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I stumbled 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."

He was right. It couldn't be more than halfway to noon and already the golden sun beat down on us relentlessly. We couldn't stay out much longer. Training in the midday heat would only lead to sun sickness. I caught the waterskin and took a swig of the lukewarm water, my throat parched from the exertion.

Septimus got up, and reached for the skin. I took another swig, my eyes on him as I chugged the water down. He rolled his eyes and I laughed as I passed him the skin. He took a long drink, then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand before passing it back to me.

"Where did Mater and Pater go today anyway?" I asked Tarus, forcing the cork back down tightly.

"Out into the desert." My brother shrugged, wiping the sweat off his brow.

I frowned. Our father was the village magistrate, tasked with representing us to the emperor. Since his retirement from politics in the capital when I was little, Gaius Aurelius held a mainly administrative position. Heading off into the desert wasn't a normal occurrence.

"How do you know?" I asked Tarus. "Did he tell you what he was doing?"

Tarus shook his head. "I saw them loading up supplies and one of the bigger canopies before they went. And last night, I heard Pater talking to Mater about an important meeting today."

"Who would they be meeting in the middle of the desert?"

Tarus’ smile faded. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I think a couple of the village elders went with them, and the servants packed them a lot of supplies. Pater said it could change the Empire."

"He didn't say much last night at evenmeal," I said, tracing designs in the dirt with the tip of my sword. "He looked worried about something. Mater too."

Tarus put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. "Don't worry, little sister. They'll be back before nightfall and I'm sure Pater will tell us all about it then." I nodded and he grinned. "And you can tell him how I defeated you over and over again."

I squealed, swatting his hands away while struggling to contain my laughter. "You're impossible!"

"And you love me for it." He grinned, raising his sword. "Now, how about another match? I won't go so easy on you this time!" I mirrored his stance, my competitive spirit igniting. I was determined to make him eat those words. "You're on!"

I launched into another sparring match, but our wooden blades had barely clashed a dozen times before the alarm bells began tolling in a frenzied rhythm. I faltered, glancing up with a frown. Sandstorms were rare at this time of the year.

Septimus got to his feet, peering toward the village. "Something's wrong."

I moved forward to stand next to him, my hand shading my eyes as we looked back towards the village. In the distance, I glimpsed a flurry of movement between the buildings. Septimus was right, something was definitely wrong. At this time the village would be settling into the midday quiet, a period where it was too hot for rigorous activity. Market stalls closed up, my father's offices closed for lunch and people tended to retreat into the shade. Now, people ran to the buildings as though a storm was upon them. Shouts and screams reached us and Tarus looked across at us in horror.

"It must be a raid! The Talfen are raiding the village!"

"But... they never raid this far in-" My words were cut off as Tarus grabbed my free hand and dragged me away from the village.

"Tarus, what are you doing?"

"We've got to hide, Livia. You haven't heard the stories about what they do to the people they find!"

I jerked my hand out of his. "Pater says most of those stories are made up to scare people. And where are we going to hide anyway? You're heading away from the river and there's nothing out there that could hide us." I gestured towards the hard packed mud flats stretching for at least a mile before giving way to soft red sand and rising to huge dunes.

“She’s right, Tarus,” said Septimus. “We’re better off skirting round the edge of the village and heading for the river. We’re more likely to find somewhere to hide there.”

Tarus looked from the desert to the village, and then down at me. “Fine, but you have to stay close, Livia."

I nodded my head. "I will."

We ran, our feet pounding against the dry earth as we made our way towards the river. The sound of chaos grew louder as we neared the village, and my heart raced in my chest. I had heard stories of the Talfen, the white haired, dark-skinned raiders from the north with eyes like coal and hearts just as black, who pillaged and plundered villages along the empire's border. The empire was massive, but we had been fighting against the Talfen for as long as I could remember, and for long before that too. The Emperor was always recruiting more soldiers and raising taxes to fund our defence against their evil magic and their horrific raids, but I had never imagined it would happen to our own village.

As we approached the edge of the village, we heard the sounds of fighting ahead. Tarus pulled me behind a crumbling stone wall, his eyes scanning the area for signs of danger.

"Stay here with Septimus," he whispered. "I'll go check it out."

