PROLOGUE

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Adderstar blinked awake to a vast, foggy field stretching out at all sides. She took a couple hesitant steps forward, taking deep breaths but picking up no scent. She recognized this place. It was the territory of StarClan.

The mist gathering at her paws dampened the leader's black pelt as she stilled in the field, her gaze scanning the surrounding land then settling on the sky. It was strange and starless, a detail that sent a shiver down her spine.

Suddenly, Adderstar's gaze turned and locked on an approaching figure.

The cat's body was slightly transparent, and it didn't disturb the long grass as it walked. Its outline glimmered faintly, and starry mist followed every step. The cat paused a few tail-lengths from Adderstar, its star-filled eyes showing great power. But Adderstar wasn't frightened, for this cat was the former leader, Pinestar.

"Hello, Adderstar." Pinestar meowed softly. Her voice was quiet and hardly carried to the leader's ears, yet the words still made her shudder.

Adderstar flicked her ear and dipped her head in respect for the former leader of GaleClan. She twitched her whiskers and for a moment both cats stood across from each other, neither moving, the only sound the faint, distant chirping of crickets and Adderstar's breathing.

"Why have you called for me?" Adderstar finally asked after what seemed like an eternity. Though she was not scared of Pinestar or StarClan, something about the ethereal realm always made her somewhat nervous and yet at peace.

"I have a message for you," Pinestar spoke delicately, not a single falter in her tone.

"Beware the deadly flower with thorns sharper than a coyote's maw."

With that, the mighty spirit began to fade. But this didn't concern Adderstar, StarClan cats always faded once their message was delivered. But she hadn't a heartbeat to ponder before she began to feel light-headed like she would drift away and off the ground.

Adderstar felt her blood run cold as the world began to twist and spin and whirl around her in a storm of light and shadow. She unsheathed her claws and parted her jaws in a yowl, but no sound was released. In fact, the world was completely silent, despite the terrifying scene.

Adderstar could see two hazy, blurry figures appear for a moment, and saw a flash of blood-red across her vision. A great screech echoed through her ears and rumbled the ground, as though the very earth was yowling.

Then, she was awake, jolting her head up so fast it left a pain in her neck. Adderstar drew in long, ragged breaths, clawing at her moss nest as she tried to calm herself.

After a few minutes of panic and confusion, Adderstar regained her grip on reality and settled back into her nest. But she still shifted uncomfortably and trembled lightly as she repeated Pinestar's words over and over again in her mind.

Beware the deadly flower with thorns sharper than a coyote's maw.