Page 56 of Dragon Charmed

She frowned and shook her head like a schoolteacher, setting her crayons and pad on the couch. She stood and walked over to the bed and pulled back the comforter before turning to him. She patted her hand on the bed, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, Dr. Lily.”

He climbed into bed and let her tuck him in. She rested her hand on his head for a couple seconds before going back to the couch, where she flipped to a blank page and started to color.

Lily didn’t need to speak to let him know she was going to watch over him while he slept. Once he was lying down, it was hard to keep his eyes open, so he stopped fighting it and let sleep pull him under.

Tessa and Megan sat on the couch in the office while Eric, Sienna, and Marcus attempted to handle their anxiety as they waited for Ian to tell them how Ben was doing.

Tessa wasn’t handling things very well herself. Confusion was her middle name, and she needed some sort of clarification as to how Ben, or should she be calling him Adam, was still alive.

Tessa leaned forward. “Can someone please explain to me how this is possible? I don’t understand. You said Adam’s remains were in the cave. How can he still be alive?”

Eric sat across from them, tapping his hands on his thighs. “We found a large pool of blood that Ian confirmed was Adam’s DNA. And since he left behind his necklace wrapped in the bloody note about failing and the pile of ash, we thought it was Adam.”

“Ash?” Tessa asked.

“If we die while in our dragon form, we turn to ash. Ian tested the ash and confirmed it was dragon DNA, but we normally can’t determine who specifically it is.”

“So whose ash is it?” Megan asked.

“It must be the dragon who was sent to kill Adam,” Marcus said from his spot across the room. He was standing as stiff as a Buckingham palace guard. “We were never able to find out who it was.”

Tessa shook her head. “I treated him like a criminal. Told him he was going to have to face what he’d done to Adam and the clan.”

Megan reached for her hand. “You couldn’t have known. We all thought Adam was dead.”

“Ian is spending a long time with Adam.” Sienna paced on the side of the room. She had come to the office after Ian had kicked her out of Adam’s bedroom so that he could give him an exam. The only way she would leave was to have Ian promise to give them a report when he finished.

“I’m sure he’s being thorough,” Eric said, more than likely trying to calm his sister even though his hands hadn’t stopped their staccato beat on his legs since he sat down.

As if in answer to their comments, Ian opened the door and stepped into the office. Eric shot to his feet. Megan and Tessa joined him.

Sienna rushed over as well. “How is he?”

Ian set his bag down. “He’s relatively healthy. He’s dehydrated and hasn’t been eating or sleeping much the past few days, so he is going to need to recuperate from that. He has some severe scars on his side that are more than likely from his attacker in the cave.”

“His memories?” Marcus asked.

“I took blood so I’ll do a wide array of tests to make sure there isn’t anything else going on, but I think it’s like your memory loss of those events last year, Eric, but at a complete level. He doesn’t remember anything about himself or what it means to be dragon.”

Tessa cringed. He’d told her that, and she hadn’t believed him. She’d mocked him. Would he ever want to talk to her again? Could she blame him, even if it made her want to cry?

“I’m not surprised. He flew in front of me and took the brunt of the witch’s memory spell.” Eric rested his hand on the pendant around his neck. “I need to give him his necklace back. It helped my memories return.”

Ian held up his hand. “Let’s hold off on that for now. He’s trying to get some rest, and then he’ll need some food.”

“Marilyn is already preparing his favorite foods,” Sienna said.

“Let him sleep and remember to take things slow with him. I know your emotions are high right now, but he’s overwhelmed.” Ian picked up his bag. “I’ll stop by later tonight just to see how he’s doing, and then we’ll take it from there.”

Marcus showed Ian out, and Sienna plopped onto the couch as if her energy had finally left her. Eric sat next to her, and they hugged each other.

Tessa and Megan left the office to allow them some time alone.

Megan rested her hand on Tessa’s arm. “Finding Adam alive is a miracle. How are you doing?”

Crappy. “It’s a lot to take in. I was with him for days and didn’t know. What if we hadn’t tracked him down and he left again? We would never have known he was still alive. I’m usually really good with faces, and I didn’t recognize him.”