Dawn

Sasha finished greeting her kits and padded toward the watching cats. Ashfur hissed threateningly, but Firestar silenced him with a look.

“I didn’t think we’d see you again,” Leopardstar meowed, dipping her head to Sasha.

“Nor I you,” Sasha admitted. “I have come to ask Hawkfrost and Mothwing to leave RiverClan and come with me. I’ve seen what the Twolegs are doing to your homes. It is no longer safe for them to stay with you.”

Mothwing looked down at her paws and Leafpaw’s heart skipped a beat. Could she really be thinking about leaving? She brushed past Sasha and faced the RiverClan medicine cat. “I know things have been tough lately, but you wouldn’t really go, would you?”

Mothwing blinked. “I-I don’t know…”

“Your Clan needs you,” Leafpaw protested. She rounded on Hawkfrost. “You wouldn’t abandon your Clanmates, would you?”

“The decision is theirs.” Firestar’s voice rose above the sound of the falling rain. “But I agree they should remain with their Clan.”

Sasha narrowed her eyes. “You want them to stay?” Suddenly the wind dropped, and every cat seemed to hold their breath as she went on, “In spite of the fact that Tigerstar was their father?”

Leafpaw scanned the shocked faces of the RiverClan cats.

They obviously didn’t know that Tigerstar was Hawkfrost and Mothwing’s father, even though his kits had been raised in their Clan.

There was a long pause while Firestar held Sasha’s gaze. “I want them to stay because Tigerstar was their father,” he meowed.

Brambleclaw sank his claws into the mud, and Squirrelpaw’s eyes stretched even wider. “Tigerstar was a great warrior, and these cats have proved they have inherited his courage,” Firestar went on. “Their Clan needs them now more than ever.” He turned his gaze on Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt.

“Tigerstar’s children have earned their place in their Clans many times over.”

There were no secrets now. Every cat knew that Tigerstar lived on in four cats, and that three Clans nurtured part of his legacy. Mothwing lifted her gaze, searching the faces of her Clanmates. Hawkfrost raised his chin as if he didn’t care what they thought.

Leopardstar nodded. “Firestar is right. RiverClan needs all our warriors, and we certainly need our medicine cat.”

“But they’re Tigerstar’s kits!” Dawnflower’s hiss startled Leafpaw. The RiverClan queen was staring at Leopardstar as if she’d just invited a fox to join them.

Squirrelpaw’s eyes blazed. “So what? That doesn’t mean they can’t be loyal!”

“Hawkfrost is one of our best warriors,” Stormfur added.

He looked around at his Clanmates. “Have any of you ever doubted his loyalty?”

“Never,” Mistyfoot murmured.

Leopardstar looked at Hawkfrost and Mothwing. “Will you stay?”

“Of course,” Hawkfrost answered at once. “I would never desert my Clan.” He was staring at his Clanmates, his eyes glittering defiantly.

Leafpaw felt her tail quiver. Was it ambition or loyalty that fueled his decision? She glanced at Brambleclaw. How could two warriors with the same father be so different?

Mothwing glanced at her mother, her ears twitching. “I have to stay with my Clan too,” she mewed. “I’m their medicine cat now. They need me.”

Sasha nodded. “Very well.” She swept her gaze over them.

“Firestar is right,” she murmured. “I see your father in both of you.”

Leafpaw heard a low growl come from Dawnflower.

Sasha turned to the RiverClan queen. “Tigerstar never knew about these kits, but he would have been proud of them.” She glanced around the RiverClan cats. “You’re lucky to have them.”

She padded back to Hawkfrost and Mothwing, brushing her pelt against theirs. “I wish you well on your journey,” she meowed. Then she turned and padded into the forest. The ferns quivered where she had disappeared, and the Clan cats stared after her in silence.

Chapter 18

“Look!” Rainwhisker yowled, making the cats jump. At the top of the rise that marked the beginning of WindClan territory, silhouetted against the gray sky, stood WindClan. They lined the crest of the hill like stones, waiting.

“Let’s go,” Blackstar ordered.

He plunged out of the shelter of the trees and hurried up the muddy slope, followed by his Clanmates. Squirrelpaw stared sadly at the forest, sinking her claws into the familiar rain-softened earth. All the RiverClan and ThunderClan cats lingered at the edge of the trees, as though leaving was harder than they had ever imagined.

“This is no longer our home,” Firestar reminded them gently. “Home is waiting for us at the end of our journey.” He began to pad away, lowering his head against the driving rain.

Squirrelpaw joined the other cats as they poured slowly out of the forest after him. Beside her, Brackenfur arched his back against the bracken fronds, brushing his scent on their dripping tips one last time.

“We thought you’d changed your mind,” Mudclaw growled as the three Clans neared the top of the slope.