Erin Hunter - Starlight

Onewhisker bent his head and sniffed at the former deputy. “The Clan will grieve for him,” he murmured. “He was a fine warrior once.”

Ashfoot let out a faint hiss. “He betrayed you!”

“As did you!” Onewhisker spat, rounding on Hawkfrost.

“You helped him.” He unsheathed his claws, ready to spring on the massive tabby.

Hawkfrost bowed his head, and Brambleclaw felt his belly clench in horror at what Onewhisker might do in revenge.

“I admit it,” Hawkfrost meowed. “And I ask your forgiveness. I truly believed that Mudclaw was the rightful leader of WindClan, and because of that, at his request, I brought cats from RiverClan and ShadowClan to help him. But StarClan has given us a clear sign by sending the lightning to destroy Mudclaw. Onewhisker, you are WindClan’s true leader, chosen by StarClan. Do with me what you will.”

Onewhisker glanced at Firestar, but the ThunderClan leader just flicked his ears, indicating that this was Onewhisker’s problem to solve. Brambleclaw looked closely at Firestar, trying to read his reaction to the news that StarClan approved of Onewhisker’s leadership after all. But Firestar’s expression gave nothing away.

Meanwhile Ashfoot padded forward to investigate the branches of the fallen tree. “Hawkfrost is right, Onewhisker.

You couldn’t hope for a better sign than this. StarClan sent lightning to strike the tree and kill the cat who would have taken your place. There’s no doubt now that you’re the cat StarClan has chosen to lead WindClan.”

Onewhisker raised his head, light growing in his eyes.

“Then I shall be honored to accept my nine lives.” Turning back to Hawkfrost, he went on, “I can’t blame you for having doubts, nor any of the other cats who supported Mudclaw.

How can I, when I doubted myself? I forgive you freely, you and all the rest.”

Hawkfrost dipped his head again and stood back; Brambleclaw padded to his side and brushed against his sodden fur. “I still have to thank you for saving my life,” he murmured.

Hawkfrost glanced at him with a flicker of warmth in his eyes. “At least I did one thing tonight I’m not ashamed of,” he mewed.

Brambleclaw touched his half brother’s shoulder with the tip of his tail. “You believed you were following the warrior code by helping Mudclaw. You can’t feel guilty about that.”

More cats had begun to appear along the lakeshore, among them Dustpelt and Brackenfur, Mistyfoot and Tornear. They gathered in a ragged semicircle around the Clan leaders and the body of Mudclaw.

“Look at this!” Brackenfur meowed. He jumped onto the tree and padded a little way across the lake water.

“It’s like a Twoleg bridge!” Mistyfoot exclaimed.

Brackenfur turned back, springing down onto the pebbles with a rustle of branches. “We can use the fallen tree to reach the island,” he meowed. “It’s wide enough for all of us to cross safely. We can use it for Gatherings after all!”

Brambleclaw realized that the last problem with their new home had been solved. Thanks to Leafpool they had the Moonpool where they could share tongues with StarClan, and now the island would give them a safe place to gather that would belong to all the Clans, and none.

Instinctively he looked around for Squirrelflight, and spotted her standing beside Dustpelt. He took a pace toward her, wanting to convince her that Hawkfrost had told the truth about why he helped Mudclaw attack WindClan. But as her gaze met his, her eyes narrowed. Deliberately she turned away and began to stalk along the lakeshore.

Brambleclaw stared after her without moving.

Squirrelflight clearly wanted nothing more to do with him. It wasn’t hard to guess why—she must have seen him speaking with Hawkfrost. He felt hollow inside. Why did Squirrelflight always have to think the worst of the RiverClan warrior?

His dream of meeting Tigerstar and Hawkfrost flooded back into his mind. Whether Squirrelflight liked it or not, the three of them were kin. But he didn’t share Tigerstar’s bad blood; why couldn’t the same be true for Hawkfrost?

Brambleclaw longed to share this victory with Squirrelflight, but he knew that as long as she saw only Tigerstar’s worst possible legacy in him and his half brother, they could have no future together. He watched her pad along the shore, getting smaller and smaller, and waited until she had vanished among the shadows before he set out for home.