Page 82 of Dragon Charmed

“Who have you told?” Tessa asked. With John’s personality, she doubted it was a long list.

“Megan and Eric. You invited yourself here. I’m assuming you snooped your way into finding my address.”

Tessa smiled. “You would be correct. Well, someone else knows you’re here.”

She sat back as the subject changed and let Megan talk when John asked about what she had found out about the Knights Templars.

“You might be on to something about the dragon sentries disappearing during the time frame the Templars were part of the crusades. It seems like too much of a coincidence.”

“Do you think that the second paragraph from the scroll means that the Templars are back?” Megan asked.

John scowled. “I think anything is possible. The rest of the paragraph is vague and doesn’t point in any one direction, so it makes researching the Templars the higher priority.”

After a few more minutes they said their goodbyes and walked to their cars.

Eric wrapped his arm around Megan’s shoulder. “I told you she would show up. Time to pay up.”

“Stop betting on me,” Tessa growled.

Eric shook his head. “Not when I win.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “How much did you win?”

Eric grinned. “We didn’t bet for money.”

Tessa pulled a face. “Eeww, I don’t want to know what you bet.”

“I’ll ride back with Tessa,” Ben said, thankfully changing the subject.

Eric stared at him and then Tessa. “Are you two going to be good?”

“Nah. Good is boring,” Tessa said.

“Please don’t get arrested,” Eric quipped.

She scrunched her face at him. “Buzzkill.”

They climbed into her car before Eric could make any more comments. Tessa started the car and headed back down the driveway. “Were you afraid to ride with them if Eric wanted to collect on the bet?”

He chuckled. “No. I thought we could discuss Lily.”

“Yeah. We should talk to her about her power.”

“You agree with what John said?”

She glanced over at him. “Don’t act so surprised. He’s a grump, but he made some good points. I don’t want Lily to think having visions is bad.”

“Me either.”

They sat in silence for a bit before Ben spoke up again. “I’m sorry about coming to John’s without you. When Megan reached out to him, he was adamant about you not coming.”

She gripped the steering wheel. “I figured it was something like that, especially with the whole telling me what to do BS he was spouting.”

“I can’t imagine you letting anyone tell you what to do.”

She shrugged. “I’ve learned from experience.” Tessa regretted the words as soon as she said them. She glanced over at him again, and his eyes were too soft. Like he knew more from those four words than she had wanted to share.

“What have you learned?” he asked softly.