Page 18 of Dragon Tempted

Marcus stopped near the foot of the bed. “Yes, from overhead. The cabin was destroyed, as was Sienna’s car. We saw four men walking the woods for several hours before settling down and watching the area. They finally left a couple of hours ago. Since then, the forest has been empty.”

“Why would they destroy your cabin and my car?” Sienna asked.

“They didn’t. It was the charges I set to blow the house before intruders could get inside.”

She jumped to her feet. “You blew up my car!”

He shook his head. “Technically I blew up the cabin and your car got in the way.”

Yep. Fire was definitely coming from her eyes now.

“Okay. Let’s calm down and talk about this.” Adam held up his hands before turning to John. “Why did you blow up your cabin?”

John closed his eyes for a second. “Because whoever came there was after me, and if they couldn’t get me, then they would settle for information about the curse.” He glanced at the backpack in the corner.

Sienna frowned. “We escaped. What was left behind that was important enough to blow up your cabin?”

Did he really want to tell them the truth? But he owed them after everything he’d put them through. “Because I can’t risk leaving any of me behind.”

Dr. Murphy nodded. “Your DNA.”

“Exactly. My blood has kept a curse going for over four centuries. What if witches got their hands on some more of it?”

Dr. Murphy bent down and pulled out the IV, then taped a piece of gauze over his arm. He held up the needle and tube. “We’ll burn all the medical waste. And once you’re up, we’ll burn the bedding and scrub down the room.”

Eric shook his head. “I don’t understand why witches would want to strengthen the curse. It’s taking away their magic as well.”

“Maybe ‘strengthen’ was the wrong word to use,” John said. “They could also want to change the curse so that it only affects dragons.”

Adam grimaced. “And we’re not just dealing with witches now. We’re dealing with Templars who, if our theory is correct, are trying to destroy us. They will do anything to that end, even lie to witches, promising them that their magic will be restored if they help.”

“My vote is that this was a Templar attack.” Marcus crossed his arms. “Don’t know why witches would use arrows.”

“Unless they don’t have any magical powers any longer,” Eric said.

Sienna turned to her brother. “But we know some do. They attacked you and Adam in the past.”

She was making his argument for him. “Which is why I need to leave. It’s been a while since I’ve been attacked. They’re getting nervous, which makes them dangerous.”

Adam frowned. “Except you aren’t the only one under attack now. Our clan isn’t safe either.”

“Which is why we need to stick together,” Sienna announced. “We obviously are close to figuring out how to reverse this curse, or they wouldn’t be attacking us.”

“That doesn’t mean I should stay in the clan house. It would be safer without me here. You can’t argue that.”

Sienna crossed her arms. “Except you aren’t strong enough to leave right now. Ian?”

Dr. Murphy nodded. “I would say you need at least another day to recuperate. If you leave and collapse somewhere, they could find you.”

“Fine,” John ground out. “But I’m gone tomorrow.”

Sienna opened her mouth and then closed it without responding. But she didn’t need to say a word. Her expression told him what she was thinking. We’ll just see about that.

And his heart thumped like his head had been doing earlier. He was in trouble with this female.

Chapter 7

Sienna stood out on the back deck overlooking the valley. Normally the sight calmed her. Today? Not so much. Yes, she had run for her life from poisoned arrows and a bomb. But that wasn’t what had her on edge. It was the male sleeping upstairs.