"No!" I protested, but Tarus was already moving away, his sword in hand.

I gritted my teeth, torn between following my brother's orders and my desire to help. Septimus crouched beside me, his face uncharacteristically serious as he peered around the edge of the wall.

"I can't see any Talfen," he muttered. "But something's definitely wrong."

The screams grew louder, punctuated by the clash of metal on metal. My heart pounded in my chest as I gripped my wooden practice sword tightly. It wouldn't be much use against real weapons, but it was better than nothing.

"We can't just sit here," I hissed. "We need to find Mater and Pater."

Septimus shook his head. "Your parents aren't even in the village, remember? And Tarus told us to stay put."

"Since when do you care what Tarus says?" I snapped.

Before Septimus could reply, Tarus came sprinting back towards us, his face pale with shock.

"It's not the Talfen," he gasped. "It's... they're not dark elves, they're... I don't understand, Livia. It's Imperial soldiers. They're attacking the village!"

My blood ran cold. "What? That can't be right. Why would our own soldiers attack us?"

Tarus shook his head, his eyes wild with fear. "I don't know, but they're killing everyone. We have to run. Now!"

I looked up at my normally stalwart big brother, confused at the expression on his face. He looked utterly distraught, and Septimus looked frozen in shock. Slipping out past Tarus, I darted around the corner to see for myself what had got him so shaken.

What I saw made my heart stop. The village was under attack, but not by raiders. The invaders were soldiers, dressed in the white and bronze armour of the empire. But they were not there to protect the village. They were destroying it. Buildings were on fire, and the air was thick with smoke. People were running in every direction, screaming and crying. Dead bodies littered the streets, and soldiers were dragging villagers out of their homes and killing them.

I felt sick to my stomach. This was not what I had expected at all. I had always been taught that the empire was there to protect us, to keep us safe from raiders and other threats. But now, it seemed like they were the ones doing the attacking.

I turned back to Tarus and Septimus, who were still standing behind the wall, staring at the chaos in shock. "We have to hide, Tarus," I said, my voice shaking.

He nodded, and looked at Septimus. "Come on, we need to get to the river. Both of you, stay close."

We began to make our way towards the river, trying to stay hidden as we moved. By the time we reached the other side of the village, I was in tears, and Tarus’ and Septimus’ faces were white. My stomach churned as I watched the brutality unfold before my eyes. Houses were set on fire, possessions were being looted and people were being dragged out of their homes and slain. Septimus seized my arm in a crushing grip.

"Don't look," he hissed under his breath, though his eyes were hollow with grief. He tugged me along following Tarus, skirting the edge of the village towards the river. A spark of hope flared in me as I spotted the glimmer of the sun on the surface of the river from our hiding place behind one of the storerooms on the edge of the village, but as we started out towards it, there was a yell from behind us.

"Livia, run!" hissed Septimus, shoving me forward. I didn't stop to look around, but ran for the river as fast as I could, my feet pounding over the dirt as the sounds of chaos echoed behind me. I skidded to a stop at the riverbank, and turned, breathing hard to look for Tarus.

He hadn't run when I had. Instead, he stood between me and the soldier that had spotted us, his wooden blade turning restlessly between his fingers, as the man advanced, the sun glinting off his bronze sword. Septimus stood with him.

"Tarus!" I screamed.

"Livia, run! Get out of here!" Tarus yelled, not turning around. He lunged forward to meet the soldier, swords clashing in a flurry of movement. "Septimus, take her and go!" he yelled, blocking a vicious strike. "I'll hold him off. Keep her safe!"

Septimus looked at me, then back at the soldier, clearly torn.

Tarus brought his blade down again and again, blocking the soldier’s thrusts, and then he landed a blow, cracking his heavy wooden sword around the soldier’s head. The soldier stepped back, his iron helmet having deflected most of the force of the blow, but clearly surprised by the fact Tarus had broken through his defences.

Tarus stepped back, reaching out and grabbing Septimus’ tunic. He dragged him close, and muttered something I couldn’t hear, before thrusting Septimus away, just as the soldier came back at them with a slash that barely missed Septimus’ shoulder.

