Starlight (Warriors: The New Prophecy, #4)

by Erin Hunter

But she could not think of any herb that would heal his broken heart.

“StarClan will show us a new place to share tongues with them.”

The RiverClan medicine cat had meant well when she fetched water from the pool for the kits and elders. But what would the tainted water do to the cats who had drunk it?

Cats were darting everywhere, trying to say good-bye to friends in other Clans. There was so much activity, so much tension crackling between different cats that Brambleclaw could almost imagine he was in the thick of a battle—except in this battle there were no enemies.

StarClan, where are you? she begged silently. But only one or two lonely stars glimmered from the cloudy sky, and Leafpaw felt as if her warrior ancestors were too far away to watch over her Clan tonight.

On the other side, beyond the gap that led into the stone hollow, the unknown forest lay waiting. No—ThunderClan’s new territory lay waiting.

Leafpaw couldn’t think of anything to say to comfort her. She could heal wounds and knew the right herbs for bellyache, but the breach between her sister and Brambleclaw was totally beyond her. That was a part of life that a medicine cat would never know. She thought she should probably feel relieved that she would never have to suffer such pain. Then she saw the hunger in Squirrelflight’s gaze as it followed Brambleclaw out of the camp, and remembered how deeply the two cats cared for each other. A tiny empty space appeared inside her when she realized no cat would ever feel that way about her.

As Leafpaw looked on, the hollow place inside her got bigger. She would never feel for another cat what Squirrelflight felt for Brambleclaw, or enjoy the closeness of a mate and kits. She had never doubted her decision to give her life to StarClan and tread a medicine cat’s solitary path—but suddenly she couldn’t help wondering if she was missing something.