Twisted Shadows

Twisted Shadows Black Onyx Book 2Nikita Parmenter Copyright © 2023 Nikita ParmenterAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE HARD WORK OF THE AUTHOR!!Cover design by: Serenic Designs Contents Title PageCopyrightChapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Books by this AuthorAbout The Author Chapter One “Fuck!” I hear Storm curse as we make it through the other side of the portal. Of course, I can’t see anything thanks to the purple haze impairing our vision, but at least it seems to be fading quicker than last time when we went through the green portal that brought us into the Warrior games. Reassuringly enough, I still have hold of Rival’s hand, and Storm’s wing is still wrapped around me, so I know that they are safe at least. “Guys, are you alright?” Storm asks, “Can anyone see yet?” One by one the guys all say that they are okay and that, like us, the purple is starting to fade from their vision. I should probably point out that it’s not necessarily a good idea to be speaking so loudly when we don’t know where we are, but I can’t hear anything to be concerned about, and I’m as worried about them as Storm is. I also know that my magic would’ve warned me by now if there was something I needed to be concerned about. Finally, the purple fades from my eyes, and I get the first good look at our surroundings. Fuck, we are unmistakably in the Shadowlands. I should probably be worried, maybe even scared. I know the guys will most likely be concerned when they realise where we are, but I’m not; I’m excited. I fucking love it here; after all it was two years before my father upped his search for me and made himself a deadly nuisance, and those two years were spent here. The guys are in for one hell of a shock, not just because of my connection to this place but because the stories don’t give it justice, and the harsh reality of the place is actually kind of comforting, or at least it is to me. “Where are we?” Reaper asks, looking around at the others who are all doing the same and studying our surroundings until realisation dawns on them. “We’re in the Shadowlands,” I reply, trying to keep my smile at bay. I fucking love this place. “This is not good,” Storm mutters, his body tense and his gaze moving around the area. We’ve ended up in the barren lands that separate the rest of the Shadowlands from the border, it’s patrolled regularly both by magic and by people, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re visited very soon. They all move closer to me as if to protect me, which is cute because until they really understand how the Shadowlands work, I’m going to be protecting them. Before anyone can say anything else, there’s a flash of purple light, and the scroll drops straight into Zev’s hands. He shrugs, “I guess I’m the one who gets to read it out this time.” Kill looks around at the others, “Remember, no one else is to touch it. We don’t want it to disintegrate again. The other scroll could’ve had more information on it that might’ve helped.” “Good point,” Mayhem murmurs in agreement, keeping his voice low and his eyes on the wasteland around us. I clear my throat, “You won’t see them coming.” Rival’s head snaps around to look at me as he narrows his eyes slightly, “What?” “There’s no point keeping an eye on your surroundings. Stay alert, yes, but you won’t see them. One minute you’ll be surrounded by nothing but desert, and the next, you’ll find yourself in the middle of about twenty Shadowlaidians.” “Shadowlaidians?” Loki questions. “Yeah, that’s what they call themselves here.” “I’m getting more and more curious about your connection to this place,” Killian adds, raising his eyebrow as his tail moves languidly behind him. I roll my eyes, “We’re getting distracted, Zev; what does the scroll say?” Zev clears his throat dramatically as he unrolls the scroll, “It says that there’s unrest in the Shadowlands, that dark magic has become a threat. Someone is trying to set a great evil onto the fae world, and they’re using the Shadowlands as a gateway. We are to find the culprit and prevent it from happening.” Everyone is silent for a few moments as we think over what the scroll has just told us. “What about a time limit?” Rival asks, his orange eyes sparking with intensity. Zev looks over the scroll again before frowning, “It doesn’t have one.” “That’s concerning,” I mutter thoughtfully. “I read as much as I possibly could about the Warrior Games, and nowhere in anything that I’ve read has there been any mention of a time limit not being given.” Rival replies, his eyebrows furrowed as he scrubs his hand through his blue hair. Rival loves knowledge, and I think the current lack of it is driving him mad. “Did it say anywhere how long the longest level lasted for?” Storm asks. Rival nods, “Yeah, two weeks, I think. Everyone thought that they’d failed because it took so long for them to get back.” “Okay, well hopefully, it will be two weeks for us as well.” Storm replies. “They