Birthright (The Stone Legacy Series Book 5) Read Online Free Page A

down, laced his fingers behind his head, and closed his eyes, as if Mother Nature’s assault had exactly zero effect on him.
    “How can you sleep through this? The marsh could rise overnight, right? I mean, what if we wake up to a flooded tent?”
    “We’re at least twenty-five feet above the marshes. Flash floods are heard of, but I doubt the water will come up that high.”
    “Oh.” She relaxed her muscles. “That’s good.” Another gust of wind battered the tent, sending a shiver up the backs of her legs. “I didn’t know it got this cold in the jungle.”
    He drew in a sleepy breath. “It’s the wet season.”
    She nodded, thankful for his exhaustion. She was tired to the bone too, and even if it was hard to sleep, she had to try. She slipped into her sleeping bag and curled into a ball. Arwan’s eyes fluttered closed as he drifted off to sleep. It seemed like he was already dreaming, though it was impossible to determine whether it was good or bad. Maybe it was about what he’d find at his mother’s home, but maybe…maybe it was about her.
    She blinked sleepily, fatigue coiling around her muscles.
    He seemed so peaceful, lying there beside her as rain poured over their tent. But one thing she’d learned was even if things seemed peaceful—even for a stretched moment allowing you to forget—that didn’t mean it would stay that way.
    She let her eyes close and drew in several deep, cleansing breaths. Tomorrow they’d reach his mother’s home and deal with whatever they found.
    As her mind drifted between asleep and awake, a soft, beautiful voice broke through a brief pause in the violent storm. Zanya opened her eyes and listened to what sounded like a lullaby. When the tune drifted into the distance and vanished, she closed her eyes again. It was probably just fatigue mixed with wind from the storm, or maybe the beginning of a dream.
    She reached out and lingered her chilled fingertips over his hand. Knowing he was there made the night a little less scary, and her a little less consumed by the grief still clutching her chest from her mother’s betrayal. His grip coiled around hers in his sleep.
    With her eyes closed, the gentle voice returned, humming a sweet, lulling tune. Her stone hadn’t buzzed or shown any sign of alarm.
    She quietly sat up, careful not to wake Arwan, and unzipped the entrance to the tent just enough to peek into the endless darkness.
    The wind had died to little more than a breeze, but the rain was still falling in sheets. She peered outside, scanning the hillside and the area near the rock wall of the long-abandoned ruin.
    A low growl caught her attention. Zanya’s gaze snapped to the right, where a pair of bright yellow eyes spied on her from a distance. She swallowed, her muscles frozen as she stared at the creature in silence. It could have been anything in the jungle, but from the looks of its reflective irises in the flashes of light, it was definitely feline.
    It could have been Balam. It could have been something else entirely.
    In a split second, the figure vanished into the jungle, and Zanya finally let out the breath she’d been holding. She zipped the tent back up and slipped into her sleeping bag, resolved to never look outside the tent at night—ever again.
     
    ***
     
    Arwan
     
    The next morning, Arwan opened his eyes to various jungle sounds. He turned his head to Zanya, who was still asleep beside him. Strands of dark, wavy hair splayed around her in every direction.
    He sat up and unzipped the tent, squinting at the morning light. Though the storm had passed, the air was now chilled, leaving the jungle floor blanketed with a thick mist of fog. Perhaps it would lift as the day progressed, but with the canopy of trees and high levels of humidity, it would take at least a few hours.
    He turned to Zanya and brushed hair away from her face, letting his fingers slide down the curve of her neck. She was like a sleeping angel—the closest to heaven his damned