“It was in the moss, Mom,” Maplekit added, stepping closer, her orange spots shimmering in the dim light. “It’s cold. Like the stars.”

  Lillyclaw didn't answer. She lunged forward—not with a hug, but with a desperate, sweeping paw. She threatened to claw them, her claws scraping against the stone floor with a screeching sound that made Ravenkit hiss in surprise

  “It is nothing!” Lillyclaw snapped, her voice higher and Sharper than they had ever heard it. She shoved her jagged claws under the thickest part of her moss nest. “Like I said,It’s an old bone. Bad luck. Again.You are never to speak of it again. Do you understand?”

  They all tried to hide their tears, but they could not hold them back, they looked at the exit, knowing what they must do, a shadow that had whispered to them to run into The Place With No Stars if this had ever happened, the kits gave in to the urge to accept the request.