“It’s not like you to be scared,” Jaypaw taunted.

“I’m not scared for me; I’m scared for the Clan,” Lionpaw snapped.

Hollypaw let out a long breath. “He’s right,” she mewed. “ShadowClan were our only allies. We can’t risk annoying them.”

Jaypaw flicked a paw crossly through the leaf litter. They were getting nowhere.

“Why don’t we head up through our territory?” Hollypaw suggested. “We might find some trace of Sol near the border. If you’re right and he is trying to get to ShadowClan, he has to cross our territory to go the quickest route.”

“That makes sense,” Lionpaw agreed. “And a loner like him would have steered well clear of the battle.”

“Okay,” Jaypaw agreed. He padded out from the shelter of the bramble, and promptly tripped over a fallen twig.

“I’ll lead the way,” Lionpaw offered.

Jaypaw felt a familiar flicker of frustration, but pushed it away. This was too important. He was closer than he’d ever been to getting answers about the prophecy.

They trekked away from the lake, pushing deeper into the woodland than any of them had ever been. The forest floor became unfamiliar beneath their paws. The broad oak and beech leaves, so smooth on their pads, gave way to small, scrunched-up hazel. Jaypaw couldn’t even scent the lake anymore, and the woodland became denser. Smaller trees clustered closer, and they had to weave along a winding path. The soft foliage of ferns and berry bushes gradually petered out, and the smell of prey became fainter. Twigs scratched their pelts.

The land was sloping steadily upward, and Jaypaw could smell mountain air drifting down through the trees.

“We’ve reached the edge of our territory!” Lionpaw announced.

Jaypaw sniffed. A few stale ThunderClan scent marks dotted the trees, and beyond them, no ThunderClan scent at all. His heart began to pound as he followed Lionpaw across the scent line, relieved to feel Hollypaw’s pelt brushing his. It felt like stepping off the edge of the world.

Lionpaw stopped. “I can smell something.”

Jaypaw hurried to catch up and sniffed the twigs beside Lionpaw. “That’s him!” He recognized Sol’s scent straightaway. “He’s been here.” The tom’s smell was faint, worn away by the breeze, but unmistakable. Jaypaw padded forward, letting his nose lead him. Another scented twig! They had found Sol’s path.

“He was definitely heading toward ShadowClan,” Hollypaw observed.

“What if he’s crossed into their territory?” Lionpaw asked.

“Let’s deal with that if it happens,” Jaypaw urged. He couldn’t lose Sol now.

They trekked onward, following Sol’s trail as it skirted the top of ThunderClan’s border. Suddenly Jaypaw scented ShadowClan. He halted and pricked his ears. There was no sound of a patrol, no cats rustling the undergrowth.

“It’s just their scent markers,” Lionpaw reassured him. “We’ve reached the top of ShadowClan’s border.”