"Are they coming yet?" Snowheart called.
She tugged Crowkit back by his tail and tucked him in their nest beside his sister.
Cinderkit had fallen asleep, tired of waiting for her new denmates to arrive.

Sunlight filtered into the nursery, muted by the thick layer of snow weighing heavily on the stone roof.
Inside it was warm from the breath of several cats crowded together.

"It won't be long," Owlpool murmured, concentrating hard as Poolpelt shuddered with another contraction.

Owlpool placed her paw on Poolpelt's belly. "I can feel your body trying to push the kits out."
When Flowertail had moved to the elders's den half a moon ago, Owlpool had become the new medicine cat.

"Get your paws off!" Poolpelt hissed, wracked by another contraction.
As it faded, she let a sigh of relief. "Sorry," she muttered. "I just didn't expect it to hurt this much."

"Did touching her belly hurt her?" Crowkit mewed.
Owlpool flicked her tail. "No," she assured the black kit. "Queens can be a bit crabby when kitting." She narrowed her eyes at Poolpelt. "Some are crabbier than others."
"You'd be crabby if you'd been kitting since dawn!" Poolpelt snapped, pain convulsing her body once more.
Oh, Feathershine, help me!

"Here comes the first one," Owlpool mewed.
Owlpool moved into position as a small, wet bundle tumbled into the nest.
"A tom!" Owlpool announced.
"Is he okay?" Poolpelt craned her neck to see her first kit, her paws trembling with excitement.

Owlpool leaned down and licked the kit's scruff fiercely.
Poolpelt gasped. "Is he breathing?"
Her heart lurched when Owlpool hesitated.
"Well?"
"He is now." Owlpool picked up the tiny kit and put him beside Poolpelt's belly.

He felt warm and damp against her fur.
Trembling with relief, Poolpelt leaned forward and sniffed her son. It was the most perfect scent in the world. "He's beautiful," she whispered.
He had Goldenfur's fur, muzzle, and eyes, but also had Poolpelt's black dapples, but not just on his back, but all over him.

Another wave of pain rippled along her flank.
Owlpool pressed her paw gently on her flank. "Not much longer,"

There was a final, heaving pain, and Poolpelt flopped down onto the moss, panting.
"Well done!" Owlpool congratulated her. "A she-kit! And both of them look healthy and strong."

She looked over and saw her she-kit. She had Goldenfur's fur but brighter and had Poolpelt's deep blue eyes.

Poolpelt wrapped her tail around her two new kits and held them tightly to her belly.
As they began to suckle, memory of the pain faded like a bad dream.
Goldenfur, we have a daughter and a son.

The stone scraped, and Braveheart padded into the den. "How is she?"
"Poolpelt's fine," Owlpool told him. "She has two healthy kits. A she-kit and a tom."

Braveheart purred with delight, and Poolpelt felt a rush of gratitude.
Poolpelt had announced to the Clan that Braveheart was the father of her kits.

Braveheart leaned into the nest and nuzzled them. "I would have been very proud to have been their father," he whispered to Poolpelt.
Poolpelt purred. "You're a good friend," she whispered back.

"What are you going to call them?" Snowheart mewed, padding from her nest.
"The golden she-cat will be Goldenkit," Poolpelt purred; she had decided to name her after her father.
"And the golden-dappled tom will be Sunkit." She mewed, giving him a name that reminded her of sunlight.

Owlpool's whiskers twitched. "So you're not letting the father decide on any of the names?" She teased. "You always were determined, Poolpelt." Behind her eyes, curiosity gleamed.
Sorry, Owlpool. You've been good to me, but this is my secret to keep.

Poolpelt bent over her kits once more and began lapping at their damp pelts.
If only Goldenfur could see them.
She recognized the shape of the warrior's head in Goldenkit and felt his thick-fur as she washed Sunkit.
I love you enough for both of us, she promised.

Hugging them closer, she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

Snow still lay heavy in the camp half a moon later.
Poolpelt was worried that her kits would get too cold, after all, they are half DawnClan.
She sat near the nursery entrance and watched battling at drifting snowflakes, squeaking with excitement.

"Should I take them inside?" She asked Snowheart.
"Kits are tougher than they look," Snowheart soothed.

The kits hopped through the snow, chasing each other's tails.
Crowkit and Cinderkit, three moons older, were teasing them by flicking lumps of snow at them and then looking innocent when the kits skidded to a halt to complain.

Briarfang was clearing snow from the stone tunnel, helped by Crowclaw and Swiftfur.
Blackfrost was demonstrating fighting moves to Dovepaw and  Berrypaw next to the snow-crushed nettle patch.

