Page 115 of Dragon Charmed

“I’m sorry to barge in here but I hadn’t heard from Tessa and the tracker app said she had been here for several days. You understand I was worried about her.”

“Of course,” Megan said since Tessa wasn’t wanting to exchange pleasantries right now. “Did you fly in from Miami?”

“Yes.”

“You must be hungry,” Megan said. “Sienna, can you take Bella, Lily, and Lina to the kitchen and see what snacks Marilyn might have for them. We’ll be along in a few minutes.”

“Of course.” She reached for Bella and started herding Lina and Lily from the room.

Lina smiled like what she’d said hadn’t just changed everything for Tessa. “Talk to your friends, dear, and then we’ll catch up. You can decide how much you want to tell me about what’s going on around here.” She looked down at Lily. “I have some chocolate chip cookies in my purse to contribute to our snack time.”

Sienna got them moving again. “Did you bake them?”

“Goodness no. I’m a shopper not a baker.”

And their voices faded away. Megan latched on to Tessa’s arm and sat her down on the couch. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know what I am right now.”

Megan nodded. “It’s a lot to take in.”

Tessa squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “I guess the way Nadia treated me makes sense now. She acted like I should know what was going on, and she said she sensed me. She sensed I was a witch?”

Eric nodded. “That might have been the reason she decided to grab you. Trying to figure out what you were up to since you weren’t working with them and you were asking questions about Mia.”

“Can you sense anything with me?” Tessa asked.

Eric shook his head. “No. But I’ve only ever sensed other dragons.”

She turned to Adam, who had been quiet throughout this whole fiasco. “What are you thinking?”

“You didn’t have any idea you were a witch?” he asked.

Tessa tensed at his question. “Of course not. Do you think I’m some undercover witch trying to gain access to your clan? If you remember, you and Eric pulled Megan into this curse cluster, and I came along to protect her from you.”

Adam held up his hands. “I’m just trying to understand. You didn’t feel anything?”

Tessa’s last nerve snapped. “No. Until Lily drew the picture of you with claws, you didn’t know you were a dragon, right?”

Adam sat across from her. “I’m sorry. It just seemed too coincidental to find this out now. I know you’re not trying to hurt us.”

Tessa blew out a breath and then another. “I know what you mean. Is this the curse moving us around like puzzle pieces on a game board? Insert witch here? I don’t like feeling out of control.”

“Trust me. I know. That’s how I’ve felt for the past fifteen months.”

“But you’ve gotten it all back now. You can be the head of this clan and run a multimillion-dollar business again if you want. And whatever you decide, you will fight to protect everything you’ve built here.” Tessa’s heart ached but she needed to say it. “Which is why I need to back away from you all.”

“Tessa, no!” Megan said.

“Can I talk to Tessa alone?” Adam said.

Megan opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but Eric reached for his wife. “We’ll give you a few minutes.”

They shut the door on their way out. Fine. He wanted to be alone? That would give her a chance to push her point home.

Adam turned back to Tessa. “I know you’re in shock right now. We all are, which is why I put my foot in my mouth a couple minutes ago. But you don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Adam. I’m a descendant of the people who wanted to snuff your kind out of existence. Who took your memories. The very people you just declared war against yesterday. Do you really think your clan is going to want me to be associated with you? With any of you?”