“If this doesn't go well, you gods are dead to me,” I joked, glancing up.

  Normally, I wasn't one to threaten them, even though they'd been silent for at least a century. But today was an exception for many reasons. The first of Martius was the start of both spring and the new year. In other words, it was a day of good fortune, which was exactly why I had chosen it for the opening of my smoothie shop. And I'd put a lot of work into it.

  “The Nox for Corvus,” I called out, placing the drink on the bartop. Made with blackberries, elderberries, currants, and yogurt, this one was named after the goddess of night.

  I began preparing the next, listening to the chatter from my first customers. A fair amount came from the gladiator training school Ludus Invictus across the courtyard, ranging from seasoned veterans to novicii, the new trainees. The rest were regular citizens who saw my banner on the street.

  Most of the talk today seemed to be about Solis; an armed delegation had been seen entering its gates the other day. The new territory had mysteriously appeared half a year ago, a big change to several centuries of solitude in the Imperium Aeterna. Until yesterday, there'd been little interaction with it beyond the initial suppression by the Legion. Word was that it had been a brutal, bloody fight against warriors obsessed with the sun.

  A bronze-skinned gladiator strolled up with a large, muscular frame covered in scars. His nose was slightly crooked from being broken one too many times, but it only seemed to add to his allure for his fans, men and women alike.

  "For me?" he asked, flashing a smile.

  "Is your name Corvus?"

  "Ursus, if you want to remember it." He winked. The sound of his words were smooth, almost velvety. "Especially since we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on."

  Hiding my smile, I rolled my eyes. I knew exactly who he was—how could I not? "Well then, no. It's not your drink."

  He leaned on the bartop. "We've all heard a lot about you, Maximilia, and I think we've got a lot in common. Look, even our eye color matches."

  I glanced down at the polished spoon I'd been using for mixing. Under long light brown hair, hazel eyes blinked back at me. Freckles scattered across an aquiline nose and skin with an olive undertone, like most people. I thought myself pretty enough, although my lips were on the thinner side like the rest of my body. They shifted into a smirk. But before I could respond, another gladiator with sharp features shouldered him out of the way.

  "This one's mine." Blue eyes stared at Ursus from below a lowered brow and black hair. His voice was warm but dry. "And calm down. I bet you're twice her age."

  "I don't mind," I said, waving it off.

  The owner of the drink, Corvus, glanced at me skeptically. Or maybe he always looked that way, since one eye was slightly hooded compared to the other. But I'd been watching the big gladiator as a fan long enough to know his flirting was harmless, for the most part. My father's warnings about him hadn't been too serious.

  "See? I'm irresistible." Ursus pushed him aside and grabbed the drink, tasting it. "Well, what do you know? I think I really like this one, so I think I'll keep it. Well done, Maximilia."

  I paused, putting down the citron I'd been cutting. “Uh—”

  "It doesn't even have a disgusting amount of protein in it, you hulking beast."

  Corvus was right. Half of what all Aeternians ate on any given day was practically all fruit or breads, so I made it into a thick drink. With protein mixed in, these smoothies were the perfect fuel for gladiators. This one just had…a lot more mixed in than others.

  A gleam appeared in Ursus's eyes. "Oh, is that so? In that case, drink it all up, Magnus." He flung the contents of the cup at the other gladiator, splattering him with red juice.

  I gaped in complete shock. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised that they'd be combative hotheads outside of the arena, but the last thing I needed was for a fight to break out. A really stupid one at that.

  "Come on, you two!" A woman's voice cut in. "This is why we can't have nice things." She was nearly Corvus's spitting image, except with much longer hair, full lips, and slightly downturned eyes.

  It was his twin, Praxedes Magnus. More gladiators I idolized, making it hard to contain my excitement. There might have been more than one reason why I set up shop here, after all. For the time being, however, I sighed in relief to have another voice of reason to help calm them down.

  "I didn't start it, Prax," her brother scoffed.

  She stood up, grabbing a plum from one of the crates I had left beside the courtyard wall. I watched it go up into the air and then plop back down into her hand. I'd done a lot of prep work, preparing all the juice yesterday, but I hadn't been able to process all the fruit yet. That was something I'd been hoping to do during the downtime.

  "Then be sure to finish it," she stated flatly. And then before I could blink, it whipped through the air and hit Ursus square in the forehead.

  Chaos broke out.

  He roared and the rest of the watching gladiators eagerly began throwing drinks, fists, and whatever stray fruit they could grab hold of at each other. People scurried out to escape the mess. I saw strawberry juice fly through the air like a spray of blood.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “By the gods,” I cursed, glaring back up. “You're all dead to me.”

  There seemed to be little rhyme or reason to the fighting. One moment Corvus was dodging Ursus's massive fists, moving like water, and the next they were both attacked by a group of trainees. His sister jabbed punches like lightning. In my state of shock, I observed distantly that she'd been the only one to finish her drink. What had she ordered again? Oh, yes. The Aeon, named after the god of cyclical time. It was one of my favorites, with cantaloupe, mint, and honey.

