42. Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Adam headed back into the house, trying to sort through what just happened. True, he had told himself that he needed to table his thoughts and feelings when it came to Tessa. So then why did it feel like she had pulled the rug out from under him? She backed away from him awfully quick. Was she angry with him about being abducted? He wouldn’t blame her. She had put her own life in danger to help the clan that it was his responsibility to protect.
When they walked into the dining room, everyone stopped what they were doing.
Megan, Bella, and Eric were on one side of the table with Marcus and Sienna on the other.
“Good morning,” Adam said.
Sienna got up and hugged him. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. I feel like my brain is finally slowing down, and I can start thinking about next steps.”
“Next steps?” Eric said.
“We have a lot to talk about, especially regarding the curse and everything that led up to my disappearance.”
Marcus pushed aside his empty plate. “You remember what happened?”
“Yes. But before we dive into things, I really need a cup of coffee and something to eat. I feel like I haven’t eaten in days. Can you all handle a couple more minutes of waiting?”
They nodded. Adam poured a cup and loaded a plate with eggs, bacon, and potatoes and proceeded to inhale it. He was hungry, but he also didn’t want them to have to wait much longer. Sienna topped off his coffee, and then they all leaned a little closer.
“I know why I started believing in the curse. And I can’t say that it was something I came to on my own.”
“How did it happen?” Eric asked.
“Mia. Although I didn’t know it was her. But after Tessa’s description of her from the other night, it matches the woman I met. She was cryptic at first. Called me and said she needed to meet with me. I thought she was a crank call. Hung up on her and she called me back.”
“What did she say?” Tessa said.
“That she knew dragons were real and that I was one of them and that we were under attack.”
“Holy shi…take mushrooms,” Tessa finished as she looked over at Bella eating some mashed banana.
“Exactly my thoughts at the time,” Adam said.
“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” Marcus said.
“Because I wasn’t going to put anyone else at risk until I knew more of what was going on. And the voice on the phone told me not to tell anyone. I wasn’t sure if she was going to blackmail us or what her plans were.”
Marcus scowled. “Except my job is to protect you and this clan.”
“I know and I should have come to you. I would have eventually.”
“But you have to do everything on your own,” Sienna said.
And that was his normal reaction. Or at least it used to be. “She asked me to meet with her, and I told her no. But then she said that the curse was real and she had proof. It was like a punch to the stomach. That she knew about it and that I had been so convinced it was a myth.” He looked over at Eric. “That I had not been willing to listen to you when you brought it up to me.”
Eric shook his head. “My timing sucked. Father had just died, and you were trying to keep the clan and business together.”
“I still should have listened to you.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I agreed to meet her.”
“When was this?” Marcus asked.
“A few months before I was attacked. She gave me the storybook and said it was written by an oracle. I didn’t even know what an oracle was at that point. When I started to read it, I remembered the story Mom used to tell us.”
“Where did she get the book?” Megan asked.
“She told me that someone had given it to her, which I didn’t really buy. When I asked her how she knew all this, she said it was from some research she was doing. And I didn’t sense dragon in her.
“So I read the book and it was like the story Mom told us, which surprised me because I had always thought she’d made it up. But then I figured Mom must have heard it from someone else. And other than the symbol on the shield, which matched my necklace, I didn’t think it proved anything.
“Mia met with me a second time, and I told her as much. Then she told me about the witches cursing the dragons and that there was a painting that showed how it all began. Said it could be the key to reversing the curse. And at the same time Ian was telling me about dragons who were losing their abilities to fly and babies being born without their back markings. I couldn’t stand by and let the clan down. I pushed aside my skepticism and asked her what I should do.”
“And she told you to get the painting,” Megan said.
“Yes. She told me that Connor was appraising it. So I reached out to John with the address and number that Mia had given me and tried to get him to sell me the painting. I used the alias so that he couldn’t trace it back to our clan. I had no idea who John Baker was and if he knew what the painting represented.”
He took a sip of coffee. “Of course we already know that John shot down my attempts to buy the painting. And then a month later Mia contacted me and said that I needed to go to the museum and see the painting as soon as possible. That’s when I started researching the museum and saw that the painting was going to be part of a special exhibit and found Megan’s name as being associated with it. I also reached out to the museum director and talked about a large donation if I could see the exhibit, and she invited me to the gala that was going to kick off the exhibit. And I took the cash from my personal account and planned on visiting John to convince him to sell me the painting.”
“Did you meet with Mia again?” Tessa said.
“No.”
“And you didn’t have a way to contact her?” Eric asked.
Adam frowned. “I did and I tried to reach out to her. When I hadn’t heard from her, I moved forward with my plans to try to build a truce with the Wallace clan, thinking they would want to break the curse as well. I almost lost my life because of that mistake.”
“And you didn’t hear from Mia again?” Marcus asked.
“I did. When she finally called me, Mia was tense. Said things had gotten dangerous and that we needed to meet. That she needed to bring someone to me. Someone who needed the clan’s protection.”
Color drained from Tessa’s face. “Lily.”
“She didn’t tell me who it was, but the timing is too much of a coincidence. It had to be her. But I was attacked before we could meet. So now we know what happened. That for some reason Mia was trying to help us. To help Lily.”
“That would explain why she was so angry when she saw you were alive on the video. She must have thought you stopped working with her, lied to her when she was risking her own life to help you and the clan,” Tessa said.
“So Mia is one of the good guys,” Megan said.
“Except we don’t know if Mia is still a good guy,” Marcus said. “She has been on her own for over a year. Thinking that Adam was dead and not knowing who to trust. And let’s not forget, we don’t know why she joined the Templars to begin with. She had to believe in what they were doing at some point.”
Tessa tapped her fingers on the table. “Marcus has a point. Over a year ago she hid Lily away. We have to assume that was from the Templars or the witches so that they couldn’t take advantage of her or worse. But we don’t know what she’s willing to do now.”
Adam nodded. “Which is why I’m going to try to reach out to her. See if we get a response. We used to meet in a chat group online. I’ll see if I can get her to respond to me. In the meantime, I think we bring the other clans up to speed on the Templars and witches so that they aren’t caught off guard if an attack from either is imminent.”
They finished breakfast and Adam remained in the empty dining room and stared at the bottom of his coffee cup. He finally felt like he wasn’t standing at the precipice of a dark hole. That he could move forward with his clan and family. But something still weighed on him.
Hadn’t he planned to tell Tessa that the clan had to take priority? That he couldn’t think right now about what he had started to feel for her?
So why was he upset that she gave him an out?
He remembered what it was like running the clan and the business. Never a moment for himself. Always putting others in front of his needs and wants. Hell, he wasn’t a saint; he was a realist. He saw how dysfunctional the clan had been during his father’s leadership or lack thereof. He’d banned his own brother for the well-being of the clan.
He didn’t have time for a relationship. Not with the curse. Not with the witches and Templars breathing down their necks. And not with the uncertainty of what was to come.
Although his heart (and dragon) didn’t want a list of reasons why Tessa couldn’t be a part of his life.
But he had to be Adam again. To step into his role of protector even if that meant giving up his own happiness to keep everyone he loved safe.