Long Shadows/Chapter 24

==Chapter Summary==
:The day after the storm, Lionblaze goes on a dawn patrol, and worries that Ashfur will reveal the secret while he's gone. When he returns to camp, things are peaceful, and he sees Brambleclaw directing warriors to repair the damage from the storm. Lionblaze and Hollyleaf help Dustpelt to build a new thorn barrier at the entrance to camp, and Hollyleaf whispers to her brother that they need to meet in the forest and discuss what happened. She leads Jayfeather out of camp, and Lionblaze waits a moment before lying to Dustpelt that he's going hunting in order to follow them.
:The siblings meet under a bracken thicket, and Hollyleaf exclaims that they need to find out who their real parents are. Lionblaze disagrees, stating that though he also wants to know the truth, they need to deal with the threat of Ashfur revealing Squirrelflight's secret first. Hollyleaf snarls about how much she hates Ashfur, and Lionblaze calms her. He recalls how Ashfur once fought with him with a furious look in his eyes when they were mentor and apprentice, and wonders if Ashfur was trying to kill him then. Hollyleaf says the secret is Squirrelflight's problem and not theirs, but Lionblaze tells her it concerns all of them, and he feels sympathetic towards Squirrelflight. Hollyleaf snaps that she and her siblings might not even be Clan cats, and Lionblaze insists they must be, since the prophecy is about them. Jayfeather points out that if they aren't Squirrelflight's children, they can't be Firestar's kin, and Hollyleaf screams that there's nothing special about them after all. Lionblaze is convinced he must be part of the prophecy, or else he owes his fighting skills to Tigerstar, and he wonders what Tigerstar would do to him if he found out he wasn't Brambleclaw's kin.
:Days go by, and Millie and Briarkit recover and return to camp, to Graystripe's relief. Whitewing becomes noticeably pregnant with Birchfall's kits. Lionblaze no longer enjoys patrolling, and constantly thinks about Ashfur, whom he often finds staring at him with a dark expression. Lionblaze overhears Ashfur asking Firestar if he can attend the Gathering in a few days, and the leader grants his request. Lionblaze gathers his siblings for another secret meeting and reveals what Ashfur is planning. Lionblaze and Jayfeather worry that Firestar will be forced to drive them away from the lake in order to protect ThunderClan's reputation. Lionblaze suggests telling Squirrelflight, and Hollyleaf says she never wants to speak to her again. Despite Hollyleaf's protests, the three cats wake her and her hope at their presence quickly turns to shock as they tell her about Ashfur's plan. She insists Firestar would never drive them out of the Clan, and says she will speak with Ashfur. Jayfeather doesn't trust that this will accomplish anything, and says one of them has to do something.
:Lionblaze dreams of fighting an unseen enemy with gray fur, spilling rivers of blood. When he awakens, he sees Ashfur joining a hunting patrol with Cloudtail and Brightheart. He asks to join, and he and Ashfur soon split off from the others to have a private conversation. Lionblaze informs him he knows about Ashfur's plan and asks him not to go through with it for the sake of ThunderClan. Ashfur tells Lionblaze that Squirrelflight has already given him the same request, but there's nothing anyone can do to stop him. Lionblaze warns him he could defeat him in a fight, but Ashfur doesn't believe Lionblaze is capable of attacking a fellow warrior. Lionblaze thinks that he won't let Ashfur take away all he and his Clan have fought for, and mutters that he's not as bound by the warrior code as Ashfur thinks.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
fr:Pénombre/Chapitre 24
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Long Shadows
Category:Power of Three arc