Chapter 6

Sequoia's POV

We walked out of the pack house into the warm sun. I carried the spears and was significantly slower than Sephora. Her strides were long and prideful and I scurried to her side.

"Sister Sephora, where are we going?"

She said nothing to me and simply took one of the spears from my hands and we pressed on. As we walked, the other sisters stared at us and I could decifer sneaky whispers. They were always whispering behind my back. I never really paid attention but now, I knew something was wrong.

We disappeared into the forest and the greenery took over. The flowers here bloomed with elegance and beauty. The red and purple swayed in the wind like candles in the windy night.

We passed a stream and I stopped briefly to look at the little fish swim against the current. It looked so magical though I had been in here many...

"Sequoia, you are behind. Come."

Sephora called me and I walked up to catch her. Soon we reached a clearing and she set the tip of her spear into the ground and sat cross-legged beside it.

I did same and sat infront of her. She looked at me calmly, her bright orange eyes mesmerizing me every time I met her gaze.

"What is this all about Sephora?"

She took a deep breath. Her voice, powerful, deep and clear.

"You are here because the Goddess has a job for you. Look at your chest."

I looked and saw the wolf shaped mark above my left breast. I had been with it and most times, people in the pack stared at it and it made me uncomfortable.

"It's just a birthmark..."

"No Sequoia. It is a mark of leadership. The Goddess has marked you as the Suprema of Mystic Shadow Pack."

I looked at her with wide eyes. Suprema? Me?

"Suprema? What is a..?"

"The Suprema of a pack is like the leader. She maintains the peace and guides her people. She is also a strong spiritual link to the Goddess and Lunaria's waters."

"I thought Kali was the strongest link to the spirits."

Sephora smiled at me.

"One can know the spirits but they chose who they give part of themselves to and they have chosen you. You are to be the next Suprema of our pack."

I felt my breath become shallow. Me? Suprema? I was not even as strong as half of the pack. Niylah still beat me when we had training.

"Why are you telling me this now? And who is the old Suprema? Did she die? Did she..?"

Sephora raised her hand to silence me. She smiled het gorgeous smile and I blushed hard.

"One question at a time sister. Your mind is unraveling. A Suprema's mind is calm like Lunaria's waters."

I took a deep breath and watched her.

"You are knowing this now because you are almost of age. The rite's of the Suprema will be done when you are eighteen. You must prepare. The old Suprema went into hiding as soon as you were born. You will meet her when the time is right."

I was silent and Sephora stood up and grabbed her spear. She assumed a battle stance and encouraged me to do same.

"Come sister, spar with me. Artemisia tells me that you have been doing poorly. Let's see if we can fix that."

Sephora smirked and I rolled my eyes. I knew Artemisia didn't like me. She was always hard on me during training.

I picked up my spear and faced Sephora. We began to circle each other and I took the first lunge. Sephora dodged it with ease and parried my next blow. We blocked and attacked and soon Sephora saw and opening and swept my feet.

"Your stance is poor, sister. Take your roots in the soil. Again."

I growled and stood up. I circled Sephora again and took a blow at what I thought was an opening. Sephora was swift and in a second. I was disarmed and I had two spears pointing at me.

"Your grip needs work, sister–"

She threw my spear to me.

"–Again."

I took it back and went on a fierce attack of Sephora. My blows were quick but she moved like the wind and I was unable to land a single hit. I soon was tired and I began to slow down. Sephora laughed and I stopped attacking.

I was tired and I propped myself up on my spear.

"Out of breath already. We are just warming up."

"How are you so fast?"

Sephora smiled.

"I had a good teacher. Now, let me see your wolf."

I smiled and dropped my spear. My wolf was one thing I had master control of. It was like we were one spirit, all the time.

I shifted and my bright orange and red flamed filled the forest with light. I stared down at Sephora and she looked small. She had a smile on her face as she shielded her eyes.

"Careful not to burn yourself," she said mockingly.

She shifted as well and I was stunned. I had never seen her in her wolf form before. There were no elements swirling around her. She was a plain, brown wolf. Beautiful but plain. I could feel my flames reduce. This wasn't a fair fight.

"Don't worry about me sister," she said, speaking through the mind link. "I can still beat you, hands down, this way."

In a split second she pounced and I was lucky enough to escape her paw. I was unsure of what to do. It didn't feel right fighting Sephora like this. Her movements were swift and powerful but she was at a great disadvantage without any powers. She landed blow after blow but I didn't strike a single hit.

Soon I shifted back and Sephora did the same. She walked up to me angrily and I dropped my head in sorrow.

"Forgive me sister."

"Why did you hold back?! I told you to take every sparring session as a..."

"As a battle. Yes, I know but I wouldn't be fair."

"There is no such thing as a fair fight! Only prowess sets people apart in battle!"

My head was still dropped low and a tear fell from my eyes. I felt a gentle finger under my chin and Sephora raised my head so that my eyes met hers.

I wiped my eyes and looked at her.

"Why don't you have any powers? What happened?"

Sephora looked away from me and then stroked my hair.

"Let's just say, that I made a sacrifice with it long ago. A sacrifice I do not regret."

She wiped my eyes and smiled at me.

"Get the spears. All this fighting has made me hungry."

She smiled at me and I smiled back. I picked the spears and we walked home silently together. All I could think about was Sephora's wolf and her words. I wondered what sacrifice that she could have made that was so important that she gave away what made her special.

I stole a glance at her but she pressed on, slowing down every now and then to stroke a flower petal. She was tall and beautiful. Why would she sacrifice such a vital part of her?