Suppose it was a vision?
Time crawled past until the last streaks of sunlight disappeared, far away over ShadowClan territory. Violetshine was finding it harder and harder to keep her spark of hope alive, while the cats huddled together in the gathering shadows. The first warriors of StarClan appeared in the sky, and a pale moon rose above the summit of the hill.
“Whatever happens,” Cloverfoot whispered after a while, “it will be good to go back to the ShadowClan camp. It never stopped being home, no matter what happened.”
“But ShadowClan doesn’t live there anymore,” Violetshine told her miserably. “There were so few of them left, and they didn’t have a leader, so they joined SkyClan in their new camp.”
The returning ShadowClan cats stared at her, horror in their eyes, their ears lying flat as their shoulder fur began to bristle.
“What do you mean?” Sparrowtail demanded. “No leader? What happened to Rowanstar?”
Violetshine swallowed, wishing that she didn’t have to be the bearer of such terrible news. “Rowanstar is dead,” she replied. “But before he died, he . . . he gave his nine lives back to StarClan. He didn’t think he was worthy to be a leader because he had let Darktail destroy his Clan.”
Stunned, the ShadowClan cats gazed at one another. Violetshine could see that they didn’t want to believe what she had told them.
“I didn’t know . . . that a leader could do that,” Berryheart rasped.
“No cat knew, until it happened,” Violetshine meowed. “And since then, StarClan hasn’t sent a sign to say which cat should be ShadowClan leader in Rowanclaw’s place.”
“So all our Clanmates joined SkyClan?” Cloverfoot’s eyes were full of pleading, as if she wanted some cat to tell her it wasn’t true.
Violetshine nodded.
“Fox dung to all that!” Slatefur exclaimed loudly. “I don’t want to be a SkyClan cat! I’ve always been ShadowClan, and I always will be.”
His strident tones had caught the attention of Leafstar and Hawkwing, a couple of fox-lengths away. Violetshine noticed them giving him an annoyed look.
Neither cat said anything, though Leafstar was rising to her paws when the sound of paw steps came from the top of the slope, followed by the rustling sound of a cat pushing their way through the bushes that surrounded the hollow of the Moonpool.
Leafstar sat back down as Puddleshine emerged into the open. His eyes were wide, his fur bristling with shock, and his breathing came fast and shallow.
He’s given up on Tigerheart at last, Violetshine thought despairingly as a murmur of sadness arose from all the cats around her.
But then there was a second sound of rustling. Puddleshine stepped aside, and a cat stepped into the open. His muscles rippled under his brown tabby fur, which gleamed in the silver wash of moonlight, and his eyes were shining.
For a heartbeat Violetshine didn’t recognize him, because she had never imagined that she would ever see him again.
It can’t be . . . yes, it is Tigerheart!
For a moment Tigerheart remained motionless; then, with a sudden leap, he launched himself down the rocks to land in the middle of the ShadowClan cats.
Yowls of amazement broke out as Tigerheart’s Clanmates clustered around him, eagerly questioning him. Dovewing pushed through the crowd until she stood beside him.
“You’re alive!” she gasped.
Violetshine withdrew to the edge of the group, beside her father and the other SkyClan cats, not wanting to disturb Tigerheart’s reunion with his family and his Clanmates. She caught only snatches of what they were saying as she stared in confusion at the strong, healthy cat. “Maybe—maybe he wasn’t dead after all,” she stammered to Berryheart.
“Oh, yes, he was,” Berryheart responded. “I know what a dead cat looks like.”
Violetshine had to believe her. Even if Puddleshine had managed to revive Tigerheart, he should have been weak and wounded, not standing there as if he was ready to leap down the hills and run all the way around the lake.
The first joy of the ShadowClan cats was dying away, and Violetshine spotted uneasiness in their eyes, as if they were asking themselves the same question. Then Tigerheart seemed to stand taller, his gaze sweeping around his Clan.
“I left you,” he meowed evenly. “But now I’ve returned. I bring with me cats who will make our Clan strong again. Accept them as I accept you. Give them your loyalty as I give you mine. I am ready to lead you.”
Lead you? Violetshine could hardly believe what she was hearing.
For a moment there was a frozen silence among the ShadowClan cats. Then Juniperclaw’s voice rose up to the glittering stars. “Tigerstar!”
“Tigerstar! Tigerstar!” The rest of the Clan joined in, their voices echoing around the rocks.
As the clamor died away, Tawnypelt pushed her way through the crowd to her son’s side and pressed herself against him, purring as if she was going to burst. “Tigerstar, tell us what happened,” she begged at last.
It was Puddleshine who replied. “StarClan brought him back and gave him nine lives. He is the new leader of ShadowClan!”
“Yes, it was . . . amazing.” Tigerstar’s voice was full of wonder. “I found myself on a grassy slope, with the sun shining and a stream running around the bottom of the hill. I thought I was in StarClan—and I was, but I didn’t expect what happened next.”
“Go on . . . ,” some cat breathed out.
“I was transported to a different place,” Tigerstar began. “Rocks beneath a night sky. Rowanclaw and Dawnpelt appeared, and . . . oh, many more cats. Their fur was shining so brightly I could hardly bear to look at them. Rowanclaw told me I was being sent back to become leader of my Clan. And then they gave me nine lives.”
Standing beside Leafstar and Frecklewish, Violetshine thought that the SkyClan medicine cat looked troubled, and Leafstar’s eyes narrowed as she addressed the ShadowClan cats.
“I’m not going to cross the will of StarClan,” she announced. “But I’m tired of ShadowClan cats treating the SkyClan camp like some sort of temporary nest. RiverClan has gone home, so your old camp is waiting for you. From now on, you need to stay out of SkyClan’s camp for good. You are not welcome there—and we will be patrolling our borders.”
Tigerstar dipped his head to the SkyClan leader with chilly politeness. “You’re right, Leafstar,” he meowed. “It is time for ShadowClan to go home—to the ShadowClan camp.”
Beckoning with his tail, he headed down the steep moorland, and his Clan streamed after him. As she passed Violetshine, Tawnypelt paused.
“Are you coming with us?” she asked. “I know Tigerstar will be glad to have you.”
“No, I’m SkyClan now,” Violetshine replied, with a glance at her father. “I want to stay with Hawkwing. But thank you for asking me.”
She watched sadly as the ShadowClan cats walked away. Tigerstar had been kind to her when she was a kit. And she had admired Tawnypelt for her strength, and for her commitment to her Clan despite everything she had suffered. The cats of ShadowClan had been Violetshine’s Clanmates for a long time. For the first time, Violetshine thought she understood a little of what Twigbranch had felt, torn between two Clans.
Something moved uneasily in Violetshine’s belly as she wondered what would become of ShadowClan now. Tigerstar is a great cat, but so many bad things have happened. . . .
Violetshine saw that Dovewing was leaving, too, guiding her kits down the slope with sweeps of her tail.
“Hey, Dovewing,” Alderheart called out to her, surprise in his voice. “Aren’t you coming back to ThunderClan?”