Epilogue
Sienna couldn’t wipe the smile off her face if she tried.
Her cheeks were actually aching from the grin, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
She stood in front of the building that had been her mother’s dream, next to Ryan as they both cut the ribbon officially opening The Bright Spot Center.
The building had been refurbished into a facility for children of all ages, offering day care, arts and crafts classes, a safe and inclusive after-school hang out spot, tutoring, and numerous other opportunities for babies through teens, including counseling and resources to link families with social workers and shelters if the need arose.
She stood back and let the visitors head into the center to check out the building as well as talk to the team that would be running it.
Sienna glanced over where her family gathered.
They stood next to the plaque dedicating the center to her mother, Nora Simonson.
Her brothers, Megan and Tessa, and the girls had come.
As had Marcus and Jonas, who was giving Ryan a big hug.
And of course, John stood there grinning from ear to ear as well.
It still took her breath away when she saw joy on his face.
They converged on her, congratulating and hugging her before heading inside. John wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “Have I told you how proud I am of you?”
She nodded. “Every day.”
John had settled into the family and clan.
They still spent nights in the cabin when he needed a respite from the chaos, but that didn’t mean he was reverting back to his hermit status.
And John liked working with Marcus and the guards, teaching them about all he learned over the centuries for hiding out and protecting himself.
He had slowly become friends with Marcus and her brothers.
John and Tessa butted heads occasionally, but when he’d found some gray hairs a month ago and Tessa threw him a party, declaring that it would be the only party in the history of the world celebrating gray hair, he rolled with the punches.
And a weight lifted off his shoulders now that it looked like he would grow old with the rest of them.
But what shocked Sienna the most was John’s super-close friendship with the girls.
They adored him and told him things about their powers that they didn’t share with their parents as easily.
Sienna believed that the girls sensed a kindred spirit in John and knew he wouldn’t freak out about their growing abilities.
And John had assured Megan, Tessa, and her brothers that their safety was his number one concern, and he would come to them if anything they told him jeopardized that.
So John was often in the know well before the rest of them. Which irritated Tessa to no end.
After the Templar attack, the evidence Mia had gathered on the Templars had been the olive branch needed to get the witches and dragons talking again now that they had a common enemy that they would never underestimate again.
And it was amusing that since the other clans had also gotten their dragons back, they took her and Clan Simonson very seriously.
Several of the Templars had been arrested for the illegal guns found in their burnt-out facility, and two were on trial for tax evasion. Mia had definitely dotted her i’s and crossed her t’s when it came to revenge.
Sienna had come to the conclusion, with Veronica’s help, that there should be more sentries to protect their future.
While Sienna made suggestions, it was ultimately up to Veronica to choose the dragon sentries.
Over the past few months, she had chosen Marcus, Ryan, and several other guards to become sentries.
Recently Veronica had been talking about making John a sentry, which had Sienna worried. He’d been through so much in his life and had just settled into his new reality. She didn’t know if he would want the added responsibility of being a sentry.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” John asked. “You have that frown line down the middle of your forehead.”
Sienna shook her head. “Stop pointing out my wrinkles.”
“It’s not a wrinkle. And don’t dodge the question,” John retorted.
She sighed. “Veronica has been suggesting some new names for dragon sentries.”
He nodded. “Okay. What’s the concern?”
She hesitated for a moment. “She wants you to be a sentry.”
John gave her a long look before answering. “And you don’t?”
“It’s not that,” she said quickly. “I just didn’t want you to feel like you have to do it. Not after everything you’ve been through.”
His eyes tightened on her. “I have been through a lot. But I don’t want to spend my life on the sidelines watching. It’s a gift that I’m still here with you, which means I’m meant to contribute to this clan and our future.”
Her chest warmed at his conviction. “You sound pretty sure of yourself. Have I turned into the worrier now?”
He smiled. “I have it on good authority that being a sentry is the right thing to do.”
Sienna turned to face him fully. “What aren’t you telling me, John?”
He wouldn't meet her eyes. “Nothing.”
“Is this a Lily secret?”
The right side of his mouth quirked up. “Maybe.”
Now she gave him a long look.
“Fine.” John pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of one of Lily’s drawings. It was of John in his dragon form with a sentry mark on his wing.
Her breath caught. “You weren’t going to tell me about this?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I didn’t want to pressure you. I knew you would come to a conclusion at some point on your own.”
“You sneaky man. Why do you know all the gossip before me?” She looked up at him. “Are there other drawings I don’t know about?”
He smirked. “I won’t answer that on the grounds that it may incriminate me.”
“One of these days you’re going to be the one surprised. Let’s go corral our family and head for home. We have Jonas’s birthday dinner tonight. Marilyn is making all his favorites.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
And Sienna’s plan included making sure her family and the man she loved were happy for a very long time.
A couple hours later, John looked around the living room as everyone held their stomachs after the amazing meal. Jonas scowled at the presents on the table. “I told you no gifts.”
Ryan wrapped his arm around Jonas and said something in his ear that made Jonas’s scowl disappear. Jonas smiled. “At least my boyfriend listened to me about the no-gift rule.”
Sienna rolled her eyes. “It’s two gifts, Jonas. I think you can handle it.”
