The Nightingale's Song

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Blurb
''The Chaos Kingdom is a labyrinth of order and turmoil. It is a masterpiece - seas crashing against marble-white beaches, emerald-green forests, and towering snow-capped peaks. The Chaos Kingdom has flourished for millennia, but there have been twists in time when it dwindled to ashes. Perhaps it was war, or plague, or the “fire of the sky”. But the Chaos Kingdom has not known any danger in centuries…or so it seems.''

It is the calm before the storm.

ROYALTY
DICTATOR

SPIRAL - long-furred jet-black she-cat with a white tail-tip

HEIR

COUNCIL

MENTORS

PANTHER - black she-cat

ARCTIC - pale silver tom with dark amber eyes

JASMINE - snowy-white she-cat with a fawn-tipped tail

SOLDIERS

TWIST - brown tabby tom with white splotches

OTTER - light brown she-cat with a white underbelly

ONYX - sleek black tom with dark amber eyes

TEMPEST - dark smoky-gray she-cat with white splotches and blue eyes

SHADOW - sleek dark gray tom with green eyes

FAWN - pale tan she-cat with hazel eyes

CITRINE - dark ginger she-cat

SAGE - brown she-cat with white patches and blue eyes

TRAINEES

MIRAGE - small, snowy-white tom with amber eyes

FALLEN - dark gray she-cat with an orange flash on her chest

WILLOW - gray she-cat with green eyes

FLAME - orange tabby tom with a white underside

VIRIDIAN - black-and-white she-cat

WISP - mottled gray tabby she-cat

RIVEN - pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

QUEENS

MARIGOLD - dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes (mother to Twist’s kits: Lion, a long-furred ginger she-kit with hazel eyes, Ash, a fluffy pale gray she-cat, and Jet, a black tom with yellow eyes)

RIBBON - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with a long tail (mother to Shadow’s kits: Topaz, a golden she-cat with white ears, and Steam, a silver tabby tom with dark blue eyes)

UMBRA DEN
COMMANDER

HALO - tall white she-cat with dark amber eyes

SECOND-IN-COMMAND

MEDICS

RAYNE - silver she-cat with white dapples

RIPPLE - silver-gray tabby tom

IRIS - dark brown-and-golden tabby she-cat

CAPTAINS

SORREL - light brown she-cat with cream stripes and yellow eyes

SOLDIERS

SNOW - silver-and-white tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

SKY - silver tabby she-cat with dark swirled stripes

NEBULA - long-furred black tom with silver and white flecks

FOX - slender pale ginger she-cat

HYACINTH - pale ginger tabby tom with blue eyes

CADETS

STREAM - gray-and-white tabby she-cat with green eyes

THRUSH - silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes

RIPTIDE - sleek dark gray tom with bright amber eyes

LYNX - spiky-furred black she-cat with ice-blue eyes

HEXAGON - pale ginger she-cat

SOLIS SYNDICATE
COMMANDER

DAWN - long-furred pale ginger tabby she-cat

SECOND-IN-COMMAND

HORIZON - sleek golden-and-white tabby tom

HEALERS

LARK - brown-and-white tabby she-cat with golden eyes

WREN - brown she-cat with green eyes

STARLING - dusty-brown tabby tom with black stripes

MENTORS

SHELL - tan tabby she-cat with emerald-green eyes

FIGHTERS

MAPLE - dark ginger she-cat with white flecks and blue eyes

HIBISCUS - dark ginger-and-white tom

FAWKES - reddish brown she-cat with forest-green eyes

RAINBOW - light brown she-cat with white splashes, flecked with ginger

HYACINTH - light brown she-cat with dark blue eyes

MOSS - small gray she-cat with white paws and tail-tip

MYSTERY - fluffy silver tom with golden eyes

MIRACLE - silver she-cat with green eyes

CADETS

FIREY - dark ginger she-cat with a white belly, tail-tip, paws, and muzzle

CLOUD - golden tom with ice-blue eyes

WAVE - silver she-cat with green eyes

HONEY - golden-yellow tabby she-cat

QUEENS

LILY - white-pointed cream-colored she-cat (mother to Paradise’s kits: Dahlia, a white-pointed cream-colored she-kit, and Finch, a white-pointed cream-and-ginger tom)

TOURMALINE - dark gray she-cat with silver points (mother to Mystery’s kit: Mist, a silver she-kit with blue eyes)

LACUS DEN
AMBASSADOR

BLAZ - dark russet-brown she-cat with black legs, ears, and spot around one eye

RULER

SECOND-IN-COMMAND

SWAN - white she-cat with black paws, ears and tail-tip, dark green eyes

CAPTAINS

SOLDIERS

HAWK - sleek black tom with ice-blue eyes

BRIGHT - cream tabby she-cat with green eyes

STORM - mottled dark gray tabby tom with snowy-white paws

BLUE - dark blue-gray she-cat

NESTLE - pale gray tabby tom

ROOKIES

BALANCE - small black tom with white splotches

BRAMBLE - tan tabby she-cat; pale blue eyes

DUSK - golden tabby she-cat with white paws and tail-tip

FLOWER - white she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

MARE DEN
RULER

AQUA - pale gray she-cat with brilliant blue eyes

Prologue
APOCALYPSE

Dusk cascaded through the Chaos Kingdom, plaguing the sky with indigo and copper. It was as if the clouds had caught fire; they danced in the sky, golden and blood-red and bone-white, carried by the wind. It was a beautiful sight, but I couldn't stop. Father was depending on me.

