2. Chapter 2
John Baker stood in the forest behind his cabin and closed his eyes. He felt a change in the air. A buzzing that sounded like one of those large rambling bumblebees teased his dragon senses, and he expanded them. Was something finally going to change? Or would it— he—continue as before?
He was mired in this damn centuries-old curse like quicksand. No…not quicksand, since that would mean being sucked down and finally put out of his misery from the never-ending loop he lived in.
How many times had he reinvented himself? Was he on his thirty-eighth last name now? And he’d lived in so many different places, but the steps were always the same. You can only stay in a place for so long before people question why you aren’t getting any older.
And he was alone. Everyone he cared about had died long ago. He couldn’t allow himself to care for anyone any longer. It was the only way to protect what was left of his tattered, barely beating heart.
But maybe, just maybe there was finally a chance to break this damn curse. Now that the Simonson brothers and their mates were involved, something was bound to change.
Hell, they’d found the scroll in the Death of Magic’s frame and had translated it to reveal the words used by his witch grandmother centuries ago when she tried to snuff dragons out of existence. Which was exceptionally bloodthirsty given the fact that he was half dragon.
Why were prejudices so all-consuming? He’d lived long enough to know that they didn’t make you stronger. If hate and ignorance filled your heart, it ate away at it and made you a shell of what you could be. Much like the curse that had not only damaged dragon magic, but all magic.
John looked up through the tall pine trees surrounding him.
They seemed to form a tunnel highlighting the sky above.
A sky he ached to fly across. But there was no use wishing for something that wasn’t meant to be.
It had been almost a century since he’d been able to fly.
Just thinking about it forced the breath from his chest.
A noise pulled him from his thoughts and had him turning.
A car traveled down the gravel path toward his cabin.
His nerves stood at attention. He didn’t get visitors often.
Except for when Eric and Megan came to talk to him about the curse, or Tessa came to ask him endless questions after discovering she was a witch.
Normally they let him know of their visits ahead of time.
John walked through the back door of the cabin to watch the approach through the window. He didn’t need to stand out in the open when he wasn’t sure who was there. He hadn’t been attacked in years, but he also hadn’t been this close to figuring out the curse either. He couldn’t be too careful.
The SUV that came to a stop had him breathing a sigh of relief.
The Simonson clan drove black SUVs with tinted windows like they were some sort of law enforcement.
He expanded his senses but didn’t recognize the driver or the female in the passenger seat.
He did however sense that they were dragons.
Dragons, from the look of things, who were having some sort of disagreement.
Before he could expand his hearing to eavesdrop, the passenger door opened and the female emerged while the male stayed in the car and tracked her like a predator.
Even though he’d watched magic fade away over the years, the woman who walked toward his front door reminded him of a fairy tale.
Beautiful wasn’t a sufficient word to describe her.
Striking? Blond, wavy hair with designer sunglasses and curves that couldn’t be hidden under the dress pants and suit jacket she wore.
She came to a stop and pulled off her sunglasses when he stepped onto the front porch. Jesus. Her eyes were large, golden brown, and filled with determination. He was in trouble.
“John?”
“Whatever you want, the answer is no.” Okay, so her looks didn’t stop his bad manners from surfacing. But she needed to be on her way.
Her eyebrow rose slightly at his tone before she schooled her features.
She stepped onto the porch. He hadn’t invited her to sit down, but she made herself comfortable in the chair.
Which left him standing awkwardly, so he crossed his arms and stared down at her.
She didn’t flinch. So much for sending her quickly on her way.
“What do you want?” he asked again, somewhat politely this time.
“I need your help.”
He scowled. “I don’t know you.”
Instead of backing off, she shook her head slightly. “I thought your surly reputation might have been exaggerated. I guess not.”
“Who have you been talking to?” Although he wasn’t sure why he cared.
“Who haven’t I been talking to?” She started ticking names off with fingers. “Tessa, Eric, Adam. Megan is the only one who doesn’t think you’re the dragon who stole Christmas.”
How had he lost control so quickly? “Who are you?”
“Sienna Simonson.”
Great. Another Simonson. He’d had his fill of both Eric and Adam. He didn’t need to deal with their little sister as well. “Your brothers send you here?”
She frowned, which was the first crack in her armor. “No one sent me here. I’m the clan leader now. And I make decisions on my own. I need your help.”
“So you already said.”
She hesitated before answering. “The other clans aren’t taking what’s happening seriously.”
He blew out a hard breath. “Let me guess. The asshats don’t believe you about the curse.”
“They want to accept we’ve found the reason our dragons are disappearing. Have already been given evidence that witches exist, which they conveniently ignore, and Templars seem to be beyond their ability to comprehend.”
He shrugged. “Their loss then.”
“How can you say that?” She stood. “We can’t do this on our own.”
Now that she stood in front of him, he uncrossed his arms. “Except you might have to.”
She shook her head. “The other clans need to be prepared for what’s coming.”
“You’ve warned them. If they won’t listen, that’s on them, not you.”
Something flashed behind her eyes. “We haven’t told them everything.”
He already knew from Megan that they were keeping the curse secret for now. “You could tell them about the scroll and remove the lines about oracles to protect Arabella and Lily.”
“I’ve thought about that.” She took a step closer. “But I also think we might need more to convince them. That’s why I’m here.”
Ah hell. He didn’t like where this was going. “Meaning what?”
She hesitated for a moment and then stood a little straighter, but she was still a full head shorter than him. “What if you talked to them?”
That was nowhere in his game plan. “That’s not going to help.”
“We don’t know that.”
He blew out a breath. “If they won’t listen to you about the witches and Templars who have actually attacked your clan, why would they believe my blood was used to create the curse over four hundred years ago. What is my proof? You can’t exactly saw me in half and count my rings.”
A hint of a smile ghosted her lips before disappearing. “Don’t tempt me.”
There was the spunk he thought might be buried under her clan-leader persona. “Sorry to say, but I’m not the answer to this supposed problem. If the other clans don’t believe, then their ignorance will be their downfall. Survival of the fittest.”
Banked fire lit up her eyes. “Says the man who can’t die.”
Did she think his endless life was a gift? “Show them the curse minus the line about oracles. If they don’t believe, you’ve done what you could for them. Your responsibility is to your own clan. Protect them. I think we’re done here. Your guard dog is glaring holes in me.”
Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, probably to let him have it, but seemed to change her mind. And there was that glint of something going on behind her eyes again. Something that made him nervous. And not much made him nervous anymore.
She shook her head like a disappointed schoolteacher. “I should have known this was a waste of time.”
He watched her walk to the SUV and ride away before he blew out a deep breath. That woman was trouble. Gorgeous, determined, smart, strong — yep, trouble. And even though he’d just met her, he knew that she had acquiesced way too easily.
Why did he have a feeling she wasn’t going to truly walk away from this? From him?
He hoped he was wrong. Because the oracle line wasn’t the only part of the curse to be concerned about. Even though the last sentence talked of magic being restored, his one hope for centuries, it wouldn’t be easy. And he couldn’t forget the lines that preceded it.
Blood will be shed.
He’d always known to the depths of his dragon soul that things would get bloody, and he would sacrifice himself to end this curse. And it wasn’t a coincidence that the curse also referred to sacrifice.
But he wanted Sienna far, far away when the danger came. Hell, maybe it was time to back away from Eric and Megan and the rest of their clan too.
They had already been hurt once by his interference. He wouldn’t let anyone else be hurt by what was to come.