Page 1 of House of Serpents and Slaves
Prologue
Istumbled as I tried to avoid my older brother's swing, my feet scraping over the hard packed sandy earth. I regained my footing quickly, but Tarus lunged forward and I had to drop back in order to avoid his attack. My arm muscles strained as I parried his blows, my breath coming out in pants.
"You're getting better at dodging, little sister," my brother said with a grin. He lunged forward in a flurry of strikes that I barely managed to deflect. "But not good enough to join the Dragon Elites. You can't just run from battle every time." His words were clear, and he was barely out of breath.
From under the icari tree where he lounged waiting his turn, Septimus laughed.
"The Dragon Elites? Don’t make me laugh. Why are you even bothering with her, Tarus? She'll never make it as a soldier. We should be training together instead of wasting time on your little sister. The academy trials are only thirty sun cycles away, we need to be training at a higher level than this."
I shot Septimus a venomous glance. "Why don't you shut your mouth, Septimus? No one asked for your opinion."
"Both of you, enough," Tarus intervened, his tone sharp. "Septimus, I've told you before,Livia’s training is just as important as ours, and I believe she can make it too. We’ll go to Veredus next month and impress the legionnaires, and then we’ll go to the military academy together. You’ll see."
I glared at Septimus, then turned away, determined to ignore him. For some reason, ever since we were little kids, he liked to bait me, and I hated him. Sadly, he was Tarus’ best friend, and the only other decent fighter around our age in the village, so I was stuck with him. He ignored me, returning instead to working on his latest carving. I would never admit it, but his woodcarving was amazing, though he didn’t get much chance to practice. There weren’t many trees in the desert, and so he practiced on scraps leftover from building or weapon and tool making. Despite the lack of decent materials, I had seen some of his tiny little sculptures and tablets, and his skill was only growing as he got older.
My sword arm was growing numb, and I was tired, hot, and achy from the training, but as always, Tarus’ baiting had me bristling. Older, stronger and frustratingly better than me, I rarely beat him in the training sessions. Determination to prove Septimus wrong drove me forward and I launched into a series of attacks, forcing my brother on the defensive.
"I'll show you both! One day, I'll be the greatest Dragon Elite warrior in the Empire."
My brother laughed as he regained his footing, still managing to keep me at bay. "You and me both, little sister. We'll show them that the House of Aurelius has the fiercest, bravest warriors in the whole of the Empire!"
"Dream on, Livia. Only the best become Dragon Elites, and you’re weak. Tarus and I, on the other hand, we're destined for greatness."
I ignored him, focusing instead on where my feet were and Tarus’ own stance. My sword arm trembled with the effort of our sparring, but my eyes narrowed in determination. Tarus moved forward in a half hearted version of one of the sword forms we'd been learning recently, and my eyes widened as I recognised it. In a burst of speed, I knocked the sword from my brother's hand and held the tip of my wooden blade to his throat.
"Ha! Do you yield?" I demanded.
My brother stared at me in astonishment before a wide grin spread across his face.
"I yield. Looks like you'll make a dragon elite after all."
Septimus let out a derisive snort. "Please. Tarus obviously let you win. Don't let it go to your head, Livia."
I lowered my sword, my pride deflating at Septimus' words. We all shared the same dream: to join the feared Dragon Elite warriors and ride into battle against the dark elves. But Septimus seemed determined to crush my hopes at every turn. I refused to let him. If I kept practicing, one day it wouldn't just be a dream.
I wiped the sweat off my face and picked up my brother's fallen sword.
"Ready to go again?"
He grinned and took the hilt from my hand.
"You're insatiable! But the day's still young and there’s plenty of time for chores later, Pater won't tell us off for missing lunch if we tell him we've been training."
“I will!" Septimus interjected, "I'm starving. How about we ditch the child and grab some food, Tarus?"
I clenched my fists. "I'm not a child, Septimus. I'm only two years younger than you!"
"Two years and a world of difference in skill," he retorted smugly.
"That's enough!" Tarus snapped, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Septimus, if you can't be civil, you can leave. Livia is my sister, and I promised to train with her this morning."
Septimus sank back against the tree trunk, glaring at me and I smiled sweetly at him.
Despite my anger at Septimus, I couldn't help but grin. This was still my favourite time of day, though I preferred it when it was just me and my brother, with the crash of blades echoing around us. Even Septimus' constant jibes couldn't completely dampen my spirits. No one could stand in the way of our dreams out here. Not even our mother and her endless chores, or our tutor who insisted on spending hours at lessons each week.
I loved hearing about the history of the Empire, about the line of emperors, the Dark Wars and the heroes that fought in them, but I could definitely do without the numbers, music and painting. Tarus, annoyingly, seemed to excel at all of those things, though he had no memory for history. I often told him the tales of the Dragon Elites, how they had found and tamed the ferocious dragons of the southern desert and trained them to fight in the skies against the Empire's ancient enemy. I could name every one of the first Elite Claw and every one of the present.
My brother tossed me a waterskin. "Drink up. You'll need your strength and it's going to be a hot one today."