I was ascending the cliffside, flickering from stone spire to spire, no more than a shadow amidst thousands, camouflaged in the grays and silvers and blacks. At the clifftop, snowflakes swept across a crowd of dens in rose bushes in a shower of white. The blood-red roses had not yet fallen, though it was the season of snow, but its scattered petals fluttered in the breeze.

I strolled through the stones, toward the den beside the cliff. It was all I could do to stop myself from panicking and dashing back to the safety of Father's canyon hideout, a night's journey away.

Roses shouldn't have been blooming like these at the peak of the tallest mountain in the kingdom, but you could say these weren't your everyday rose bushes. A story said that the predecessors of the Chaos Kingdom had been spent here in the snow. Their tears had fallen upon the stone, and these rose bushes sprang from the tears.

This was where the royalty of the Chaos Kingdom presided, and I could see why. I saw ice-blue and bone-white tundra, the bright golden and orange of the desert, the emerald-green and white of forests crested with snow. Whales glided, dreamlike, through the sky-blue seas circling the kingdom; I know myself the seaside dens think whales aren't to be caught. I snicker.

It was a beautiful scenery, but it reminded my of the troubled years rising to that very day. But I shake my head, letting the thoughts slip aside like fish in a river. Be quick, be quiet. Father's quote kept drifting into my mind.

Even though I know I shouldn't, I whisper, “You will be proud of me when I return to dawn, I promise. I - I won't let you down, Father." And I don't mind the quaver in my voice. By dawn, I'd enter the hideout victorious, or I wouldn't come at all.

I'd reached the den nearest to the edge of the cliff, a plateau that dropped into nothingness - thin air, perhaps turning into solid ground a hundreds of tree-lengths down. I couldn't make myself walk right into the dictator's den, so I passed it, stalling for time.

I peered down the cliff face to see a crown of stone spires rising from the mountainside, as if it had fallen from the mountain's head and was now resting on its shoulders. How right ''it is that the mountain's lost its crown. ''I laughed, but quieted myself down quickly. But I had a task. Father used to tell me how determined I was, how he'd realized when I was presented to me, a tiny four-moon-old.

Carrying on, I turn to narrow my sharp eyes at the den right in front of me. It was the tallest of the bushes on the clifftop. Azule must be sleeping inside this very den, I thought, perhaps contemptuously. I'd discovered that royalty slept before the sun set and rose early the next day.The leader of the Chaos Kingdom, asleep before the sun dips below the horizon! They laughed again, but softly.

“Hey!”

My long, sleek fur spiked along the spine I whipped around to stare at the young tom. I caught his eye and took a step back. I'll confess, I was panicking, uncertain of whether I should flee or not. If I escaped, I'd be a failure to Father. I didn't have a choice.

The young tom stood on the stones, his sleek black pelt specked with snow. “Who are you?” he demanded, prowling forward with a frown on his muzzle.

Father would remind me I had a diamond backbone, stronger than titanium. I wasn't terrified. I would prevail.

So, instead of responding the young tom's demand, I just thrust their muzzle forward toward his. He scrambled back in surprise as I snarled, “Tell them Azule is dead and her blood was spilled on these very stones. Tell them the Council murdered her at this very den. Tell them Azule’s reign is over, and it is time for another to begin. Turn the royalty against one another.”

Onyx stared at me, shocked, perhaps, into quiet. I'd dealt with frustratingly dense soldiers like Onyx, but I couldn't fly into a rage now.

“Do it!” I hissed.

“But - but I'm Onyx! I'm Azule's soldier - and I'll tell her that you - you - ” the sleek black tom stammered as he careened back, “but she’s asleep! Azule isn’t dead, she can’t be. Carmine wouldn’t murder her; he’s loyal to her, and he’s in the Council, at the other side of the mountain.”

The rage returned to his dark amber eyes. “Unlike you,” he hissed. “Why are you here? You don’t scare me. I’ll call me denmates to drive you out. I’ll - “

“Oh, I can see how I scare you, Onyx.” I tried for a hushed, menacing whisper. It worked; he stepped back toward the rose bushes, cowering under my fierce sharp stare.

“The Council comes at nightfall," he told me, as if I didn't already know. "They’ll find you here, if royalty doesn’t first.”

“The Council doesn’t scare me at all. If the ten of them come, this skirmish could be fair.” I laughed again; who cared if royalty noticed me now? “And your royal friends? They’re sleeping soundly in their dens. You can’t call for them to come.” My claws slid out; I'd sharpened them before I left, and now they gleamed wickedly in the weakening sunlight. "You'll be dead before one word comes out."

“I can!” he flared, but I was talking over him already.

“Do it,” I repeated softly; it didn't matter how many times I would have to tell him to just do it already. “Don’t tell them I was here. Don’t tell them I’m behind the chaos.” I glared at Onyx until he glanced away, his ear flicking in discomfort.

“And if I refuse?” He spoke in a timid squeak. “If I tell them you’re behind this?”

I drew my paw over my ear. It was a casual movement, but in a time like this, it meant danger. I'd even practiced it, back home in Father's canyon hideout. Father used to say such movements scared snobby royals more than a threat.

“Oh, of course you won’t.” I spoke calmly, but there must have been menace in my eyes, for Onyx stepped back again''. ''“I can see your discomfort. I can see your fear. You’re too frightened to tell them about me, you coward.”

The sun dipped below the sea, plunging the sky into shades of indigo. "Leave," I growled at Onyx

The sleek black tom fled in terror.

