Chapter 2
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 and sweet 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.
Happy bees made sweeter honey. And his bees were the most loved in the entirety of Lunastra. He had no doubt none at all. And his honey was the finest.
He heard a flapping and glanced up into the bright blue sky.
The sun was warm, and it backlit the dragon that was coming to visit.
It was a small one though, so either it was a child or it was one of the triplets from the guardian house.
Honestly, it would most likely be one of the children, although they should be at school right now and not out flying.
Not that that mattered. Some of those teenagers had minds of their own. “Someone’s coming to visit.”
“I won’t keep you. I’ll just say hello to whoever’s visiting and then head home. But I wanted to get this planted before the rains came tonight. We should have an amazing storm.” Myk grinned.
“Well, all of my hives are well protected from that and used to the rain.”
Whoever the visitor was, they knew better than to fly over the hives. The dragon landed in the back, and then Cosmo came walking around to meet them.
Perhaps walking was a little staid. It was more intense than walking. Striding was a better word.
“Myk, I need you up at the house.”
Myk frowned. “Me? Why?”
“Someone is at the house, someone who knew you and your brothers, and they want to see you. They’re very agitated.”
Myk’s eyebrows went up. “Did you get names?”
“Sloan, Brayden and Riley. Uh, red hair, one blue eye, one green eye each. Not triplets, but obviously related.”
Now Myk broke into a beaming smile. “Oh, my God, yes, of course I’ll come. They have to be wondering what the heck happened with the house. Dude, they must be so concerned. They’re good friends.”
Oh, Tyr wanted to meet whoever it was. He wanted to go see. Should he ask if he could go? It was probably terribly rude to ask, but he really wanted to. Tyr supposed he could just tag along and not ask, but that seemed even more rude than asking, so perhaps he should inquire.
“Do you want to come, Tyr?” Myk asked. “Meet some more Earth dragons?”
He almost bounced, but that would be less than dignified. “I would. Please. Let me grab a crock of honey.”
Cosmo snorted. “Of course, beekeeper.”
Guests needed honey. That was what he did; it was his job. So he ran to the storage behind his home and grabbed a crock, just enough to give to someone new to the area. Not enough to be too showy.
“Come on, you two. Let’s fly, huh?”
He nodded, wrapping the honey in a cloth so he could easily carry it in dragon form.
They leaped into the sky moments later, heading up to the guardian house, where he knew he wasn’t allowed in, but the triplets who lived there had been ingenious.
They had built on a conservatory with a large patio.
That way he and Myk could sit outside and the dragons from the human realm could sit inside with the windows open and they could all talk.
They had met a hilarious beaver shifter named Yarrow that way. He liked Yarrow very much.
They landed soon after, and Myk took off to the house while he and Cosmo walked more slowly.
“You are not worried about these dragons?” he asked.
“About them being dangerous to Lunastra?”
He nodded. He loved Poe, who had come through from the human realm a while ago, and who had mated with his friend Cade and given him four amazing children to be ewyrml to. But these dragons sounded more… alpha.
“Nope. These guys are vampire hunters like Orion. You know, Cullen’s mate?”
He shivered. The earth dragons spoke of vamfyr more than was reasonable.
“But he is a unicorn.” Sometimes, the triplets made no sense.
“Right. But they feel the same way. They won’t hurt anyone here.” Cosmo sounded so certain. “I saw it, Tyr.”
Cosmo had visions, and Tyr had seen how accurate they could be. He respected the pink fae-dragon’s ability. So he nodded, and they got to the house just in time for Myk to laugh out loud.
“Wow! Sloan! Bray and Ri. Look at you guys. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I guess I can’t shake your hand?” The huge alpha standing closest to the window smiled at Myk.
“Technically? No. But man, it’s good to see you.”
“You too.” The man looked at him, his eyes mismatched. One was blue, one was green. His hair was dark auburn, and he was lovely to look at. Then he glanced back at Myk. “Where are Luuk and Jon?”
Myk grimaced, his expression going from smiling to sorrowful. “The vamps got them, man.”
“When?”
Myk sighed. “Not long after you left. It was a new cell moving in to take over the territory of the ones you cleaned out.”
“Oh, fuck.” That was the youngest of the three brother dragons, he thought. He certainly looked like the youngest, and he looked angry.
“Yeah. It’s just—” Myk swallowed hard, and Tyr moved to put a hand on his shoulder. He had a large, boisterous, happy family now, but Tyr knew it had to have hurt Myk to lose his brothers. They had been young, for dragons.
“The kids?” That was the one who had not spoken yet.
“Safe. It was bad.” Myk swallowed hard. “But they saved us. Me and the kids.”
“I’m so glad.” The big one smiled. “Cosmo says we can kind of sit together and have some food. I’m Sloan, by the way.” Sloan smiled at him, and Tyr forgot how to talk.
He just blinked. Because that smile was like a sunrise on his beehives.
“Tyr.” Myk nudged him.
“I am Beekeeper Tyr of the Galinea clutch.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Tyr.” Those oddly colored eyes studied him.
“Thank you.”
“These are my brothers, Brayden and Riley.”
“What strong names you all have.” He liked them a lot. The names. Of the dragons, only Sloan appealed to him.
“Thanks. Beekeeper, huh?” That was the one called Brayden.
“Yes.” He thrust the honey at Cosmo. “I brought you honey.”
“I’ll take it in and make a couple of trays of goodies. Here.” Cosmo ducked into the house, then handed the honey to Sloan.
Sloan looked down at it, then at him, which made his scales rattle.
“Tell me about the honey,” Sloan said.
“This one came from my best hives. The queen there, her name is Isabel. She’s one of the older queens.
She’s getting ready to pass her crown on.
” He would cry for her and mourn when she passed, but it was the way of things, and she would return in some form or another to become queen again.
But still, this was one of his most precious pots of honey.
“I’m honored. And curious.” Sloan grinned at him. “The view from here is fascinating. It looks as if the snows are almost melted. Are you from where this house is in your world?”
“No, I am from the village. Down in the valley where I live, spring is well started. The snows are gone for the most part and new things are beginning to grow. The bees are coming out to have a visit. I missed them.”
Myk nodded. “We’re going to have to go plant. As a matter-of-fact, after I visit with you, I have a new bush to put in before the rains come tonight.”
Sloan chuckled. “Always the farmer.”
“I am! Nevvy helps a lot. You would be so proud of Nevvy. She’s at school right now.
But she’s getting big. The twins will start school in the next cycle, I believe.
I think they’re ready. I know Leo is ready, but Syd might need a couple more cycles to be in a good space. ” Myk puffed up a bit with pride.