Shadow Realm

MADDIE

Everything I thought I knew about Requiem City was turned on its head.

Silver soared through the monochromatic skies of the Shadow Realm. After a while, we touched down on the ground.

Humans and dragons walked the streets. I looked up at the seemingly empty buildings bathed in grey light.

It felt so familiar. Like a mirror of the Requiem City I had grown to know. But this wasn’t a place I’d ever been before.

I jumped down off of Silver’s back and looked around at the strange harmony in the streets. Dragons and humans seemed to coexist in this realm without feeling threatened. Some dragons even flew high in the air, landing atop skyscrapers.

Where was all the fear? The panicked people screaming through the streets?

A giant dragon with green scales nodded at me as he walked past.

~Holy shit.~

It was like being high on Overhead and having my worst fears manifest into reality.

~What the hell is this?~

“I thought you were a fast learner,” Silver’s voice called out. “I’ve already told you. We’re in the Shadow Realm.”

I turned, expecting to talk to a dragon; I was pleasantly surprised.

Silver was in human form and looked not much older than me. She wore a black shirt and pants that highlighted the long, silver locks of hair hanging down her back.

“No, this is a fucked-up version of Req City,” I responded. “Who are these people?”

“These are the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm,” Silver said.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Think of it like an alternate version of the city you know,” Silver replied, “except in this city, dragons are safe. They have no need to hide.”

It was hard to accept, but so was everything else I’d learned in the past few years. Life came at you hard and fast. I thought I knew how to roll with the punches, but they just kept coming!

I had so many questions.

How did they keep this place a secret? Did the events that happened in the real world bleed into this one and vice versa? Would I ever be able to leave?

“You’ll get all the answers you need in due time,” a deep baritone voice called out from behind.

I turned around to see an older man—a damn sexy older man—staring down at me with eyes that shone like burnt golden orbs, eyes that seemed to pierce through my soul.

He had long, waist-length silver hair that sparkled like the stars. His ragged, leather pants complimented his shirtless, muscular upper body.

My eyes locked onto a deep scar on his left cheek that seemed to glow like embers.

He had an energy about him that was almost like—pure magic.

The older man smiled at my gawking face.

“My name’s Storm,” he said. “And it’s been a very long time since we last met.”

I nearly fainted when hearing his name.

This was Storm?! The most powerful dragon of all time was living like an old hipster in a parallel universe controlled by dragons?!?!

Just my luck. Things always had a way of going from weird to worse.

Yeah, I had certain powers, like singing to put dragons to sleep… But what could the all-powerful Storm possibly want with someone like me?

STORM

The young vixen stared at me like I was a ghost. Having lived in this realm for so long, it sometimes felt as if I'd become one.

“When did we last meet?” Maddie asked, confused. “I’d definitely remember that.”

Silver stepped toward me and reached out her hand, touching my chest. She wasn’t a jealous woman, but the arrival of this young tart had her a bit on edge.

A human hadn’t visited our realm in ages, and this one seemed different than most.

“It’s going to take a lot of explaining for her to catch up,” Silver said, smirking.

“You think?” Maddie replied sarcastically. “One moment I was on top of Req Tower, and the next I’m in...whatever the fuck this place is.”

I cringed at her brash attitude and crude language. She was still young and would have much to learn.

Storm

Perhaps we don’t need to tell her everything just yet.

Silver

The information might just blow the little mouse’s head clean off.

Storm

We’ll start slow and give her the essentials.

Silver

I just hope we’re right about her...

Maddie cleared her throat, and her eyes burned with annoyance. She had all the spunk and fire to take on Twin Leading Breeds and live another day.

Hell! She seemed to be practically thriving despite their best attempts to break her.

Maybe my visions were right.

If this human were to be the one to break the curse, she would need every bit of power that she could possess. Even if that included a short temper.

MADDIE

~What the hell was I doing here?~

Each passing second was grating on my nerves. It made things even worse, not knowing what they were thinking.

“Am I going to get an explanation any time soon?” I asked.

“All in good time, field mouse,” Storm said.

~UGH!~

“I get it—street rat, field mouse—we humans are just little rodents to you,” I snapped. “But can’t you at least think of something original?”

Silver stepped forward. She definitely wasn’t happy with my outburst.

“Watch your mouth when you talk to Storm!” she warned.

Sure, I was playing with fire. But that was my life in a nutshell.

