Anarchy (The Stone Legacy Series Book 4) (13 page)

Chapter One

Zanya

The road was deserted just outside the city of Tikal. The car was quiet, and the air was thick with tension, making it harder and harder to breathe.

Zanya slouched in the passenger seat and pulled her knees to her chest. “I can’t believe that just happened.” She combed her fingers through her hair, pulling brown, wavy strands away from her flushed cheeks. “I don’t understand. I mean…” Her bottom lip trembled through her effort to hide it. “My mom wanted me to choose between you and her. How could she?”

Arwan trained his gaze on the long, straight highway, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned dusky, and the tendons that wound up his forearm bulged with every movement. “She should understand.” He flexed his jaw. “She fell in love with a human once, even though nobody approved of their love.”

“But they never bonded,” Zanya said. Humans and Riyata couldn’t bond, but then again… She dragged her focus to Arwan’s angled jaw and dark, piercing eyes. “We shouldn’t have been able to bond. What happened back there?”

For the first time, he tore his attention away from the road and examined her. “I don’t know.”

The lights of aurora never should have chosen her and Arwan to be soul mates. He as part underworlder, and she as the Stone Guardian. They were incompatible, or so they were told.

A flutter rolled over Zanya’s belly as she looked into Arwan’s smoky eyes. It was just hours ago, while standing on the grassy hill that overlooked the solstice celebration, she was sure any hope of them being together was lost forever. Now her world had been turned upside-down, and their bond had been sealed. The heaven spirits, the gods of Tamoanchan, must have seen something in him. Something that made him worthy.

“Where are we going?” she said in a low tone.

“Into the city. We’ll at least have a place to spend the night.”

Heat wound around her muscles and crawled down the backs of her legs. Spend the night? Together? After their bonding, it never occurred to her what came next. She flushed just from being near him, let alone staying the night with him.

Besides, her first solstice was over and the effect it had on her carnal instincts was supposed to have worn off. Apparently, that wasn’t the case. It didn’t help she sensed the anchor of their bond deep in her bones. Her cheeks flushed with another rush of heat.

Arwan turned his attention back to the road. “Are you okay?”

Zanya tucked hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”

“I can hear your heart racing.”

She let out a long exhale. “Right. I forgot about that whole instinct thing.”

He grinned, ever so slightly. “At least you’re not crying anymore.”

Her soft smile vanished from her lips as her mind flashed back to her mother’s death glare and rigid shoulders. She really hated Arwan, with every fiber of her being. The way she glared at them standing together was chilling. Her mother had never seemed so cold.

“We’ll stop at an ATM, and then find a hotel. I’ll call Renato. He’ll know what we should do.”

“An ATM? Did Renato give you a bank card or something?”

“No.” He stole another glance at her. “I have some savings stored away.”

“Savings?” As far as she knew, he’d spent his entire life at Renato’s house. “How did you save anything? I thought you’d never lived outside of Toledo.”

His features grew sober. “I inherited enough to keep us comfortable.”

“Inherited?” From his mother who abandoned him? That didn’t sound like something a careless woman would do. But it was too sore of a topic to bring up now, and in all honesty, it wasn’t important. As long as they had enough money to eat and keep a roof over their heads until they figured out what to do, everything would be okay.

As long as she was with him, it didn’t matter.

Zanya rested her head on the side of the car they’d taken from the solstice celebration—another issue they’d have to deal with later. The hum of the engine and the muffled roar of wind flowing through the cracked windows relaxed her rigid muscles. She reached up and skimmed her fingers over the wicker pendant Cualli had given her.

Her stone vibrated from the pouch it was tucked away in, on the bracelet her mother had given her. She sucked in a tiny breath. Her stone. It must have been terrified after everything that’d happened, even though it had never translated that to her.

She opened the pouch and slipped her stone into the palm of her hand. “Hey.” She held it between her fingers and rolled it around. “Sorry. I know it’s a lot to take in.” The stone illuminated with hues of blue and white, rolling with magic. Streaks of joy and comfort rushed through her—translated from her stone. “Hm. Not so tough then, huh?” She smiled and glanced at Arwan. “Yeah, he’s not so bad.”

“I suppose I’ll have to get used to you talking to your rock?” He snickered.

“Shh.” She hugged it against her chest. “It’ll hear you call it a rock.”

“And?” Arwan’s eyes lit up. “What’s it going to do?”

“You shouldn’t be afraid of what
it’ll
do.” She pressed her index finger on his biceps and summoned a pulse of electrify to course over her hand. The shock sparked when it kissed his skin.

He swerved and shouted. “Are you trying to kill us both?” He rubbed his arm, still half-grinning.

Zanya couldn’t tear her gaze away from his caramel skin and dark lashes. Away from his lips.

His grin spread. “Your heart is racing again.”

She blew out a puff of air and slouched back in her seat. “You’ve got to stop using your heightened senses for your personal advantage.”

He rested his hand on her thigh. “Why?”

She suppressed the urge to gasp as heat spread over her skin where he touched.

She hadn’t been with anyone before. Jayden was her first real boyfriend—if there was such a thing in a mental institution—but they’d never gotten past second base. It was all too much to wrap her mind around at once.

Arwan slid his hand down to her knee and squeezed it, just once, before returning his hand to the wheel, as if he knew what she was thinking.

The heat gripping her lungs gradually cooled, but not before she realized the light in her chest had flickered on. A dead giveaway.

She drew in a slow, deep breath and turned on the radio. Some music would help pass the time, at least until they got to the city. Then they’d call Renato and find out when it was safe to go home.

Something told her it would be a while, if ever, before her mother would welcome them back.

