2. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Tessa Stuart was a woman of action, or so she told herself on numerous occasions. Today she was going to have to “take care of business,” as her momma would say. Tessa stood at the side of the studio as the photo shoot slowly but ever so steadily spun out of control. Since Tessa had modeled from fourteen until the ripe old age of twenty-five, the signs of impending carnage were apparent to her.
The photographer was using his exasperated voice, and if she didn’t step in soon, it would escalate to helium-induced heights. The makeup artists circled the models, powdering any skin showing—which was considerable. The fashion assistants sewed and glued the clothes to the models to make sure that considerable didn’t turn into excessive .
Tessa blew out a breath and pasted a smile on her face as she made her way to the photographer. “Charles, what can I do to help?” Now Tessa knew what the problem was, but she wanted Charles to feel like he was weighing in before she addressed said issue.
Charles smile-grimaced at her. And that was a thing—most people called it fake smiling, but Tessa didn’t see the point in sugarcoating it.
“Kayla isn’t listening,” he hissed. “There’s a difference between looking sexy and looking like you ate something foul.”
Tessa coughed to stop the laugh that threatened to erupt. She patted his arm. “Let me talk to her.”
He nodded and turned to his assistant to converse about what filters to use for the next pictures. Tessa walked over to the set that was decorated like a seventies flashback. The raven-haired model Tessa needed to speak with sat on the couch, having her lips redone by the makeup artist.
Upon Tessa’s approach, the model sighed dramatically. “How much longer is this going to take?”
“Well, Kayla, that depends on you,” Tessa said in as even a tone as she could muster. Her inside-head voice was using a different decibel.
The model sat up from her slouch. “If I get to decide, then I would have called this an hour ago.”
Tessa turned to the makeup artist and smiled. “Can you give us a moment, Anna?”
Anna grabbed her brushes and headed at an impressive speed across the room—smart woman. Tessa had always liked working with Anna.
“Kayla, you don’t get to decide when this is over. But you do get to decide how you want the rest of this to play out.”
“Charles is being impossible,” Kayla announced before sticking out her bottom lip.
Seriously?
Tessa told her inside voice to pipe down as she counted to ten. “Charles is the best in the business. Yes, he is a perfectionist, but he isn’t the only one who isn’t seeing the sparks I know you can deliver.”
Kayla’s pouty lips turned into a frown. “Where is Katrina?”
Tessa sighed. Of course she was pulling the go-over-your-head card. “You can talk to Katrina if you want. But we’re already running behind, which means this shoot is going to cost more money. Katrina doesn’t like to lose money. This is about selling clothes and a brand. I’ve seen what you can do, and so has Katrina or you wouldn’t have been chosen for this campaign. So let’s deliver our best and wrap this up, okay?”
Kayla’s eyes narrowed. Were they in for a meltdown at this point? Nope, Tessa wasn’t dealing with this anymore. She took a step toward the model and leaned into her space so that she could have an up-close-and-personal with her.
Tessa lowered her voice. “Kayla. Here’s the deal. You could have a successful career in this industry. But you aren’t at the diva level yet. You haven’t earned it. So let’s get through this shoot and sell this brand. At some point in the future, you can throw a tantrum if you think that is the best way to do business. But you don’t have the clout now to pull it off.”
Kayla gaped at her.
“You ready to get this done so we can all head for home?”
Kayla nodded and Tessa nodded in return before stepping out of the shot and motioning to Charles. Within thirty minutes, they had wrapped things up and Tessa was driving down the highway, leaving behind fashion-induced delusions of grandeur.
Tessa used to think the fashion industry was the most outrageous part of her life. And that was the case until her best friend, Megan, fell in love with a sexy, rich male who also happened to be a dragon. Yep, a dragon . Tessa stopped herself from laughing at the notion. Buttoned-up Megan had a one-night stand that led to her winged soul mate and amazing daughter.
After Tessa wrapped her head around the fact that dragons actually existed (and it took some time), she was happy for her friend…mostly. Not that she had a thing against dragons—more against rich men.
She’d had her fill of men whose large wallets didn’t make up for their small personalities and, well, other small things.
Unfortunately her looks had attracted men over the years, and they had made assumptions about her. That being pretty meant lacking intelligence—who came up with that bullpucky?—and that their money somehow meant they could own her. Which meant they were the ones lacking intelligence.
Tessa pulled through the gate and down the winding driveway to the gigantic house that Megan now called home. It was Megan’s husband Eric’s family home. Their family had led the dragon clan for centuries. ’Cause Megan couldn’t just fall in love with an everyday dragon. She had to fall in love with a member of what Tessa dubbed the royal-dragon family.
