Page 91 of Dragon Tempted

She swallowed. “Not right now. Megan, can you go through the storybooks again with your idea in mind along with reviewing Mia’s document?”

“Yes. I’ll start again and have Jonas help as well.”

She squeezed John’s arm before sitting up straight. “If I am the one who can bring back the sentries, see if you can find anything that says how.”

Of course she was shoring herself up again and thinking about her clan first because she was an amazing leader, but that didn’t mean he liked her moving away from him.

“I’m going to go through Lily’s drawings to see if she has anything that could help us,” Tessa said. “I know she doesn’t normally understand what some of the drawings mean at the time, but I’ll ask her gently about any that might be helpful.”

Sienna nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you thinking about reaching out to Mia again?” Adam asked.

“She hasn’t been responding, but maybe I need to push things with her. I’ll think about what to say.”

Adam frowned. “Are you going to tell her about your…well… Veronica?”

Sienna shook her head. “I don’t know. If we can’t find anything to tell us how to bring back the sentries, she might know something. We’ll see.”

An alarm beeped and Sienna pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I have a call in a few minutes.”

“I can handle it,” Ryan said. “It should be short.”

Sienna looked like she was going to argue, but Ryan leaned over and squeezed her hand. “Si, I’ve got it.”

She nodded and he handed the sketchbook to Tessa before standing and heading back to the house.

They sat for a moment quietly staring at each other before everyone else stood. Megan and Tessa reached for Sienna first, enveloping her in a three-way hug that brought a smile to her face and made John’s chest warm.

He looked away from her face after a minute to find Adam and Eric giving him twin big-brother glares. He wasn’t intimidated, but he appreciated them both watching out for their sister. John already knew he was a bad bet. While Tessa and Megan picked up the leftover picnic dishes, Adam and then Eric hugged Sienna as well.

“I’m fine. I’ll be inside in a little bit,” Sienna said, and the four of them walked back to the house.

John rested his hands on her shoulders in what he hoped was a friendly gesture. “Now tell me how you really are.”

Sienna’s mouth quirked up at the side. “I think you’re turning into a softy, John Baker.”

He smirked at her. “And I think you’re deflecting.” Hadn’t she said the same thing to him not too long ago?

She sighed. “I’m overwhelmed. I knew I would play a part in stopping this whole curse business, but now I might be the only person who can bring the sentries back?”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

Her eyebrows popped up in challenge.

“Okay. Fine,” John said. “From everything that just happened? I think you’re the one.”

“Great. So how do I do that? What if we don’t find anything to help us?”

“I think you’re forgetting someone who might know the answer.”

She shook her head. “I already told Adam I don’t want to ask Mia unless I have to.”

He hesitated for a moment, not sure how she would take this. “I’m not talking about Mia. I’m talking about your dragon.”

She blinked up at him. He squeezed her shoulders. “Why don’t you think about it? I’ll go sit in the courtyard while you decide if you want to talk to her or not.”

Sienna nodded and he backed away from her, hoping he hadn’t pushed her too hard, too fast. It seemed like everything was aligning. That breaking the curse was in their grasp. Which meant he wouldn’t be here much longer. In the past that thought hadn’t bothered him, but as he looked at the woman standing strong in front of him, for the first time, his once-empty heart wished for a different outcome.