"You're telling me that Lightstep and Mirewind snuck out of the Gathering to kill Leafwhisker?" Eclipsestar drawled.

I nodded.

"And you know this because of some idle threat?" he asked, his tail flicking back and forth.

Creekfall flattened his ears. "It wasn't an idle threat. Mirewind said that if Cloverpaw and I didn't stop trying to figure out who killed Cloverpaw's mother, we could be next," he explained.

Eclipsestar glared at him. "Lightstep's mate is Goldwind. They have two kits together. Do you really believe that he would kill someone knowing that she could be blamed?"

I shrugged. "He cares more for his sister than he does for his mate," I pointed out, remembering Goldwind's words before she and the rest of the exiles left.

But Creekfall had a different idea. "What if he did it because she's his mate?" he murmured, half to himself. I pricked my ears.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Creekfall's fur prickled in embarrassment; he clearly hadn't realized he had spoken aloud. "Well," he began, "Goldwind wasn't at the gathering, so she would be a likely suspect for a murder that went on when so few cats were at the camp," he pointed out. "Maybe he was tired of being her mate and wanted her gone, so he decided, why not get rid of her?"

Eclipsestar's ruffled fur had flattened and even he seemed to be thinking about this theory. "True," he conceded, "But then why not just kill Goldwind? Why bother to kill Leafwhisker, too?" he reminded us.

An idea was forming in my mind. "That could be where Mirewind came in. She could have had something against Leafwhisker. And why not kill two birds-or cats, in this case-with one stone?"

"But there was still one piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit," Creekfall meowed. "Why would Flowerheart-"

"Why would Mirewind want to kill Leafwhisker?" I broke in hastily. Creekfall had a puzzled look in his eyes, and I gave the tiniest shake of my head. Understanding softened his gaze and he gave a slight nod.

I'm not ready to get Flow in trouble like that, I thought. After all, we don't know for sure what she was doing at the gathering.

I was glad that, for now at least, the evidence didn't point to my sister being the killer.

Eclipsestar's voice broke into my thoughts. "As you two already seem to have found out a lot, I'm putting you in charge of keeping an eye on Lightstep and his sister. And if you see any of them doing something suspicious, tell me." He paused before adding, "and stick together, you two. I don't want either of you ending up like Leafwhisker."

I nodded.

"Oh yes, wouldn't want poor old you to end up dead like your mother," Whitecloud taunted. I pricked my ears.

"I need to speak with Mossleap," I meowed politely. Eclipsestar dipped his head and I ducked out of the den, racing back to the medicine den.

Exploding through the ferns, I panted, "Mossleap? What do you know about Dreamwalkers?" My mentor stiffened and turned to me, her gentle eyes surprisingly cold.

"Why?" she growled, flattening her ears.

I opened my jaws, suddenly wary, to tell her about Whitecloud, when a flash of black and white fur padded into the den.

"Mossleap, I'm-" Flowerheart began, pausing briefly when she saw me before turning back to the tortoiseshell. "I've been vomiting and feeling horrible ever since the gathering," she meowed softly.

The anger drained from Mossleap's eyes and she began to examine my sister. I turned away awkwardly. What was the doing at the gathering? I thought in frustration.

For several moments, I was lost in my own thoughts, until Mossleap's pleased purr interrupted me.

"Flowerheart, it seems that there are kits in your belly."

Everything seemed to grow still. What?? I thought incredulously. Who could possibly be the father? Clawbelly's dead! Then I flattened my ears. Flow is barely even a warrior. She's much too young!

It seemed like forever until Flowerheart finally replied. "Oh. Um. Oh." She suddenly jerked her head around to stare at me, her eyes wide. "Cloverpaw, I need to talk to you," she said urgently. I caught the icy glare Mossleap was giving me, and nodded hastily.

"Okay," I said, following my sister as she padded behind the warriors' den. "Yes?"

"I'm expecting Loonriddle's kits!" she wailed. It took a while for her words to sink in.

"What do you mean? Loonriddle is in WindClan."

Flowerheart glared at me. "I mean, I'm expecting his kits! At the Gathering after Clawbelly was killed, about a moon ago, Loonriddle had recently been made a warrior, before the battle with us. I confronted him but he convinced me he had just been defending WindClan, that Clawbelly had been trying to kill his Clanmate. And to try to make things right with me, Loonriddle began to hunt rabbits and bring them to me in the nighttime, even though every Clan is short on prey.

"A little bit ago, before the last gathering, he stopped bringing prey, and we would just hang out! That's what I was doing, at the gathering. I was talking with Loonriddle."

For a moment, I felt a flutter of relief that my sister wasn't the perfect warrior everyone thought she was, then I lashed my tail, ashamed with myself. But more ashamed of my sister. "Flowerheart! Loonriddle murdered Clawbelly!" I snapped.

She nodded, eyes round with guilt. "I know! And now I'm expecting his kits!" she exclaimed disbelievingly.

"Cloverpaw?"

Mossleap had found me. "I'm sorry, Flowerheart, but Cloverpaw and I were in the middle of a conversation."

Flowerheart cast me a last desperate look, but I just stared at my paws and followed Mossleap back into the medicine den.