Icestar and Hawkflame were digging through the snow where the fresh-kill pile used to be.
"Nothing left." Icestar sat back on her haunches, disappointed.
Hawkflame sighed. "We'll just have to keep sending out hunting patrols until someone catches something."
He glanced toward the nursery, his eyes dark with worry. "Even the queens are starting to look thin."

Owlpool was carrying a bundle of herbs to the elders's den.
"Is everything okay?" Icestar called to her.
"Yes," Owlpool mumbled through her jawful of leaves. "I'm just trying to make sure it stays that way."

She nodded to Flowertail, who was padding out of the elders's den. "Settled in now?"
"What?" Flowertail looked distracted.
"Is your nest comfortable?" Owlpool pressed.
"Yes, fine." Flowertail padded across the snowy clearing as Owlpool disappeared into the elders's den.

Poolpelt watched the old medicine cat approach.
She had a fierce, glazed look in her eyes that made her pelt tingle.
What was she going to say this time?

She glanced down at her kits, who were now tumbling down that snow that had drifted against the warriors's den.
"Don't disturb Ravenbird!" she warned. "He's trying to get some rest."
"We won't," Sunkit promised, clambering up the pile again and bundling back down.
He sat at the bottom, scattering snow when he shook his ears.
Poolpelt shook her head fondly.

A shadow fell across her. "This was not part of the prophecy," Flowertail hissed. "Flames must burn without bonds."
Poolpelt stood up and faced her. She may have doubted once that flames burned inside her, but she was sure now it did. She felt it scorching beneath her pelt, giving her the strength of a lion to protect her kits.
"The prophecy can wait," she growled. "My kits need me now."

"What about your Clan?" Flowertail turned and looked at Blackfrost on the other side of the snowy clearing.
The warrior's coat was ridged with snow as he tried to coax Dovepaw to reach higher with his swiping forepaws.
"Stretch your claws!" he snapped. "You won't be fighting mice."
Poolpelt sighed. What could she do?

"Watch this!" Goldenkit called as she flung herself headfirst down the snow pile.
The stone den made a loud thud noise as Ravenbird stormed out. "Can't you kits play somewhere else?" he grumbled.

Poolpelt called, "I'm sorry, Ravenbird. I warned them."
Ravenbird's gaze softened as Sunkit tumbled toward him, squealing. "Look at meeeeeee!"
"I suppose they're not kits for long," the warrior sighed, padding toward the elders's den. "Perhaps Speckledall will let me squeeze in with her for a nap."

Flowertail turned back to Poolpelt, and her emerald green eyes were as empty as the sky. "If Blackfrost becomes deputy, it will be the end of IceClan."

Poolpelt narrowed her eyes. "My kits need me," she repeated.
"They're not just your kits," Flowertail told her. "They have a father who would raise them."
Poolpelt's heart lurched. "What do you mean?"
"I saw you," Flowertail murmured, "With Goldenfur, at Fourtrees."
Poolpelt flinched as if she'd struck her. She knows!

"I do not stand in judgement, Poolpelt," Flowertail mewed gently. "You never set out to betray your Clan. But these kits will drown in blood with the rest of their Clanmates unless you act. You are still the flames that will scorch a different path for IceClan."

"Mom!" Sunkit's panicked squeak made her spin around.
Goldenkit had tumbled into a drift up to her ears.
Poolpelt hurried over and plucked her out by the scruff, shaking the snow from the tiny bundle of fur and placing her on a firmer patch.

Was Flowertail right?
Was she the only one who could save her Clan?

Heart quickening, she glanced at the sky. StarClan, give me a sign! But she saw nothing except the thick, creamy clouds of leaf-bare.

Snow slumped from the stone tunnel as a hunting patrol pushed through the stone tunnel.
Featherfall, Thornwing, and Springleaf padded into the camp, tails down.
Featherfall clutched one scrawny sparrow in her jaws.

"Is that it?" Icestar demanded, bounding over to inspect the catch.
"We've been everywhere," Thornwing reported. "The forest is empty."

"Did you try digigng?" Icestar pressed.
"The prey is too well hidden," Springleaf sighed.

Icestar scanned the camp, her gaze flitting over her Clanmates, all as thin as bones. "The queens must be fed first," she decided.

Featherfall carried the sparrow to the nursery entrance and laid it at Snowheart's paws.
The white queen glanced at Poolpelt. "You have first bite," she offered.

Gratefully Poolpelt bit into the sparrow.
She'd been hungry for days, and she knew from the way her kits paddled their little feet against her belly that she wasn't producing enough milk for them.

Owlpool wove her way through the drifts from the elders's den, the branches dropping snow on her pelt.
"Is that fresh-kill?" she called. She stared, disappointed, at the half-chewed sparrow. "The elders are starving," she sighed.

"They can have a bite of this," Snowheart offered.
Owlpool shook her head.

