❝ 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝚄𝙱𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝙻𝙾𝚂𝚃, 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙱𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳. ❞
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Darkness was all that lay ahead of her. It was quiet and dark, yet her thoughts were spinning out of control. She could find no...
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"Is she dead?"
"No, she's breathing."
"Owlheart's dead!"
Spottedsong awoke with a start. Nearly half of the Clan-she wouldn't be surprised if it was the whole Clan, seeing how small FrostClan was now-was surrounding her. They backed away to give her space to breathe when she looked around frantically. "Where's Gorseberry? Where's Owlheart?"
"Owlheart's dead," Cloudsky murmured.
"I know!" Realization shot through her. "I saw it happen," she half-lied immediately, trying to sound as natural as possible. She looked down at her paws. They were damp with water, not blood. The blood had washed away. Did Gorseberry clean them so she wouldn't be suspected? Why would he do that?
"Who did it?" Frozenfang asked, her voice trembling.
You could blame Sparrowfeather for it. Or Frozenfang. "It was Sparrowfeather," she replied. She looked around for him, but she couldn't see him.
"None of us have seen him all morning," Rosefeather explained.
"He was off murdering Owlheart, then," Spottedsong countered.
Rosefeather's jaw fell open and she glanced over her shoulder. "He promised he wouldn't-"
"Honeykit, Snowykit, and Leopardkit are missing!" Mousetail cried from the nursery. The rest of the Clan turned to look at her. Violetkit was huddled close to her mother's leg, shaking with apprehension and worry for her littermates. Skystorm glanced up, fear sparking in his gaze, then hurried over to his mate and kit.
"Hollyfern's gone, too," Icetail observed.
"What?" Lynxstar came forward. Her blue eyes were blazing with anger and confusion, but grief glistened in her gaze, too. "First Owlheart's dead, then Mousetail's kits are missing, and now Hollyfern's gone?"
Spottedsong cringed. I'm not the only one breaking the rules. Maybe I do have a chance.
"I'm right here." Hollyfern padded forward. "What's all this about?"
"Where have you been?" Rosefeather demanded, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Calm down, everyone!" Lynxstar raised her voice above the clambering. "We will get this figured out. First-Spottedsong, what exactly did you see when you saw Owlheart get killed?"
Spottedsong caught Gorseberry's-he had just come up-eye before she began. "I was just leaving the den to get a drink of water, and then I saw Sparrowfeather and Owlheart go behind the medicine den, so I followed them. When I saw what was happening, I saw Sparrowfeather attacking him. First his chest, then his head, then his throat. Then Owlheart was dead. Sparrowfeather ran off."
