Page 65 of Dragon Tempted

“Then why are you still working with them?”

The alarm beeped on Mia’s arm. “Time’s up.” She backed toward the door. “If there’s any reference to the dragon sentry symbol in the second story, start there. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Sienna took a step forward. “Wait!”

But Mia walked out the door, and it shut with a thump.

Ryan rested his hand on her arm and led her to the back door. What was all that? She felt like she’d been talking to the Riddler, or the Mad Hatter depending on the moment. Sienna needed more information. She wanted to trust Mia. And since Mia kept talking about truth as she knew it, there was a lot that made Sienna nervous.

A hell of a lot, Veronica chimed in.

One thing she did agree with Mia on was the importance of the dragon sentries and what that meant for the story. And since the story distinctly mentioned that the little sister would be the one to find the shield for her brother, Sienna had her job cut out for her.

Chapter 24

John’s heart finally started to slow down its triple-time beat after listening to the meeting between Sienna and Mia. Sienna was amazing—smart, level-headed, and not willing to back down. And while it made him proud, it also scared him to death. Hah, to death. Oh the irony.

When Sienna and Ryan returned, they had all listened to the meeting with Mia again since Marcus had recorded it, and then proceeded to discuss ad nauseum about what it all meant.

John spoke when there was a lull in the conversation. “The bottom line is I think Mia is right about us concentrating on the dragon sentry symbol. In the story when the brothers return to the village, Evie gives the younger brother a shield so that both brothers can protect the village from the trolls.”

Sienna frowned. “And I don’t have anything with the symbol on it, which makes me wonder where I’m supposed to find it. Plus we don’t know what the shield actually is. In Adam’s case, his shield is a pendant. So Eric’s shield could be anything, right?”

Megan rested her hand on Eric’s arm. “I don’t like that the story talks about you and Adam protecting the village.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to fight,” Eric said.

Tessa sighed. “Sounds like we’ll be searching the house again for anything that might have the symbol.”

“Jonas is still researching the dragon sentries online,” Megan added.

Sienna leaned forward. “I think we should go in a slightly different angle. Has Jonas tried to research the actual sentry symbol? Look for anything that we can find that resembles it online? Maybe that can lead us to more information about the sentries and help us find whatever I’m supposed to give Eric. We know that the pendant Adam wears is magical. Maybe we’ll find something else that has magic powers.” Sienna turned to Ryan. “Can you go talk to Jonas and have him research the symbol if he hasn’t already?”

“Yep. I’ll go see him now.”

Everyone else volunteered to search different parts of the house again and split up. John held back until it was just him and Sienna in the office. “Are you okay?”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m trying to look at the storybook and meeting with Mia as good things. But that doesn’t decrease the frustration.”

“No, it doesn’t. I wish I had some words of wisdom regarding all of this, especially after spending hundreds of years beating my head against the wall, but I don’t.”

“I understand now why you’re such a grump,” she said, and this time her eyes sparkled.

The edges of his mouth tipped up at her response. He was surprised the sound of a rusty hinge didn’t fill the air. “I guess we can chalk it up to all the years of frustration.” The minute the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to yank them back.

“I wish I could help you with that.”

His brain came to a stutter-stop. Did she understand what she just offered? No. Her mind wasn’t in the gutter. She was just trying to be supportive.

And then the minx winked at him.

His face heated. Damn. Was he actually blushing right now?

Time to change the subject. “I’ll search the cabin again for you.” He escaped, heading back on foot to the cabin. It gave him time to center himself. Since when did he smile and blush? There was something about Sienna that turned him on his head. Which wasn’t good. His one goal needed to be breaking the curse. He didn’t have time for distractions, even in the beautiful and exasperating package that was Sienna Simonson.

Sienna sat in the comfy reading chair in her room. It was one of her favorite spots. She would curl up with a book and, depending on her mood, a cup of tea or a glass of wine. The chair faced a window that had a view overlooking the valley. The view normally helped her relax, but it wasn’t working tonight. She had spent hours going through her room and found nothing. Her bed was piled with clothes, and shoes littered the floor. Her closet was stripped clean. Drawers were pulled out onto the floor. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear her room had been ransacked by robbers. The house was quiet. Everyone else had gone to sleep.

She hadn’t really expected to find anything, but she still had to check. She had very little of her mother’s things. Her father had her clothes donated immediately after her death as well as items that reminded him of her. Too bad he couldn’t get rid of Sienna that easily.