Squirrelflight’s belly tightened. Please don’t fight! Would the Sisters try to defend Moonlight? They’d have to if the Clans didn’t back down. Moonlight couldn’t defend herself right now. She ducked away from the entrance and nodded toward the stricken queen. “We have to get her out of here.” If Moonlight was safe, the Sisters would have less reason to fight.
Moonlight lifted her head weakly. Her gaze flitted around the den. “Where are my kits?” Tempest nudged the kits toward her. With slow stumbling steps they found their mother and snuggled eagerly against her belly. Moonlight curled around them protectively. Her nose wrinkled. “What’s that stench? Have foxes broken into the camp?”
“The Clans are here.” Leafpool’s eyes were dark with fear.
Squirrelflight padded closer. “They want you to leave.”
Moonlight tried to struggle to her paws but, weak from the birth, slumped helplessly beside her kits. “They shouldn’t have come,” she growled.
“But they have,” Squirrelflight told her. “We have to get you and your kits to safety.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Moonlight swished her tail.
“If you stay here, you’ll be putting your kits in danger. And your sisters will die trying to protect them, and you.” Outside, the Sisters’ growling had hardened into warning yowls. Squirrelflight thrust her muzzle close to Moonlight’s. “You’re outnumbered! All the pride in the world won’t save you.” Before Moonlight could answer, she jerked her muzzle toward Snow. “We have to get Moonlight and her kits out of here.”
Snow stared at her. “She’s just kitted. They won’t harm her, surely?”
“Tigerstar wants this land, and he wants it now.” Squirrelflight lashed her tail. “He’s made it clear that he won’t back down. You need to get Moonlight away while I try to stop them fighting.”
“We can’t make Moonlight travel so soon.” Hawk’s eyes were wide. “It might kill her, or her kits!”
“You have to get her clear,” Squirrelflight snapped. There wasn’t time to discuss this. “If fighting breaks out, she won’t be safe here.” Daylight glinted through the branches at the back of the den. The wall was thin there. Squirrelflight hurried toward it and began to tear at the vines. “Make a hole here and take Moonlight and her kits out the back. Get them to somewhere safe.” Her thoughts whirled. Was anywhere safe now that the patrol was here? It didn’t matter. Right now, she must persuade the Sisters to leave the den. “Find somewhere you can hide.”
Tempest glanced at Snow. “The cave,” she mewed quickly.
Snow’s gaze hardened. “We can’t let them drive us away without a fight.”
Squirrelflight turned on her. “Get Moonlight somewhere safe; then think about fighting!” she snarled.
Snow held her gaze for a moment, then looked at the narrow gap Squirrelflight had torn. “Okay.” She grabbed a vine and ripped the gap wider.
“Leafpool.” Squirrelflight blinked at her sister. “I’m going to go out there and try to keep the Clans talking. You help Tempest and Snow carry the kits. Hawk can help Moonlight.”
Leafpool stared at her. “You can’t let our Clanmates see you here!”
“I have no choice.” Squirrelflight ignored the fear clutching at her belly. Will Bramblestar be surprised to see me here? Or will he have guessed? “It’s the only way to get Moonlight clear.”
“What if they attack?” Leafpool’s gaze was bright with fear.
Squirrelflight pushed the thought away. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Leafpool narrowed her eyes. “Remember, Squirrelflight,” she murmured darkly, “you’re a warrior, not a Sister. You must live among your Clanmates long after the Sisters are gone.”
Squirrelflight padded past the kits, still damp from their birth and as small as prey. “I must do what’s right.” Avoiding Leafpool’s eye, she pushed her way out of the den.
The warriors stared. Eyes widened. Pelts spiked as Squirrelflight slid between Flurry and Sunrise and squared her shoulders against the bristling warriors. They lined the clearing like a pack of hungry foxes. She could see Bramblestar at the edge of her gaze, but she avoided looking at him.
“What are you doing here?” Tigerstar stared at Squirrelflight.
Crowfeather didn’t give her the chance to answer. “She came to warn the Sisters!” He padded forward, his tail flicking ominously behind him.
Mistystar narrowed her eyes. “We know you wanted to undermine your leader,” she growled, “but we didn’t think you’d go so far as to betray him.”
“I’ve betrayed no cat!” Squirrelflight snapped. “I came to make sure Moonlight was okay.”
Flurry moved closer. “Don’t tell them about the kits,” she hissed under her breath. “They mustn’t know Moonlight is weak.”
Furze nodded. Creek flicked his tail. Squirrelflight glanced at them. “You have to,” she whispered urgently. “It’s your only chance to make them leave.”
Crowfeather’s eyes flashed with rage. “She’s plotting with the enemy!”
Squirrelflight swung her muzzle toward the WindClan deputy. “The Sisters aren’t your enemy!”
Tigerstar’s ears twitched angrily. “They maimed Strikestone!”
Flurry lashed her tail. “He nearly killed Sunrise!”
Outraged yowls exploded from the warriors.
“They invaded our territory!”
“We were just defending our border!”
Alarm spiraled in Squirrelflight’s chest. Tempers were flaring. She eyed Tigerstar. “You wanted to show the Sisters how strong the Clans are,” she yowled above the noise. “You’ve done that. You can leave now and let them decide what to do. If they have any sense, they will leave. But it’s not fair to bully them like this.”
Sunrise bristled beside her. “We can handle bullies.”
“We don’t need you to speak for us,” Flurry snarled at Squirrelflight.
Squirrelflight lowered her voice so that only the Sisters could hear. “Moonlight’s had her kits. She’s okay. Leafpool and the others are taking them away from the camp.” She could only hope that once they knew that Moonlight and the kits were safe, they wouldn’t want to fight.
Flurry narrowed her eyes. “Did the Clans tell you to send Moonlight away?”
“No!” Surprise sparked in Squirrelflight’s pelt. “I did it to protect her and the kits.”
“Bramblestar.” Tigerstar’s gaze slid toward the ThunderClan leader. “How does it feel to be wrong for a change?” He sounded pleased.
A chill ran along Squirrelflight’s spine. What was the ShadowClan leader talking about? She turned her head slowly toward Bramblestar.
He was staring, puzzled, at Tigerstar. “What do you mean?”
“You chose the wrong cat to be your deputy.” Tigerstar’s voice was as smooth as honey. “It seems that Squirrelflight prefers rogues to her own Clanmates.”
“That’s not true!” Squirrelflight’s heart lurched. She stared desperately at Bramblestar, but his gaze was fixed on Tigerstar.
“What Squirrelflight does is up to her,” he meowed coldly.
Surprised murmurs rippled from the ring of warriors.
Breezepelt’s hackles lifted. “She’s disloyal!”
“That’s not true!” Squirrelflight glared at him.
“And it’s not the first time,” Breezepelt went on. “You raised your sister’s half-Clan kits and told your Clanmates and Bramblestar they were your own! You’re a liar.”
“Liar!” Ripples of agreement spread among the warriors.
Squirrelflight flattened her ears. Did the Clans still care about that? It had been so long ago! And Leafpool’s kits had gone on to help save all the Clans.
Bramblestar eyed Breezepelt angrily. “We came here to talk to the Sisters, not rake up old bones.”
Breezepelt flashed him an accusing look. “We didn’t expect to find your deputy here, mixing with the enemy! Squirrelflight’s disloyal. She’s been disloyal before. She can’t be trusted!”