Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Tyr brought his mate and his mate’s brothers out to see the hives.
It was beautiful and sunny early summer’s day, the wind blowing just barely, the sounds of birds in the bright blue vala trees, the bocapal lowing as they wandered through the nearby pastures.
All of the flowers bloomed happily in the gardens, which grew as if they were a huge wheel, the shape honoring the goddess, Bey, who protected the hives. The blooms were lovely—all different colors of the rainbow, a riot of hues and scents.
Not that that was why Tyr had them, of course.
The different flowers were for different flavors of honey. The huge bell-shaped malinga flowers gave them sweetness. They were favored by certain hives, while the tiniest white flowers of the delicate marin tree? Why, they gave everything an earthy sharpness.
His secret lay in variety. Of knowing which flowers to cultivate, to make the honey taste just as they liked it, while also satisfying his beloveds.
Tyr led the dragons along the spiral pathway he’d carefully laid in, stone by stone, until they reached the center of the gardens.
The hives were the spokes of the wheel, each hive having its own space, its own home.
The queens, of course, would not leave their hives. He would take Sloan to each one and make the introductions.
But the others?
The happy bees came out to greet and bob and dance. Then they would take information back to their queens and let them know that all would be well.
“This is Sloan, he’s my mate, and these are his brothers, Brayden and Riley. They are friends to the bees.” He held out his hands, and two bees landed on them, and he stroked their fuzzy little heads. “Good morning, my dears. Life is better now.”
They shimmied and danced, and he brought his hand over so the brothers could see. “These are from the Torah tribe hive. These are strong bees, very, very protective. They live on the outmost hives here. Their queens are loyal and fierce. So loving.”
Tyr stroked the back of the bee, showing Sloan and the others how to do it. “There’s no reason to be frightened. These are our family.”
“Our family.” Sloan nodded and reached out, touching with a gingerly caress. As they connected, his eyes went wide. “They’re soft.”
“They are. They’re very delicate. I love the way that they vibrate when they’re happy.”
“This is wild, Tyr, can I say hi?” Riley seemed so young, and Tyr knew that leaving the human world had hurt him, but he was here now, and Tyr would be his brother.
“Of course, hold out your hand. Someone will stop and say hello.”
Riley held out his hand, and sure enough, a great big bumbling bee from the Sokar hives came rolling in. A youngling, goofy and silly, rolled around on Riley’s palm, sending pollen flying.
They all laughed, because it was so perfect. Such an absolutely delicious moment, especially when Riley began to join in.
“Oh, they’re adorable.”
“They have personalities. Each hive has its own sense of self, which comes from the queen. When the queen is chosen, and the hive has welcomed its leader, its mother, she sets the tone of the hive.”
“The tone?” Sloan asked.
“Yes, some hives are protectors. Some are little clowns seeking only to spread happiness and sweetness. Some hives are harder working than others, and perhaps the honey is less sweet, less clear, but they make more. They’re all different and special in their own ways.” Tyr loved them all.
Brayden held his hand out next, and soon the bees were buzzing around. Not swarming, not aggressive in the least, but just buzzing. Welcoming.
Sloan, of course, got the most curiosity. They all wanted Sloan to see them, pay attention to them, love them. And it pleased him to the core to see Sloan pay attention to each one that came to him to offer them care and energy and magic.
Brayden glanced at him. You look so different now.
I do?
Yes. You seemed less bright before, and now you’re shining.
Tyr shrugged. He had his mate, so there was nothing not to shine for. He had all that he desired in the world. He had his bees and he had his mate. One day, perhaps, there would be a child. Then there would be a family.
It was more than he could even begin to hope for. One of the older worker bees landed on his shoulder, and he was singing. Welcoming Sloan and singing the fact that the hives were alive and going to be well. That life would begin to come back to normal.
What a wonderful thought that was. He glanced at Sloan, who was wandering carefully, gently petting the bees who asked for it, smiling at the variety of flowers and trees.
Brayden had sat down on an adjacent path, seeming to commune with the bees, legs crossed, hands on his legs. As if he were meditating.
