded, her head moving so like an owl’s.

“Stella is from the Rocky Mountain clutch, brother.”

“Hello, Stella, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you as well.” She tilted her head, blinking. “Are you new here?”

Tor smiled at him. “No, no. I grew up here. When I finished school, I moved to the city.”

She blinked again. “Like Ari and Sebby will go to the city?”

Tyr nodded to her, smiled. “Will you go to?”

She shook her head, eyes wide and horrified. “Oh no, not me. I don’t need to go. I need to stay and make babies and bake cookies.”

Tyr beamed at her. “That sounds very fun.”

Tor smiled at her. “I quite like it.”

“Yes.” She curled up around his belly, stroking their little one. “Did you know Tyr’s bees fly? Birds fly. Butterflies fly, and I fly!”

He nodded. “You do! In fact, I understand that you were the first one to fly of all the little ones up the mountain!”

“Yes! I did it first!”

“See, you are special, my love,” Tyr told her.

She gasped. “Iam. I love to fly so fast. The bees are starting to wake up, did you see?”

“I always see my bees, little owl girl.” He tickled her gently. “You should come in the summer and dance with them.”

They were almost as big as she was.

“I will! I love to dance too!”

Fredda’s feet pounded on the floor, a familiar sound he would miss so when they left, which would be soon. “Helloooooo! I love to dance.”

“Me too!” Stella screeched, hopping down to see his little niece. “I’m Stella!”

“I’m Fredda!”

“Will you be my friend?”

“Yes!”

Oh, that was adorable. Absolutely. Tyr felt tears sting his eyes, and he put a hand on his belly. Yes, he was emotional, but he was so happy to see the little ones dancing in circles together.

“I lives in the ocean.”

“And I lives in the sky!”