Thorns of Fate: Serendipity Saga Book One

Prologue

I didn't lose many fights, but boy, did I lose my first.

The Mediterranean heat choked me as I shuffled through the dust of the arena. It was a humid, consuming weight in the air, making each breath a challenge. Facing me was a lean woman who was as under-dressed as myself. She hefted a sword the length of her arm, moonlight twinkling over its blade. Its sharp edge was already coated in thick crimson blood.

I could stand, though my legs struggled to hold my weight. I sported a dozen shallow wounds across my body where her blade had cut through my skin like tissue paper. It was my blood that garnished her sword. She was breathing hard with a thin red line across one cheek but was otherwise unharmed.

She let her sword droop, its tip digging into the earth at her feet. She stalked closer, the weapon leaving welts across the ground in its wake. My wounds knit closed, slower than I would have liked.

The crowd in the stands erupted in irate cries, impatient for the fight to come to an end. "Kill her! Kill her!" they screamed, wanting more blood spilled.

The woman glanced up at them, then narrowed her violet gaze back on me. My weapon had been discarded, tossed away after a flurry of blows I'd been unable to block. It rested on the ground, out of reach.

My opponent glared at it, sneered, and whipped her hand to the side. Her sword soared across the arena and slammed to its hilt in the outer wall. There was a cry of dismay that rippled through the crowd.

She slammed her foot forward, her lower leg crashing into my torso and sending me reeling back. The onlookers roared, pushing my opponent to a swift finishing blow. I forced myself to my feet, waiting for the next shot to come.

She raised her fist, lunging forward.

I swung to the side, her blow missing me altogether. I leaped at her exposed back, but she batted me away as though I were but an insect.

My body screamed in agony as I collided with the ground again, immediately forcing my way back to my feet. She strolled closer again, taking her time, drawing out the end, and watching me.

The spectators knew what was coming and they were eager for it. The night roared with the volume of their cheers. The air was taught, a vibration of excitement making it thick.

She neared again, coming within reach when I flung myself at her. I barraged her with my fists but she shrugged them off, in much better physical condition than myself.

I saw the final blow coming, looming over me like the axe of an executioner. Her arm lifted high in the air above but I had nowhere to go. I flailed desperately, trying to gather power into my limbs when her fist came down. It crashed into my chin and sent my world skittering into darkness.

I leaned against a damp wall, surrounded by prisoners who shied away from me. They may not have known what I was but they didn't want to find out either and left a wide gap between us in the cell. They didn't know exactly why, but they knew there was something about me that wasn't normal.

I'd been dragged away and left here after my defeat. My opponent earned her misplaced freedom after our bout while I laid in my own blood in captivity. The emperor had plans for me, which I was certain were his mistress's ideas. Cassandra was an enigma, hating me with a passion that I didn't think I deserved.

She was a witch, with power unknown and devastating spells. We had crossed paths more times than I should've survived, but here I was still, much to her displeasure.

My arrest had come quickly, on the coattails of a surging rebellion. I was certain that it had all been a cover, orchestrated to leave me as the villain, though I didn't lead the fight.