27. Chapter 27
Sienna walked into the living room and found Bella and Lily waiting for her. “Are we going to have a quick dance party before baths?”
“Yes!” they chorused.
“Is John coming to dance with us?” Lily asked with big eyes.
Her heart tweaked at the question. “Not tonight, sweetie.”
Sienna pulled out her phone and synced it to the surround-sound speakers in the room.
“I think ’80s dance music is called for tonight.
” She clicked on her playlist and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” came through the speakers.
The girls squealed at one of their favorite songs and started to hop around the room.
Sienna danced along with them, and Tessa and Megan came into the room and joined them.
“Can’t miss Cyndi Lauper!” Tessa called out as she twirled.
The adults started singing along, which got Lily and Bella giggling. It wasn’t too long before Eric and Adam stood in the doorway with matching grins on their faces.
The song died down and her brothers clapped. Lily bowed and Bella attempted to bow like her bigger cousin.
Sienna’s heart soared every moment she spent with her nieces.
“Okay. One more song before you head upstairs. I have a good one.” Sienna clicked on her phone and Whitney Houston’s voice filled the room.
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” was another of the girl’s go-to songs.
At least she was schooling them in good music.
Lily ran over to her dad and pulled Adam into the room.
He spun around with her until he reached Tessa and the three of them started to dance.
Eric swept Bella up and held her in his arm while reaching for Megan with his other.
Sienna’s cheeks hurt with how hard she was smiling.
It was so hard to believe how much they had lost, and in the last couple years her brothers had gained.
Not to say that she hadn’t gained too. She had both of her brothers back, and now she had two sisters-in-law who were friends and, of course, amazing nieces.
She had never been one to think much about a partner in life.
So many people lived happily and independently in the world.
But at moments like these, when she watched them hold each other, she wondered, what if?
What if she had someone to hold tight? To share with? To love?
And if she was being honest with herself, having John around had really intensified all these wiggly what-if thoughts. But now was not the time for thoughts that didn’t involve keeping her family safe and breaking the curse.
The song finished and the girls clapped their hands.
Eric bowed with Bella in his arms and she giggled. “I will be taking Miss Bella up for her bath and bedtime.”
“And I’ll help Lily get ready for bed,” Adam said. “Time for good-night kisses.”
Tessa and Megan kissed their daughters, and then the girls rushed to Sienna, who knelt down and grabbed them both into her arms, kissing them all over their faces to a round of giggles.
“Okay you two, let’s get going,” Eric said before smirking. “Thanks for riling them up before bed, Sienna.”
Sienna winked at him. “That’s what aunts are for.”
They headed upstairs and Tessa rubbed her hands together. “It’s wine time. How about we sit on the back deck and watch the sunset.”
They walked down the hall, raided the wine fridge, and grabbed glasses before heading outside. Once settled on the lounge chairs, Sienna looked up at the sky painted in streaks of yellow and orange.
“It’s good to see you smile, Sienna,” Megan said as she poured wine into Sienna’s glass. “I know earlier today was scary, and you seemed pretty serious during dinner.”
Sienna took a sip of the fruity wine. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“And by a lot, do you mean our resident hermit?” Tessa smiled. “Although I don’t think that name fits any longer. He’s been spending a lot of time with you.”
Sienna stared up at the sky for a moment instead of reacting to Tessa’s comments. “John had someone steal the Death of Magic painting for him.”
When she didn’t get an immediate response, she turned to look at her sisters-in-law. “No comment?”
Tessa shrugged. “I’m not surprised. It’s not like those nasty witches were going to let him have it, right?” She held up her hand before Sienna could respond. “And yes, I know that I’m a witch, but not in the nasty bracket, okay?”
Sienna held up her glass and clinked it with Tessa. “Got it. What do you think, Megan?”
“As an art historian, the idea of art being stolen more than bothers me. And trust me when I say, it happens a lot. Governments—conquerors—have taken what doesn’t belong to them for as long as art has existed.
And it’s awful. But if John hadn’t stolen the painting, he would have never asked me to show it at the museum.
