As the two toms hurried toward the den, Tall Shadow sat up in her nest. “Is Quiet Rain okay?”
Star Flower crossed the clearing toward her. “She wants to speak with her sons.”
Tall Shadow stared at Star Flower in amazement.
Before she could speak, Star Flower swished her tail. “I’m here to help Clear Sky. I’m his mate now.”
“And you’re carrying his kits.” Pebble Heart padded out into the snow and stared at the golden she-cat.
She blinked at him. “How did you know?”
“I know the scent of a queen,” Pebble Heart told her. He nodded to Gray Wing and Jagged Peak as they passed. “Try not to wear Quiet Rain out,” he told them softly.
Thunder’s belly tightened as he watched them slip into the den. What would they tell her about their new home? He backed closer to the shelter of the camp wall as the thickening snow obscured the far end of the camp. Had Quiet Rain expected to find her sons united in a peaceful land rich with prey? Thunder felt a wave of pity for the old she-cat. How would she feel once she knew the truth?
Chapter 18
“Tell me!” Quiet Rain glared from the shadows at the back of the den. “What happened to my friends?”
Dread opened like a chasm in Clear Sky’s belly. How can we tell her? He swallowed, his mouth dry. Beside him, Gray Wing and Jagged Peak shifted uneasily on their paws.
“Why is every cat acting like I’ve interrupted the burial of a Tribemate?” Her eyes blazed. “You are my kin. We should hide nothing from each other! Where are the other cats who traveled with you from the mountains?”
Jagged Peak dipped his head. “Dappled Pelt and Shattered Ice live beside the river now.”
“I know that!” Quiet Rain trembled as she raised herself on her forepaws.
“Quick Water lives in the forest with me,” Clear Sky offered. “Acorn Fur too.”
Quiet Rain eased herself back onto her belly, her breath fast from the effort of moving. “Who is Acorn Fur?”
“One of Hawk Swoop’s kits.” Clear Sky throat tightened as he realized what her next question would be.
“Hawk Swoop?” Hope already flashed in Quiet Rain’s eyes. “Where is she?”
Clear Sky dropped his gaze. “She died.”
Quiet Rain recoiled. “H-how?”
Gray Wing and Jagged Peak exchanged looks.
Quiet Rain growled. “This is like plucking feathers from a pigeon! How did she die?”
Clear Sky glanced at his brothers. They stared at their paws. “There was a battle.” Clear Sky’s mew thickened.
“With whom?” Quiet Rain demanded.
Jagged Peak lifted his chin. “With Clear Sky.”
Confusion clouded Quiet Rain’s gaze. “Who fought Clear Sky?”
Gray Wing flattened his ears. “I did.”
“We all fought,” Jagged Peak put in.
“I don’t understand.” Quiet Rain’s eyes glistened with distress. “You fought each other?”
Jagged Peak blinked slowly. “When we first arrived from the mountains, we lived in one group.
But some of us wanted to live on the moor and some in the forest. So Clear Sky took some cats to the forest with him, and we stayed on the moor. And we lived in peace until—”
Clear Sky’s heart quickened. Was Jagged Peak planning to blame him for the battle? He interrupted. “I decided it was best to divide our new land up so each group hunted different parts.”
“You made borders!” Jagged Peak flashed him an accusing look.
Gray Wing lifted his head. “It seemed sensible at first.”
Quiet Rain narrowed her eyes. “At first?”
“Clear Sky kept moving his borders,” Jagged Peak told her.
Gray Wing’s ears twitched. “We had to defend what we had.”
“So you fought?” Quiet Rain blinked in disbelief. “Were words not enough?”
“We tried to talk,” Gray Wing explained.
Jagged Peak snorted. “When we met to discuss territory, Clear Sky’s group attacked ours.”
Quiet Rain’s gaze flashed to Clear Sky. It seared him like flames and he flinched away. “Is this true?”
“It… it was a mistake,” Clear Sky mumbled. “I wanted to make sure that my group had enough land to hunt in.”
Quiet Rain’s gaze didn’t waver. “You tried to take your brothers’ land; and when they wouldn’t give it up, you attacked them?”
Gray Wing stepped forward. “We all fought with each other,” he insisted.
“We had no choice,” Jagged Peak growled.
Quiet Rain’s ragged fur lifted along her spine. “Who else died in this battle?”
“Jackdaw’s Cry,” Gray Wing mewed softly. “And Falling Feather.”
Clear Sky stiffened. Would Gray Wing tell Quiet Rain that the brother and sister had killed each other? His breath caught in his throat as Gray Wing went on. “The rogues fighting with us were more vicious than we expected. They were willing to fight to the death.”
Relief washed Clear Sky’s pelt. Thank you, Gray Wing.
“Did one of these rogues also kill Turtle Tail?” Quiet Rain demanded.
Gray Wing’s eyes clouded. “She was killed by a monster before the battle.” His shoulders slumped. “It was an accident.”
“And Shaded Moss?” Quiet Rain’s mew weakened.
“Another monster,” Jagged Peak told her.
“Rainswept Flower?”
Clear Sky froze as his mother spoke.
Rainswept Flower! Guilt hollowed his belly as he remembered his killing blow. He glanced desperately at Gray Wing and Jagged Peak. Don’t tell Quiet Rain the truth…
Jagged Peak’s eyes glittered in the shadows. Fear flooded Clear Sky’s pelt as the gray tom lifted his muzzle.
“She was killed in the battle.” Gray Wing flashed a warning look at Jagged Peak.
Quiet Rain’s gaze sharpened. “Why are you looking at each other like that?” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you hiding from me now?”
Clear Sky stepped forward, trembling, and raised his chin. It would be better for Quiet Rain to hear it from him. “I killed her,” he confessed.
“You?” Quiet Rain stared at him.
Clear Sky forced himself to go on. “I was mad with rage. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You killed your Tribemate?” Quiet Rain’s gaze fixed on him like a hawk’s.
“It was a battle,” Gray Wing meowed softly. “None of us were thinking straight.”
Quiet Rain jerked her head around. “Get out, Gray Wing!”
Gray Wing flinched.
“Jagged Peak, too.” Quiet Rain dragged her gaze back to Clear Sky.
As Gray Wing and Jagged Peak slunk from the den, Clear Sky backed away from his mother, his heart twisting. Disgust burned in the blue depths of Quiet Rain’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Outside, he could hear Star Flower’s anxious mew. “Where’s Clear Sky?”
“He’s still talking to Quiet Rain,” Gray Wing told her gently.
“What about?” Worry sharpened Star Flower’s voice.
“What’s it got to do with you?” Jagged Peak huffed.
Star Flower hissed. “He’s the father of my kits!”
Clear Sky longed to flee the den and press his nose deep into Star Flower’s fur. Instead, he dragged his gaze back to meet his mother’s.
Her scrawny body was trembling. Fever glistened on her muzzle. Froth showed at the corners of her mouth. Should he call Pebble Heart? But fury was burning in her eyes, stronger than any sickness.
“I did not think I could raise a kit to kill his Tribemate,” she hissed.