Twigbranch’s fur prickled. What about ThunderClan? It had taken her so long to discover she truly belonged there. But her ThunderClan Clanmates weren’t kin. How could she live without kin? As her thoughts whirled, her heart seemed to crack. She took a breath and met Violetshine’s hopeful gaze. She knew what she must do. “I’m ThunderClan now.” Twigbranch dropped her gaze. “I never belonged in SkyClan. I’m not sure I ever could.”
She felt Hawkwing’s breath on her muzzle as he leaned closer. “You have to do what you feel is right. And so do we.”
She looked up, a lump in her throat. “Please don’t leave me.”
Hawkwing’s eyes rounded with sorrow. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m SkyClan’s deputy. My Clan needs me. I can’t leave them.”
Anger surged in Twigbranch’s chest. “But you can leave me!” She glared at Violetshine. “How can you go after all we’ve been through?”
Violetshine stared back at her in surprise. “But you left me, over and over.”
Twigbranch froze. It was true. She’d abandoned her sister, first to ShadowClan and then to SkyClan. Guilt washed over her. Was this what it felt like for Violetshine?
“SkyClan!” Leafstar called to her Clanmates from the long grass. Harrybrook and Macgyver hurried after her.
“We must go,” Hawkwing mewed huskily. He turned away.
Twigbranch gazed frantically at Violetshine. “Is this the last time I’ll see you?”
“I don’t know.” Violetshine touched her muzzle to Twigbranch’s. Her breath was warm in the chilly night air. “It’s up to Leafstar now.”
“Good-bye.” Twigbranch could hardly speak. Her throat tightened as Violetshine pulled away and headed after Hawkwing. As she turned back to her Clanmates, she saw Finleap. He was watching Plumwillow and Sandynose disappear into the grass. She hurried to his side. “Did you say good-bye?”
He didn’t answer. The sorrow in his gaze pierced her heart.
“Are you planning to go with them if they leave?” She felt numb.
He stared at her. “I love you, Twigbranch. But if you don’t want to have kits, I should go with my kin. At least I’ll be somewhere I belong, instead of chasing a dream that might never come true.”
Twigbranch stared at him. “Don’t you care what I want?” Anger cut through her grief. “Having kits isn’t just your choice. It’s our choice. And just because I don’t want to have kits now doesn’t mean I never will.”
Finleap’s ears twitched self-consciously. She didn’t wait for him to respond.
“You’re meant to love me,” she snapped. “Not the family I might give you. If you won’t wait until I’m ready, then I guess you weren’t the cat I thought you were. Maybe you should leave.”
Pushing past him, she headed into the long grass.
CHAPTER 15
Violetshine followed Hawkwing across the tree-bridge and jumped down onto the shore. They were heading home to the pine forest, probably for the last time. Clouds were drifting across the moon, and a breeze rippled the surface of the lake. The weather was changing. She landed next to him, the gravel shifting beneath her paws. “Will Twigbranch be all right without us?”
Hawkwing hesitated. “She has ThunderClan. They are her family now.”
“And I guess she has Finleap,” Violetshine mewed hopefully.
“Yes.” She heard a catch in Hawkwing’s mew as he turned and hurried to catch up to his Clanmates. She tried not to picture Twigbranch’s expression as they had said good-bye. I’m sorry for leaving you. Twigbranch was the only cat she’d known her whole life, since the moment she was born. This fresh separation rekindled the loss she’d felt as a kit, when ShadowClan had taken her to live in the dark pine forest, while her littermate was in ThunderClan. Her heart ached as Tree fell in beside her. She felt his warmth next to her.
“Twigbranch will be okay,” he murmured softly as they padded along the shore.
“I’ll miss her.”
“I know.” Tree gazed at the SkyClan cats ahead.
An owl hooted in the woods on the far side of the lake, its cry echoing over the water before a gust of wind snatched the sound away. The breeze carried the scent of rain. Violetshine fluffed out her fur.
“If we go to the gorge, do you think I’ll ever see Twigbranch again?” She looked at Tree, but he seemed distracted. His gaze had slipped away. What was he was thinking about?
Ahead, Macgyver walked beside Leafstar. Hawkwing trailed a little behind with the others, matching Plumwillow’s pace. Macgyver flicked his tail crossly. “I hope Bramblestar hasn’t made you change your mind.”
“I promised to think about it overnight.” The SkyClan leader steered the patrol closer to the shelter of the trees.
“We have to leave.” Harrybrook hurried closer to Leafstar.
Behind him, Bellaleaf’s ears twitched. “We don’t have to do anything.”
“We shouldn’t let the Clans push us around.” Sagenose bent his head against the wind. “If we leave, they will always remember us as weak.”
“We should stay and fight for our place beside the lake,” Bellaleaf pressed. “It’s what StarClan would want us to do.”
Leafstar snorted. “StarClan has only ever made life difficult for us.”
Frecklewish pricked her ears. “StarClan can see further than we can. Perhaps we must bear a little hardship before we can find peace.”
“We’ll find peace at the gorge,” Macgyver meowed.
“And we’ll see old friends,” Harrybrook chimed in. “The daylight warriors will be pleased to see us.”
“We don’t need daylight warriors,” Dewspring huffed. “We’re real Clan cats now. I like living in a forest. I don’t want to live somewhere strange.”
“It won’t be strange once you’re used to it,” Macgyver mewed.
Sagenose grunted. “We can’t go back to the gorge. Our life is here now. There’s plenty of prey in the forest, and there won’t be trouble from rogues anymore. Once we’ve shown the Clans that we can’t be pushed around, SkyClan can thrive beside the lake.”
“I don’t want to leave Finleap.” Plumwillow’s tail fluttered nervously over the stones. “How will he cope without his kin close by?”
“He’s got Twigbranch,” Macgyver told her. “He’ll have kin of his own before long.”
Harrybrook scrambled over a rock jutting beneath the trees. “You promised we’d go home to the gorge, Leafstar. You can’t change your mind. You saw the hostility from the other Clans. They only think of themselves. They don’t care about us. Why should we care about them?”
Leafstar kept walking, her gaze fixed ahead while her warriors argued. Violetshine watched her father as he followed them. Was he going to speak? Suddenly, she felt Tree’s fur bristling against hers. She glanced at him and saw his pelt bushing. Could he scent danger? She stiffened and tasted the air. There were only prey-scents from the forest. She realized that Tree’s ears were pricked; he seemed to be listening intently. His gaze was fixed, as though someone were walking beside him, but no cat was there. A chill reached through Violetshine’s pelt as she recognized the glazed look in Tree’s eyes. He was seeing a dead cat! Her heart quickened. Was she surrounded by ghosts?
Tree suddenly quickened his pace. She hurried after him as he caught up to the others. “Leafstar!” His mew was urgent.