He reached for the present from Sienna and unwrapped it, pulling out the T-shirt. He snort-laughed before turning it for everyone else to see. It said All I See Are Zeros and Ones.
He reached for the other gift that had hearts and rainbows colored on the wrapping paper.
“That’s from me and Bella.” Lily beamed and Bella sat tall next to her.
Jonas smiled back at her. “Thank you both.” He carefully removed the wrapping paper and pulled out a framed drawing.
He looked at it closely and his eyes widened.
John already knew what it was, but Jonas seemed too shocked to turn it to show anyone.
Next to him, Ryan dropped down on his knee and pulled out a small box from his pocket.
Several gasps filled the room.
Ryan reached for Jonas’s hand and swallowed.
“Jonas, I broke the no-gift rule. But I wanted to ask you a very important question in front of our family and friends. You mean everything to me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He flipped open the top of the box. “I love you. Will you marry me?”
Everyone held their breath. Even the girls were quiet as they waited for Jonas’s answer. He looked down at the ring before looking at Ryan. “I’ll forgive you this time for the gift.”
Ryan chuckled. “Is that a yes?”
Jonas grinned. “Yes.”
Ryan grabbed Jonas and kissed him. The girls squealed and then everyone was up hugging and thumping Ryan and Jonas on the back. Sienna cried when she hugged Ryan. Even Marcus was blinking hard to keep his own tears back for his son and soon-to-be son-in-law.
Ryan scooped both girls up in his arms and hugged them. “Good job!”
“What was on the drawing?” Megan asked.
Ryan turned to everyone while still holding Lily and Bella. “Well, I was trying to figure out a good time to ask Jonas to marry me, and Lily came to me with that drawing.”
Jonas picked it up and turned it so that everyone could see it. It showed Ryan on his knee in front of Jonas. Behind him was a birthday cake with candles.
“Lily, sweetheart,” Tessa said. “Why didn’t you show me the drawing?”
Lily pursed her lips. “Because you can’t keep a secret, Mommy.”
Adam started laughing, which got him an elbow to the stomach from his wife. “What? It’s the truth.”
Sienna looked up at John. After a moment her eyes narrowed. “Did you know about this too?”
John shrugged. “Lily might have showed it to me.”
“You think you’re so smart and know everything, huh?”
John chuckled. “Maybe.”
Sienna’s eyes danced. “Well, I bet you didn’t know about this.” She dropped to her knee, and John’s stomach went with her.
More gasps.
“John. I love you. Our relationship was destined to be. And I can’t imagine anyone else I would want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?”
John’s chest tightened and he struggled to pull in a breath. He dropped to his knees and cupped her face with his hands. “I spent my whole life waiting to die, and the moment I met you, I started to live. Of course I’ll marry you.”
He leaned in and kissed her, getting lost in her lips and citrus scent. After a few moments someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find Lily standing beside him holding out a ring box.
“So you were in on this too?” he asked.
Lily beamed. “Maybe.” Parroting his words.
Everyone chuckled around them as Sienna opened the box and held out a simple dark band with a strip of lighter metal woven inside it. “It’s tungsten and gold.”
“It’s perfect and so are you.” He shook his head. “And you beat me to the proposal. I was trying to figure out the best time to ask you.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you have a ring for me?”
He nodded, hoping what he was about to say wasn’t a mistake. “I didn’t buy one since I thought you would want to wear your grandmother’s ring.”
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s perfect and so are you.”
A moment later everyone was piling on top of them on the living room floor, Tessa still complaining that she hadn’t been in on the secrets until Sienna promised her that she could help with the wedding.
Her brothers clapped John hard on the back, which either meant they accepted him or were warning him to not mess this up. But they had nothing to worry about.
His heart, whose only purpose for centuries had been pumping blood through his body, was now full of love, light, and happiness. Which was more than he could have ever dared hope.
He pulled Sienna against him and held on tight.
Lily Simonson grinned as she climbed into bed. Today had been an extra special day. Her uncles, Ryan and Jonas, were getting married, and so were Aunt Sienna and Uncle John. She was so happy for them, and also happy that her drawings now showed good things to come instead of scary ones.
Lily pulled the special folder she kept secret from under her pillow. It was where she hid the extra-special drawings. Tomorrow she would need to find a good hiding place so her Mommy didn’t come snooping in her room.
Her door opened and Bella slipped inside, giggling, before running over and climbing into bed with Lily. Bella was getting bigger now and saw things in her head that Lily drew on paper. And she, like Lily, knew when to keep the special things secret.
Lily pulled out a drawing and looked at it. It was a picture of Aunt Sienna with a big belly and Uncle John grinning. She flipped to the next drawing, which was a light teal dragon with the sentry mark like Lily’s daddy had on his wing and a red fire mark on her leg like Lily and Bella had.
Bella pointed at the dragon. “Nora.”
Lily smiled. “Yes. That’s cousin Nora. She’s going to be special like us. We’ll have to look out for her. But we’re going to keep this secret a surprise.”
Bella nodded and giggled again.
Lily tucked away the pictures and laid down next to her cousin as they whispered about what was to come.
And it was going to be great.