Page 57 of Dragon Tempted

Sienna hesitated for a moment before taking it. “I am.”

“I think we can work together.”

She dried her hands and tried to keep her breathing even. “To do what?”

“Figure out the curse, of course. That’s what this is all about, right?”

“And by figure it out, you mean break it?” Sienna said.

Mia stared at her for a moment. “I think we should wrap this up before your bodyguard comes looking for you. I don’t want to have to deal with him.”

What the hell does that mean? Veronica said, finally finding her voice again.

Sienna wondered the same thing, but she couldn’t get distracted. Not while she had a limited time to ask Mia questions. “Why did you reach out to Adam to tell him about the curse?”

“My motivations are too complicated to explain here.”

Sienna turned to face Mia. “Whatever your motivations, thank you for taking care of Lily.”

Mia’s eyes widened for a moment before she schooled her expression. “Is she still a budding artist?”

Cryptic much? “Yes.”

“I’ll be reaching out to you again. Don’t tell anyone we met.”

Sienna looked at her for a moment before shaking her head and hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. “I’m sorry, but I can’t promise you that. This is too important to keep from my family.”

Mia’s eyes sharpened on her. “An honest person. A rare find.”

“I don’t like to play games.”

“Wonderful. That should make our meetings more productive. The next time we meet, I want proof that you’re sincere.”

Sienna’s heart beat triple time. Did Mia know about the scroll? “What sort of proof?”

“The second storybook. I gave Adam the first one.”

Sienna frowned. “We don’t have it.”

Mia shook her head. “And here I thought we were being truthful.”

“I am. We searched the entire house when Adam went missing. We only found the book you gave Adam.”

“Look harder. I’ll be in touch.” Mia walked out the door.

Thank the Fates she hadn’t asked about the curse. Was that because she already knew what the curse was? And if so, did she also know about the second paragraph? She obviously wanted to work with them, but for what reason? To stop the curse or make sure it was never broken?

Sienna rushed into the restaurant and glanced around the dining room, but Mia was already gone. Heading for the door, she met Ryan coming inside.

“I was checking on you to see what was taking so long,” Ryan said.

Sienna looked past him but didn't see anyone outside. Where had she gone? “Did you see a woman with short red hair come out this way?”

“No. What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath before responding, “I just met Mia.”

Chapter 21