He rounded on her. “This has nothing to do with you. Keep your whiskers out of it.”
“She’s my kit!” Squirrelflight snapped.
“She’s a ThunderClan warrior and she broke the rules!” Bramblestar snapped back.
“What rules?” Squirrelflight demanded.
Bramblestar bared his teeth. “She left her patrol without permission and she went to look for a codebreaker I banished!”
Sparkpelt stared at her father, her gaze glittering suddenly with fear as he loomed over Squirrelflight. “I’m sorry,” she blurted. “Okay? It was wrong of me and I won’t do it again.”
Bristlefrost flinched as Bramblestar turned back to his daughter. He looked ready to rake her muzzle with his claws. She held her breath, relief swamping her as the ThunderClan leader’s fur finally began to smooth.
Flamepaw was shivering as he watched his mother. Sparkpelt seemed suddenly small as she blinked at Bramblestar. “Don’t banish me too,” she mewed quietly. “I can’t leave my Clan, and my kits are still only apprentices. They need me.”
Bramblestar stared calmly at Sparkpelt. Bristlefrost pressed back a shudder. Was he enjoying the look of fear on his daughter’s face? Of course not. He’s not a fox-heart. But if she’d known he’d react like this, she’d never have told him. And yet Sparkpelt had broken the rules, hadn’t she? Bramblestar was only making sure his Clan was obeying StarClan. It was more important than ever now that Shadowsight had shared his vision about the codebreakers.
Slowly, Bramblestar turned his head. “Alderheart, are we running low on catmint?” His yowl rang across the clearing.
Catmint? Bristlefrost blinked at her leader. What did that have to do with anything?
Alderheart stuck his head out of the medicine den, looking puzzled. “I guess we’re a little low, but we don’t really need any at the moment.”
Bramblestar looked back at Sparkpelt. “But it doesn’t do any harm to make sure we have enough.”
Alderheart frowned. “I’m not sure it will be growing yet. It might be best to wait another moon.”
Bramblestar was still staring at Sparkpelt. “Do you want to wait another moon until your Clan has enough catmint?”
Sparkpelt looked puzzled. “N-no.”
“Then why don’t you go to the abandoned Twoleg nest and check whether the catmint is growing yet?” Bramblestar’s tail swished over the ground.
“If you want me to.” Sparkpelt glanced at her mother uneasily.
Bramblestar padded closer. “It would be a good way to prove to your Clanmates that you’re more interested in helping them than in wandering off on your own private missions.” He glanced ominously at Flamepaw. “A mother who’s so worried about taking care of her kits would want to set them a good example.”
Bristlefrost felt suddenly cold, unnerved by the threat in Bramblestar’s mew.
“Sure.” Sparkpelt nodded. “If that would help.”
“Go on, then.” Bramblestar nodded toward the camp entrance. “Off you go.”
Sparkpelt headed away, glancing back nervously as she crossed the clearing.
But Bramblestar had already turned to pad to his spot beneath the Highledge. He settled down and looked expectantly at Squirrelflight.
The ThunderClan deputy watched her daughter leave the camp, then flashed a look at Bristlefrost, which seemed to say, See? It’s not him.
A chill slid beneath Bristlefrost’s fur. It has to be him! Who else could it be? She pushed back a tingle of foreboding as Squirrelflight joined Bramblestar, her pelt rippling along her spine.
Bristlefrost glanced again at the camp entrance. Sparkpelt had been gone all afternoon. Would she be back soon? Most of the patrols had returned, and Flamepaw had finished patching the elders’ roof.
Bristlefrost’s belly growled and she headed toward the fresh-kill pile. As she took a shrew from the top and headed to the patch of grass where Thriftear was sharing a mouse with Twigbranch, paw steps sounded at the entrance. Her heart leaped as Lionblaze padded into camp. His pelt was unkempt and his eyes hollow. He crossed the clearing, his head high as he stopped in front of Bramblestar.
His Clanmates turned to watch, relief showing in their eyes, but no cat spoke as Lionblaze faced Bramblestar.
“The quarter moon is up,” the golden warrior mewed. “I’ve come home to take care of my Clan.”
“The quarter moon was up two days ago,” Bramblestar grumbled. “What took you so long?”
Lionblaze stared down at his paws. “I didn’t want to hunt close to Clan territory,” he growled, “so I ended up farther and farther away from the lake. I ran into a Clan of Twolegs, whose mouse-brained kits seemed intent on making me their kittypet. They wouldn’t stop chasing me! I managed to lose them, but I lost track of my way home, too.”
Bramblestar snorted a laugh as he got to his paws. Bristlefrost searched his gaze. Was he relieved to see Lionblaze home and safe? His face gave nothing away.
“He looks thin,” Thriftear whispered, looking at Lionblaze.
“But he’s safe now.” Bristlefrost shifted guiltily. If she hadn’t reported him, he’d never have been exiled. Is he really safe now? She remembered Bramblestar’s warning at the Gathering. He’d said the codebreakers must atone. And Lionblaze had been named. Perhaps the ThunderClan leader was planning to punish Lionblaze again.
Bramblestar’s gaze flitted over Lionblaze. “It looks like your time away will make you appreciate your life here,” he meowed.
Lionblaze shook out his pelt. “A warrior is not meant to live without a Clan,” he answered. “But I’m home now and ready to return to my duties.”
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “Not so fast.”
Bristlefrost pricked her ears. Was he going to send Lionblaze away again?
“While you were away, StarClan named you as a codebreaker.” Bramblestar stared darkly at the tom.
Lionblaze stiffened. “What?”
“Shadowsight had a vision,” Bramblestar explained. “It named all the codebreakers in the Clans. They must atone, or their Clans will suffer.”
“Who’s suffering?” Lionblaze looked pointedly around his Clanmates, then at the fully stocked fresh-kill pile.
Bramblestar narrowed his eyes. “The suffering hasn’t started yet,” he mewed ominously.
“You believe the word of a ShadowClan cat over your own Clanmate’s honor?” Lionblaze squared his shoulders. “I haven’t broken any code!”
“What about crossing the WindClan border?” Bramblestar growled.
“I’ve paid for that.” Lionblaze glared at him.
Squirrelflight got to her paws, her fur ruffled. “I was named too,” she told Lionblaze, as though she wanted to reassure him. “So was Jayfeather and—”
“Jayfeather?” Lionblaze’s gaze flashed toward the medicine den. “What’s he ever done but help his Clan?”
Squirrelflight looked at the ground. “I think you are paying for my mistake.”
“Because you and Leafpool lied about who our mother was?” Lionblaze sounded as though he couldn’t believe his ears.
She nodded meekly.
“But that was moons ago!” Lionblaze snapped. “Why should StarClan drag that up now? And what has it got to do with me and Jayfeather? Did we break the code by being born?”
Bramblestar shrugged. “It’s pointless arguing,” he mewed smoothly. “StarClan has spoken. We must obey them.”
“How?” Lionblaze snapped. “Am I supposed to apologize for being alive?”
“No.” Bramblestar padded to the middle of the clearing and looked around at his Clanmates. “But I think it’s time we began to atone.”
Bristlefrost glanced at Thriftear. She was staring at Bramblestar, her eyes round with worry. Around the clearing, her Clanmates exchanged uneasy glances.