Darkest Night

Dovewing! She recognized the pale gray ThunderClan warrior at once. Her paws felt suddenly cold. Ivypool’s words rang in her mind. I didn’t think it was a good idea for them to travel together. With a sinking feeling she saw the dark tabby fur of ShadowClan’s deputy showing between the browning leaves. Dovewing and Tigerheart were meeting, and she guessed by their hushed, anxious voices that they were meeting in secret.

She pricked her ears.

Tigerheart sounded worried. “It’s bad timing, Dovewing. Our warriors are losing respect for Rowanstar. And they keep looking at me, like I’m supposed to take his place.”

“Is that what you want?” Dovewing’s eyes shone with fear.

The ferns rustled as Tigerheart shifted his paws. “ShadowClan is weaker than it’s ever been. They need a leader they can believe in.”

“And that leader has to be you?”

“I don’t know.” Tigerheart avoided her gaze. “I’m trying to support Rowanstar, but that might not be enough.”

“What about me?” Dovewing’s mew caught in her throat. “What about us?”

Tigerheart looked at her, desperation glittering in his gaze. “I love you, Dovewing. I will always love you. We can sort this out, I promise.”

Twigpaw ducked down, her pelt bristling anxiously. “We can’t stay here.”

Finpaw stared at her puzzled. “Why?”

Twigpaw turned away. She’d already heard too much. “This isn’t our problem.”

Finpaw hurried after her. “That was Tigerheart, wasn’t it? Why was he with Dovewing?”

Isn’t it obvious? Twigpaw flashed him a look. “Just don’t say anything, okay?”

He blinked at her. “I never saw a thing.”

“Thanks.” She wished she’d never seen them. Should she tell Ivypool? Perhaps it was nothing. Perhaps they were just friends. Why upset Ivypool over this? She wasn’t even a Clanmate anymore. But she was your mentor. She’d want to know. Twigpaw blocked the thought. It’s none of my business. I’m SkyClan now. Her loyalty was to her new Clanmates, not her old ones.

“Hurry up.” She trotted into the lead. “We’re meant to be having fun! Let’s find a live frog to hide in Dewpaw’s nest before he gets home from training.” She broke into a run.

Finpaw followed, wobbling as his short tail unbalanced him. “You can carry it home!” he called. “I don’t want to get the taste of frog on my tongue.”

“Don’t you like frog?” Twigpaw looked over her shoulder. “Perhaps I should hide it in your nest.”

“I dare you!” Finpaw broke into a purr as he ran after her.

“Never dare a SkyClan cat!” Suddenly Twigpaw didn’t care about Dovewing or Ivypool or Tigerheart. She was a SkyClan cat. And having a friend in her new Clan seemed more important than anything.

CHAPTER 11

Alderheart padded along ThunderClan’s shore until the pebbles gave way to boulders. Early morning light sparkled on the water. Soft clouds drifted across the pale blue sky, and a mild breeze blew from the distant moor. Here, mallow grew in clumps. He bounded along the smooth, flat rocks until he reached a cluster of paw-shaped leaves. A few wilting flowers nodded among them, and he picked them first, pleased that he’d found some before cold weather killed them off. He tore off a leaf and rolled the petals in it, wedging in a crevice until he was ready to head home.

Movement caught his eye near the halfbridge. A cat slid from beneath it and hurried toward him.

Willowshine! His heart leaped as he recognized the RiverClan medicine cat’s gray pelt. He hadn’t seen a RiverClan cat since Duskfur had turned him and the other medicine cats away. She was heading straight toward him, and as she neared, he could see that her gaze was fixed on him. She looked anxious. He hurried to meet her, keeping close to the water as he crossed SkyClan’s shore. Had something happened to RiverClan?

“Are you okay?” he called as he neared her.

She glanced nervously across the lake toward RiverClan territory.

Alderheart guessed she wasn’t supposed to be here. He flicked his tail toward the woods at the top of the shore, and headed that way, glancing back to make sure Willowshine was following. He slid into the cover of the trees, ducking down behind a screen of bracken.

Willowshine reached him, breathless. “I had to come,” she panted. “StarClan sent me a message.”

Alderheart blinked at her anxiously. “What was it?”

“When I was looking for a fresh supply of marigold yesterday, I had a vision.”

“While you were awake?” Alderheart was surprised. StarClan usually only shared dreams with medicine cats. This must have been important. Did it have something to do with the prophecy?

“It was sunny, and I’d just left the reed beds and was climbing the slope toward some herbs that prefer drier soil. Then the sky darkened.”

Alderheart’s breath caught in his throat. It must be the prophecy!