“All the fae-legends and gods that humans have are generally just beings of the Twilight Realm.” Rikyava chuckled, a wry smile twisting her pretty lips as humor glinted in her lavender eyes. “We’ve been here on earth a helluva lot longer than humans. But we live in other dimensions and have interesting abilities, so humans think we’re special. My clan loves to fuck and fight and cause mayhem; we fit right in with the old Norse population. You know Thor, Loki, Odin? Blood Dragons, every last one of them.”
Layla blinked as she considered that interesting idea. Suddenly, she had insight into Adrian and the Hotel’s secrecy issues – she couldn’t imagine what it would do to most world religions if they found out their old gods were actually real people who simply lived in a different time-space continuum. It was boggling her mind, actually, thinking about it and Layla set her plate down, eager to get some answers about this strange new world.
“So you’re a different kind of Dragon than I am? And there are only four Dragons on staff here – total?”
“Yes and yes.” Rikyava gave a wry smile. “There are five major species of Dragons, all of whom can shift between their beast form and their human one. We’re born human and most of us open to our abilities early in life, though sometimes it can take a while before the maturation of your power sparks.”
“And from what Dusk said earlier, I’m in that camp.” Layla mulled this over, wondering what exactly was going to happen to her.
“Bingo, chica.” Rikyava winked at her. “And when that bomb goes off later in life, it goes boom. Not to worry though, you’re in a good place. Dusk and I can help teach you how to manage your opening abilities, and your talisman will take the brunt of your emotions for you. Talismans are a big help for young Dragons. They take your emotions and smooth them out quite a bit, thus containing your associated power.”
“So this is like… a dampener for my outbursts?” Layla glanced down at the silver cuff on her wrist.
“And you’ll want to wear it twenty-four seven.” Rikyava gave her a stern eyeball. “Reginald wasn’t kidding when he said you’ll have to learn how to control your magic here. But fortunately, or unfortunately, you’re training with Dusk, so he’ll help you with that so you don’t shift balls suddenly and ransack this place.” Rikyava chuckled as she put her black boots up on a cobalt silk ottoman, but there was something dire in it.
“So what – I’m going to be able to shift my body into an actual dragon? Like, are we talking Game of Thrones here?” Layla quipped, curious and incredulous at the same time.
“Maybe.” Rikyava grinned. “Though Desert Dragons are some of the smallest. You’ll not be as big as the dragons represented in Game of Thrones.Ifyou figure out how to shift. Not everyone does.”
“Can you?”
Rikyava’s grin was even bigger as she examined her fingernails. “Maybe. Piss me off and find out, girlie.”
Layla laughed, feeling better than she had all day, enjoying the Guardswoman’s fierce attitude. They were going to be fast friends, Layla could feel it at once. Rikyava chuckled also, her violet eyes flashing personality and fire. Extending a hand and half-rising from her chair so Layla could grip it, she said, “Rikyava Andersen. Head of the Hotel Guard.”
“Layla Price.” Layla shook her solid hand in a hearty grip. “Desert Dragon and newest member of Concierge Services, I guess.”
Rikyava laughed. Slapping her thighs, she put her feet back up on the ottoman and crossed one well-polished black boot over the other, regarding Layla with a frank look. “So. What questions you got? I’m sure you’re busting at the seams to learn more about just what the fuck you’ve got yourself into.”
“You mean what Adrian got me into,” Layla snorted, taking up a bite of roast beef from her plate. It had been a long day and breakfast on the jet seemed like a whole other lifetime now.
“Adrian, you, that bangle on your wrist,” Rikyava waved a hand dismissively. “Blame your birth-mother for whelping you. It doesn’t matter, Layla. You’re one of us, and you were born one of us, it’s just a fucking miracle your powers never rose earlier living among humans as you did this whole time.”
“Why didn’t my powers rise earlier? Why didn’t I ever know about any of this before?”
“Some powers bloom late.” Rikyava shrugged, her demeanor plain and truthful. “My abilities didn’t come on-line until puberty, but I lived in a Dragon-clan, so I knew what I was in for. Most beings of the Twilight Realm have their powers awaken at birth, then have to hone them as they mature. But some – especially Dragon Binds like you – hold their powers latent a very long time before they get sparked. No one really knows why.”
“So what exactly is the Twilight Realm? Andwhereare we?” Layla queried, intrigued.
“The Twilight Realm,” Rikyava gestured at the room, “is a near-dimension to the human version of earth. Everything on earth – everything in the cosmos – lives on certain vibrational frequencies. You could think of them asnext-door universes. This building and the people here are out-of-synch with the frequency vibration you come from. And you have been broughtthroughfrom that frequency and re-tuned to vibrate here. Got it?”
“Maybe.” Layla thought back to the physics she’d heard concerning theories of infinite universes. “So we’re in a parallel reality. A parallel dimension.”
“Precisely.” Rikyava re-crossed her immaculate black boots at the knee. “And there are portals, access-ways back and forth between the Twilight Realm and the human world. Ever heard of farie-rings? How about stone circles? Or the pyramids in the Yucatan and Peru?”
Layla blinked, astonished. “You’re saying there are portals in those places? Through to here?”
“Not all portals come here,” Rikyava chuckled. “This Realm is calledSevne Vir –the Seventh Vibration, though it’s nicknamed the Twilight Realm because of how beautiful it is at twilight. There are otherVir– for Ascendants, Demonics, Ephemerals, and the like – but only the rare entity can cross over into those. Those Vibrations are strange; not at all like the human world or the Twilight Realm. The Hotel welcomes guests from allVir, though. The Seventh is a balanced vibration and people from allVircan generally exist here without harm – unless you’re a Dragon and you drink that awful swill they callSileth-wine.” Rikyava finished with a grin.
“So let me get this straight,” Layla continued. “Humans are in—?”
“Humans occupy the Fourth Vibration,Quattre Vir.” Rikyava informed briskly. “Species that evolved in the Fourth are magic-blocked. Though due to the proximity of the Twilight Realm and the human world, crossover-breeding has happened with humans. Magical offspring generally live out their days in our Realm though, rather than among humans – who are superstitious, easily scared animals and tend to kill off magical creatures.”
“So… are Dragons the offspring of humans and Twilight Realm beasts?” Layla’s brows knit.
Rikyava gave a bark of a laugh, then snorted. “Gods, no! No, Dragons are a shape-shifting species. We are naturally humanoid, yet can shift into a beast form because of our inborn magic. There are a number of shape-shifting Lineages in the Realm. Ever heard of werewolves? Or dog-men, like up in Michigan?”
“Those are real?” Layla’s brows rose.