- - - -

When I was sure he'd left, I circled the rose bush, studying it from all angles, even though I didn't know what I was doing. My heart had returned to its regular pace; I'd thought it would jump out of me when Onyx suddenly appeared from nowhere. A blood-red petal landed on my nose. I stopped myself from sneezing and flicked it off.

Finally, I took a deep, sharp breath, and padded inside Azule's den.

The silver-furred she-cat was curled in the den, her snowy-white tail wandering across the stone. She looked like she had last year, and the year before that. When I drew closer, I thought perhaps she was different after all: she looked older, not as easygoing or cheerful. Even in sleep, she somehow seemed worried to me.

I practiced, I silently encouraged myself, drawing forward, even though every thought in my mind screamed at me to run. I can do this.

Every time Azule stirred or twitched, I jumped, and very nearly fled. But finally I touched her shoulder gently with my tail-tip.

The silver-furred she-cat sprang to her paws, her back arched. “Who’s there?” she snarled. Her sky-blue eyes rested on me as I drew back, shocked that she'd responded so quickly. Royalty does sleep lightly, after all, I thought, my heart beating faster, wondering if I could escape what I'd just done. If I dashed away quickly, would Azule chase me? Or would every royal sleeping in their rose-bush dens come after me?

After a second, Azule recognized me. Her snarl softened, but her head remained quizzically cocked. “Ah. Messenger of Solis. What brings you here tonight? I haven't seen you in a year.” Her tail curled up.

“As I was climbing the mountain, I saw a fox near the spires,” I improvised, too quickly. "Near my cave."

Azule’s ears pricked as I spoke. She narrowed her eyes curiously at me, and I felt like beetles were skittering down my spine, or someone was stepping on my grave. Perhaps I was already dead.

“A fox near spires,” Azule quoted me, and I felt a prickle of annoyance; why was royalty so slow to respond? “When was this? You should have been at the cave by then. Why didn't a royal find the fox?”

“The fox was in a quiet place, one where even the mightiest eagles stay far from - a canyon, you could say.” I shifted uncomfortably: canyon reminded me of my own hideout, but I couldn't think about that now. Once again, I told myself I had a task to accomplish. "Don't you know about the slash in the stone, so dark night seems to reign forever there, and so mysterious no one has ever even dared to explore it? Well, the foolish fox went in there."

Azule inclined her head. "Caligo Canyon? Yes, I've heard of it. We are not allowed to wander near it, as far as I know, but if the fox you speak of endangers our lives - rules can be shifted, after all." She considered me. "Fine; bring me to the canyon, and we shall see about this fox." She spat out fox as if it were a strange wild mushroom.

I lowered my head, leading the way out of her rose bush. Somehow, I knew Azule hadn't been tricked. I was lucky I'd already thought of what to do.

When I came out, the sky was prussian blue, but the horizon glimmered with gold and red. Dark clouds circled the moon, making the beautiful sight questionable. I stopped at the cliff edge. Stone crumbled under my paws and I quickly backed away. "Why don't we stop for a second to admire the sunset? The fox might be lying dead already in Caligo Canyon."

Accept, I prayed.

Azule's eyes narrowed. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

I'd anticipated the question. "Your kingdom is a masterpiece. I haven't ever admired it from Shadow Mountain. The year before, I came because Father - " I cut myself off and lifted one shoulder. "Your decision. I'd just like to - I don't know." My nostalgic sigh came a second too late, but Azule didn't seem to care. She finally nodded and settled down, a fox-length away from me.

“The Chaos Kingdom is shockingly beautiful,” she murmured. ”Intimidatingly beautiful, if you look at it too long. The desert is a dreamscape from a distance - a land crafted from bronze and gold. But if you travel too close, it can burn you into ashes." She beckoned with her tail, lost in thought, toward where tundra shone coldly to the north. "And there's our sapphire jewel, my birthplace. It's no caring beauty."

"They all have their own dangers." I pretended to be interested. "So what are the tundra's hazards?"

"Avalanches." Azule flinched, staring at the tundra. There was shame on her face, but I didn't know or care why. "Snowstorms and blizzards."

''Be quick. ''

I whirled, pushing her back and to the stone. Azule lashed out, but I quickly sidestepped. I lashed my tail around, and she jumped aside, turning back to face me with a snarl of fury. Her eyes widened in surprise as I rocketed toward her and pinned her to the stone.

There was one second of silence.

Then Azule howled in fury. "What is this?" she demanded. ''"What is this?" ''She thrashed around, her tail whipping across my face, her eyes burning.

Be quiet.

“I’m sorry!" I shouted over the clamor she was making. “But this is for the - no, this is for Father. If not for him, I wouldn't be - "

Letting go of the shame and resentment and anger I'd been harboring for moons, I sidestepped a wild slash and pushed her off the cliff.

Azule plummeted like a rock, screeching in rage and fear, her eyes saying, ''How could you? ''I blinked tears back from my eyes and turned away. I didn't hear her smash into the stone, but her screech was sliced off. The echo rebounded from one side of the stone canyon to another, but I could only hear myself fighting back against a scream.

- - - -

When I turned back, Onyx was standing beside Azule's rose bush. Minutes ago she'd been sleeping inside, but I had to end yet another life. I couldn't blame the terror in Onyx's eyes.

“You did it!” he whispered, backing away from me. I didn't answer, ashamed of myself and wondering whether everything had been an illusion or not.

Onyx stammered, “I didn’t tell them. I - I will, I p-promise, but - but - ”

“But?” Even to myself, I sounded older and tired.

Onyx shook his head, staring at me with curiosity instead of terror now. "I'll do it."

