Chapter 23 #2
Riley came in, staring at all of them face-to-face in confusion. His arms were filled with loaves of bread, and it smelled like heaven, Tyr’s stomach growling ferociously. “Well, looks like I showed up just in time. I’m glad I got extra. Hello, all.”
Tyr started laughing, almost rolling with the sheer joy—spring was here, his twin was here, his mate was here, Riley was here with bread, babies were here. The whole thing was delicious.
It was sheer magic.
“You brought breakfast. Nicely done.” Salano came and simply snatched the bread out of Riley’s hands. “I’ll start eggs.”
“Thank you.” Riley bowed because they had all learned to show respect to such a devoted house spirit. Meals appeared regularly when no one else was able to do the job, and he wondered how he’d ever coped without such a wondrous friend.
“Brekkie!” Stella crowed. “Can we stay, Daddy?”
“If Tyr and Sloan say we may, then yes.” Abe was smiling at his daughter, love shining in his face.
“Of course you can stay. You are all welcome.” This was family, of course they were welcome.
“Yay!” Fredda started to bounce, clapping her hands. “Do you want to see my dolly? I have a dolly.”
Stella nodded. “Yes, please. I would like to.”
“Come on, come on. Her name is Iris.”
They ran off, and Abe shook his head. “I’m so sorry about this, Tyr. I can’t believe she ran off.”
“She said that she feels like Penny is special, and she’s not.”
Abe rolled his eyes. “Seriously? She’s possibly the most special of all of us. Ridiculous girl.”
Tor chuckled. “Sometimes it’s hard to see how magical you are when everyone else seems to be effortless at it. Tyr never understood how amazing he was when we were children, did he, sister?”
Aleana snorted. “He still does not.”
Tyr rolled his eyes. He wasn’t special. He wasn’t amazing.
But he was happy.
And it was all right to be simple. He was a vital part of this community—him and his bees. And he couldn’t wait to introduce his daughter to all of it.
Sloan hugged him tight, one hand curling around to cup his belly. “He’s amazing. In fact, this entire place is amazing. You should see the village; it’s beautiful right now. I didn’t think anything could beat the Yuul celebration, but this? I love all the colors!”
“Spring is here, with all the rainbow of life.” And Tyr loved it.
“It is, love.” Sloan kissed the top of his head.
“After the celebration, Mari will be coming up to get us. Not to put a damper on the joy.” Aleana chuckled. “But we’ve enjoyed it so. Even you, my wandering brother,” she told Tor.
“I look forward to meeting your mate.” Tor smiled at her, nodded once. “He and I have many things to discuss.”
“I think that you’re going to have to take trips between the mountain and the ocean, though.
The both of you. Those girls are going to be best friends.
” Tyr loved that for them. He loved the ties that were forming between all of them, creating a web of community that gave all of them a safety net if they fell.
Sloan beamed at him. It’s happening. I’m so proud, love. I knew we needed family and friends to be with us.
He had to laugh. Don’t be smug.
Why not? I’m an alpha. It’s my job.
I suppose. He met Sloan’s gaze, giving his mate a warm smile. Actually, I think your job is to go get me breakfast. I’m starving. It’s been a busy morning.
Then I will make a plate as soon as it’s done. In fact, I will slice bread. Sloan moved to help in the kitchen, slicing bread and putting out a plate of that along with the honey. Riley joined him, and the two of them jostled each other, play wrestling.
Salano glared at them. “You children need to be careful. This is my kitchen, and I—”
That was when Stella’s screech filled the air, the sound wild and furious, a cry of sheer alarm, and then another sound—equally as wild and ten times as loud—answered.
Tyr didn’t know what was wrong, but he knew something was, and he began to run, out calling for his bees, for help. The buzz that answered from the hives was vast.
They ran to the backyard where two cloaked dragons stalked toward Fredda. Stella stood between them, and so did the orblok, both of them using their voices to slow the dragons, as little Fredda tried to wriggle away from a third.
Tyr roared, his dragon coming forth in a surge. The bees followed him, and they wrapped around Fredda, buzzing and beating at the thief with their wings.
The sound of three big alpha male dragons echoed through the garden, almost deafening, as Riley, Abe, and Sloan raced to the rescue. Golden light surrounded Fredda and his bees, Tor’s magic battering at the dragons and pushing them back.
Inky black clouds issued from one of the cloaked figures, the smell like tar, the air going cold.
He opened his mouth and roared, gouts of nectar pouring from his muzzle, spraying the cloaked figures and enveloping them in molten honey. This was his home, these were his hives, this was his family, and he would not have this.
