The fall through the Moonpool didn't end in cold ash. Instead, the kits felt like they were landing on a giant, fluffy cloud of silver moss.

  Branchkit opened his eyes and gasped. They weren't in a scary forest. They were in a glowing meadow where the flowers looked like tiny fallen stars. The air didn't smell like smoke; it smelled like honeysuckle and warm milk.

  "My paws!" Maplekit chirped, jumping up and down. "They aren't cold anymore! They feel like they’re dancing on sunbeams!"

  Ravenkit wasn't hissing. He was staring at a butterfly made of pure light. "Look! The shadows are gone. It’s... it’s beautiful."

  "Kits?"

  The voice was like a song they had known forever. They spun around, and there, standing by a sparkling stream, was Lillyclaw. She wasn't frozen in glass, and she wasn't trapped by vines. Her fur was shimmering with silver stardust, and her eyes were bright and full of love.

  "MOM!" the three kits screamed in unison, racing across the meadow.

  They collided with her in a giant, warm heap of fur. Lillyclaw purred so loudly the ground seemed to hum with happiness. She licked each of their foreheads, her tongue warm and familiar.

  "You did it," she whispered, pulling them into a tight huddle. "The Stardust didn't just save us; it transformed the Vow. We aren't running anymore. We’ve found the heart of the forest."

  For the first time in the whole book, there were no secrets. No "Amber Claws" and no "Dark Spirits." Just a mother and her kits, safe in a garden where the sun never sets.

  "We're a family," Branchkit said, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. "And nothing can break us now."