I turned around, ready to descend Shadow Mountain lacking the pride and triumph I'd anticipated, but Onyx lifted a tail to stop me. I didn't look at him, but I did stop.

“Who - who are you?” Onyx burst out before they could dash down Shadow Mountain.

I didn't turn my head. “I’m one of you.” ''Truth or not, I don't care anymore. ''

“You - “ Onyx stopped himself before saying anything else, most likely ''you can’t be. ''He looked agonized, as if he were on the rim of telling me something he shouldn’t. “One more question,” the small black tom pleaded. “If you‘re royalty, why are you doing this?"

''I don't know. ''“It’s my purpose." I shook my head. Onyx was sidetracking me. I didn’t think much of him, but of course I had realized he could scream for help, and in seconds all the royalty in the Chaos Kingdom would be after me.

"Did I say I was royalty?“ I asked quietly. “No, I said I was one of you; there’s a difference.”

Onyx just stared at me uncomprehendingly with his dark amber eyes, and I sighed. "Just think about what that means," I told him.

I turned around and strolled away.

Chapter One
ILLUSORY

Five days.

Mirage crouched, curling his claws around the long birch branch, and leaped, his paws reaching for the stone spire. The wind whistled in his ears as he curled himself inwards and smashed into the spire with a ''crash. ''He toppled back to the base of the tree, fuming with pain and anger, his shoulder aching. He couldn't concentrate. His dream was occupying his mind.

Five days, he'd dreamed. ''You have five days. The blood roses will fall, and your kingdom will fall with them. Chaos is rising. ''

"No," Mirage snarled at the stone spire. "I won’t let this happen." ''It can't happen! The Chaos Kingdom has stood here forever!''

”May I ask, what can’t happen?” someone behind him demanded icily.

His mentor, trainer - whichever the royalty called her. Her sleek pelt was as dark as midnight, but her ice-blue eyes were as bright and cold as ever. Panther wasn’t terrible, but her personality was too close to Mirage’s.

And he wasn’t delighted to see her.

“Ah.” He leaned against the spire, his muzzle curling into a tight smile that didn’t look like his. “I was thinking about your assessment. I won’t let you down, I promise.”

Panther tipped her head to one side, her ice-blue eyes never wandering from Mirage as she circled him, bottlebrush tail held high. Unconvinced, she grumbled. “I see. I suppose you came here to practice this move, too, haven’t you?”

Mirage nodded, dipping his head to stare at the stone. He'd already realized what was coming; it was all he could do to stop himself from sighing.

Panther shouldered past him, padding toward the silver birch. She crouched and sprang onto a branch slightly above her triangular head. Her tail curled around the bough to steady herself as she leaped, again, ascending the birch tree. In seconds she was perched on one of the highest branches, towering above the stone spire.

"Be careful." Mirage couldn't stop himself.

Panther's ear pricked, but she didn't look at him. "It's your third moon as a trainee," she called down sternly; even from where he stood, fox-lengths below her, Mirage could see the disapproval in her ice-blue eyes. "I would have thought you had enough time to master climbing. There’s no reason you should be worried.”

"I have, but - " Mirage's objection rose to a shout as Panther crouched and leaped from the tree. Her shadow soared over Mirage, turning his snowy-white pelt to ashen gray, before she curled herself into a whirl of night-black.

Just as she was about to slam into the spire, like Mirage had done, Panther unfolded. Her paws struck the stone spire and she flipped off, landing on her forepaws. Her ice-blue eyes flashed triumphantly. “Your turn.”

''Such a show-off. ''Mirage choked back another heavy sigh, despite knowing Panther was a mentor, and therefore it was her responsibility to “show off”. Perhaps it wasn’t unusual she was always ready to prove herself; Azule had performed the ceremony that made her a mentor three moves ago. Mirage hadn’t missed the doubt in the dictator’s sapphire-blue eyes.

“It’s hard,” he stalled. When he moved away from her, the pain in his shoulder stopped him.

“Soft-hearted trainees,” Panther mused. More sharply, she told him, “Mirage, you should appreciate your training. I won’t be sympathizing with you.“ She lifted her bottlebrush tail and said, “Pain makes you tougher - “

”- mistakes make you wiser,“ Mirage finished, rolling his amber eyes. “You sound like my mother, Jasmine. She tells me to be tougher, be stronger, be quicker. Every single day.”

“It’s nearly sunset. I’m not staying here until nightfall.”

”Hmmm.” Mirage’s claws sank into the silvery-white trunk of the birch tree. “Once.” The pain in his shoulder no longer lingered there. He snaked up the tree, brushing the trunk with his white tail.

“Higher,” Panther reminded him when he was halfway up the tree.

''I don’t have time for this! ''But Mirage dipped his head and continued ascending. ”High enough?” he called, tilting his head down.

Panther was as small as a blackbird beneath him. He heard her say, “Fine, I suppose. Now show me what you can do!”

Mirage stepped onto a branch, cursing as it shook beneath him. The stone spire was tail-lengths below. Clenching his teeth, he whispered a prayer to the moon and stars and hurled himself from the branch, falling headfirst toward the stone.

The spire he was reaching for was a fox-length away. Mirage folded himself in, closing his eyes, his ears pricked for the crash of bones against stone. Perhaps his spine would snap. He couldn’t understand why Panther had decided to teach him this so early.

His eyes still closed, Mirage uncurled himself, but too late. His hind paw smashed into the stone, and he shouted out in pain. But he managed to push off the spire. He landed on the stone beside Panther, cursing.

