“I know.” Leafpool didn’t take her eyes from Moonlight. “It’s facing the wrong way. I can feel it. We need to ease the pain and give Moonlight the strength to push.” She looked at Hawk. “Do you know what raspberry leaves look like?”
Hawk nodded.
“What about ragweed?” Leafpool asked.
Snow blinked at her eagerly. “I know ragweed.”
“Find some.” Leafpool’s gaze flitted to Squirrelflight. “Go with them. Bring as much as you can, but be quick. We need to get this kit out before Moonlight exhausts herself completely.”
Squirrelflight nodded, relieved that she could help. As she ducked out of the den, Hawk and Snow pushed past her and raced out of camp. She followed, chasing Snow’s white tail as it flashed away between the bushes. Branches poked at her pelt. Loose earth crumbled beneath her paws. She followed Snow to the top of the hill and out onto a stretch of grass. The white she-cat had stopped and was staring toward the distant horizon, her eyes narrowed against the wind that streamed through her fur. The land was lit now with pale dawn light. Hawk was already streaking down the hillside ahead of them, skimming the grass like an owl swooping for prey.
“She’s fetching raspberry leaves,” Snow told Squirrelflight. “Ragweed is this way.” She bounded downhill toward a shallow stream.
Squirrelflight hurried after her, catching up as Snow reached it. The water chattered over pebbles, and Snow waded in and hopped out the other side. Squirrelflight splashed after her, gasping as the chilly water tugged her belly fur. As she scrambled onto the bank, she saw Snow stop beside a swath of tall yellow flowers. They swirled in the breeze as the white she-cat reached up and tore down a pawful of blossoms. Squirrelflight stopped beside her and helped, ripping the pungent petals from their stems.
Snow heaped more on the ground. “How much do we need?”
Squirrelflight glanced at the pile uncertainly. “That must be plenty,” she guessed. “If we need more, I can fetch some.” She grasped a bunch between her jaws and raced back to camp. Moonlight’s wail split the air as Squirrelflight charged through the fern entrance and made for the birthing den. She pushed her way inside and dropped the ragweed beside Leafpool. “I can fetch more if you need it,” she panted.
Leafpool took a mouthful, chewed it, and spat the pulp onto her paw. She ran her tail over Moonlight’s trembling flank and, leaning close, held her paw to the queen’s muzzle. “Swallow this,” she told her.
Moonlight groaned, her gaze clouded with pain, and turned away as Snow burst into the den and dropped more ragweed beside Leafpool.
“She needs to swallow this.” Leafpool looked imploringly at Snow.
The white she-cat nodded curtly and crouched beside Moonlight’s head. “It will help,” she promised the queen. “Just swallow it.”
Moonlight looked at her, fear in her gaze, then quickly lapped the pulp from Leafpool’s paw.
Leafpool glanced at Squirrelflight. “Did you find raspberry leaves too?”
“Hawk’s fetching some.”
As she spoke, the den shivered and Hawk slid through the entrance. Squirrelflight glimpsed faint daylight outside. She stiffened. She could picture the patrols gathering at the edge of Clan territory. Her paws pricked nervously. What had Bramblestar thought when he’d woken to find her gone? Would he have guessed that she’d come here?
Hawk’s flanks heaved as she caught her breath. She dropped a mouthful of raspberry leaves beside Leafpool, who quickly chewed them and held out more pulp for Moonlight to lick. As Snow lapped the queen’s cheek encouragingly, Squirrelflight blinked at Hawk. “The Clans are coming,” she warned.
“Now?” Hawk narrowed her eyes.
“They’re probably on their way,” Squirrelflight told her. “They’re coming to tell you to leave.”
Hawk’s eyes widened. “How can we leave now?” She looked at Moonlight in alarm.
Squirrelflight shifted her paws nervously. “I don’t know.” Would the Clan patrols retreat once they saw Moonlight was kitting? What would happen if they didn’t? She pushed the thought away and leaned closer to Leafpool. “How’s she doing?”
“We can’t do anything until the herbs start to work.” Leafpool sat back on her haunches, her gaze dark as another spasm rippled through Moonlight. The queen groaned limply, helpless against the pain.
Squirrelflight looked toward the den entrance. Weak sunlight was beginning to show through it. Every hair on her pelt seemed to tremble.
At last, when Moonlight had stopped moaning, Leafpool placed her paw on the queen’s belly. She lifted her head and looked at Leafpool. For the first time, her gaze was sharp. Leafpool met it. “Ready?”
“Ready.” Moonlight rolled onto her paws and crouched, her tail stiff.
