Lionblaze halted. “Yes.”

Jayfeather was desperate to talk to his brother as they always did: easily, with nothing left unspoken. But the secret they had shared since the night of the storm made it impossible.

The awkward silence was broken by Hollyleaf padding up to them.

“You never told us you’d seen Sol,” Jayfeather meowed.

He could imagine his sister’s shrug. “It didn’t matter then.”

“Even so, you should have said something.” Lionblaze sounded upset. “You know Sol was supposed to help us with the prophecy.”

“What prophecy?” Hollyleaf snapped. “There isn’t a prophecy, as far as we’re concerned.”

“You didn’t know that when you saw Sol.”

Jayfeather winced as he listened to them bicker. There was no point to their argument, except that it stopped them from discussing the only thing that mattered: whether any of them believed that Sol had killed Ashfur.

I’m glad I’m not going, he told himself. I don’t want to listen to them all the way to the sun-drown-place and back!

Leafpool’s voice cut across his thoughts. “Jayfeather, there you are! I want you to come help me prepare herbs for the patrol.”

“Okay, coming.”

He rose to his paws and followed his mentor back to the medicine cats’ den, leaving Hollyleaf and Lionblaze to their squabbling. As soon as he brushed past the bramble screen, his mouth filled with the scent of the traveling herbs.

“I’ve laid everything out,” Leafpool told him. “We just have to make them into leaf wraps.”

It was a relief to have something to distract him, but the task was soon done, and he emerged into the clearing again with a leaf wrap for Brambleclaw clamped between his jaws. By now the excitement over the patrol was beginning to die down, and the cats were returning to their dens. Distinguishing Brambleclaw’s scent from the tang of the herbs he carried was difficult, but Jayfeather finally located him with Squirrelflight near the fresh-kill pile.

“I wish you were coming with us,” Brambleclaw was mewing to his mate as Jayfeather padded up. “We have so many good memories from that journey.”

Jayfeather caught the wistful note in his voice. It was as if the Clan deputy was looking back to a good time that was over, and regretting everything that had gone wrong since.

I wonder if he knows how wrong?

“I wish I was coming, too,” Squirrelflight replied, her voice subdued. “But I’m probably not fit enough for a long journey, after the wound I took in the battle.”

“There’s no need to worry about Sol, you know,” Brambleclaw reassured her. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“I know.” Squirrelflight sighed.

Jayfeather’s pelt prickled. Squirrelflight had never needed another cat to keep her safe! Once she would have clawed the ears off any cat who suggested it. But now she sounded…broken; waves of guilt and longing were coming from her, so strongly that Jayfeather almost felt sorry for her.

He brushed past her and set the wrap of herbs down at Brambleclaw’s paws. “Here,” he announced. “Traveling herbs. Eat them all, and get plenty of rest before tomorrow.”