The sleek black she-cat smiled tightly, as if she’d be scolded if she laughed too hard. “If Jasmine heard what you just said - ”

”She’d hurl herself from the cliff.” Mirage flinched as he set his paw down on the stone. “It looks like I, ah - twisted my paw.”

Panther nosed at it. “You haven’t,” she informed the snowy-white tom. ”You might have, if you’d pushed off the spire any later, but no. The pain won’t stay for long.” She drew back, her ice-blue eyes on him.

Mirage flicked his tail. “Is this enough for today?” he asked.

Panther rolled her eyes. “Very well, Mirage,” she grumbled. “If Arctic doesn’t see you at the Lightning-Struck Oak before sunset, he’ll be after my blood.” The sun was nearly at the horizon. ”And yours.”

- - - -

The Lightning-Struck Oak had been a tall, towering tree, rising above the sparse silver birches like their queen, with a crown of acorns. That is, until one night, lightning arced through the sky, smashing into the oak. It was a sign from the Realm of Stars - ''the fire of the sky will burn the kingdom to ashes. ''And in a century, fire would roar from the sky, burning everything - and everyone - to ashes.

It would be thousands of years before the Chaos Kingdom recovered.

Perhaps the tale was, after all, a tale, but now that Mirage thought about it, he couldn't count how many nights he hadn't slept, instead crouching at the cliff's edge, his eyes turned toward the Realm of Stars. He'd wondered when the fire of the sky would return. In a way, it had already.

Mirage's dreams told him the destiny of the Chaos Kingdom wasn't so bright.

The blood roses will fall, and your kingdom will fall with them. The melodious whisper, somehow both enchanting and dangerous. Mirage must have imagined the soft, quiet murmur in his ears. After his nightmares, he wouldn't be surprised if he was hallucinating.

'Chaos is rising. You have five days to change your fate.'

Join me. 

But those five days would become four, then three, then two, then one. And every night, Mirage's nightmare would return to haunt him.

- - - -

Crash. Mirage burst through a juniper bush instead of jumping over, stopping a fox-length from the rock he was supposed to knock over. Lashing his tail, he returned to the trainees' huddle.

"Mirage, for the fifth time, you jump over the bush," Jasmine told him sharply. "Us mountaineers should specialize in leaping from rock to rock. I don't see why you can't leap over a bush."

"Sorry, Mother." Mirage clenched his teeth, thinking rebelliously, ''If only she knew what's in my mind. ''

Flame glanced at him and then narrowed his eyes at Jasmine as if wondering whether she'd seen the anger on his face. Wisp tipped her heads sympathetically to one side. Mirage thought he'd curl up in his nest and never come out. The two might not be his closest friends, but they'd always been kind and helpful. He reflected on his dream. 'Join me. 'He might be betraying his friends. He could be a traitor already.

Jasmine waved her tail at Willow. "Your turn."

As Willow crouched down behind the juniper bush, Mirage stared at the sharp peak of Shadow Mountain, black against the descending sun. He hoped Jasmine had enough heart to let him return to the camp early. He was hungry beyond imagination. Royalty feasted as the sun began its climb down, but they only received one pick a day. Taking two picks without consent was punishable by exile.

"Nearly there, Willow." Jasmine nodded appreciatively. "Your jump is slightly too high. Focus on the length instead."

Willow snickered at Mirage, but then cocked her head in confusion when he didn’t sniff disdainfully. "What's on your mind? You look upset."

Your sister doesn't have to know, does she? the Voice whispered.

Mirage lifted the shoulder that had crashed into the stone spire, his mind bending to the Voice's command. "I’m thinking.”

”About?”

”What Arctic was droning on about today. Cal-i-co Canyon,” Mirage slowly pronounced every syllable.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. When have you ever thought about Arctic's classes? Because it’s caligo, not calico."

"Since I came to one,” Mirage shot back, which of course wasn’t true.

"Arctic is so lucky to have a student like you,” Willow said sarcastically. “I could drone on and on for a day about Caligo Canyon, but I don’t care, so no. But I’ll tell you this: no one has gone into Caligo Canyon and come out alive.”

“What’s in there?”

”No one knows.”

"Helpful." Mirage moved after Willow as Wisp soared over the bush, elegantly knocking over the stalactite with her head. Mirage didn't understand how crashing face-first into a tail-length tall rock spire could be elegant, but it was certainly how Wisp moved.

"Wonderful," Jasmine praised after placing the stalactite on the stone again. "You've mastered this move. Flame, go."

Mirage moved again, shivering. "You're telling me Caligo Canyon is on the side of Shadow Mountain, and no royal has ever come out of it? Never? In the millennia that the Chaos Kingdom has existed?" He shook his head. "No wonder I've never heard of it."

Willow rolled her eyes again and began to speak, but Jasmine waved her tail. "All right, Mirage, your turn now. Prove yourself." She sounded contemptuous. Mothers were never soft on the offspring. Whether that was an advantage or not depended on the situation.

Mirage crouched down low behind the juniper bush, his head raised slightly to keep the stalactite within his eyesight. He braced himself, rocked back, and sprang as high as he could over the bush. Unfortunately, he'd concentrated on how impressive his jump was, instead of how accurate. He landed lightly a fox-length away from the stalactite, his ears burning.

Wisp cocked her head and stared at Mirage, while Flame sympathetically turned toward Jasmine and Willow hid a laugh, drawing a circle in the air with her tail-tip next to her head. Mirage was puzzled by the strange move. He'd never seen her do it before.

