Lights of Aurora (The Stone Legacy Series Book 3) (15 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Zanya descended the spiral staircase in the main wing. It was early, and the hike to Drina’s would be a long one. They needed to find out more about the salvaged pages of the book. Thankfully, Renato was an early riser and had already begun his day in his study.

She paused in the entrance, expecting to see her mother as well. Instead, Renato sat at his desk in the otherwise vacant room.

She’d sort of hoped her mom would be there so they could talk about the night before. What her mother had been through was unfortunate, but Zanya’s life hadn’t been peaches and cream, either.

Renato studied her as she approached his desk. With his brow raised, he leaned back in his chair. “May I ask the occasion?”

Zanya squirmed under his gaze. The amount of skin her gear showed wasn’t at all in her comfort zone. “No occasion.” She adjusted the braided shoulder strap, showing off her torso in the corset-like training shirt with leather chest shields.

He laced his fingers and rested his hands on his desk. “You look exactly like your mother in her old training gear.”

“It was in my closet.” At the bottom of her closet, actually. In a box…that was locked. She’d broken the lock to get in…after smashing it with her stone. “I didn’t think she’d mind.”

“It is good to see the gear in use. Are you training today?”

“First I have to find Drina and ask her to look at the pages of the book. We need to know exactly what they say. At least I know
she’ll
tell me everything.”

Renato tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Is there something on your mind?”

“I just can’t help but wonder why nobody told me the truth about what’s really going on here.”

“We have been truthful with you, Zanya. As truthful as we could be.”

“Oh, don’t give me that crap. You knew about Arwan and you didn’t tell me.
That
is
not
being truthful.” She turned and walked toward the door.

“You shouldn’t try to find Drina’s home.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t know where she lives, and you may get lost in the jungle.”

“My stone will guide me.” She paused in the threshold and glanced over her shoulder. “Or did you forget that now
I’m
the guardian?”

Renato stood and straightened his jacket. “I understand you are angry, but I
am
trying to reason with Ellie. She has been through more than you can imagine, and you can’t blame her for having some trouble adjusting.”

She turned to face him. “That’s fine. She can take all the time she needs to adjust, but I have to do what I am meant to do—what you
dragged
me here for.”

His shoulders dropped, as did his gaze.

She bit her lip. Being pissed at Renato sucked. He didn’t deserve her shitty attitude, but she was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and her anger was all she had to grasp on to. Still, they would have to work together if they wanted to make any progress. She drew in a deep breath and swallowed the urge to deliver another dose of resentment. “Contessa is up to something, and we need to find out what.”

“Agreed. But please take someone with you, just so I know you are safe.”

“Safe?” How could he continue to treat her like a child? After almost being killed by some cave demon, a bloody battle against Sarian’s incubi, traveling through time, winning back the stone at Jayden’s expense, and then venturing to the depths of the underworld where she was almost eaten by the tree of Yaxche, apparently she still hadn’t proven herself.

Zanya stepped toward him and cued the light in her chest. The tips of her fingertips burned while she formed an energy ball in her hand. She pushed harder, sending electrical currents over her skin and causing the current to roll and spark in her palm. Her breathing steadied and she widened her stance, focused on conjuring winds. “I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself,” she shouted over the low roar of the building cyclone. The air current picked up, snatching up papers and tearing a few photos off the walls. Renato squinted through the windstorm. His tie danced over his chest, and his usually manicured hair was tousled in the spinning current.

She dimmed her light and let the winds die out. Loose papers glided silently to the floor.

Renato ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his tie. “Was that entirely necessary?”

“Apparently it was. You don’t think I can tap into my powers. I had to show you otherwise.” She lowered her hands and took a normal stance. “And with this solstice thing around the corner, my abilities have gotten stronger.”

“Ah.” He straightened his button-down vest. “Your mother and I were just speaking about our travel plans.”

“Where are you going?”

“We. Where are
we
going?” He rounded his desk, stepping over broken glass from one of the small paintings. A tinge of guilt streaked through her. “The solstice is an important event to our kind, and your mother hasn’t been able to attend a ceremony since before she left. She’s rather looking forward to it.”

“Where is she, anyway?”

“She is staying in a room in my wing.” He averted his gaze. “I believe staying in the room she and your father once shared was too painful for her to even consider.”

“Oh.” She relaxed her shoulders and leaned on the wall. “How is she? I mean, is she okay?”

“She is coping.” His deep brown eyes carried unwavering wisdom and confidence. “But I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this has been for you. I know you are hurting, and not just over your mother.” Renato walked toward her and stopped several feet away. He pushed out his chest and rested his hand over his heart. “I’m sorry I’ve failed you, Zanya. I never intended to keep secrets from you, but some secrets were not mine to disclose.” His tone carried more pain than she was prepared for and more hurt than he deserved.

She wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t still angry. But it wasn’t all his fault. They were Arwan’s secrets, after all, and he was the one who should have told her the truth.

“The solstice ceremony will be on the twenty-first of December—the shortest day of the year.”

“December twenty-first? Isn’t that the day everyone was freaking out over the world ending?”

“Back in the year 2012, yes. But it was an unfounded concern. Our ancestors did not predict the end of the world. It was merely the end of the thirteenth baktun.”

