Finding a paw hold, he heaved himself to his paws and thrust Breezepelt clear with another hefty blow.
Blood spattered onto the snow like crimson rain. Stop it! Leafpools high-pitched shriek shattered the freezing air as she plunged through the bracken with Cinderheart and Dovepaw behind her.
"How can you watch your son's fight?" she screeched at Crowfeather.
Before Crowfeather could reply, his mate, Nightcloud, stalked from the shadows beyond the border. Her black pelt matched Breezepelt s, and her amber eyes glittered with the same venom. "He only has one son." Hatred laced her hiss. "Crowfeather is Breezepelt's father. No one else's!"
Breezepelt crouched down. Lionblaze could see his muscles bunching beneath his pelt, ready for another attack. "Stop!" Leafpool shot between them. Breezepelt"s lunge hit her square in the side.
His claws tore her pelt as he dragged her to the ground. Another jet of blood sprayed the snow. Lionblaze stared in shock. but Before he could reach for Breezepelt, Crowfeather had crossed the ditch and hauled his son off Leafpool. He tossed him aside like prey and leaned over Leafpool. You chose your Clan, remember? he hissed.
She stared up at him. That doesn t mean I didn t love you. .. Crowfeather's eyes flashed with pain. "Maybe you did," he growled. "But it wasn't enough, was it?"
"Get away from her!" Nightcloud had crossed the ditch. She sank her claws into Crowfeather and dragged him away from Leafpool.
Crowfeather turned on his mate, hissing. Breezepelt darted between them with a wail of protest. Lionblaze felt sick. He's my brother. How can I fight my brother?
Breezepelt faced his father, tail brushed, lips drawn back. "Leave my mother alone." The thrush had been was a different sort of blood, one that flowed in a that flowed in a cat's veins, binding him to another.
Lionblaze shook his head, These cats aren't my kin. he reminded himself.
A few paces away, Leafpool heaved herself to her paws. Lionblaze glared at her. It's her fault. She made this mess.
Yet her eyes were shot with grief, and he suddenly felt her pain as though it were his own. She has suffered more than any of us.
Crowfeather, growling, turned away from Breezepelt and jumped the ditch back onto WindClan territory.
"Come on," he snarled. "If ThunderClan is going to starve without that puny bird, let them have it." Breezepelt slunk after him, leaving a thin trail of blood in the snow.
Lionblaze fluffed out his fur. He hadn't felt a scratch. Should he stop fighting Clan cats? It's cheating. Dovepaw's words echoed in his mind.
Perhaps he should save his powers for the Dark Forest warriors. Nightcloud leaped the ditch, then paused and turned back.
"Next time we'll shred you!" she spat.