Septimus stood only a moment longer, looking at Tarus, before he turned and ran towards me. He grabbed my free hand, and dragged me to the side, around my brother and his opponent, heading for the river again.

“No!” I yelled, digging in my heels and trying to wrench my hand from his. “No, I won’t leave Tarus!”

"We have to go!" Septimus shouted, yanking me forward.

I struggled against his grip, tears blurring my vision as I watched Tarus fend off the soldier's attacks. My brother's movements were desperate, his wooden sword no match for the soldier's steel blade.

"Let me go!" I screamed, clawing at Septimus' hand. "We can't leave him!"

Septimus' face was grim as he dragged me towards the river. "If we stay, we all die. Tarus is buying us time to escape."

I hesitated, torn between obeying my brother and abandoning him to face this threat alone. In that brief moment of indecision, another two soldiers emerged from a nearby alleyway, one seizing me from behind. I struggled against his iron grip, but it was no use. My sword clattered to the ground, out of reach. The other smashed the pommel of his sword against Septimus’ temple and he crumpled to the ground in front of me.

My brother risked a glance over his shoulder and paled. He disengaged from his opponent, whirling around to charge at the soldier holding me captive. But he was too late.

The soldier's blade flashed, and Tarus’ sword splintered under the weight of the blow. Another strike and the metal blade sank deep into my brother's chest. A cry of anguish tore from my throat as my brother crumpled lifeless before me.

"Tarus!" I screamed, my voice raw with anguish. I thrashed wildly against the soldier's grip, desperate to reach my fallen brother. "No! Let me go!"

I screamed, my voice raw with grief and horror as Tarus fell. The soldier holding me clamped a hand over my mouth, muffling my cries. I thrashed wildly, tears streaming down my face as I watched my brother's blood seep into the dusty ground.

"Shut her up," one of the soldiers growled. "We were supposed to leave no survivors."

“Wait, Darcius," said another, eyeing me with a calculating look. "The girl's young. She could fetch a good price at the slave markets in the city. No one would know."

My captor's grip tightened. "And the boy?"

The first soldier glanced at Septimus' unconscious form. "He's old enough to be trouble. Better to finish him off."

Terror gripped me as the soldier raised his blood-stained sword. I struggled harder, tears streaming down my face. "Please," I begged. "Please don't—"

"Wait, he's strong. Could fetch a decent sum too. There’s an arena not far from here."

“Fine.”

The soldier holding me didn't pause to let me mourn my brother. He simply placed his hand on the back of my neck and with a vice-like grip steered me back towards the houses. One of the others picked Septimus up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of wheat. We passed the other soldier and I glared up at him.

"You disarmed him. You didn't have to kill him," I said, hatred seeping into my words. "He was just a boy."

"He was nearly a man," said the soldier, leaning down to wipe his blade clean on a piece of Tarus’ tunic. "And he raised a sword against a soldier of the Emperor."

"He was defending me," I insisted, tears streaming down my face. "And if you're the soldiers of the Emperor, why are you killing your own people?"

"The punishment for high treason is death," answered the soldier.

"Treason?” I gasped. “What are you talking about?”

"Leave it, Arilius," barked the soldier holding my neck. Arilius shrugged and walked away.

Arilius, I thought, engraving the name into my memory, as if I were carving it into stone.

"Move!" growled the man holding me, shoving me forward so that I stumbled and nearly lost my step. I tried to glance back one last time, catching a glimpse of Tarus lying face down, blood seeping into the dirt beneath him. Fury and grief filled me and I tried to turn back, but the soldier's grip tightened. Not caring about the danger, I turned on him hitting and kicking uselessly at his armour as I screamed. A blow caught me across the face and I fell backwards, landing hard on my back, the air driven out of me.

"Fucking kids," grumbled the soldier, before bending down and hoisting me up, tossing me over his shoulder. Still gasping for breath, I hung limply as he carried me back into the village and into the square.

I scanned the scene with dull eyes, searching for any sign of life amidst the sea of corpses. But there was nothing - only death remained. I looked over to where my father's offices stood. The grandest building in the village, bar the temple, it was the centre of village life. I remembered back only a few weeks ago, to the most recent festival when the doors had stood open and the celebration had spilled into the square with feasting and music and games. Tarus had sneaked a couple of servings of rak when our parents hadn't been looking and had danced wildly with me for several turns, until he'd started losing his meal behind one of the houses. I had teased him about it for days afterwards.

