“I need to talk to Violetshine,” Twigpaw responded. “Will you go and fetch her for me? Please,” she added, as the two SkyClan warriors exchanged a doubtful glance. “It’s really important.”

“I suppose so,” Sagenose meowed after a moment’s pause. “But don’t even think about setting a paw over the border. You’re not a SkyClan cat anymore.”

The two cats swung around and disappeared into the undergrowth. Twigpaw sat down to wait, her ears pricked and her pelt tingling with apprehension. If a ThunderClan patrol came this way while she waited, she would be in terrible trouble, with nothing to show for it.

As Twigpaw waited, her nervousness mounted, until she felt as if she had a whole swarm of bees nesting in her belly. Every rustle in the undergrowth was an approaching patrol of her Clanmates; every scent wafted on the breeze threatened discovery.

Twigpaw felt she could hardly bear the rising tension for another heartbeat when ferns on the far side of the border parted and Violetshine came into view, her whiskers quivering and her eyes watchful. “Okay, I’m here,” she mewed as she padded up to her sister. “What’s this all about?”

Twigpaw’s tail drooped. I missed Violetshine! Isn’t she pleased to see me? But there was no affectionate greeting for her from her sister.

“I’m worried about the prophecy,” Twigpaw explained, ignoring her hurt. “There have to be five Clans, and how can there be, when there’s no ShadowClan anymore? We have to do something!”

To Twigpaw’s dismay, her sister’s yellow eyes were cold. “What do you care about the future of ShadowClan?” she asked. “Besides, I’m a SkyClan cat now. ShadowClan has nothing to do with me either.”

“But you were brought up there!” Twigpaw protested.

“Yes, and it was no fun, believe me,” Violetshine retorted. “I had to watch Darktail take over and cats die. Going back there is the last thing I want.”

“But—” Twigpaw tried to interrupt.

Violetshine ignored her. “Besides, I can see how vulnerable it was under Rowanstar’s leadership,” she went on, “so perhaps it’s not so bad that it fell apart. Rowanstar’s weakness gave Darktail the opportunity to take over. And things are going well now, with SkyClan and ShadowClan combined. It’s taking some getting used to, but—”

“Going well?” Twigpaw interrupted. “Really? Couldn’t you feel the tension at the Gathering? The SkyClan cats were supporting Leafstar, but the ShadowClan cats were furious when she was talking about Yarrowleaf and Sleekwhisker.” Twigpaw reached out a paw to her sister. “Please, Violetshine, tell me the truth. Was it really as simple as Leafstar made it sound?”