A family that had suffered a tragedy when Eric’s older brother, Adam, had been killed, leaving the clan leaderless. Eric’s younger sister, Sienna, had stepped up and taken over ruling the clan, and Eric now helped with the family aeronautics business.
Tessa parked her car in front of the stairs leading up to a whopping front porch. Marcus, the clan’s security chief, met her at the door with a smirk on his face.
“Hello, old man.”
His smirk morphed into a grin. “Nice to see you, Tessa. Are you here to cause trouble?”
“Of course.”
He nodded. “I’ll alert the guards on duty.”
She mock-glared at him. “Let them try to stop me.”
Marcus chuckled. “Megan’s on the deck. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”
Tessa headed to the back of the large house—mansion, really—and through the restaurant-grade kitchen before opening the door to the deck. Her best friend was sitting on a lounge chair overlooking the amazing valley that backed up to the house.
“Happy birthday, Megs! How’s it hanging?”
Megan grinned at her. “After having Arabella, more than I care to admit.”
Tessa burst out laughing. “You don’t pull out the one-liners often, but when you do, they’re worth it.”
Megan chuckled. “I’ll leave the witty repartee to you. How was the photo shoot?”
Tessa sighed before sinking onto the chair next to her friend and setting down the bag she carried. “Exhausting. I hate dealing with egos.”
“I’m sure you took care of things with your usual skill.”
“I’ve been compared to a bulldozer before.”
Megan shrugged. “Well, a bulldozer clears away a lot of crap, doesn’t it?”
Tessa leaned back in the lounger. “True. Where is my amazing niece?”
“She’s taking a nap. She’s teething, so she’s been a bit cranky.”
“Not Bella. She’s perfect.”
Megan shook her head. “Between you and the rest of the people in this house, you’re spoiling her.”
“Nah. She needs a village to raise her, Megs. Especially since she might be the first human-dragon in existence.”
Worry lines sprouted in the middle of Megan’s forehead. “I know.”
Crap. Tessa shouldn’t have brought this up. She rested her hand on Megan’s arm. “Don’t start heading down the worry path, my friend. We’re all here to love and protect her. Tell me about how your research is going.”
With Megan’s master’s degree in art history, she had become the de facto historian for the dragon clan, researching the past documents to find out more about dragons and the curse that they’d determined was slowly taking away their dragon powers. Because Tessa hadn’t just landed in a world of dragons—nope, she’d landed in a world where curses were handed down by angry-ass real-life witches.
Tessa had spent much of last year in full-on protector mode. A pregnant and scared Megan had been thrown into a supernatural soap opera including a secret dragon baby and attempts on her life. No way was Tessa letting her face that alone. Megan was her sister by choice, and she had promised Megan’s grandmother before she died that she would watch out for her. She just hadn’t realized it meant taking on winged and witchy baddies. And she would do it again in a heartbeat. Along the way she had become close to the clan that had brought Megan into their fold. They hadn’t realized at the time that Tessa was part of the deal.
“I’m learning about the five clans in North America, especially our clan and the clan that split from us,” Megan said.
“They aren’t talking about uniting the two clans again, are they?”
Megan huffed. “No. Not with Wallace in charge.”
Tessa didn’t want to bring up bad memories for Megan, so she quickly asked another question. “Have you found anything more on the oracles?”
Megan nodded. “Yes. As you know, the oracles were female dragons born in the clans who were known as seers. We’ve checked with the other four clans, and there are no oracles living that they’re aware of.”
“Have you told them about the oracle mark on Bella?” Bella had been born with a red birthmark on her hip in the shape of a flame.
Megan shook her head, and the lines were back on her forehead. “No. Eric and I want to protect her. She’s too little for the mark to mean anything right now. Maybe when she’s older and can speak to us, we’ll see if this mark makes her a true seer.”
Arabella was under Tessa’s protection, if Tessa had anything to say about it. “What about the legend of the dragon sentries?”
Megan’s eyes lit up. “That’s been interesting. There are so many legends wrapped around the sentries. They were truly the peacekeepers centuries ago and when they were lost, the witches and dragons battled, which ended in the witches cursing them.”
“Except it backfired on those bitchy witches since the curse impacted all magic.”
“Right. But I told Eric we’ll figure it out.”
Tessa patted Megan’s hand. “Of course you will. Now that we know about the curse, hopefully breaking it won’t be far behind. Has John been able to find anything?”