Which means I would never have met Eric or had Bella.
You do remember that Eric and I stole the scroll from the frame at the museum, right?
This isn’t a matter of greed but of trying to fix things. ”
Sienna nodded.
“Then what is really bothering you?” Megan asked.
“I’m concerned about what else he might be willing to do to stop the curse. He has one goal above all others.”
Tessa sat forward. “You’re not afraid of him, are you?”
“I’m not scared of him,” Sienna answered immediately. He was all wounded bark with no bite. “I guess…I’m scared for him.”
Megan frowned. “I understand. John was an innocent boy who carries the weight of what his witch and dragon clans did to each other. And what it continues to do to magic. Chipping away at it. And he’s been trying to make things right again on his own.”
“Exactly,” Sienna said around the lump in her throat.
“But here’s the thing,” Tessa said. “He’s not alone anymore.
He has all of us. And I believe that fate or whatever you want to call it brought him to us.
Like Megan said. No painting would mean there would be no Bella, and I wouldn’t have met Adam or found Lily to protect her.
And along the way we find out I’m a long-lost witch who can read the scroll?
All of this is playing out like it’s supposed to. ”
Sienna set her glass down. “And we can’t forget the storybooks. I just wish they were clearer on what’s supposed to happen.”
Megan shook her head. “If they had been straightforward, it wouldn’t have been a secret for long.”
“We’ve had a lot of things land in our laps in a very short time. I think we need to keep the momentum going,” Sienna said.
“What do you have in mind?” Tessa asked.
Sienna picked up her glass and tried to channel some of Tessa’s confidence.
“Time to contact Mia again and schedule a meeting where we can actually get to the bottom of some things. I’ll show her the second storybook.
That’s all she knows that I’ve found. I don’t need to tell her about the third book or the other items we recovered from the vault.
If she doesn’t start being open with us, I won’t be sharing much of anything with her. ”
Megan gave her a long look. “Do you trust her?”
“Not yet. But if she’s using us, we can use her right back.” Sienna’s heart sped up and she took a drink of wine. Maybe John wasn’t the only one willing to cross some lines to put an end to this curse.
Two days later Sienna rode alongside Ryan as they drove to another meeting with Mia. Instead of the college, this time they were meeting in a motel. There was a nondescript car full of guards following them, and Marcus and other guards were already stationed in a couple rooms in the motel.
Sienna looked down at her outfit. A touristy Nashville T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
Tessa had teased Sienna’s hair out and applied a heavier hand when it came to makeup.
Ryan actually had on Wranglers with a pearl-button shirt and a well-worn cowboy hat.
If it wasn’t for the other guards listening in on their earpieces, she would be teasing him about showing Jonas his cowboy look.
Ryan pulled into the run-down lot in a beat-up pickup they were using instead of their normal black SUV, which would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
He parked next to the office and went inside for a couple minutes.
She could hear his conversation with the clerk through her earpiece.
Ryan quickly paid in cash and rented a room before coming back out and climbing into the truck.
“We’re in room twelve,” he announced to her and the other guards listening in.
Sienna typed the number on her phone in the chat group to alert Mia as Ryan drove the truck a short distance and parked it in front of the room. “Ready for this?” he asked.
She nodded, and he jogged around the truck and opened her door. Sienna smiled as he looped his arm around her shoulder and they walked the short distance to the room.
As soon as they were inside, Ryan pulled the curtains closed over the window next to the door.
The hotel room, if you could call it that, was small.
It barely fit a bed and two nightstands.
There was no dresser, and it had a minuscule closet since it didn’t exactly attract long-term guests.
The rooms were rented by the hour with clothing optional and paid for in cash.
Which didn’t leave a trail and made a good place for a clandestine meeting.
It didn’t take them long to check the room for anything out of the ordinary.
“We don’t see any cameras or listening devices,” Ryan announced. That had been the hope, especially since they had rented the room and not walked into one already occupied by Mia. But they weren’t taking any chances.
“Roger that,” Marcus said. “We’re watching for your visitor.”