Gathering Storm (The Salvation of Tempestria Book 2) by Gary Stringer (howl and other poems .txt) 📕

the potential consequences, her eyes grew wider and wider. When he was finished, Catriona swallowed, nervously, but quickly composed herself.

‘Thirty seconds.’ she insisted. ‘Out of my head. You promised.’

The instant he left her mind, she reached out to Dreya. Some of these complications could affect her, too.

In the end, though, Dreya simply projected ‘Support,’ telling Cat it was her choice, and she would back her either way. She could either agree to help Daelen or let Dreya teleport her away and leave the two shadow warriors to it.

“Are you alright…‘Cat’?” Aden asked with feigned concern. “You seem to have turned quite pale,” he continued, still with the most pleasant tone, sugar coating his poisonous words. “You’re not coming down with some disgusting Faery disease, are you, little pet?”

Catriona told Daelen her decision.

‘Do it. I can’t let anyone else’s home and family be destroyed like mine was.’ Besides, the chance to learn about a shadow warrior’s true nature was irresistible.

‘You’re sure?’

‘Completely. I know the risks, and I want to help. How do we do this?’

‘Just follow my lead.’

Speaking to his clone for the first time, Daelen told him, “I’ve had quite enough of you calling her that! She’s not ill – you’re upsetting her. Catriona is no-one’s pet. She’s my girlfriend!”

“Yeah,” Catriona nodded, “it feels like I’ve known him forever.”

‘Thank you, Cat,’ came Daelen's voice in her mind, ‘and I’m sorry about this. It’s the only way. This means nothing, it’s just what we planned, OK? It’s nothing more than that. I’m sorry. I swear, it means nothing.’

‘Do it,’ she insisted.

With that, he kissed her full on the lips, and she kissed him back with equal passion. When he broke the kiss, she was reeling from the multitude of unfamiliar sensations. There was a piece of Daelen StormTiger inside her, and she could feel it.

‘You’re sure that was nothing? It sure felt like something to me.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he repeated.

‘It’s OK,’ she assured him. ‘My choice, remember?’

Meanwhile, Aden looked ready to throw up.

“Yeurch!” He pulled a face at the sight. “That is truly disgusting. Snogging your pet? Kullos is right – it ought to be illegal, consorting with lower life forms. Thought you’d got it out of your system way back, but looks like you’ve had a relapse. Yeurch!”

Daelen powered up, apparently enraged. “How dare you speak about Cat like that! I’ll tear you apart!”

‘Cat, get ready to fly.’

Daelen pulled his beam cannon out of his pocket dimension and fired it at Aden, who shielded, quickly and powered up his own version, firing back.

‘Now! Go!’ Daelen shouted in Cat’s mind, who immediately shifted to her falcon form and took to the sky.

However, she couldn’t resist the urge to at least do something to Aden, after all she’d had to put up with.

Shifting back and standing on her Windy Steps, she fished a pebble out of a pouch and called out, “Hey, Aden!”

Glancing her way, he saw her repeatedly toss the stone in the air and catch it again.

“Let’s see if you can catch this while you’re flying! I’ll be so impressed if you can!”

“You’re going to throw a stone at me?” Aden scoffed. “What do you think that tiny thing’s going to do?”

“You’ve lost perspective, Aden!” Cat shouted back, throwing the pebble and asking the wind to guide it straight and true. “Far away things may look small, but when they get closer…” the stone grew into a boulder about the same size as Aden himself, “…they’re much, much bigger!”

She laughed as it slammed into him, but then, not being foolish enough to wait around for any retaliation, she retook her falcon form and flew away.

Daelen smiled. Her intervention distracted Aden – only for a moment, but it was enough for him to get on top in the fight. Hopefully, he would be able to keep his clone on the defensive and thereby minimise the damage to the local area.

“You see?” he grinned. “My new girlfriend’s amazing!”

*****

Cat flew only a short distance to the FaerWay Tavern. The name and winged sign rankled her even more after Aden’s remarks, but it was the nearest, best landmark for Dreya’s teleportation. Otherwise, they might waste more time trying to find each other in some other, less specific location. Dreya materialised just as Cat shapeshifted. She took her hand and, thanks to that physical contact, Dreya was able to teleport them both to a secluded spot, as close as possible to Michael’s Tomb, without setting off any defences.

Once there, Dreya handed Cat a map, showing the Rhynas Desert, overseas, as Catriona had thought, on the continent of Northern Alloria.

When Cat thanked her, Dreya simply shrugged. “It’s only a map.”

“You know I don’t mean just for the map. I mean for everything. For…you know.”

“I know, but I am going to ask for something in return.”

“Better be quick – Daelen needs Michael’s help.”

“It’ll only take a moment,” Dreya assured her. “I just want to propose something.”

“Didn’t our whole relationship start when I proposed to you?”

“It did,” Dreya agreed, “Now I’m asking you.”

“Propose away, then,” Cat invited her.

“Keep me a secret. Let me be a rumour, a story, nothing more. I’ll be the ace up your sleeve. I can strengthen our link so I can be at your side in a heartbeat wherever you are.”

“You make that sound so altruistic, Dreya,” Catriona remarked with a wry smile, “but I know you better than that.”

Dreya returned the smile. “Better than anyone, and I’ll keep nothing from you. You’ve convinced me to stay my hand for now, but I’m still not ruling it out.”

Cat understood. “If it comes down to it, surprise could be key, and you know I won’t stand in your way. Just please, give me as much time as you can to gather information.”

“Have you ever known me to be reckless?”

Cat laughed and shook her head. “Never. That’s more my thing. Alright, my answer to your proposal is ‘yes.’ I promise. From now on, until the time is right, you’re my little secret. Actually,” she considered with