Jasmine sighed. "You've certainly improved, but you're nowhere near landing on the stalactite." She considered him, then sighed again. Her eyes searched Willow, then flickered across Wisp and landed on Flame. Finally she shook herself. "All of you, I'm proud you've improved. The sun's nearly at the horizon, and I imagine the feast is about to begin. Run along. I need to speak to Panther and Arctic."

The snowy-white she-cat looked at Mirage again, the flicked her fawn-tipped tail and dashed away.

Willow snickered. "So close," she teased him.

"Willow, where did the sign come from?" Mirage asked, too confused about it to let his sister's teasing to get to him.

She tipped her head questioningly, puzzled. "What sign?"

Flame jumped in. "What you signed at him after his turn." The orange tabby tom mimicked her, but instead lf drawing a circle, drew an oval instead. “You know. But what did the sign mean?”

Willow’s glare reminded me of how the seniors talked about the fire of the sky - burning, unpredictable, and unstoppable. ”It meant crazy, Flame. But if you ask anything else - ” She marched ahead and into the ice-cold mist drifting around the trees.

Wisp narrowed her eyes. “What was that about?”

Your sister has realized, the Voice whispered, though Mirage didn’t understand.

”Get out of my head,” he whispered harshly. Flame stared at him quizzically, but he shook his head. ''Sorry, Flame. There’s no point in you finding out.''

Temper, dear, the Voice purred, but it said no more. Mirage lifted one shoulder, pushing his uneasiness to the back of his mind. “I don’t know. Come on. We can’t be tardy for the feast.” His stomach was rumbling already. Perhaps a golden apple or a red squirrel would make him forget about the Voice.

The three trainees reached the rose-bush dens within minutes. Mirage nearly tripped over a giant deer, woozy from the bittersweet scent of the blood-red roses.

"Hey, watch it," hissed a dark smoky gray-and-white she-cat as Mirage trampled her tail. Her blue eyes flashed coldly, and Mirage instantly recognized her as Tempest, a twenty-moon-old soldier who he'd never even came close to before. "Keep your eyes open, trainee."

"Sorry," Mirage apologized over his shoulder as he dashed after his friends.

The traineees always claimed two fox-lengths of stone outside their dens, and Wisp was heading there. "Hello, Riven." The tall she-cat nodded to a pale ginger she-cat standing there. "Hey, Fallen. How was Jasmine today, Viridian?"

"Terrible." Viridian lashed her tail.

Mirage nodded to the three she-cats as he strolled toward them. "Are we tardy?"

"The sun's nearly at the horizon, but you're just in time." Fallen twitched an ear. The bright orange flash on her chest seemed to catch the sun's rays like gold or amber. "Did you see the deer the soldiers caught?"

Mirage flinched as he recalled tripping over it. "I'm not a fan of deer," he confessed. "Who caught the deer?"

"Tempest." Fallen's eyes were bright with admiration. "Citrine, Fawn, and Onyx chased it right at her, and she jumped onto its back and finished it."

"Cool." Mirage lifted his aching shoulder. He was impressed by Tempest's bravery, and her comrades' cleverness, but he couldn't help but wonder, ''Every snow season is hard on us, and I can see the rabbits and squirrels and mice diminishing already. What if we aren't strong enough to survive winter?''

Oh, but Mirage, your name is so perfect, the Voice purred. 'After all, the paradise you see in front of you is all a mirage. Winter will not come for you this season. Because, in five days, the blood roses will fall, and your dear kingdom will fall with them.'

"Be quiet," Mirage snarled.

'You think you can silence me? 'the Voice mocked him.

''Stop. Stop, ''Mirage pleaded.

'To you, I give a choice. If you stand with your friends and family, your loyalty will fail you, and your death will be painful. But if you join me, we can rule the island paradise side-by-side, after the Chaos Kingdom is burned to the core.'

No. Mirage's head spun. He wondered if he'd wandered off the cliff in his mingled fury and fear. He felt nauseous enough.

"Mirage?" Fallen touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw her concerned eyes staring down at him. “What’s wrong?” the dark gray she-cat asked softly.

”N-nothing.” Mirage realized he was shaking.

Fallen opened her mouth, but then Azule shouted, “Royalty of the Chaos Kingdom! We are here tonight to honor our ancestors and to feast beneath the stars.“ She wasn’t the tallest, or strongest, of the royals around her, but her head was lifted high and her eyes were cold and stony, as if ready to fight against any rebels or rulebreakers.

“We abide by the Code of Chaos. There is to be no quarrelling during the feast. I, as dictator, have first pick. Then my second-in-command, Spiral.” She waved her tail toward the black she-cat standing to one side, cold eyes flashing across the crowd. “Followed by the mothers and their younger, of course.” She nodded respectfully toward Marigold and Ribbon, who both had kittens scrambling around them.

Azule then dipped her head toward the captains, who shifted uncomfortably. “Captains next, soldiers, and lastly, trainees.” She didn’t even glance at Mirage and his comrades.

“Let the feast begin!” the second-in-command, Spiral, declared.

Silence. Azule‘s eyes flickered from mouse to squirrel to rabbit. Finally, she stepped forward. The royals stared at her as she sank her sharp teeth into a silky white rabbit’s neck and towed it away. Spiral slunk up, picked out a plump mouse, and darted back.

As everyone else snatched the rabbits and deer for themselves, the trainees were left with tiny mice and birds and squirrels. Mirage was used to taking a small mouse, perhaps half of a blackbird, and finishing them quickly. This time, he took a single squirrel and didn’t touch it after dropping it next to Fallen.

“Hey, can I have that, if you don’t want it?” Flame, who had a thin mouse, asked.

