Page 106 of Dragon Tempted

“It’s a gift. Now go and get something to eat. You have to keep your strength up.”

Sienna reluctantly went downstairs, but instead of going to the kitchen, she headed toward the office. She found Megan and Mia huddled over the desk, reading through a stack of books and notes.

“Have you found anything yet?” she asked.

They leaned back and Mia pinched her nose as if she was trying to ward off a headache. “There isn’t much to go on. John is unique and we don’t really understand how he was able to live for over four-hundred years.”

Sienna’s chest tightened. “So you think he’s going to die.”

“We didn’t say that,” Megan rushed to add.

“Here’s the thing. I do have hope,” Mia said. “In my mind, if breaking the curse was going to kill him, I would think it would have happened the moment the curse ended.”

“Then why is he unconscious?” Sienna asked.

“That’s the true question. He’s been living with guilt and fear for centuries. There’s no way to know how that has impacted him,” Mia answered with a look in her eyes that said she was speaking from experience.

“Do you think maybe his dragon is playing a part in this?” Sienna asked.

“Why would you say that?” Megan leaned forward.

Sienna shrugged. “I don’t know. But until twenty-four hours ago, John was the only living dragon who had experienced what it was like to have a full dragon inside him.”

“And now not only has the curse been stripped from him, but his dragon should have been set free,” Mia said.

A light knock on the door sounded before Marilyn poked her head into the room. “Tessa said I would find you here.” She pushed in a cart and set a plate with a stack of sandwiches and another plate with cookies on the table in the seating area. She pulled several bottles of water off the bottom shelf of the cart and dishes and set them alongside the food. “I’ll let you get back to things. Please try and eat something, Sienna.”

Megan rounded the desk. “Marilyn’s right. We all need to eat.” She practically pushed Sienna onto the couch and handed her a sandwich.

Mia joined them. Sienna choked down a few bites before grabbing a bottle of water. After a couple of minutes, she had to admit that food was the right call. She set down the bottle and finished her sandwich. Mia and Megan made short work of theirs as well.

Mia set down her plate. “Megan showed me the third storybook.”

“I’m sorry about not telling you.”

“Don’t apologize. I understand why you held things back. You didn’t fully trust me, and I don’t blame you.”

Sienna nodded. “Yeah and since I figured out that you were the trickster in the third book, I didn’t know if you were using your tricks for good or evil.”

Mia shrugged. “To be honest I’m not sure which I am either most days.” Her eyes clouded for a moment before she blinked. “It makes sense that you were able to bring out the sentries using your dragon song. I should have thought of that.”

Sienna did some shrugging of her own. “Well, I was living with Veronica in my head and I didn’t put two and two together.”

“How could you know?” Megan said. “Veronica didn’t even know she was a dragon.”

Mia frowned. “How did you convince her?”

“Veronica talked to John’s dragon.”

Mia held up her hand. “Wait. Megan told me that when Veronica tried to talk to your brothers’ dragons to bring out the dragon sentries, they wouldn’t talk to her.”

“Right. The girls had to bridge the gap because their dragons trusted them.”

“But with John’s dragon, Veronica was able to speak directly to him,” Megan said. “But why?”

Mia sat upright. “Because that means they have a special connection. Maybe Veronica could talk to John’s dragon and see if he knows what’s going on? Can you ask Veronica what she thinks?”

Sienna concentrated for a moment, and her heart sped up.