I Married A Dragon (Prime Mating Agency)(19)

“Okay, I think I get it. But that means that whoever is at the top will forever remain there, right? No chances for anyone else to climb socially—both physically and figuratively—unless someone sells their home?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Actually, the highest level continually climbs, although it is strictly regulated and extremely costly. People can make their plateau float higher with shadow obsidian dust. But the bigger and the higher your plateau, the more dust it requires.”

Kaida nodded in sudden understanding. “And because it requires less for lower and smaller plateaus, it gives the people in lower levels a chance at trying to catch up.”

I grinned. “Correct. But it is a complex, and potentially dangerous process. Abusing it is what caused the shattering of our world. So while everyone stockpiles shadow obsidian dust, they can only start injecting it to the base of their plateaus during specific time periods and after obtaining a series of demanding permits.”

Kaida frowned, her eyes flicking in every direction, before lingering on a family flying up from the black gate towards their plateau.

“I get the whole status thing with being the highest, with the least impeded view, but it also feels like a chore,” my Ejaya said pensively. “I mean, it’s a really long way to fly up to the twenty-sixth level. That looks almost like a little over one kilometer vertically, not to mention the horizontal distance from the gate. Shouldn’t the plateaus closer to the gate be the prime real estate as you have easier access to everything? Usually, living downtown is noisier but more expensive because of all the convenience.”

“Fair point, my Kaida. But people who can afford the higher plateaus can also afford marked shadow obsidian stones to open portals directly to and from their homes. However, most are too stingy to actually use them and fly instead so that they can keep their wealth to build their hoard.”

As we approached the black gate, the gaping vortex surrounded by the largest plateau of Oddran, Kaida began to understand the downsides of the lower levels. Aside from the people flying everywhere, goods being transported by hand, on flying devices, or merely by telekinetic powers cluttered the air. The closer to the gate, the less privacy you enjoyed, and the greater the noise.

Above all, while she couldn’t put it into words, Kaida could feel something off about the air surrounding us. It was, in fact, the instability in the world's fabric. It grew the closer we got to the black gate.

“The land around the gate seems extremely vast,” Kaida mused out loud.

“It spreads for many kilometers in every direction. However, there are some gaping holes scattered in its midst,” I explained. “Nobody lives there. You will only find merchants and commercial businesses lining the circumference of the gate, and a few farms and factories behind them. But the further inland you go, you will only find wild creatures and untamed land that we occasionally hunt in.”

I landed in one of the least crowded areas of the commercial street in the market sector. With much reluctance, I put Kaida back on her feet. I kept my hand on her waist and, to my delight, she didn’t reject my touch.

Every eye locked on us, although people mainly focused on the strange Ejaya that was my Kaida. They’d never seen a human in the flesh before, and for many, I suspected not even on an image. Thankfully, they kept a respectful distance. My presence no doubt played a part in it. You didn’t approach a Shadow Lord unless you had business with him, or if he came to you first. And even then, they made sure not to invade our personal space.

While it was mainly to protect us from their inability to properly control their phasing powers, I believed fear also played a big role. You never knew when jokraz would take over one of us. Nobody in their right mind would want to face off against a rabid Shadow Lord.

I looked at my Ejaya with a bit of confusion. “You do not seem disturbed by the attention you’re drawing.”

She shrugged. “As an Enforcer, I’m used to the locals gawking at us whenever my team and I go in for a mission. I expected your people to be extra curious about an off-worlder in their midst. I doubt you guys get too many visitors.”

I nodded, once more pleased to find her nowhere near as skittish and delicate as her fragile appearance led me to believe.

“Anyway, I’m gawking right back,” she said with a mischievous smile. “They all look so different in their scale colors and horn shapes. But they all only have four horns, whereas you have eight plus that kind of crest in the middle of your forehead.”

I smiled while leading her towards one of the kiosks of the open market. “Accurate observation. Those four extra horns and my crest constitute my shadow crown. It is what identifies me as a Shadow Lord. You will see a few other golden Derakeens like me, but they will have a pair of golden wings instead of dark ones like mine and only four golden horns.”

“That’s really cool. Do they have a purpose?” she asked.

Her genuine curiosity pleased me tremendously. I had not dared hope she would find me interesting enough to want to talk about what I was.

“Yes. My crown amplifies my control over the shadows and makes it easier for me to see beyond the various pathways of the veil,” I explained.

We stopped in front of a kiosk. It had samples of various fruits and vegetables people usually bought for their pets or to feed the chattel they intended to eat later.

“This store, and the other two on the right, sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Whenever you need something, you just come here and select the ones you like in the amounts you want, and they will deliver it to our lair. Don’t worry about currency. They will directly charge my account.”