If she’d kept up with her reading like she was supposed to, she’d know what that was. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s a baktun?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “A baktun is a cycle of time equaling nearly four hundred years. And unlike the belief of many, the end of the thirteenth baktun was a time for hope and change. But it is also a time for bonding and reuniting with long-lost friends. It is a family gathering of sorts, with the purpose of creating new spirit bonds.”

“You keep saying
bonding
,
and I’ll be honest, it’s kind of freaking me out.”

Renato walked to a bookshelf and slid a book out of the long row. “Bonding is the unity of two souls, much more powerful than any vow of a traditional marriage.” He opened the book and searched through the pages while walking toward her. “It is a commitment solidified by the lights of Aurora. A solidification that cannot be revoked.” He extended the book. “It is a sacred event for all Riyata.”

Zanya took the book and skimmed over the text about the ceremony. “So…” She glanced up at him. “Why are we going? I mean, nobody here is bonding.” Her thoughts flashed to Arwan, who hadn’t been back to the house since her mother returned. She missed him, and worse, she was worried about him. Maybe later she would try seeking him, even though she promised herself she would give him the space he was clearly looking for.

“Because it is a tradition for our people, begun by the earliest of the Maya. It marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Every day to follow will be one step closer to spring, and therefore new life. It is not strictly for bonding. It is a holiday. A celebration of life.”

“Oh.” She closed the book and held it up. “Can I take this back to my room?”

Renato nodded. “As long as you return it with the others you took last night.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

“And before you leave, kindly clean up this mess.” He nudged a piece of paper on the floor with the polished toe of his shoe.

Zanya looked around the study and dropped her shoulders. “Right.”

“Perhaps this is your first training lesson.” He sat behind his desk. “Do not use your abilities unless you can clean up after them.”

***

The jungle had always stirred a sense of curiosity in Zanya. She marveled at the trees, so tall and vast, reaching toward the sun like living skyscrapers. But unlike the times she’d hiked with Arwan, today the forest was nearly silent, and a layer of thick fog blanketed the ground.

Zanya chose each foothold with care. She stepped over a fallen tree, slicked with moss. A humid breeze wove through the foliage and swept her hair off her shoulders. The cool air soothed her flushed cheeks.

A fork in the path presented itself. One sloped toward the coast and what looked like a village. She peered at the pitched roofs of tiny huts, all clustered together near the tree line.

The other path wound up the side of a steep incline and over a peak.

When she’d first arrived at Renato’s house, Arwan gave her a tour of the estate. He’d mentioned nearby villages he often visited. She pivoted toward the descending path. Maybe that was where she’d find him.

She’d tried to call him, but each attempt was forwarded straight to his voice mail. Peter had told her Arwan had left his phone in the west wing. Apparently he hadn’t taken anything with him, which was worrisome.

Her stone vibrated in her pocket, and she traced her fingers over its smooth surface. Its whispers directed her to the inclined path. She bit her lip. It was important to find Drina, but her stomach had been in knots since Arwan had left, and she wanted to be sure he was all right.

The stone sent a more forceful current through her this time. She swallowed and secured her hold around it. “I hear you. You don’t need to yell.” She exhaled and started up the inclined path. The farther she hiked, the steeper the trail became. Before long, she was forced to cling to trees and rocks for leverage.

The end of the trail was straight ahead. Her stone acted like a compass, delivering a low, steady stream of energy as long as she was headed the right way. She reached the top and clung to a branch while she surveyed the land. Her stone fell silent. “Am I close?” All that surrounded her was more thick jungle. Not a hut or home in sight. She pulled her stone out of her pocket. “Hey you,” she said in a sweet tone. “Did you fall asleep or something?”

Before Sarian had taken her stone, she didn’t have time to get to know it very well. It was, after all, somehow a living thing, churning with magic and power, its very existence woven into her soul. Now they were working together, as they should be. Or so she’d thought.

She sighed when it replied with silence. “All right. I guess you would rather I find my own way from here?” Her stone sent out a tiny burst of light. “I figured as much.”

After she tucked the stone back in her pocket, she considered the surrounding paths. “Okay. Looks like that’s where I need to go.” She turned toward a thin, well-worn trail that snaked around the side of the hill.

She rounded a turn and paused in front of a jungle clearing straight ahead. Each step led her closer to the butterfly field Arwan had once brought her to.

The field housed thin bushes with tiny purple blooms, shaded by the mature trees that formed a canopy overhead—exactly the way it had been the first time she’d seen it. This time of day the flowers were closed, waiting for the warmth of the sun and the cold morning dew to slide off their leaves.

Zanya stood on the edge of the clearing, admiring the collection of bushes that had once served as refuge to thousands of butterflies.

She let out a deep sigh. The bare spot in the center of the clearing was still there. She swallowed and looked away.

The birds in the trees exploded in chatter and chirps while the branches of the canopy shook with screaming apes and small jungle creatures. Zanya searched the thick foliage surrounding her.

The loud snap of branches tore through the air. Zanya spun and searched for any movement. A deep growl surrounded her. The hairs on her arms stood up, and she crouched in a defensive stance.

A black figure flashed past, concealed by thick leaves and vines.

Her stone sent a shock through her. Zanya had never experienced such a charge in her life, as though her abilities had been given a shot of adrenaline. She could practically hear her powers winding tighter inside her. The light in her chest burst to life, churning with blue, white, and silver. The air was sucked out of her lungs, and she gasped, gripping a nearby tree to keep from falling to her knees.