The Twin Dragons Series: Requiem City Book 2
Yazar
C. Swallow
Okur
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Maddie finds herself thrust into the mysterious Shadow Realm, where humans and dragons coexist. Guided by the enigmatic dragons Silver and Storm, she learns of her unique power to end the age-old conflict between their species. As she navigates this new world, Maddie must uncover hidden truths and face dangerous foes, all while grappling with her own emerging abilities. Will she rise to the challenge and bring peace to Requiem City, or will the shadows consume her?
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 wasnât a place Iâd ever been before.
I jumped down off of Silverâs 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?
âI thought you were a fast learner,â Silverâs voice called out. âIâve already told you. Weâre in the Shadow Realm.â
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.
âNo, this is a fucked-up version of Req City,â I responded. âWho are these people?â
âThese are the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm,â Silver said.
âYouâve got to be kidding me.â
âThink of it like an alternate version of the city you know,â Silver replied, âexcept in this city, dragons are safe. They have no need to hide.â
It was hard to accept, but so was everything else Iâd 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?
âYouâll get all the answers you need in due time,â a deep baritone voice called out from behind.
I turned around to see an older manâa damn sexy older manâstaring 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 likeâpure magic.
The older man smiled at my gawking face.
âMy nameâs Storm,â he said. âAnd itâs been a very long time since we last met.â
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.
âWhen did we last meet?â Maddie asked, confused. âIâd definitely remember that.â
Silver stepped toward me and reached out her hand, touching my chest. She wasnât a jealous woman, but the arrival of this young tart had her a bit on edge.
A human hadnât visited our realm in ages, and this one seemed different than most.
âItâs going to take a lot of explaining for her to catch up,â Silver said, smirking.
âYou think?â Maddie replied sarcastically. âOne moment I was on top of Req Tower, and the next Iâm in...whatever the fuck this place is.â
I cringed at her brash attitude and crude language. She was still young and would have much to learn.
Storm
Perhaps we donât need to tell her everything just yet.
Silver
The information might just blow the little mouseâs head clean off.
Storm
Weâll start slow and give her the essentials.
Silver
I just hope weâre 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.
âAm I going to get an explanation any time soon?â I asked.
âAll in good time, field mouse,â Storm said.
UGH!
âI get itâstreet rat, field mouseâwe humans are just little rodents to you,â I snapped. âBut canât you at least think of something original?â
Silver stepped forward. She definitely wasnât happy with my outburst.
âWatch your mouth when you talk to Storm!â 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.
âIt's alright, my love,â he said, kissing her cheek.
Silverâs 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 ofâŠ
âShe is a feisty one, Iâll give her that,â Storm said. âBut all this power and aggression is pointless without knowing how to truly use it.â
âAnd all this talk is pointless without giving me facts,â 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 theyâd tell me why I was here...unless they saved my life just to do with me as they pleasedâŠ
I swallowed the last of my saliva as my mouth ran dry. Stormâs golden eyes were still piercing every inch of my body. If he wasnât a dragon god, you couldâve fooled me.
âWalk with us, please,â 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 inâbeing a shadow that slipped by.
Here, I was like a broken chameleon that couldn't change to match my surroundings.
âThe facts,â Storm explained, âare that the future and the past are hard to decipher. Every vision gives clues. Sometimes itâs up to each individual to decide how those clues add up.â
âThis time it may require two people to help connect the pieces,â 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.
âIâve lived in the Shadow Realm for centuries.â
âWe both have,â Silver added. âIt was filled with dragons long before Requiem City was even conceived.â
âSo, youâre like some sort of god?â I asked, bewildered.
Storm and Silver both laughed.
âNo,â Storm finally said. âBut sometimes I feel as old as one.â
I gave him another once over. If I could live to be several hundred years old and still look as good as him, I wouldnât complainâŠ
âTime moves at a different pace in this realm,â Silver added. âWhich has let us watch Requiem City for all these years.â
âBut recently, I had a vision. And it was about you.â Storm's eyes looked into mine again.
âPlease don't tell me I'm your mate, too,â 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.
âNo, little mouse,â he said with a chuckle. âYouâre definitely spoken for.â
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!
âAs I mentioned earlier,â Storm said, âwe've already met. But this version of you is different. Older. With a better understanding of the potential within.â
I blinked in confusion. Living in this alternate realm must have rotted his brain. I would have remembered our encounter...
âBut what Iâve seen here tells me that you have the power to help end the struggle between humans and dragons,â he said.
I shook my head in confusion.
What the hell is he talking about?
âThe solution lies in the past,â Silver added.
âYou cannot see it on your own,â said Storm, standing up from the pool. âYour visions will illuminate the past, but it will not be enough. But you have a friend with special powersâperhaps greater than yours.â
A friend with special powers?
âShe can peer into the future and show you what must be done,â Silver said.
Darshan had heightened senses because of his blindness, but I wouldnât call them special powersâŠ
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 thoughtsâŠ
I was pulled from my reverie as Storm nodded his head at my realization.
âBut...how will I learn to look into the past?â I asked.
This was all making less and less sense.
âDonât push yourself. It will all come in time,â Storm said.
âIt always does,â 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.
âYou will hear a song,â he said.
I could feel his breath on my ear. It felt hotâalmost like fire. My eyes looked up and again caught the scar on his left cheek.
The embers that glowed inside it were mesmerizing.
âThe words of that song will teach you how to end the curseâŠâ
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.