Their orblok screamed again, the sound shattering to the ears. And the honey began to solidify, crystallizing around them.
Once more, brother, and then I can hold them fast. Tor was glowing, sending so much light to combat the darkness the others had spread. It blinded him.
This is MY FAMILY! He screamed the thought out, making it as loud and strong as he possibly could, letting the world know that he would not allow his family to be harmed, and if they came, he would meet them.
If they came again, he would destroy them and salt the earth that they touched.
The dragons seemed to shatter into a million pieces, the combined strength of all their attacks too much for the magic to hold them together. The bees came to him then, bumping him, making sure he was well.
“My loves, are you well? My sweet loves, thank you. So good to me.” He slumped to the ground, unable to hold his weight up, so tired. But it wasn’t like before; this was a physical tiredness, not a mental tiredness.
“Tor, who were those things?” Aleana stared at them, arms wrapped tight around Fredda. “Where did they come from?”
Tor shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” Tor met his eyes, then Aleana’s. “But I will not leave you undefended.”
“Thank you. All of you.” Abe grabbed Stella up in his arms even as Aleana took Fredda into hers. “My brave little owl dragon. Daddy is so proud of you.”
Sloan came to him, grabbing him and holding him close, sitting with him right on the ground. “Are you okay?”
He blinked up at Sloan. “They were going to hurt my family. This is my hive.”
His voice sounded raw and rough and unfamiliar. Angry. He was never angry. He didn’t like being angry.
It’s right, love. This is your hive. You protected it. I’m very proud of you. Sloan glanced up at Tor. “Is he going to be all right?”
“He’s going to be fine. Let’s get him inside; let’s get everyone inside. He needs rest and food. He spent a lot of energy just then.”
“It wasn’t just me who spent the energy,” he croaked.
That was about the time that Tor began to sway.
A flutter of wings sounded, and he looked up in alarm, but it was Cadeyrn, his dearest friend, and Harden and Brayden.
“Zeke is coming. We heard the alarm raise. What happened?”
Sloan shook his head at Cade. “I’ll explain in a minute. We need to feed Tyr and Tor both. Get everyone inside.”
One of the bees came and brushed across Tyr’s face, and he held out his hand, nuzzling it with his nose. “All is well. We protect the hive.”
The little bee buzzed, her wings vibrating in a little fury, but that was an agreement.
“Someone make sure Rinda is fed and loved on. She and Stella saved us.”
“They were so brave, Mama.” Fredda hiccupped. “I was so scared.”
“My darling, you roared. I heard you.”
“And you gave your strength to mine,” Tor told her. He was pale. Shaking.
Sloan took Tyr inside, and he felt better once they were back in the kitchen, steaming plates of food piled on the table. Bread and honey. Eggs. Sausages made from forest learboks, along with bowls of fruits and grains and nuts. A feast.
“Are you sure you don’t know who they were, Tor?” Tyr asked. The invaders had seemed so sinister, so awful, and he never wanted to have to deal with that again.
“No. I have heard of such dragons kidnapping children and taking them somewhere unspecified, but the rumors are all very amorphous, and honestly, I never expected to see them here.”
“Is there something we need to do about the pieces of them?” That came from Zeke, who stood nearby, arms crossed.
“I think we should burn them,” Sloan said. “Fire cleanses.”
Zeke nodded and jerked his chin at Abe. “I’ll take care of it.”
Riley nodded. “I’ll help you. I’m a fire dragon after all.”
The two of them strode out the door and Aleana helped serve plates up to Tor and Tyr, her hands shaking. “I called to Mari. He’s on his way.”
“Good. Good, as we explain to everyone what happened, it would be better if he was here to hear it and that way he could protect against it in your own village.”
She teared up, her eyes overflowing. “They wanted Fredda. What would I have done without her?”
Sloan shook his head, reaching out to put his hand over Aleana’s. “You’ll never need to know. She’s safe.”
Aleana glanced at Stella, who was leaning on Abe’s chest, singing a little song that sounded like bird language, tracing patterns on her dad’s torso. “You’re amazing, Stella. Thank you so much for helping my daughter.”
“She’s my best friend,” Fredda said. “Mama, I dropped Iris.”
“I’ll go get her.” Sloan pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Eat. I’ll be right back.”
He watched Sloan stride out of the room, and he got the feeling that Sloan needed a moment alone to process his anger.
Not that Sloan was mad at them, but he had to be furious that someone had almost been taken on his watch.
Tyr had been furious, and that wasn’t like him at all, but he had done what needed to be done.