Storm held out a hand to calm her down.

“It's alright, my love,” he said, kissing her cheek.

Silver’s light skin flushed cherry red upon feeling his lips. No doubt, they were together. Storm was probably letting me know how she fit into his world while assuring her I was no threat.

~That they knew of…~

“She is a feisty one, I’ll give her that,” Storm said. “But all this power and aggression is pointless without knowing how to truly use it.”

“And all this talk is pointless without giving me facts,” I replied.

It definitely wasn't smart, talking to Storm like this. But by this point, I'd endured too many near-death experiences to really care what they thought. Sooner or later they’d tell me why I was here...unless they saved my life just to do with me as they pleased…

I swallowed the last of my saliva as my mouth ran dry. Storm’s golden eyes were still piercing every inch of my body. If he wasn’t a dragon god, you could’ve fooled me.

“Walk with us, please,” Storm said.

I reluctantly followed him through the streets. Everyone seemed to stare at the new face in their realm, and it was starting to get under my skin. My whole life had been about blending in—being a shadow that slipped by.

Here, I was like a broken chameleon that couldn't change to match my surroundings.

“The facts,” Storm explained, “are that the future and the past are hard to decipher. Every vision gives clues. Sometimes it’s up to each individual to decide how those clues add up.”

“This time it may require two people to help connect the pieces,” Silver added.

My head was spinning, but I nodded anyway. It was better to hear him out than to keep talking back and get nowhere.

“I’ve lived in the Shadow Realm for centuries.”

“We both have,” Silver added. “It was filled with dragons long before Requiem City was even conceived.”

“So, you’re like some sort of god?” I asked, bewildered.

Storm and Silver both laughed.

“No,” Storm finally said. “But sometimes I feel as old as one.”

I gave him another once over. If I could live to be several hundred years old and still look as good as him, I wouldn’t complain…

“Time moves at a different pace in this realm,” Silver added. “Which has let us watch Requiem City for all these years.”

“But recently, I had a vision. And it was about you.” Storm's eyes looked into mine again.

“Please don't tell me I'm your mate, too,” I pleaded. I couldn't take yet another dragon lord vying for my attention.

Silver drew closer to Storm, who wrapped his arm around her.

“No, little mouse,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re definitely spoken for.”

~Again with that shit!~

We finally came to a stop in a secluded area. It looked to be a small park shoved in between the metal and concrete of the regular city.

Storm moved to a small pool of water and leaned down. He swirled the water with his fingers, and the liquid seemed to come alive.

I rubbed my eyes and stared into the pool again. As the water spun, I could make out a spiral galaxy filled with planets and suns. It was an entire cosmos inside a puddle of water!

“As I mentioned earlier,” Storm said, “we've already met. But this version of you is different. Older. With a better understanding of the potential within.”

I blinked in confusion. Living in this alternate realm must have rotted his brain. I would have remembered our encounter...

“But what I’ve seen here tells me that you have the power to help end the struggle between humans and dragons,” he said.

I shook my head in confusion.

~What the hell is he talking about?~

“The solution lies in the past,” Silver added.

“You cannot see it on your own,” said Storm, standing up from the pool. “Your visions will illuminate the past, but it will not be enough. But you have a friend with special powers—perhaps greater than yours.”

A friend with special powers?

“She can peer into the future and show you what must be done,” Silver said.

Darshan had heightened senses because of his blindness, but I wouldn’t call them special powers…

My jaw dropped as I realized what Storm and Silver were saying.

~Zayda!~

I remembered when she broke the mint bracelet clean off my arm simply by concentrating her thoughts…

I was pulled from my reverie as Storm nodded his head at my realization.

“But...how will I learn to look into the past?” I asked.

This was all making less and less sense.

“Don’t push yourself. It will all come in time,” Storm said.

“It always does,” Silver added.

Storm walked over to me and wrapped his gigantic arm around my shoulder. Under his massive figure, I felt like a blade of grass growing beneath a redwood.

“You will hear a song,” he said.

I could feel his breath on my ear. It felt hot—almost like fire. My eyes looked up and again caught the scar on his left cheek.

The embers that glowed inside it were mesmerizing.

“The words of that song will teach you how to end the curse…”

I wanted to ask for more information. His riddles and half-answers were causing my head to spin. I needed more!

But before I could demand a response, my vision faded, and the dizzying pull of gravity overtook me.