Chapter 24
John’s heart finally started to slow down its triple-time beat after listening to the meeting between Sienna and Mia. Sienna was amazing—smart, level-headed, and not willing to back down. And while it made him proud, it also scared him to death. Hah, to death. Oh the irony.
When Sienna and Ryan returned, they had all listened to the meeting with Mia again since Marcus had recorded it, and then proceeded to discuss ad nauseum about what it all meant.
John spoke when there was a lull in the conversation.
“The bottom line is I think Mia is right about us concentrating on the dragon sentry symbol. In the story when the brothers return to the village, Evie gives the younger brother a shield so that both brothers can protect the village from the trolls.”
Sienna frowned. “And I don’t have anything with the symbol on it, which makes me wonder where I’m supposed to find it. Plus we don’t know what the shield actually is. In Adam’s case, his shield is a pendant. So Eric’s shield could be anything, right?”
Megan rested her hand on Eric’s arm. “I don’t like that the story talks about you and Adam protecting the village.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to fight,” Eric said.
Tessa sighed. “Sounds like we’ll be searching the house again for anything that might have the symbol.”
“Jonas is still researching the dragon sentries online,” Megan added.
Sienna leaned forward. “I think we should go in a slightly different angle. Has Jonas tried to research the actual sentry symbol? Look for anything that we can find that resembles it online? Maybe that can lead us to more information about the sentries and help us find whatever I’m supposed to give Eric.
We know that the pendant Adam wears is magical.
Maybe we’ll find something else that has magic powers.
” Sienna turned to Ryan. “Can you go talk to Jonas and have him research the symbol if he hasn’t already? ”
“Yep. I’ll go see him now.”
Everyone else volunteered to search different parts of the house again and split up. John held back until it was just him and Sienna in the office. “Are you okay?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m trying to look at the storybook and meeting with Mia as good things. But that doesn’t decrease the frustration.”
“No, it doesn’t. I wish I had some words of wisdom regarding all of this, especially after spending hundreds of years beating my head against the wall, but I don’t.”
“I understand now why you’re such a grump,” she said, and this time her eyes sparkled.
The edges of his mouth tipped up at her response. He was surprised the sound of a rusty hinge didn’t fill the air. “I guess we can chalk it up to all the years of frustration.” The minute the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to yank them back.
“I wish I could help you with that.”
His brain came to a stutter-stop. Did she understand what she just offered? No. Her mind wasn’t in the gutter. She was just trying to be supportive.
And then the minx winked at him.
His face heated. Damn. Was he actually blushing right now?
Time to change the subject. “I’ll search the cabin again for you.
” He escaped, heading back on foot to the cabin.
It gave him time to center himself. Since when did he smile and blush?
There was something about Sienna that turned him on his head.
Which wasn’t good. His one goal needed to be breaking the curse.
He didn’t have time for distractions, even in the beautiful and exasperating package that was Sienna Simonson.
Sienna sat in the comfy reading chair in her room.
It was one of her favorite spots. She would curl up with a book and, depending on her mood, a cup of tea or a glass of wine.
The chair faced a window that had a view overlooking the valley.
The view normally helped her relax, but it wasn’t working tonight.
She had spent hours going through her room and found nothing.
Her bed was piled with clothes, and shoes littered the floor.
Her closet was stripped clean. Drawers were pulled out onto the floor.
If she didn’t know any better, she would swear her room had been ransacked by robbers.
The house was quiet. Everyone else had gone to sleep.
She hadn’t really expected to find anything, but she still had to check. She had very little of her mother’s things. Her father had her clothes donated immediately after her death as well as items that reminded him of her. Too bad he couldn’t get rid of Sienna that easily.
Sienna pulled the small jewelry box that had belonged to her mother onto her lap.
She hadn’t opened the box. Didn’t need to, really.
She knew what it contained. A few pieces of jewelry that had been her mother’s, but nothing with the sentry symbol.
She couldn’t bring herself to wear the jewelry, feeling strange when she put it on.