***

Arwan had driven through the night, watching the secluded desert terrain morph into wide highways and twinkling lights from towering buildings. Zanya had been asleep for almost an hour. Her rhythmic breathing and steady heartbeat kept him calm as he searched for an explanation. She was right. They never should have been allowed to bond.

He grabbed his cellphone from the cup holder and swiped his finger across the screen. He’d hoped to talk to Renato in private. This would have to do. Once Zanya woke, he didn’t want to shut her out, though he didn’t want to alarm her with his conversation to Renato, in case anything unexpected came up.

He tapped his thumb on the screen and pressed the phone to his ear. It rang just once before Renato picked up.

“Arwan. Are you two all right?”

“Yeah. We’re okay.”

“Where are you?”

“Driving.” After a few nights in a random hotel, he still didn’t know where they’d go. “We’re both confused, and Zanya is still trying to wrap her mind around her mother’s ultimatum.”

“I know. I’m sure you are both very shaken up. Ellie hasn’t given Marzena a moment’s rest since you two left, begging her to somehow connect with Zanya using her ability. She’s terribly worried for Zanya’s safety. She still believes you’re going to hurt her.”

Arwan tensed. The mention of anyone hurting Zanya drove a spike of fear up his spine, followed by a rush of searing heat that simmered in his gut. He’d protect her from anyone or anything, no matter what, and with his life. “Tell Marzena we appreciate her giving us our privacy.”

“Of course. I’ve spent every waking moment researching, trying to understand exactly what happened. The gods of Tamoanchan must have somehow blessed your union with—” There was a brief pause. “Your bond. How could I have neglected to congratulate you? I’m terribly sorry. It’s just that under the circumstances—”

“Don’t worry about that, Renato.” The corners of his mouth curled as he admired Zanya for a moment, curled into a ball, still deeply asleep. “Thank you. It’s…” His chest tightened as the link between them deepened, boring into his soul. “It’s nothing like I ever thought possible. I don’t…” To say it aloud felt somehow wrong, but it was the absolute truth. “I don’t hate myself anymore. It’s like I’m finally at peace.”

“That’s truly outstanding. I couldn’t be happier for you both, even if the union is somewhat unconventional. How is Zanya coping with the bond? Neither of you expected it, and I’m sure the sudden link has had a jarring impact on you both.”

“So far we’re both handing the bond fairly well.” In fact, not a lot had changed for him. He had always been connected to Zanya. Even before Drina interpreted the passage from the book of Popul Vuh, revealing they were truly destined for each other, he somehow knew.

“Very good. Please keep a close watch over her, as I know you will. I’ll work to get Ellie under control and find a way to bring both of you back.”

Arwan nodded. “Okay. Meanwhile, Zanya and I are going to stay in the city.”

“Why would you choose to stay there?”

Arwan furrowed his brow. “What choice do we have?”

Renato was silent for a long moment. “There is a second option. Perhaps it’s time you went home.”

Arwan’s throat tightened as he pulled the car to a stop on the emergency shoulder. “Home?” He gripped the wheel tighter with one hand. “What are you talking about?”

Renato breathed into the phone—the kind of breath you let out when you dreaded what you were about to say. “Do you remember the home you grew up in, before you came to Toledo? Before you lived with me?”

Arwan slowly shook his head. He could barely remember what his mother looked like, let alone his childhood home. If it weren’t for the sketches hung on his bedroom wall in Renato’s house, and the brief moment he got to watch her through Contessa’s magical haze in Moscow, he probably would have forgotten her entirely.

“I’ll take your silence as a no,” Renato said. “Spend as long as you’d like in the city, but when you’re ready, travel to Mexico.”

“Mexico?” His breaths became quicker. “Is that where I’m from?”

“That is where you were born, and where you spent your childhood.”

Arwan clutched his chest as his darker half clawed at him. He was usually able to ignore it, but with his recent bonding, perhaps that was the one difference he’d have to watch out for. “The house is still there? You’re sure?” It had been nearly fifteen years since he’d left his home, when he was just six years old.

“I received a piece of mail many years ago with nothing but the deed to the home in your mother’s name, postmarked. I could only assume it was your mother who sent it, as it wasn’t signed, and there was no note to accompany it.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? You gave me my inheritance, but not this? I should have known—” He clamped his teeth and clutched his chest tighter. His darker half whipped and burrowed into him. Arwan groaned and leaned into the steering wheel.

“Are you all right, Arwan?” Renato’s voice was muffled in his ears. He drew in a shaky breath, concentrating on putting his darker half at rest. Soon, it settled down and became dormant again.

“Send me the address,” he said softly, not wanting to wake Zanya and worry her. “I have to go.”

Arwan hung up the phone and tossed it in the back seat, then mounted both hands on the wheel and stared ahead. His palms were clammy and his head throbbed from the rush of darkness slithering through him.

He’d have to push past it and keep driving, all the way to the airport.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A long time enthusiast of things that go bump in the night, Theresa began her writing career as a journalism intern—possibly the least creative writing field out there. After her first semester at a local newspaper, she washed her hands of press releases and features articles to delve into the whimsical world of young adult paranormal romance.

Since then, Theresa has gotten married, had three terrific kids, moved to central Ohio, and was repeatedly guilt tripped into adopting a menagerie of animals that are now members of the family. But don’t be fooled by her domesticated appearance. Her greatest love is travel. Having stepped foot on the soil of over a dozen countries, traveled to sixteen U.S. states—including an extended seven-year stay in Kodiak, Alaska—she is anything but settled down.

Wherever life brings her, she will continue to weave tales of adventure and love with the hope her stories will bring joy and inspiration to her readers.