Mirage’s hunger had turned into nause. “Sure. Take it.” He pushed it over with his tail.

Fallen whispered into the white tom’s ear, “Have you seen your sister around?”

”Willow?” Mirage glanced around, but he couldn’t see his sister’s gray pelt anywhere. ”No. It looks like she chose not to come to the feast again.” Willow only came half the time, when she felt like it.

Fallen nodded thoughtfully.

”I have three apples,” Riven announced, bringing the golden apples she’d hid over. “They might not be as crisp, but you can have one,” she said to Fallen and Flame.

“Thanks!” Flame, who had finished off his mouse and Mirage’s squirrel already. He took it and began nibbling on it, as if it were the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted.

Fallen glanced at Mirage. “Would you like it?” she asked kindly.

”No. It’s all yours.” Mirage sighed as Riven sashayed back to where she and Viridian had been talking. He curled up, resting his nose on his tail, as the cold wind combed through his fur and buffeted him from side to side.

The stars rose into the sky, same as always, but Mirage couldn’t help but think about how much had changed.

- - - -

After the feast, Mirage wasn’t looking forward to returning to his nest, but Wisp encouraged him to. “Tomorrow will be a busy day.” She shoved him into his den with her nose, then pranced off to the den she shared with Flame and Viridian.

Mirage collapsed into his nest as if he’d ran down Shadow Mountain and hiked back up. Riven’s honey-colored fur was silver in the shadows. Willow had returned halfway through the feast and sarcastically called him King Mirage the Wonderful. Mirage was sure she’d also called him an idiot.

Fallen sleepily blinked bright blue eyes at him. "Mirage, if you don't sleep, you'll be tired and hungry tomorrow morning."

"I know, Your Majesty. Wisp said the same thing."

Mirage curled up in his nest but kept his eyes open by humming and singing under his breath, which wasn't something he usually did. Finally, Willow punched him in the eye will her front paw, most likely giving him a black eye, and shouted at him to "shut up and let us sleep".

So he did.

He didn’t know how many minutes it took for him to drift off into blackness, but when he blinked open his amber eyes, he was standing at the peak of Shadow Mountain again. But the landscape had changed so much. Mirage blinked hard.

What you see is the destiny of the Chaos Kingdom, the Voice told him. Was that melancholy?

"No," Mirage whispered. "Where is everybody?"

The island was a wasteland, as blackened and charred as the Lightning-Struck Oak had been for centuries. Smoke choked the air and turned the sky a dark shade of gray. Mirage stared at the bright red sun, backing away. Terror and panic clashed with disbelief and anger. "Why?" he demanded, staring at where he thought the Voice had come from.

'This is my one chance! 'the Voice snarled behind him. He whirled around, his claws sliding out. 'And I have to do it. You can join me, Mirage, you know. You're not who I'm looking for, after all. '

Mirage felt like someone was standing on his grave. Then why do I ''have these nightmares and dreams? ''he thought. He knew he shouldn't be disappointed, but now his spine felt cold. "Then who are you looking for?"

The Voice considered. 'A timeless soul. Everyone says he's dead. They say his bones shine as white as snow, in a cave no one has ever found, or dared search for. '

"A cave no one has ever found or dared search for," Mirage repeated, thinking of Caligo Canyon, and what mysterious secrets it might hold. "You're saying you're looking for somebody who's - dead?"

No, he's not dead. 'He disappeared millennia ago, but I've never stopped looking for him. '

Mirage stumbled back, but suddenly there was no stone beneath his paws. He was falling through thin air, shadows whirling around him like a silky black cocoon. He might as well be falling through night itself, but there were.

Teeth sank into his neck. He cried out, blinking scarlet blood from his eyes. He managed to lift his head and stare at the stranger who had saved him, a light brown she-cat with golden flecks near her electric-blue eyes.

Mirage couldn't thank her for saving him. The smoke was tight around his nose, and he couldn't breathe. The stranger's electric-blue eyes stared into his coldly.

She let go.

Chapter Two
SAORSA

”Lynx! Hurry up!”

Stream‘s eyes shone in the shadows as she glanced back over her shoulder. ”We can’t let Snow or Sky or Nebula catch us,” she whispered.

“Even after four moons, I think we shouldn’t be doing this,” Lynx murmured.

Riptide’s sleek dark gray pelt should have blended in among the shadows, but Lynx could still see him moving toward her. “Nonsense. We have to. Don’t you think Halo shouldn’t be keeping us in captivity?”

”It’s not captivity.” Even in the dark, Lynx could see Thrush rolling her amber eyes. “Halo is just and kind.” The resentment in the silver tabby’s eyes said otherwise. “It’s just a rule that the Umbra Den stays safe inaide their tunnels.“ She stopped and Stream nearly crashed into her.

“What is it?” Stream asked softly.

“The tunnel branches off into two smaller ones here.” Thrush sounded uncharacteristically puzzled. “I haven’t been here before. Which do we take?”

”When in doubt,” Riptide announced, “the dangerous one.” He snickered, as if he thought this was a wonderful idea.

Lynx thought about the hundreds of rules the Umbra Den had, many of which the cadets were disobeying by even standing here. “Oh no. If we’re caught, this won’t be pleasant.” But she was imagining the sunlight on her back instead of cold shadows, the rustling of leaves above her head. Of course she wouldn’t say so, but the knowledge was almost too much to bear.

''Why do we have to stay in the tunnels when there’s a paradise right above our heads that could be our home? ''Lynx thought for what must have been the hundredth time. It’s not like any other den is there already.