Riley was the one he would keep an eye on. He was laughing with joy, but he might trample something if he wasn’t cautious. He had a youthful enthusiasm that led him to ask Sloan, How old is Riley?
Sloan chuckled. He’s the youngest of us, barely a few hundred years. But his personality has always been incredibly mercurial. Impetuous.
Ah, I see. Tyr nodded sagely. I have a friend whose temperament is that way, even though he is not particularly young. I suppose he has something of a temper.
“Is he your best friend?” Sloan asked.
He shook his head, then he nodded. He had told Sloan about Cade already but not about Harden.
Cade is one of my best friends, but the other one is Harden.
He works with animals. He has a small landholding just outside the village on the other side from the mountain, but he’s very prickly and something of a loner, so I don’t depend on him as much as I do on Cade.
That sounds unkind. I suppose I don’t bother him as much as I do Cade.
Sloan’s eyebrows went up. But you do see him, right? I mean you spend time with him?
I do. The thing is that Cade is always up and down the mountain and moving around because he’s the village guardian, but Harden and I both have jobs that keep us tied to our own little plot of land.
We meet a couple of times a month at the tavern to have a meal together, and sometimes, we go to Cade’s home up between here and the guardian house to have dinner.
That sounds nice. We have many acquaintances… Sloan seemed a little sad, so he decided to gossip to cheer him up.
I should tell you that Cade and Harden fell out for many years, and only Cade’s mating with Poe brought them back together. Poe loves the animals, and so he sort of orchestrated Cade and Harden becoming friends again. It was kind of glorious.
Sloan chuckled. I bet that made it easier for you since you didn’t have to split your time between the two of them.
A bee landed on top of Riley’s nose, and Tyr tried not to laugh out loud as he watched Riley cross his eyes and stare at it. That was so funny. It did. Now I can spend time with both of them again, and it’s a great deal more fun. “Just blow a little bit, Riley, and he’ll fly off.”
Riley pooched out his lower lip and blew, and the bee buzzed away, his wings beating in a little bit of an offended rhythm. But that was all right; nobody else needed to know.
When he checked on Brayden, he found that the man was covered in bees, his meditative stance seeming to draw them in, but he didn’t appear to be bothered by it.
In fact, he seemed like he was in a real state of relaxation.
Tyr understood. He often came out to the daybed in the bower in the back of the house and took a nap.
He then woke up with his bees surrounding him. It was a wonderful way to be.
“These are beautiful flowers,” Sloan said, indicating a delicate, pink bell-shaped flower that was called justinia. “Are they dangerous?”
Tyr winked. “Do you mean are they venomous or poisonous? No, they are not. You may touch them if you would like, but you must be careful because sometimes the bees crawl up inside.”
“I wouldn’t think the bees could fit in there. They seem so small.”
You’d be surprised. I think they’re bigger on the inside.”
Sloan gave him a raised eyebrow look that seemed amused. “There was a TV show which used to say that all the time about something. It was called a TARDIS, and it had magical space on the inside that made it bigger than the outside looked.”
“What did the outside look like?” Tyler asked.
“A phone box.”
“A phone box?” he asked. He could imagine what that was, he supposed. It must have been very small indeed because the Cuelebre brothers had shown him a phone from their home, and it was very tiny, and it looked like a mirror on the front.
“They were something in the old Earth world in England where you could step inside and make a phone call. So it really wasn’t a box. It was more like a tiny building. They really don’t have them much anymore, and if they do, it’s for the tourists.”
Tyr nodded as if I made sense. It was a lie.
It didn’t make sense. The only words that Sloan had just said that made sense were tourists.
Which he could have understood because they had people who did that in the city.
Or at least that was the rumor. Usually, it was people with more time and fewer interesting things to do, or conversely, people with children who are going to check out the universities there.
They would go and wander around the city and look at things.
“So what do you do for fun around here?” Riley asked.
“There’s a tavern,” Tyr said. “And there are games. Festivals. Oftentimes, we gather to visit with one another. I would say that the tavern is the most frequented place in town for that.”
“Hey, that sounds pretty cool, actually.”
“Yes, I think so. Sometimes, I’ll go over just to have a meal that I didn’t cook or to visit with a friend. Have a drink.”
