Sunrise

Lionblaze bounded after her, followed a heartbeat later by Jayfeather. “This is mouse-brained,” he protested. “We could at least talk. They might be prepared to tell us things we need to know.”

“Like the name of our father?” Hollyleaf snapped, not breaking stride. “No, there’s no point in asking them. We’d only get more lies.” She lashed her tail, trying hard to dismiss Squirrelflight and Leafpool from her mind. “Sol will tell us,” she declared.

“Bring the moss over here,” Hollyleaf directed. “Whitewing’s kits will come soon, and she needs a really comfortable nest.” Since the disastrous meeting with Sol the day before, she had struggled to put her sense of betrayal out of her mind and concentrate on her Clan duties, but she couldn’t manage it. How could she make herself a good warrior when she knew she should never have been born at all? Every cat knew that medicine cats weren’t allowed to have kits. She and her littermates were nothing more than a mistake. One that Leafpool had been too ashamed to own up to. Maybe their real father would feel differently….

The nursery seemed full of queens and wriggling kits as Foxpaw and Icepaw staggered through the entrance with huge balls of moss. Whitewing was curled up nearby.

“Thanks, Hollyleaf,” she mewed. “You’ll make a great mentor when you have an apprentice of your own.”

“I hope so,” Hollyleaf replied. How can I have an apprentice? How could I teach a young cat about the warrior code, knowing what I know?

She was helping the two apprentices to spread out the moss when she was startled by a sudden yowl of alarm from the clearing. Before she could do more than look up, Rosekit shot into the nursery with every hair on her pelt fluffed up. “It’s ShadowClan!” she squealed. “ShadowClan cats are in the camp!”

While Daisy reached out to comfort the terrified kit, Hollyleaf thrust her way outside, her claws bared to fight off an attack. But once she was in the open, she relaxed. Only three cats were entering the camp, flanked by Spiderleg and Mousewhisker: Russetfur, Oakfur, and Ivytail. Firestar was already crossing the clearing to meet them, his flame-colored pelt gleaming in the scarlet light of the setting sun, while the rest of the Clan gathered behind him.

Hollyleaf padded over to join Lionblaze and Jayfeather. “What’s all this about?” she whispered. “More trouble about Sol?”

Lionblaze shook his head. “I’ve no idea.”

“Greetings.” Firestar dipped his head to the patrol. “Sol has gone.”

“We’re not here about Sol,” Russetfur informed him curtly. “Three of your cats were spotted near the ShadowClan border yesterday—well outside your territory. What were they doing?”

“Fox dung!” Jayfeather muttered, while Hollyleaf felt her pelt beginning to bristle. If Firestar finds out what we were doing, we’re crow-food!

“Three ThunderClan cats?” Firestar asked. “Are you sure?”

“We know ThunderClan scent when we smell it,” Russetfur retorted. “And Ivytail got a good look at them. Ivytail, point them out.”

The ShadowClan she-cat stepped forward and swept her tail around to point at Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. “Those three.”

A gasp went up from the other ThunderClan cats. Hollyleaf faced them defiantly. We weren’t bothering ShadowClan! Why do they have to make trouble?

Firestar gave the three littermates a thoughtful glance. Hollyleaf felt her fur grow uncomfortably hot, and she tried not to twitch. Then the ThunderClan leader turned back to the ShadowClan patrol.

“I’m sure my warriors had a very good reason to be there,” he meowed. “You should know that a medicine cat is hardly likely to be part of an invading patrol. Have you considered that they might have been looking for herbs?”

All three cats nodded; Jayfeather added, “Yarrow,” as if he was daring the ShadowClan cats to contradict him.

“Herbs…” Russetfur hissed the word just loud enough to be heard; clearly she didn’t believe it, but she wasn’t prepared to accuse the ThunderClan cats of lying.

“I apologize that they strayed so close to your border,” Firestar continued. “It won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t,” Russetfur retorted. Turning, she gathered her patrol together with a flick of her tail and headed toward the thorn tunnel. Spiderleg and Mousewhisker followed, to escort them out of the territory.

At the camp entrance, Russetfur glanced back. “Firestar, I hope you get your Clan under control again soon,” she mewed, and vanished into the tunnel before any cat could reply.

Hollyleaf knew her Clanmates were staring at her and her brothers as Firestar stalked across the clearing to confront them. She forced herself to meet his searing green gaze.