The fifth cadet, a pale ginger she-cat, hadn’t spoken during the escapade. Now, as Thrush, Stream, and Riptide conferred, Lynx brushed her shoulder with the tip of her white-ringed tail. “Hex? What do you think?” Lynx could hardly see her in the dark, but it was obvious her ears were pricked and she was watching.

Hex’s name was, to be truthful, Hexagon. Lynx knew not to call her that; she'd most likely flash Lynx a murderous stare, kick her, and run off. Her father had named her, and Hexagon hated her father - until he'd vanished off the face of the Chaos Kingdom. The bitterness Hex had been harboring for nearly a year had almost left her.

But she has nothing nice to say about Clementine, Lynx thought sorrowfully. No kind memories.

''I'd like to not wander through these tunnels the whole night. Where are we right now? ''Hex asked, kinking her tail to specify a question.

"No idea," Lynx confessed, lifting a shoulder. "Thrush thinks we're almost there, but I don't think she knows."

"Excuse me?" Thrush grumbled from where she stood a fox-length away, shaking her head furiously at Riptide. "I do know where we are. Come on."

She dashed into the second tunnel, her tail streaming behind her like one of the branches on the willow trees Lynx had seen. Stream glanced worriedly at Lynx and Hex, then raced after the silver tabby. Riptide, looking disgruntled, followed soon after, but not after asking, "Are you coming or not?"

''Why would we be here if we weren't coming? ''Hex signed, using her ears, head, paws, pelt, and tail all in one simple sentence. Amusement and delight flickered across her face when the sleek dark gray tom scowled, affronted.

"Hurry up." Riptide's distrust of the two youngest cadets in the crew was obvious in his amber eyes, but he finally nodded briskly. "Thrush! Stream!" He cursed under his breath and rushed after them. "You two, wait for me!"

Hex rolled her eyes. ''Come on. We can't fall behind. ''She mimicked Riptide looking critically over Lynx with a snicker and then sped up. Lynx did too, but her smaller stride always left her a tail-length behind her friend. Finally, Hex snorted. She raised her tail, fluffing it up behind her, the sign for ''Stop moving. From what Lynx knew about Hex, the gleam in the other cadet's colorful eyes meant, Or you'll be in trouble. ''

Sunlight was pouring from a cave ahead. Lynx's eyes were used to wandering the shadows of the tunnels, the home of the Umbra Den, and they couldn't take in the sudden brightness. She blinked hard, fearing that she might tear up in front of her friends.

Tentatively, she stepped into the cave. It was a rocky cavern in the stone, the corners bursting with stalagmites in many shades of white, gray, and silver. Some of the spires looked like they were crafted from starlight. In one or two places, spires dangling from the top of the cave and stalagmites on the cold stone floor touched each other to form strange columns. Sunlight streamed into the cave from a lightning-shaped slash on the stone ceiling.

"What's that scent?" Lynx demanded. Even without sniffing at the air, she tasted a dreadful scent hanging in the cave. Then she glanced around, and stepped back in shock. Curled in the corner was a fox. Its fur caught the rays of sunlight and shone golden. Thrush and Stream stood right next to it.

Stream stared at Lynx, whipping her tail and front paw around like she was slashing the floor: ''Get out of here! ''There was definitely panic on her face. Lynx noticed her tight stance, as if she were ready to dash out of the cave given a chance. The wind caught the fox's fur and it twitched slightly. Lynx tripped back over Hex's angrily lashing tail and cursed herself for her clumsiness.

''Where is Riptide? ''Hex asked, staring round-eyed at the sleeping fox. Lynx marveled on how calm the pale ginger she-cat sounded.

It the fox really sleeping, or could it be - Lynx stopped herself in the middle of the thought. She didn't care. She just wanted to bolt out of this cave and back to the safety of her cave, and sleep nestled against Hex and her friends. Of course, none of them liked being physically touched, but Lynx thought she'd have nightmares for the next few days after seeing the fox.

He's scouting ahead, Stream signed. ''He doesn't know about the fox. Don't tell him. ''

Thrush glanced up from the fox, her eyes stony. "Dead."

Lynx breathed again. Hex's muzzle curved slightly, though it was hard to tell whether she was smiling or not. Stream stared at Thrush. "Dead," the gray-and-white tabby echoed. "But how did a dead fox cub even get here in the first place?" She looked up at the sunlight pouring through the chasm. “Unless...”

Lynx wasn't fascinated by why a fox was lying dead in a cave. ''Cub? ''Her breath caught and she stepped forward, her heart beating faster.

The fox was obviously a cub. Instead of reddish-ginger, its fur was dark brown, with a reddish-ginger face and a smaller muzzle than an older fox's. The cub had woolly, pointed ears, each one as large as Lynx's, though its body was proportionally tiny. The cub's ear-tips were tufted and black.

"The cub isn't a danger," Thrush murmured, shaking her head. "But if the mother's around, we should leave now. This expedition is over. We'll find Riptide and, well - " She signed, ''Get out of her. ''

Hurry, Hex flashed her colorful eyes, glancing at the dead fox every five seconds. ''The mother comes soon. Foxes are not to be trifled with. ''Without another sign, she raced feom the cave, her tail flowing behind her like a branch caught in a storm. Lynx glanced at Thrush and Stream, lifted both shoulders in a shrug, and went after the pale ginger she-cat.

”Where’s Riptide?” Thrush asked as she caught up.

Stream huffed in annoyance. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s wandering a cave ten tunnel-lengths away, lost.“

“I say that if he doesn’t turn up, we just leave.”

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