“I can’t run anymore!” she gasped.
Oakheart collapsed beside her.
“Fish-face!” she whispered.
He suddenly flipped himself over and sunk his teeth softly into her scruff, pinning her to the ground. “Who’s a fish-face?” he mewed through a mouthful of fur.
“No one!” she wailed.
Oakheart rolled off and sat up, catching his breath. Bluefur pushed herself onto her haunches and leaned against him, enjoying the smoothness of his pelt and the firmness of his muscles beneath. He still smelled a bit fishy, but his scent was overlaid with the tang of pines.
Oakheart sighed. “I’ve waited so many moons for this.” He twisted his head and looked down into her eyes. “For you.”
Bluefur dropped her gaze to her paws, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Oakheart nuzzled her as she looked up at him.
“Every cat in my Clan’s been telling me to get a mate,” he murmured. “But I want no other mate but you.”
“I know what you mean,” Bluefur mewed. “Larksong told me I should pair off with…” She stopped, seeing hurt spark his gaze.
Oakheart leaned away. “Is there another cat who…?”
“No,” Bluefur mewed quickly. “Only…”
“Only what?”
“I’ve been raising Snowfur’s kit. I haven’t had time to think about mates.”
“You’ve done a great job. Your sister would be proud of you. But Whitestorm’s a warrior now,” Oakheart pointed out. “You’ve got time to live your own life.”
“Maybe,” Bluefur whispered. “But this can never happen.”
“What?”
“Us.”
“Why?” Hurt cracked Oakheart’s mew.
Bluefur couldn’t believe it wasn’t obvious. “We’re from different Clans!” And I have a destiny that doesn’t leave room for a mate.
Pain twisted her heart. She tried to push it away but it hung there like grief, cold and heavy. She pressed closer to Oakheart, and his warmth eased her sadness.
“If we carry on meeting like this,” she murmured, “we’ll end up being hurt.”
“The only thing that can hurt me,” Oakheart breathed, “is being apart from you.”
Bluefur knew it was true, for her and for him. But she couldn’t change her destiny. She stared up at the Great Rock, glittering with frost. The Clan leaders would be horrified if they could see what was happening.
Two figures gazed down from the top.
Moonflower and Snowfur!
Bluefur felt every hair on her pelt rise.
Oakheart stirred beside her. “What is it?”
Bluefur stared at her mother and sister. There was such sadness in their expressions as they sat watching, neither moving or speaking.
I know why you’re here, she thought. They’d come to remind her where her true loyalties lay. If she was going to fulfill the mysterious fire-and-water prophecy, then she had to be as strong as fire—and loyal only to her Clanmates.
“What are you staring at?” Oakheart pressed.
Bluefur blinked, and the starry shapes on the Great Rock vanished. “Nothing.” She turned to Oakheart. “Let’s stay the night here.”
Just one night! she begged her mother and sister. I promise after this I’ll devote the rest of my life to my Clan. She glanced up at the rock. No one was there, and the moon shone in a clear bright sky.
“Let’s build a nest,” Oakheart suggested.
They scraped together a heap of leaves beneath one of the roots of an oak tree, and curled up together in the frost-scented darkness.
Chapter 37
A soft tail-tip stroked Bluefur’s cheek.
“Time to wake up.” Oakheart’s whisper stirred her ear fur.
Bluefur blinked open her eyes and stretched, the leaves of their nest rustling beneath her. It was still dark in the hollow, but above the trees the sky was turning milky with predawn light. She sat up, heart racing. She had to get home.
Oakheart was looking at her, his eyes glowing like the Moonstone. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“But we must.” She pressed her muzzle to his.
They padded to the edge of the clearing and paused, twining tails. Their time together was over.
“I’ll look out for you on the riverbank,” Oakheart promised.
Bluefur pressed against him. “I’ll look out for you, too.” Her voice came out as a whisper. She knew the river would always divide them.
“I might even climb a few trees to keep in practice,” he joked.
“Yes.” She felt weary with sadness. Why was he so cheerful? Didn’t he realize they would never be together like this again? She gazed into his eyes and knew that he did. Behind the brightness she recognized grief, raw as her own.
“Good-bye,” she whispered, and headed up the slope. She glanced back again and again until the pain of seeing him standing beneath the oak trees was too much to bear. Then she fixed her gaze firmly ahead and bounded up to the top of the hollow. But as she crested the rise, she felt Oakheart’s gaze still scorching her pelt.
I must be as strong as fire!
The woods were full of shadows, and it took her a while to adjust to the dark as she weaved around brambles and squeezed through clumps of fern. Her heart quickened as she neared camp; a Clanmate might be roaming the forest. Not this early, she told herself. But she still tensed at every rustle and scent drifting on the air.
She slid down the ravine, holding her breath as her paws sent a shower of grit tumbling down below. To her relief, Adderfang was nowhere to be seen. The camp entrance was unguarded. She slunk inside and headed straight for the warriors’ den, her gaze flitting nervously around the silent clearing.
Yellow light was rolling across the sky, reaching down to pierce the shadows beneath the trees. The dawn patrol would be gathering soon. Bluefur slid into the yew bush, tense as a hunted mouse, and tiptoed to her nest. Lionheart grumbled as she brushed past his nest, but no one stirred. Curling down into her nest, Bluefur closed her eyes. She didn’t want to sleep; she wanted to remember, to relive the moments she’d spent with Oakheart. She had only spent one night with him, and she loved him more deeply than she had thought was possible. How could she live, never talking to him again? Worse than that—how could she see him at Gatherings or on the shore and pretend that they were enemies?
But there was no choice. She was a ThunderClan warrior, loyal to the warrior code. And that meant she couldn’t be friends with a cat from another Clan. No matter how much he filled her thoughts.
“If you’re listening,” she breathed to Moonflower and Snowfur, “I promise I won’t meet him again.”
Bluefur’s head was fuzzy with tiredness when she joined her Clanmates to wait for orders about the day’s patrols. Lionheart couldn’t wait to get started. “I’ve been stuck in camp all morning,” he complained.
“Someone had to fix that hole in the camp wall,” Adderfang told him.
“And you did a good job, too,” Smallear added. “It’s stronger than ever.”
Thrushpelt hurried over, licking his lips. “Sorry I’m late,” he apologized. “I was starving. Had to eat.”
Dappletail shook her head. “You’d have made Weedwhisker proud,” she teased, reminding them all of the greedy old elder.
Sunstar was pacing around them. Tawnyspots was with Featherwhisker, complaining of sickness, so the ThunderClan leader was in charge of organizing the patrols again.
“Adderfang, take Lionheart, Whitestorm, Thistleclaw, and Tigerclaw,” Sunstar ordered. “Re-mark the new RiverClan borders. But be careful. They might be planning an ambush.” He paused, as though wondering whether to send more warriors.