"What about Rainpelt?" Poolpelt suggested. "She needs to keep her strength up."
The IceClan deputy no longer even left the medicine den to use the dirtplace.

She picked up the sparrow, ready to take it to her.
Owlpool stopped her with a paw. "She won't eat it," she murmured. "She hasn't been able to keep anything down for days."
Poolpelt froze. "Is she dying?"
Owlpool steadily met her gaze. "She's not getting better."

Poolpelt hardly heard her.
She was staring at Blackfrost.
The black warrior was watching Owlpool with pricked ears.
His eyes gleamed.

Poolpelt blinked.
Blackfrost's black pelt was glistening.
Was he wet?
Something dark and sticky was flowing down his pelt.

Blood!
Blackfrost was drenched with blood.
It oozed him from his fur and dripped from his whiskers, staining the snow around him scarlet.
Horrified, Poolpelt backed away.

"What is it?" Owlpool mewed. "Poolpelt?"
When she felt the medicine cat's tail touch her shoulder, Poolpelt blinked and the blood disappeared.
Blackfrost was glaring at her, his black pelt once more clean and dry.

She caught Flowertail's eye, and she nodded.
She'd seen it too.
A vision of IceClan's path if Blackfrost was to lead them.

Shaking, Poolpelt stared at her kits. How could I give up?

"I'm hungry!" Goldenkit complained, trotting up with her tail sticking out.
"Let's go inside." The words stuck in Poolpelt's throat.
I have no choice. I have to save my Clan.

A full moon hung above Fourtrees.
The clouds had cleared though snow still smothered the forest.
The Gathering had begun.

Poolpelt stared around the clearing, blind to the cats mingled around her.
She saw the roots where she'd made a nest with Goldenfur; the branches they had climbed to look at the sky.
She wished she were high up there now, closer to the stars than to the problems of her Clan, far from the grief that tore at her heart.

Stop it!
There was no time to indulge in sadness or memories.
She searched the pelts streaming around her.
Where are you, Goldenfur? Please be here.

The hollow was noisy, full of chatter, swirling with cats.

Icestar had let her come to the Gathering even though she was a nursing queen; she wondered if something in her eyes had persuaded her.
She pictured her kits now, safe and warm beside Snowheart's belly.

Goldenfur!
She spotted his golden tabby pelt swimming through the crowd.
Shouldering her way through a cluster of SmokeClan warriors, she headed for him, keeping her gaze on his pelt in case she lost sight of him.

"Goldenfur," she hissed as soon as he was close enough to hear.
He spun around, his eyes lightning up when he saw her.
"We need to talk."
He nodded and darted away, beckoning Poolpelt with his tail.
She followed as he weaved out of the crowd and slid behind one of the great oaks.

"I heard about the kits," he whispered. "How are they? What do they look like?" His eyes were glowing with pride and, for a moment, Poolpelt forgot what she had come to tell him. If only he could see their kits, curled like sleepy dormice in the nursery.
"They're beautiful," she breathed. "I named them Sunkit and Goldenkit."
Goldenfur sighed and sat down. "I wish I could see them."

"You can." Poolpelt stiffened. "I can't keep them."
"What?" Goldenfur stared in disbelief.
"My Clan needs me more."
"I—I don't understand." His mouth hung open.

He thinks I'm heartless.
She looked at the cat that had once been her mate. "Our kits are lucky," she meowed. "They have both you and me to protect them. IceClan has only me."
"What are you asking me?" Goldenfur growled.

"You have to take them. I'll bring them to Icerocks tomorrow night."
Goldenfur narrowed his eyes. "If I take them, they'll be raised as DawnClan warriors," he warned. "For their own sakes, they will never know that you were their mother."

"I understand," Poolpelt whispered.
Would her kits forget her so easily?
How could she let them grow up without her?
She had to—or they would drown in blood with their Clanmates when Blackfrost came to power.

She blinked and turned to walk away.
She had to trust in StarClan.
And in Goldenfur.

His paw tugged her pelt.
"Poolpelt?"
"What?" She turned on him.

"This isn't like you," he murmured. "I can see how much you love our kits. You are a good mother."
Her voice cracked. "I can't be what I want to be. I need to be as strong as the flames. I need to save my Clan."
Grief clouded her gaze, and Goldenfur swam in front of her. "It is for the best," she whispered. "I hope they know that they have been loved. Even if they don't remember me, I hope they'll know that."
Goldenfur touched his muzzle to her cheek. "They will know," he promised. "And... thank you."

The warmth of his breath brought memories surging back until Poolpelt couldn't bear it any longer, and she wretched herself away.

She padded back into the throng of cats, knowing that each paw step took her farther from her kits.

Please, StarClan. Let this truly be the path you wish me to follow.