Listen. Rass left everything behind. Except for the horrible thing that whispers inside him. Silver Wings. Faye ventures into a village for supplies, but rumours and a strange girl draw her in. Collection. Cuno should have kept his mouth shut. He wouldn't have done it if he had known she'd stick him on a boat heading towards hostile territory. Attic girls. They are a secret for when mommy gets better. Safe, and hidden until the right time. But Grandmother hasn't come back in days, and they're getting hungry.

Keefe must run. The creature chasing him doesn't tire and doesn't stop. It's not only his own life on the line. He must get somewhere it cannot follow him. He must run. Nola has heard stories about the Roamers all of her life. They're thieves and charlatans, but damn if they can't put on a show. She never heard about how handsome they can be. Or how dangerous. Miach hasn't been long on the road, but she's trying to make the best of it. She tries not to think too much about what being an Aedly means. That is, until Mac Tíre finds another one. Faye is still sore from her last encounter. That's not all she has to worry about. She isn't sure of the nature of the bond that ties her to the hawk she's named Spite. That's on her mind until something much worse appears before her.

Miach is alone now. With her Grandmother's death, she has become the last surviving member of her family. She inherits secrets she knows nothing about. Secrets her Grandmother wished she could bring to her grave. While Miach must face being alone in the world, Faye longs for just that. She's wounded by attackers who wanted a fake sword. There's something hiding in the trees, drawn by the smell of blood...but Faye knows that people can be the worst monsters of all. Cuno sometimes forgets why he should be apart from others. He doesn't particularly like his job. Or his boss, for that matter. The person he most wanted to be with vanished years ago, anyway. He finds the last thing he expects in a small village. Keefe struggles to keep his family together. His brother is getting older. His cousin wants to leave and travel the world. At least he lives in a place where cats grant wishes if you can catch them. They might not meet, but they are all tied together in ways they have yet to know. Here are four stories of love, loss and longing. (Includes reworked versions of 'Mist', 'Feathers and Flame', 'Old Friends' and the brand new story 'A Cat of Many Colours')

Faye is used to being set against the mysterious monsters known as Aed. She has dealt with those they give power to, the Aedly, for all of her life. Unfortunately this time her enemies are just people, and for the first time in a long time Faye is alone. And she knows from experience that people can be the worst kind of monsters.

Mercy has no intentions of living up to his name. He plans to find the people who ruined his life, and kill them in the cruelest possible way. What he needs now is power. He's spent years breaking laws to get it. So he isn't surprised when the lovely officer Reba turns up to arrest him. A bit of peace and quiet might help him come up with the perfect plan. It's not like he doesn't have a plan to escape. Unfortunately, the judge believes in rehabilitation. He sends Mercy to the mortal world to fulfill his punishment by being a good conscience to a mortal brat. So much for peace and quiet...