GATHERING STORM

CHAPTER 9

The allied forces of Tempestria stood assembled at the edge of the Black Plains as the twin moons painted the wasteland in silver and blood. Catriona tightened her grip on the staff, its druidic runes pulsing like a second heartbeat. The air reeked of sulfur and iron—a metallic tang that clung to the back of her throat.

Daelen moved through the ranks, adjusting straps on a young soldier's armor. "Steady," he murmured. "Hold the line until my signal."

Catriona watched him. The way his shadow stretched long behind him, darker than it should have been. She'd noticed it weeks ago but chalked it up to the strange light of the other world. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Mandalee materialized beside her, breath fogging in the cold air. "Scouts haven't returned." Her fingers tapped the hilt of her dagger—three quick beats. A nervous habit Catriona had come to recognize.

A gust of wind howled across the plains, carrying with it the distant sound of clanking metal.

They were coming.

The horizon erupted in a wave of fire.

Kullos' army advanced like a living tsunami—thousands of soldiers in obsidian armor, their eyes burning with violet flames. At their center loomed the Siege Engine: a grotesque fusion of flesh and iron, its ribs pulsing with stolen magic. Tendrils of smoke coiled from its maw, forming screaming faces before dissipating.

"That's not just a weapon," Catriona whispered. "It's *alive*."

Daelen's jaw tightened. "We break their center. Mandalee—"

"Already on it." The assassin vanished into the mist.

Catriona planted her staff into the earth. Vines erupted from the cracked ground, weaving a barrier just as the first volley of arrows blotted out the moons.

For three brutal hours, they held.

Catriona's arms trembled as she channeled another shield, deflecting a ballista bolt meant for Daelen. He nodded thanks before cleaving through two attackers with a single swing. Nearby, Mandalee danced between shadows, her daggers finding gaps in armor with surgical precision.

Then the Siege Engine screamed

A beam of violet light lanced across the battlefield. Where it struck, soldiers collapsed—not dead, but worse. Their shadows *detached*, twisting into clawed wraiths that turned on their former comrades.

"Fall back!"Daelen roared.

A young recruit stumbled into Catriona, his face ashen. "T-they're behind us too! We're surrounded"

An arrow took him in the throat.

They fought toward the Siege Engine, the ground slick with blood and shadow. Just paces from its pulsating core, a figure emerged from the smoke.

'Hello, brother."

Daelen froze. The voice was his own—if his voice had been dragged through broken glass.

Kullos lifted his visor.

Catriona's breath hitched. Same scar over the left eyebrow. Same crooked nose from a long-ago brawl.Only the eyes were different—Daelen's were storm-gray; these burned with sickly violet light.

"You," Daelen breathed.

"Me." Kullos spread his arms. "The shadow you cast when you burned Lythara. The screams you ignored 'for the greater good.'" He tapped his temple."I've always been here."

Mandalee lunged—only for Kullos to backhand her aside like a doll. Her body crumpled against a rock, motionless.

Catriona's staff flared, but dark tendrils snaked up her arms, freezing her in place.

"Join me," Kullos crooned. "Or watch as I peel Tempestria apart layer by layer."

Behind him, the Siege Engine shuddered. The air * ripped open—a jagged portal revealing an endless legion of shadow warriors.

An explosion rocked the plains.

Catriona was hurled backward, the world spinning. She landed hard, her vision swimming. Through the smoke, she saw:

Daelen on his knees, sword shattered Mandalee's limp hand twitching in the dirt The portal stretching, something colossal pushing through

Then a flash of white light.

When Catriona blinked the spots from her eyes, a new figure stood between them and the abyss.

A woman in silver armor, wielding a sword made of moonlight.

Kullos hissed. You.

The stranger raised her blade—