Megan shook her head. “Not yet. Ever since the scroll we found in the frame of the Death of Magic painting showed us the curse, he’s been researching a way to break it. He's become obsessed about it, to tell you the truth."
“Can you blame him? His grandmother created the curse with his blood, and because of that the guy has been alive for over four hundred years! I’d be more than a little obsessed if I were in his really old shoes.”
Megan chuckled. “Stop it.”
Tessa winked at her. “What? I should pick his brain about fashion over the centuries. Maybe it would give me a leg up in the business.”
“You know that John’s a bit of a recluse. He doesn’t like visitors. So I don’t think he’ll want to talk with you about fashion.”
Before Megan continued, the back door opened and Marcus came outside carrying Arabella. Megan narrowed her eyes.
“She was crying in her crib,” he blurted with a chagrined look on his face.
Megan sighed. “Marcus. It’s fine if she fusses. She can be on her own for a bit.”
Tessa chuckled—she couldn’t help herself—and now she was the recipient of glares from Megan and Marcus.
She held up her hands. “Don’t throw me into the middle of this. For once I’m an innocent bystander.”
“Miracles never cease,” Marcus muttered.
“I heard that!” Tessa said, laughing harder. “Hand Bella over to her favorite auntie.”
“Don’t let Sienna hear you say that,” Marcus and Megan proclaimed at the same time. True. Tessa didn’t need to upset Eric’s younger sister and new clan leader. Sienna was turning into a force in her own right.
Bella smiled as Marcus set her in Tessa’s lap before heading back into the house. “There’s my sweet girl. Did you wish Momma a happy birthday?”
“Bah!”
“Did you hear that? She said ‘birthday.’”
Megan shook her head. Tessa nodded to the bag she had set next to the chaise. “There’s a surprise in there for you.”
Megan opened the bag and pulled out a brightly wrapped box, which Bella homed in on and leaned forward, reaching for it. “That’s for your momma.”
Megan opened the box and gasped as she pulled out the sundress. “It’s beautiful.” She held it up in front of herself. “You didn’t abscond with this from work, did you?”
Tessa shook her head. “No.” She looked down at Bella. “Auntie Tessa wouldn’t do that. No she wouldn’t. There is something else in the box.”
Megan held up the lacy bra and panties Tessa had also gifted her. “For you and Eric.” She covered Bella’s ears. “I sense some dirty dancing in your future. Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
Megan smirked before setting the box and dress out of Bella’s reach. “Thank you.”
Bella rested her head against Tessa’s chest. “Can you believe how much has changed? Do you miss working at the museum?” She remembered how driven Megan had been after pursuing her master’s degree.
“Sometimes. But meeting John and agreeing to exhibit the Death of Magic painting at the museum led me to Eric and my sweet baby girl, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Right now, being the clan’s historian is important. I can always work for a museum later down the line.”
“Maybe when the director retires, you can take her job.”
Megan shook her head. “You have me jumping right into the director’s seat.”
Tessa nodded. “Of course you could be director! No doubt in my mind.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, until Bella sat up and looked over the valley.
“What is it?” Tessa asked.
Megan smiled. “Eric must be coming.”
Tessa looked out as well. “I don’t see anything.”
“I don’t either. But he’s coming. Bella’s never wrong.”
A minute later Tessa could just make out a mark in the sky. The mark grew, and as it approached, she could see Eric flying toward them. Tessa wasn’t sure she would ever get used to seeing a man with wings. And he wasn’t even in full dragon form. The clan had been losing their powers for generations. None of them could turn into their dragons anymore due to the curse. Which was why Megan and the clan wanted to figure out how to break the curse before they lost everything that made them dragon.
“Holy cra-croutons.”
Megan’s eyes danced. “Croutons?”
Tessa smiled. “I plan to teach Bella a whole host of things, but cursing like a sailor is not one of them.”
Bella giggled as Eric drew closer and landed on the cliff, furling his scarlet wings. He jogged up onto the deck when he saw he had an audience. Bella raised her hands, and Eric scooped her up and blew a raspberry on her belly, making her squeal.
He leaned over and gave Megan a kiss as well before nodding to Tessa.
“You behaving, dragon boy?”
Eric smiled. “Sometimes.”
Tessa shook her head. “At least you’re honest.” But Tessa knew he was a good man…dragon. He showed it in how he treated his daughter. In the looks he shared with Megan. They were raw and honest, and they made Tessa ridiculously happy for her friend—but if she were honest with herself, a little jealous. Not that she needed a man to fulfill her, but to have someone to share a life with? That wouldn’t be so bad.
