Page 4 of Dragon Tempted

Instead of backing off, she shook her head slightly. “I thought your surly reputation might have been exaggerated. I guess not.”

“Who have you been talking to?” Although he wasn’t sure why he cared.

“Who haven’t I been talking to?” She started ticking names off with fingers. “Tessa, Eric, Adam. Megan is the only one who doesn’t think you’re the dragon who stole Christmas.”

How had he lost control so quickly? “Who are you?”

“Sienna Simonson.”

Great. Another Simonson. He’d had his fill of both Eric and Adam. He didn’t need to deal with their little sister as well. “Your brothers send you here?”

She frowned, which was the first crack in her armor. “No one sent me here. I’m the clan leader now. And I make decisions on my own. I need your help.”

“So you already said.”

She hesitated before answering. “The other clans aren’t taking what’s happening seriously.”

He blew out a hard breath. “Let me guess. The asshats don’t believe you about the curse.”

“They want to accept we’ve found the reason our dragons are disappearing. Have already been given evidence that witches exist, which they conveniently ignore, and Templars seem to be beyond their ability to comprehend.”

He shrugged. “Their loss then.”

“How can you say that?” She stood. “We can’t do this on our own.”

Now that she stood in front of him, he uncrossed his arms. “Except you might have to.”

She shook her head. “The other clans need to be prepared for what’s coming.”

“You’ve warned them. If they won’t listen, that’s on them, not you.”

Something flashed behind her eyes. “We haven’t told them everything.”

He already knew from Megan that they were keeping the curse secret for now. “You could tell them about the scroll and remove the lines about oracles to protect Arabella and Lily.”

“I’ve thought about that.” She took a step closer. “But I also think we might need more to convince them. That’s why I’m here.”

Ah hell. He didn’t like where this was going. “Meaning what?”

She hesitated for a moment and then stood a little straighter, but she was still a full head shorter than him. “What if you talked to them?”

That was nowhere in his game plan. “That’s not going to help.”

“We don’t know that.”

He blew out a breath. “If they won’t listen to you about the witches and Templars who have actually attacked your clan, why would they believe my blood was used to create the curse over four hundred years ago. What is my proof? You can’t exactly saw me in half and count my rings.”

A hint of a smile ghosted her lips before disappearing. “Don’t tempt me.”

There was the spunk he thought might be buried under her clan-leader persona. “Sorry to say, but I’m not the answer to this supposed problem. If the other clans don’t believe, then their ignorance will be their downfall. Survival of the fittest.”

Banked fire lit up her eyes. “Says the man who can’t die.”

Did she think his endless life was a gift? “Show them the curse minus the line about oracles. If they don’t believe, you’ve done what you could for them. Your responsibility is to your own clan. Protect them. I think we’re done here. Your guard dog is glaring holes in me.”

Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, probably to let him have it, but seemed to change her mind. And there was that glint of something going on behind her eyes again. Something that made him nervous. And not much made him nervous anymore.

She shook her head like a disappointed schoolteacher. “I should have known this was a waste of time.”