“That does sound fun,” Brayden agreed.
Oh, good. He had been just about at the point where he worried that his mate’s family would not find their idea of entertainment appealing.
“Can we go?” Riley asked. “Tonight? That way you don’t have to cook.”
“Do you like to cook?” Sloan put in.
Tyr shrugged. “I know how.” Like to was a very strong phrase, but he knew how and everyone had to eat so he did it. But, did he like it? Not particularly.
“Well, we should go.” Riley sounded very sure.
“Uh, surely?”
“Oh what do you do for money?” Brayden asked.
“Uh…” He had discussed this at length with Poe. “Much of our economy is trade. Honey or mead for food and so on. But honestly? There are also coins that you can trade for. And you can offer a paper, as well, saying for six eggs I will give you a loaf of bread, but I need the bread. Make the bread.”
“Ah-ha, so an IOU.”
Tyr nodded. “I’ve heard Poe say this. So yes, just like. And you will come to understand that perhaps some people are less reliable about…” Tyr shrugged. “About actually paying their debts.”
Sloan chuckled at him. “Are you saying you have slackers?”
“I do not know that term, but I can say that there are some older dragons, those who have needs they can’t supply, that we all allow to borrow with the knowledge that perhaps the debt will not be repaid. It is important to have pride, yes?”
Sloan nodded. “Yes, and I can imagine you deal with that a lot because honey is necessary to life.”
“Often,” Tyr agreed. So many of their foods and drinks relied upon his bees. And it was not fair to keep that from someone just because they did not have the means.
You’re a good dragon.” Sloan put a hand on his arm.
Tyr shrugged at his mate’s words. He was a dragon.
They all had their place. And this was his.
“My life is good. I have no reason to complain.” And even if he had, what good would that do?
It would be like railing at the wind. It was an entertainment sometimes, of course.
But honestly? It wasn’t something he did.
“I think we’re going to have to barter for some clothes.” Sloan grinned at Riley and then bumped shoulders with Tyr. “He’s a clothes horse. He likes to be the most beautiful dragon around.”
Privately, Tyr thought that they were all very beautiful. But Sloan was obviously the most beautiful.
“We can barter for some. You three are big, so we will go to Caderyn’s and ask him to borrow some while the tailor makes yours.
” Cade was a bit vain and would have more than enough to share with Sloan and his brothers.
“I will call him and see if we can fly over before supper. Perhaps they would join us, if the children are asleep.” He couldn’t help his smile.
“I am their ewyrml, their uncle of the heart.”
“Like a godfather?” Sloan chuckled softly. “How many children do they have?”
“Four. Tanya and the triplets.”
“Triplets?” Riley’s eyes went wide. “Whoa.”
“Indeed.” Poe and Cade had been triply blessed by the goddess.
Tyr could only hope he would be just as blessed someday.
I think we will be, Sloan told him. I don’t see how a mating like ours could not bear fruit. But if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. You’re mine now.
His scales rattled, making Brayden and Riley look at him with their eyebrows up, and his cheeks heated. Thank you, mate, I needed to hear that.
Sloan smiled slowly. Now this is where you tell me that you feel the same way about me, but it doesn’t matter if we have babies or if it’s just us.
Are you kidding? I stormed the guardian house for you. You’re mine now too.
“Okaaaay,” Riley said, his tone dragging the word out. “Can we go do something else now? I’m tired of watching you guys give each other sappy looks.”
Brayden unfolded slowly and stood up. “Maybe you and I should go do something else, Riley. Leave these two alone. They have a mate bond to be getting on with.”
Riley tilted his head, clearly considering that. “Which sounds fair. What do you say we fly back up to the guardian house and get them to introduce us to these Santa Fe brothers?”
“Sure.” Brayden gave them a broad wink. “We’ll be back for dinner at the tavern around when?”
Tyr blinked. “About sundown?”
“Excellent. Come on, bro.” Riley looked like he was going to stride out of the gardens in a hurry, but then he seemed to remember the bees and he strolled, which was nice of him. The bees approved.
Honestly, so did Tyr.