An hour later Tessa stood at the window watching Megan climb into the car before Eric shut the door and jogged around to the driver’s seat. Her best friend didn’t know it, but Eric was taking her to see her birthday gift. He had bought the summer cabin that used to be Megan’s grandmother’s before she died. Megan was going to bawl like a baby. Hell, Tessa cried when Eric told her what he was doing. He wanted to give Megan a place filled with happy memories and a place for new memories to happen for their family.
A babble had Tessa looking over her shoulder at Bella sitting in her playpen in the office. “You are one lucky baby, Arabella. You have a mommy and daddy and clan who loves you so much.”
Bella giggled.
She picked up the baby and cuddled her close. “And of course, your Auntie Tessa loves you too.” And would do anything to protect her. The oracle mark on her hip could mean many things. Hopefully it meant the beginning of the end when it came to the curse as long as it didn’t put Bella in danger.
Tessa bounced her as they walked around the room. She was happy to see that Eric’s sister, Sienna, had put her mark on the space, getting rid of that ostentatious chair of her father’s. They had also taken down the family portrait of Eric, Sienna, their brother Adam, and their father, replacing it with the painting of Death of Magic. It was a striking piece representing a real event of dragons attacking a small witch village. It had been painted by John’s witch grandmother, and the event had been the impetus for her casting the curse.
John had given the painting to the clan after Megan helped him discover the scroll hidden in the painting’s frame. Hanging the painting might have seemed maudlin to some people, but Tessa understood. Megan had explained that they saw this picture not as a threat but a possible clue to finally ending the curse.
Tessa walked over to the desk and sat with Bella on her lap. When Sienna wasn’t working in the office, Megan would often come here in the evening and do research. Several history books were piled there, and from the looks of things, Megan had been taking notes.
Bella laid her curly head against Tessa’s chest as Tessa looked through Megan’s notes. “You won’t tell your momma that Auntie Tessa was snooping, will you?”
“Bah!”
“I knew I could count on you, my sweet.”
If Tessa could find out how to break this curse, they would all be the better for it. And speak of the devil…the scroll that held the curse was also on the desk. Megan had straightened it and put it in a protective plastic sleeve. Tessa stared at it for a moment. Not that she could read the print on the page. The first paragraph only became legible when Eric touched it. The pendant necklace he wore somehow allowed the curse to be translated.
She reached for the scroll and pulled it closer, resting her fingers on the unintelligible scribble. Bella leaned forward and slapped her hand on the plastic covering the scroll as well.
“Be careful, sweet.”
Before she could move the scroll, the print turned to words. The curse was revealed, and Tessa held back her gasp.
A call to nature
Free us from the flying demons
Fire, air, water, earth
Take their wings
Take their fire
Take their powers
Free the sky
She had seen that before, but this time the second paragraph also changed as chills rippled down Tessa’s spine.
An oracle born
Templars united
Blood will be shed
Forgiveness and Sacrifice
Magic restored
She looked down at Bella, who had her hand still resting on the paper. “Well aren’t you a special little one. Yes you are!”
Tessa memorized the words in the second paragraph before she picked up her hand from the sleeve and lifted Bella’s as well. How much power did this little girl have to change the words without directly touching the paper?
Megan was going to get yet another surprise for her birthday. She was already a nervous mother—rightfully so, trying to protect her child from anyone bent on keeping the curse alive. This was going to be something new to add to her worry pile.
But Tessa saw this as an opportunity. She could do a bit of digging on her own. There had to be more information out there about this curse and how to finally bring it to its knees, especially now that they were armed with the second paragraph from the scroll.
Tessa would tell Eric and Megan first thing tomorrow about the scroll when they returned to the house. Eric was planning on staying overnight in the cabin, and Tessa didn’t want to interrupt their first time away from home and baby Bella. Megan needed one worry-free night.
Tessa kissed the top of Bella’s head. The protective streak she had for Megan was ten times more powerful for little Bella. If she could find out more information that would lead them to a way to break the curse, it was her duty as best friend and auntie.
And she took both roles very, very seriously.
Bella had finally settled down for a nap, and Tessa was now snooping through the desk to find Megan’s address book. Tessa couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that Megan liked to keep things old-school instead of storing it in her phone, but in this instance it paid off.
She found the book quickly and paged through it for John Baker’s information. Tessa wanted to bring John in the loop on the second paragraph of the curse.
Megan had explained how much of a recluse John was, so Tessa didn’t think he would answer if she called him on her phone. Instead she used the office phone, and hoped John would recognize the number. Sneaky, yes, but Tessa wasn’t above it if it worked.
