Prologue
A skinny young girl looked up at the golden sun god statue, a wooden training sword in her hand, dirt on her face, and a suspicious looking bruise forming on her eye. She had enlisted at the legal age of 13. On her birthday to be exact. And for the past 4 months she had gotten her ass kicked. By men twice her size and her age, but she never stayed down. Now, gray eyes watched the sun god figure…wondering if there really was a god. And wondering if the struggles she was currently going through were worth it.
She had dreams of being a soldier. She hadn’t taken into account the beatings that would come from that.
From a distance, an older man – his son by his side – watched her quietly. The skinny girl with the unmanageable black hair was starting to earn herself a reputation. The man had read the reports from the training officers. Fierce. Quick. Able to accept and admit defeat. Capable. Learns fast. Promotable when ready. Well-liked by the other men and women.
He looked down at his son, the same age as her. “Cassian…what do we do when we recognize greatness?”
The boy looked at the skinny little girl with the wooden practice sword. “Greatness?” She didn’t look great. He had sparred against her once, the result was a draw. He remembered how she wouldn’t yield, even though royal protocol was to cede to the Prince. He had barely managed to fend off her speed. She was an adequate swordswoman…but she wasn’t great.
His father nodded, “she may not look like much. But I believe young Aurora over there is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Shall we go introduce ourselves?”
The boy next to him, so close to manhood, looked the skinny girl up and down again. She had messy black hair, curls pulling from the dual braids that ran down her back. She had just started putting on muscle and womanhood was slowly creeping into her athletic silhouette. Cassian imagined that cleaned up, and not in training leathers – she would knock men off their feet. He felt a strange pull in his heart. There was potential in the girl, and even he could see what she might become, “If you insist, father. Let’s go meet greatness.” Cassian coveted greatness. If his father saw something in her, then he would need to see it too.
