Brightheart padded to his nest. “Can I speak to you?”
“Can’t it wait till the morning?” Jayfeather just wanted to sleep.
“It won’t take long.” Brightheart sat down heavily beside his nest. “I’m expecting kits.” Jayfeather heard a note of uncertainty in her voice. “They’ll be okay, won’t they? Even though I’m not as young as I used to be?”
Jayfeather sat up straight. Why would any cat bring kits into the world now? They would just be more lives to give up to the Dark Forest warriors! “What were you thinking?” he snapped. “Leaf-bare’s on the way and we might starve without having extra mouths to feed!”
Brightheart reared back. “B-but—”
He didn’t let her finish. “What a dumb time to have kits! Is everyone here a mouse-brain?”
Brightheart stood up. “How dare you speak to me like that?” Anger sparked from her pelt. “I never thought I’d have kits again, and they won’t be the first to be born in leaf-bare. I thought you’d be pleased!”
“Kits!” Briarlight hauled herself quickly across the den. “That’s great news!”
“Try telling that to Jayfeather,” Brightheart growled.
“Why?” Briarlight sounded baffled.
“StarClan knows!” Brightheart stalked out of the den and Jayfeather sank into his nest.
“Well? What’s up?” Briarlight prompted.
Jayfeather tucked his nose under his paw and ignored her. Weariness washed over him. How could he ever find enough strength to fight the Dark Forest?
Chapter 8
Lionblaze followed the moonlit trail back to camp. Should I tell Hollyleaf she’s the fourth cat? The thought had been stuck like a burr in his mind since Jayfeather had told them about the Tribe’s prophecy. But what if she’s not? She wanted to be one of the Three so much. Is it fair to raise her hopes again?
Lionblaze tried to think about something else. Overhead the trees rustled in the breeze. The birds were quiet now that night had fallen. He glanced over his shoulder. Sorreltail and Squirrelflight padded behind him. They’d patrolled the borders. There was no sign of trouble. Now they were heading home.
Squirrelflight yawned. “I can’t wait to get to my nest.”
Sorreltail shook out her pelt. “It’s not that late.” She glanced up. “It’s just getting dark earlier.”
Squirrelflight shivered. “And chilly.”
Why do we need a fourth cat? Lionblaze’s mind started whirling again. Doesn’t StarClan believe in us? A small pang jabbed his heart. I was going to save the Clans. It was my destiny. But now… Now the prophecy had changed. Lionblaze stared at his paws as they followed the well-worn trail down toward the hollow. Has my destiny changed, too?
“Is everything quiet?” Firestar was waiting for them in the clearing. The camp looked deserted, the Clan tucked in their dens for the night.
“WindClan re-marked its border,” Lionblaze reported. “ShadowClan seems to have been sniffing around the big bramble, but they haven’t strayed into our territory.”
Firestar’s green gaze glittered in the dark. “Anything else?”
Lionblaze knew he was asking if there was any sign of the Dark Forest warriors. Surely they couldn’t break through from the Place of No Stars? But Lionblaze had seen the wounds Ivypool carried back from her dreams. Those were real enough.
“Nothing,” Lionblaze reported. He dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader and headed for the warriors’ den. His nest was tucked near to the trunk of the fallen beech and he picked his way carefully among the sleeping warriors, settling eventually beside Cinderheart, asleep in her nest. He closed his eyes. But his mind kept churning.
“Hey!” Cinderheart jerked her head up. “Stop fidgeting!”
“Sorry.” Lionblaze lifted his muzzle.
“Can’t you sleep?” Cinderheart blinked at him.
“I’m not used to the early nights,” he admitted.
Cinderheart heaved herself to her paws. “Come on.” She hopped out of her nest. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Lionblaze watched her slide from the den. Like we used to. Hope flickered in his chest. He followed Cinderheart into the clearing. The moonlight turned her gray pelt silver.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she muttered, turning as he reached her and stalking away toward the thorn barrier. Confused, Lionblaze followed as she led him up the slope and out of the forest. The lake glittered below them.
“Come on.” Cinderheart raced away along the ridge.
Lionblaze bounded after her, speeding down the hillside, swerving around bushes, his paws skidding on the grass. At the bottom, he leaped the short, steep drop onto the beach.
Cinderheart was already waiting at the water’s edge. “When I see the lake like this, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong. Not for us, not for any of the Clans.”
Lionblaze followed her gaze toward the distant shore. The marshlands of RiverClan glowed beneath the moon, rippling in the starlight as wind stirred the reeds. He could feel Cinderheart’s pelt brushing his.
“It’s never going to happen, is it?” Cinderheart turned her sad, blue gaze on him. “No matter how much we want it to.”
“What’s never going to happen?” Suddenly Lionblaze wished he hadn’t spoken. He knew what she meant, and he didn’t want to hear her answer.
She turned back toward the lake. “We have to stop fighting our destinies.”
“I’m not fighting mine.”
“Really?” Cinderheart rested against him for a moment. “Then why did you follow me here?”
“How do I know you’re not part of my destiny?”
Cinderheart pointed her muzzle toward the stars. “You’re closer to them than you are to me.”
“That’s not true!”
“But StarClan has chosen you to protect the Clans.” Pebbles crunched beneath her paws. “I can’t get in the way of something so important.”
“Don’t I get to choose?” Lionblaze argued.
Cinderheart looked at him. “It’s not that simple. I need to figure out my own destiny, too. I have to find out if I’m supposed to be a medicine cat or a warrior. And I can’t do that if I take a mate.”
Lionblaze bristled. “So you wouldn’t choose me over your destiny?”
“Do you want me to make the same mistake Leafpool did?”
Her words sliced through his heart. “That’s not fair!”
“None of this is fair.” Cinderheart turned and headed for the slope. “We have to make the right choice. Lives depend on it.” She glanced back. “Are you coming?”
Lionblaze ignored her. The lake reflected his face, dark against the starry sky. He stared down, losing himself in the image he saw there. Is that really me?
Jerking back, Lionblaze growled, “I can’t do this anymore.” He turned, hoping to see Cinderheart’s warm gaze, but she’d gone. Suddenly weary, he sank onto the stones and closed his eyes.
Lionblaze woke feeling stiff and cold. Water lapped at the pebbles a whisker from his nose. Dew soaked his pelt. Above the moor, a streak of pale dawn lit the sky. Wincing, he stumbled to his paws and shook out his fur. I’ll show Cinderheart we don’t have to be ruled by our destinies. Numb with cold, he headed up the hillside and into the trees.
A gray pelt was moving between the bushes down below. Graystripe. Lionblaze tasted the air. Cloudtail, Squirrelflight, and Millie too. It must be the dawn patrol. Plunging down the slope, he raced to catch up.