Prologue

A gentle breeze whistled through the air. Stars sparkled brightly in the night sky. A silver-and-white tabby she-cat sat in the long green grass, her striped tail wrapped neatly around her paws. The wind ruffled her soft fur.

Another cat silently crept out of the bushes, his black pelt barely visible in the darkness. He hesitated when he saw the tabby, then dipped his head. “Starlight.” His voice was a deep rumble.

Starlight responded with a curt nod. “Blackstar. What brings you here?”

Blackstar stared back at her, his amber eyes shining with worry. “I have come to talk about the Clans.” He paused, and Starlight nodded for him to go on. “There have always been Clans. I’ve never imagined they would disappear. But now we’re seeing them all scattered; most cats lost, some even dead. And that’s all because of those rogues!”

The bushes rustled and another cat slid out, her black pelt bristling and her green eyes flashing with anger. “It’s because of those rogues that I died! If we’d chased them out earlier, I wouldn’t have been taken away from my Clan, from everything. And now the Clans won’t be destroyed either!”

Starlight flicked her tail. “I understand, Flashpaw. But we cannot control what happens in the living world. We can only guide their paws—the rest of the future is up to them.”

“Then I only hope they’re strong enough,” Blackstar growled.

“This isn’t the end of the Clans.” Starlight’s mew was firm. “I once thought that the Clans would end because of Branchstar—my own mate. But I was wrong. The Clans thrived for many more seasons and new generations. They will survive again.”

A purr rumbled from the shadows. “Well said, Starlight.” A gray tabby tom with blue eyes padded out. “And it was your own sister who took his first life away.”

Starlight glared at him with piercing blue eyes. “We won’t talk about that, Rainfeather,” she snapped. “And don’t forget Silvermoon is your daughter, too.”

“How will we help the Clans?” Flashpaw interrupted.

Blackstar met her green gaze determinedly. “We send them a prophecy.”

“A new Clan will rise from the shadows,” Starlight meowed.

“And they must learn to move on,” Rainfeather added, “even though they will lose something valuable.”

“A new leader will form, strong and bold,” Blackstar continued.

“They will lead their new Clan for seasons upon seasons,” Flashpaw meowed.

“The Clans will not end here,” Starlight hissed. “They will survive.”

“But how will they face the challenge?” Rainfeather demanded. “How will they know that most of their Clanmates aren’t dead, just lost and hungry and scared?”

Starlight met his gaze steadily. “We will send a vision.”

“To whom?” Flashpaw prompted. “Is there a right choice? A right cat?”

Starlight gazed down at a small pool beside her. For a moment all there was to see was the clear water, shimmering in the moonlight. Then the water seemed to shift and change into an image of a young she-cat running through the forest, her green eyes sparkling with fear.

“Her?” Blackstar gasped. “But she’s so young!”

“Young cats have so much to see later in their lives,” Starlight meowed, “but they have not seen the challenges and dangers of the past. She did not see a time when the Clan broke apart before this. And she is brave and strong and smart. She can do this.”

“How?” Rainfeather asked.

“That is not up for us to decide.” Starlight got to her paws and turned toward the trees. “The future will unfold itself—based on her decisions, and everybody else’s decisions.”