As if she wasn’t worthy of it, or an imposter.
She knew it was silly. Her mother hadn’t left it for her so that it gathered dust in a box.
Her phone buzzed and she checked the screen. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. John Baker was texting her.
Found nothing in cabin
She couldn’t help teasing him earlier either. If she wasn’t mistaken, he almost smiled and his ears had turned red after she winked at him. She would have sworn she was channeling Veronica.
She sent a short and sweet response. Same here
More dots. Trouble sleeping? he texted.
She smiled. Maybe your text woke me…
Normally sleep with your lights on?
Sienna leaned closer to her window, looked down, and saw John on the back deck. She picked up the jewelry box, headed downstairs into the kitchen, and opened the door.
“Come inside before one of the guards tackles you.”
“Trust me. They know I’m here. Ryan called them off when I got close to the house.”
So Ryan was pulling an all-nighter too? She would need to talk to him about that tomorrow. Although it wasn’t like she was getting much sleep either.
He hesitated for a moment and then walked into the low-lit kitchen.
She set the box on the counter island and walked around it to the stove. “Are you a tea drinker? I was thinking chamomile.”
He nodded before gesturing at the box. “What’s this?”
“I’m trying to build up the courage to head down memory lane. That jewelry box has what little I have left from my mother. I know what the pieces are without opening the box, and they don’t have the symbol on them.”
“I’m here if you need me.”
She swallowed hard as she put the partially filled tea kettle on the stove.
Pulling out two cups and then the box of tea, she set them on the island.
John opened the box and placed tea bags in each cup before sitting down.
He was quiet for a few minutes while she listened for the water to boil so that she could take it off the stove before it whistled.
She poured the water into the cups and sat next to him.
“Did your brothers give you a hard time after I left?”
Sienna shook her head. “Not really. I know they’re not happy about any of this, especially about me finding the shield, but I can’t let fear stop me.” Sienna grimaced. “Which now that I’ve said that out loud, sounds hypocritical given the fact that I won’t open my jewelry box.”
“That’s not fear. That’s grief and it’s more than allowed.”
She blinked to stop the tears burning the backs of her eyes as she dunked her tea bag.
“I need to get on with it.” She reached for the box and flipped the front latch that held the lid closed.
Tipping the lid back, she looked inside.
The top removable tray held a gold ring with a floral pattern woven into the metal.
“This was my grandmother’s wedding ring.
Mom loved it. She wore it on her right ring finger.
She never said anything out loud, but I know she preferred it over the large diamond ring Father gave her.
” She picked it up for a moment. “It’s perfect.
” Setting down the ring, she studied the two necklaces in the tray.
She ran her fingers over the necklace with the small opal stone, remembering her mother wearing it most days.
It had been her birthstone and was also Sienna’s as well.
The other necklace was gold with a teardrop that she wore for special occasions.
Sienna’s hand shook when she removed the top shelf to look at the space below. A bracelet with various colored stones sat in the bottom along with a pair of gold hoop earrings. Memories threatened to drown her. Before she could close the lid. John stopped her.
“Sienna, the bottom of this box looks too shallow.”
She held up the box and examined it before taking out the jewelry and running her fingers along the felt bottom.
She flipped the box upside down, and a small square piece at the bottom popped open and two keys fell out, clinking on the counter.
Her heart ricocheted in her chest as she picked them up. “What do you think these are for?”
John reached for one. “They’re not your standard door key. They might be safe deposit keys. There are no identification markings on them, which is standard procedure for security.”
Sienna frowned. “Why two keys? A safe deposit box gives one key to the customer and one is kept in the bank. Are there two boxes?”
John gestured for the second key and pressed them together. “No. These are identical keys.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” She sighed. “Even if they are keys to a bank’s safe deposit box, it’s a moot point now.
Mom has been gone for fifteen years. I can’t imagine a bank would keep it that long without receiving payment, right?
” She stood and picked up the kitchen phone.
“Let me get Jonas so he can take a look at this.”
“Won’t he be sleeping?”