Page 3 of Dragon Keeper
“Cool.”
The pink and purple brothers faded back into the house, and the green one waited for them on the doorstep.
He felt the magical wards that pressed at him as he passed through, the feeling making the hairs on his arms stand up, making his scales rattle. But no one exploded, so he guessed they passed whatever test that ward was about.
They headed into an impressive foyer, the A-frame windows looking out, and the roses were somehow off to one side from this vantage point. It was really cool, oddly enough.
“So where are the others?” Sloan asked, looking around curiously.
“Come into my part of the house. I’m Corbin.” The green one led the way. The other two had disappeared like smoke, but theylooked like they would be pretty small dragons. He thought he, Brayden, and Riley could take them if they decided to attack.
“So, come on in and have a seat.” Corbin led them into a sunken living room with couches covered in native-looking rugs and tons of plants all over.
“We’d rather just see Luuc or Jon or Myk.”
“Well, see, here’s the thing. Did you know they had a vampire problem?”
“We cleaned out that cell of vamps.” Bray scowled.
“Not entirely, apparently. And they were nearby as little as six weeks ago. Again.”
“What?” Riley growled. “Where?”
“We took care of it. But I have a feeling this is some sort of convergence point for them. They’ll always come back here. That’s why I’m here with my brothers.”
“So wait.” Sloan stood back up. “Are Myk and Luuk and Jon gone? Nevvy? You said she was in school!”
“Calm down. I’ll get you a drink and a snack. My brothers went to get their mates, and then I bet Cosmo will go get Myk. He can explain.”
“Then I’ll wait here to see him,” Sloan stated. If they could produce a happy, healthy Myk? Then he would be satisfied.
If they couldn’t? There would be hell to pay.
Chapter
Two
“Are you sure about this, Myk?” Tyr stared at the bushes that were admittedly beautiful with glossy deep emerald leaves and plumes of flowers that ranged from the palest lavender to a deep purple that was nearly black. “These are good for my bees?”
Myk grinned at him and nodded. “I’ve been doing a ton of research and a lot of work, and I’ve cross-pollinated these butterfly bushes with your dragon beard bushes. I’ve been watching them very carefully and researching. These are functional, Tyr. The pollen is good. The pollen is something your bees can use, and they’ll be very hearty. Noninvasive.”
Tyr nodded. This was a huge step for him, for all of them, really. What if incorporating the human culture and flora and fauna changed things? What if it changed the honey? What if it hurt the bees? He had hive after hive who depended on him, just as the dragons depended on those bees. They provided the village with sustenance, with crops. These were more than just insects. These bees were his family.
Hopefully, it would be like bringing in the larparcas, which were furry creatures from the human world with long necks andsweet faces. He hoped the bushes would be a good addition and not a bad one.
“Well, I suppose we’ll give it a try. I mean, if you believe it to be well, then I will trust you.”
Myk beamed at him and clapped him on the arm, the connection solid between them, and that settled Tyr, deep inside. If he had chosen poorly, his belly would be filled with stingers and wings. “That means a lot. It really does. We’ll put in one bush here at the edge, we’ll watch, and we’ll make sure everything works perfectly. And if you think for a second that something’s going wrong? The bush goes. Fair?”
“Yes, of course.” He gently stroked the back of one of his little ones, the bee’s feet tickling his skin.
“Do you name them?” Myk asked, and he shook his head.
“I have done so with a few, but mainly I speak to the queens. The queens all have names; they tell me their stories, and they whisper in my ear. Literally, that’s how I knew that I was going to be a beekeeper. If you can understand them, then you are fit to help them.”
Myk shook his head. “Those bees are twice the size of the biggest ones that I’ve ever seen in the human world. And much less aggressive.”
Tyr shrugged. What good did it do for them to be aggressive? They died when they stung. They only stung to protect the hive. Or in a panic. And he never allowed panic to happen in his beehives if he could help it.
