apprentices?”
Lionkit asked in a small voice.
Hollykit’s breath caught in her throat. Would their father really do that? She looked pleadingly up at him.
“If it were up to me,” Brambleclaw meowed, “I would make you wait another moon. But it is Firestar’s decision.”
The Clan leader narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to decide right now,” he told them. “Go back to the nursery.
Ferncloud and Daisy will keep an eye on you, and it is up to you to make sure one of them knows where you are at all times. If you’re not where you are supposed to be, then you’re clearly not ready for the responsibilities of apprenticeship.”
“We won’t wander off again,” Lionkit promised.
“Hollykit?” Firestar prompted.
“I won’t do anything that might stop me from becoming an apprentice,” she vowed, meaning every word.
“Very well,” Firestar meowed. “I just hope you have learned something today. True warriors think of the Clan’s safety before anything else.” He turned away, padding to where Brackenfur was sharing tongues with Sorreltail.
His parting words seared Hollykit’s fur. She had let her Clan down. She glanced nervously at Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. “We’re sorry,” she ventured.
“I should hope so.” Squirrelflight sighed.
“You should be setting an example,” Brambleclaw added.
Squirrelflight’s gaze softened a little. She bent down and licked Hollykit and Lionkit each between their ears. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing,” she sympathized.
“We just wanted to help the Clan,” Hollykit insisted.
“Your chance will come,” Brambleclaw promised.
“Will Jaykit have to stay in the nursery, too?” Lionkit asked.
“He’ll stay with Leafpool until he’s recovered,”
Squirrelflight told him. “Then he can rejoin you.”
“Will he be well enough in time for the naming ceremony?” Hollykit mewed.
“If there is a naming ceremony,” Lionkit added.
Squirrelflight drew her tail over her son’s flank. “You know your brother can’t become a full apprentice.”
Hollykit stared at her mother. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it would be impossible to have a blind warrior—”
Brambleclaw began but Hollykit turned on him, her paws pricking with fury.
“No, it wouldn’t!” she spat. “Jaykit can smell and hear and sense everything that happens in the camp!” She glanced at Lionkit for support. “It’s like he can see things, but with his nose and ears instead of his eyes!”
She glared at her father, waiting for him to say something, but he only glanced at Squirrelflight, exchanging a look of sadness that made Hollykit tremble with indignation.
Suddenly she heard pawsteps pounding toward the camp.
A voice called from beyond the barrier. It was Thornclaw.
The golden brown tabby hurried through the thorns with Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw close behind.
Firestar left Brackenfur and Sorreltail and padded over to meet them. Brambleclaw joined him. “Any luck finding them?” the deputy asked.
“Poppypaw and Mousepaw chased one of the cubs over the border into ShadowClan territory,” Thornclaw reported.
“But there’s no sign of the other two.”
Hollykit’s ears burned with shame.
“The cubs are old enough to look after themselves,”
Thornclaw went on. “They could cause a lot of trouble in the future.”
Ferncloud pushed her way out of the nursery. “Are the fox cubs nearby?” she fretted.
“No.” Thornclaw shook his head. “We made sure of that.
There’s no fresh scent this side of the Sky Oak.”
Ferncloud looked a little comforted, but her ears still twitched nervously, and she hurried back to her kits, who were mewling in the nursery.
Hollykit caught Squirrelflight’s eye. Her mother blinked at her sympathetically. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she murmured. “Every cat makes mistakes. You just have to learn from them.”
“I will make it up to the Clan,” Hollykit promised.
“I
Stephanie Laurens, Alison Delaine