Now the doors of the hall had been smashed open, splintered wood clinging to twisted hinges. Blood and gore soaked the stone steps, the stench of death heavy in the air. The large canopy that had hung over the door had been ripped down and the wood frame had been commissioned for another use. My eyes widened as I suddenly realised what was hanging from the frame and I began to scream.

The soldier ignored me, crossing to a caravan wagon they must have taken from Ursi's store. He threw me into the back and I cried out as I collided with the wooden floor. Septimus was dumped on top of me and he groaned as he rolled to the side then fell silent again. Scrabbling to my knees, I turned and looked back at the bodies hanging in front of the hall.

Two of the village elders, and my parents, had been strung up for everyone to see. Their throats had been slashed and my mother's body was naked. I clapped my hands to my mouth as bile rose in my throat. I wanted to scream again, but no sound came from my mouth as I stared at the brutality before me. Beside my mother swung four other bodies I didn't recognise. Talfen.

The significance of their presence didn't register with me, the shock of seeing my murdered family too much to bear. I retreated back into the wagon, sitting down and bringing my knees up into my chest, wrapping my arms around them. I rocked silently, my eyes still on the swaying bodies, numb with shock and grief.

The wagon began to move, and the thought crossed my mind that they hadn’t tied me up. I could just jump down and run, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave Septimus. I just sat and rocked, staring at the ruins of my village through the wooden slats, bile and anguish churning within me.

Everything I loved, everything I knew, had been ripped away in a flash of steel and shadow. I was hollow inside, a shell of the girl who rose with the dawn to practice her swordwork. The girl who had complained about number problems the day before. The girl who'd squabbled with her brother over the last piece of bread at dawnmeal only a few hours ago. That part of me was dead, ripped away like the lives of my family.

I barely noticed when the wagon trundled down the dirt road, away from the only home I had ever known. I sat motionless, hollow eyes fixed on the receding silhouette of my village. One of the soldiers spat a wad of tobacco onto the ground.

"Look at this one. Prime stock for the arena or the brothels." He leered at me, eyes raking over my slight form. "This one will fetch a high price. Pretty features, fiery spirit. The patrons will eat her up."

I flinched, bile rising in my throat. I hugged my knees to my chest, willing the nausea to pass. I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me break. They had taken everything from me - I would not relinquish my dignity. I curled up as small as I could, and stayed quiet.

After several hours, the wagon rolled through a massive gate into a town. I gaped at the towering stone buildings and grand temples, momentarily distracted from my anguish. I had never ventured far from my village, and the scope and grandeur of the town both awed and intimidated me. Tarus had told me about Veredus, the closest town to our village. He had been once with our father, but I had been promised after the next storm season, my mother would take me to see the stalls and the temples. She had promised me a new dress.

The wagon rattled down the dirt streets, finally stopping before a wide space. High wooden enclosures had been built, reminiscent of cattle enclosures. These were not for cattle. One of the legionaries that had been driving the wagon jumped down to converse with a slimy looking man that came over to meet them. He gazed into the wagon, his blank eyes passing over me and Septimus who still lay unconscious, blood matted in his hair. I shuddered when they reached me. He nodded slowly, and after a few more words with the legionary, I watched as the man counted out several bronze zi into the legionary's hand, who dropped them into his purse.

My eyes widened in understanding. So this was to be my fate - sold into slavery to become property. I swallowed hard, terror warring with anger in my chest. My hands clenched into fists, nails biting into my palms as I fought to keep from being sick from the fear that swept over me. My mind travelled quickly to the worst possible stories I had heard about how slaves were treated in towns, and I began to shake.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the image of Tarus in my mind. His shaved head, his dark eyes that mirrored my own. The way they sparked when he talked about us becoming Dragon Elites. I swallowed my fear down. Dragon Elites weren't afraid of anything. They could break my body, but they would never break my spirit. I would survive, no matter the cost. For Tarus. I would continue to train, and I would find out why my entire village had been destroyed. And when the time came, I would have my vengeance for what had happened today.