She held her breath as the phone rang.
“Hello, Megan.”
“Ah, this isn’t Megan.”
“Who is this?” he barked.
“Megan told me you’re a recluse, but she failed to mention you’re also a grouch. A bit of a cliché if you ask me.”
“Am I supposed to know you?”
“Not really. We’ve only spoken once over the phone. I’m Tessa.”
“Megan’s friend? Did something happen? Are Megan and Arabella okay?”
Tessa’s opinion of him rose a few notches at the worry in his voice. “They’re both okay. Megan and Eric are out tonight, but something happened and I wanted to talk to you.”
“Why me?”
“Because it has to do with the curse, and from what Megan tells me, there isn’t anyone more invested in it than you.”
He paused for a moment. “What else did she tell you?”
“That you owned the Death of Magic painting before giving it to the clan, and you want to break the curse that your grandmother cast. And you’re a dragon-witch—or do you prefer witch-dragon?”
“ Wonderful. That is something I hope you can keep quiet.”
“And here I was going to post it all over social.” Stop poking the lion or…dragon! She tilted her head at his silence. “Do I need to explain what social media is? I know you’re an octogenarian times five.” Her little voice was not silencing her big voice—wasn’t that always the case with her?
He actually growled before answering. “ No .”
“Good. And no worries. I can keep a secret. Heck, my best friend is married to a dragon. After you’ve seen someone sprout wings, you aren’t exactly going to let people know, right? Blurt that out and you end up checked into the hospital for a psych eval.” And now she was babbling…
He sighed. “You mentioned something about the curse?”
“There’s been a development. The second paragraph changed on the scroll.”
His growl was back. “What does it say?”
She closed her eyes and recited it.
An oracle born
Templars united
Blood will be shed
Forgiveness and Sacrifice
Magic restored
“Again.”
She didn’t question his gruff command, instead repeating the verse slowly.
“What do you think?”
Silence.
“John?”
“It sounds like it could be the steps…” His voice died out.
Her hand tightened on the receiver before she finished his sentence. “To break the curse.”
“How did you translate the words?”
Up to this point, Tessa had been free with her answers and opinions, but his question threw her for a loop. “The how isn’t important.”
“The hell it isn’t. Why would these words suddenly appear? What aren’t you telling me?”
Now it was her time for silence.
But he barreled on. “You said Eric and Megan aren’t home, so they must not have discovered the verse. So how did it suddenly appear? Wait…Arabella?”
Crap on a cracker.
“Did she touch the scroll? It would make sense that it would appear to her since the first line refers to an oracle being born.”
“What does that mean?” Tessa apparently could growl as well.
“Calm down, protective one. Megan and Eric told me about Arabella. Megan was worried. Unfortunately I didn’t know much to lower her anxiety. Centuries ago an oracle female was born to each dragon clan. As far as I know, Arabella is the first to be born in generations.”
“It has to mean something, right?” Tessa asked.
“I hope it means the beginning of the end to this curse.”
Tessa’s heart started to tap-dance. “Well, I’m not one to sit around and wait.”
“I figured as much since you called me before you told Megan and Eric.”
“I wanted to give them a night to themselves. I’ll tell them about it tomorrow when they return home. What do you think the rest of the paragraph means? What are Templars?”
“Centuries ago, Knights Templars were a military order—religious guardians who worked for God.”
Tessa frowned. “How does that play into witch and dragon lore?”
“I don’t know exactly, but at least I have something to go on now.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “Maybe Megan will know more about it. I wish she was able to reach out to her old professor.”
The elusive Mia White. An expert in dragon art and lore. Megan had been one of her teaching assistants until a few years ago when she had dropped off the grid.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
He was actually agreeing with her? “So what do we do next?”
“Not sure what you mean.”
“What is there not to understand? Now that we have the second paragraph translated, we can try to break the curse.”
“There is no we .”
Condescending much? “Of course there’s a we . You and me equals we.”
“Nope. I’ll take it from here.”
She clenched the receiver. “You don’t even leave your cabin, do you? How are you going to take it from here?”
“I have someone who can investigate this.”
By this did he mean Mia White’s whereabouts? “A dragon private investigator?”
He released a loud sigh. “No. A human.”
“And you told him about dragons?” she blurted.
Another sigh. “Of course not. He doesn’t need to know about that or the curse to find Mia White for me.”
“But I can hel—”
“Nope,” he barked, interrupting her. “I’ve got to go.”
And then the son of a grouchy recluse hung up on her.