Squirrelflight's Hope полностью

“You think I don’t care about ThunderClan?” Thorns seemed to pierce Squirrelflight’s heart. “Of course I care! I care about them, and I care about you! More than anything! But you don’t seem to respect me anymore—not as your mate, not as your deputy—and I don’t know why.”

“Of course I respect you.” Bramblestar’s mew softened. “But you don’t seem to agree with anything I say or do. I have a Clan to lead. How can I lead them when the cat I care most about thinks I’m doing everything wrong?”

Squirrelflight gazed at him through the darkness. “Do you really believe you’re doing the right thing by attacking the Sisters?”

“I’m not attacking them! I’m just making sure they leave.”

“But you must know there’ll be a battle if you show up.”

Bramblestar’s eyes flashed. “I don’t know anything of the kind, and I’m not responsible for how Moonlight might react. I know that you’re worried, but I’m not going there to fight. I don’t want the Sisters to be hurt. I will do everything in my power to make sure we move her without bloodshed.” He looked suddenly helpless. “I promise I’m only trying to do what’s best, Squirrelflight. I can’t let the Clans fight among themselves. StarClan has told us there must be peace. This is the only way we can ensure that peace.”

Pity swelled in Squirrelflight’s chest. She suddenly saw how torn he must feel. SkyClan’s arrival beside the lake had sent shock waves through the Clans that they were still struggling to cope with. She understood why Bramblestar wanted to protect the Clans’ fragile harmony. But if everyone could just take a breath and wait, she felt sure that a battle with Moonlight and the Sisters could be avoided. “Don’t you see that I can’t agree with you?” she murmured. “The Clans are threatening unborn kits because they can’t wait one moon for extra land. It’s greedy and heartless.”

“But more land for each Clan will mean a lasting peace.” Bramblestar stared at her desperately. “Don’t you see that?”

“Is peace in the Clans so important?” There hadn’t been peace among the Clans while she was growing up, and the sky hadn’t fallen in.

“I have to obey the wishes of StarClan.” His eyes glimmered with doubt. “I’m a Clan leader. StarClan trusted me enough to give me nine lives. I can’t betray them.”

Squirrelflight’s heart ached. Bramblestar sounded wretched. He needed her. She lowered her mew to a whisper. “Even if I don’t agree with what you’re doing, I love you.”

“You do?” Hope glimmered in his eyes.

“Of course I do.”

Pelt smoothing, Bramblestar leaned forward and pressed his muzzle to her cheek. “I love you too.”

Peace washed Squirrelflight’s pelt for the first time in a moon. She felt the warmth of Bramblestar’s check and breathed in his scent. He smelled of the forest and the night, dew catching in his fur. “I wish you weren’t taking a patrol to the Sisters’ camp. I wish this could be settled another way. But if this is what you feel you must do, my loyalty will lie with you and with ThunderClan.”

He leaned against her, a soft purr trembling in his throat. “Thank you.”

“Come on.” She began to lead him toward the rock tumble. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a long journey to make in the morning.”

That night, Squirrelflight dreamed a terrible dream. Battle raged around her. Cats shrieked on every side, writhing as they fought. As she strained to see through blinding sunshine, paws slammed into her shoulder. She hit the ground with a thump and glanced desperately around, scanning the confusion for a face she recognized. Fear-scents bathed her muzzle. Who were these cats? Her paws felt as heavy as stone, the earth dragging at her pelt like water.

As she tried to struggle to her paws, a shadow fell over her. Claws glinted in the sunlight as a tom slashed at her muzzle. Terror shrilling through her pelt, she rolled out of the way and hauled herself up, lashing out as she leaped to her paws. Her claws met something soft and ripped through. It crumpled under her blow. She squinted against the light, trying to see what she’d hit. On the ground in front of her, she saw a small body. Its orange-and-black pelt was matted with blood. Sparkpelt’s lost kit. Horror seared her belly. She felt the blood on her claws seep into her fur, warm and wet, filling the air with a terrible sweetness. I killed him!

She woke with a jolt, her pelt clammy. Blinking into the darkness of the den, she struggled to catch her breath. It was just a dream. But the horror lingered in her belly. She slid away from Bramblestar and climbed out of their nest. It was more than a dream. She was sure. It was a warning. Heart lurching, she darted out of the den. She had to check on Sparkpelt. She had to see that the kits were safe.

She slithered as quietly as she could down the rock tumble and hurried through the moonlight to the nursery. Nosing her way in, she blinked, adjusting her eyes to the darkness.