  Then a stray plum whistled past my ear and I flinched, snapping back. Right.

  Corvus was backed up to the bar, holding off an opponent who was trying to pour their smoothie over his face. He glanced at me.

  "So, are you gonna help or what?" he grunted.

  I stared at him. They had just started a food fight on the opening morning of my business. It had taken months to reach this point; I'd even sacrificed my own training. Everything had been perfect until now. His face winced at my expression.

  “On second thought…”

  But then, for some reason, a smile stole across my face. I couldn't change that this fruit fight happened. One was supposed to spend this day happy, anyway, in order to have good omens for the rest of the year. So, what better way to celebrate the moment?

  I smashed the pulpy mess of citron into the other guy's face. “Invictus!” I shouted, like an absolute idiot.

  He howled and let go, the sour juice stinging his eyes. Corvus looked at me incredulously as I vaulted over the bartop to join the fray. Everything became a blur over. Ursus bellowed with laughter and Praxedes's long black hair that had been neatly braided now hung disheveled.

  “Well, look at you. You've got some moves!" she shouted excitedly.

  I bit my lip, grinning at her. Honestly, it would have been weirder if I didn't, given who my father was.

  "Plum!" I yelled out, and Ursus tossed one high. Jumping, I caught it before spinning to lob it at another gladiatrix putting Corvus in a chokehold. “Yes!”

  My fists were raised mid celebration when I was tackled from the side. All the air was knocked out of me. I hit the stone floor and lay there, gasping like a fish out of water.

  Abruptly, the weight was gone when Praxedes kicked the novicius off, raging at him "Are you stupid? Fili canis, you son of a bitch!" She reached down to help me up.

  Trying to catch my breath, I lay there for several more moments before grabbing her hand as she hauled me to my feet. "Thanks.”

  A throat cleared.

  And everyone froze.

  We all turned in unison to look at the courtyard entrance to see Felix Vita. The grizzled retired champion was regarded as the greatest gladiator Aeterna had ever seen. He lifted his chin and gripped an emptied glass tightly. The ease with which he held himself at the ready was intimidating, even more so when he was livid, like right now.

  The gladiators released whatever fruit, glass, or handful of tunic they'd held in their hands. Corvus swallowed. Hard. Felix's dark eyes swept over the scene. Red, green, purple, and yellow juice stained everyone and everything.

  "What did I just come back to?" he asked menacingly.

  Only the sound of shuffling answered him as they shifted awkwardly on their feet. Wait. I shook myself. Why was I nervous too? This was my shop. If I wanted to trash it, then that was my business.

  He walked closer until I could see the scar that ran from his eye down through his mouth and into his short dark beard. It was vivid against his angry, flushed face. My gaze traced over it, as I had countless times when I was younger. He stopped before the large, hulking gladiator.

  "Ursus, I am disappointed in you."

  The man drooped his shoulders in response. "Sorry, Felix," he said, scratching his head, sheepishly.

  "Apologize to Maximilia, not me. Everyone." There was no escaping the steel edge in his voice. “Now.”

  A chorus of apologies filled the air as Felix turned to me next. A deep frown settled across his face. "And I am sorry, too," he said. “For their behavior.”

  I shrugged. "Don't be. I made my own choice to join in the fight."

  He turned to the group. "You will clean this place spotless under Maximilia's supervision. Then come back to finish your training today after running ten times around the chariot track."

  A few groans met his command but they were quickly stifled by his glare.

  “I had fun, so don't be upset.” I reached out to take the glass from him and squeezed his hand. I felt the familiar absence of one of his fingers long since cut off. “So, how was it? Did you like it?”

  Around us, the gladiators set to work around us, fetching rags and buckets of water. Felix had been my first and most important customer. He'd ordered the fig-based smoothie, the one on the top of the menu. The Honos, named after the god of honor. And for some reason, he insisted that he'd make his way through the list over the coming days.

  “I think it may be my favorite one yet.”

  “Yeah and it's also the only one you've had so far,” I objected. Then my fingers fidgeted on the glass. “You don't have to do this, you know.”

  He kissed my forehead. “How else am I supposed to know which of my daughter’s recipes is my favorite?"

  Oh, did I mention he was my father?

  I may have rolled my eyes, but inwardly I sighed in relief. Felix may not have been mine by blood, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. As much as I needed him, I liked to think he needed me. And him rooting for my success made everything else—like this mess—inconsequential.

  After a final stern glare at the gladiators, he returned to the ludus.

  "As far as meeting you for the first time, I'd say that couldn't have gone any better. We might as well have been dancing together," Ursus grinned. “But perhaps we did get carried away with the fighting.”

  “You certainly did,” Corvus muttered pointedly.

  His sister clapped her hands, ignoring him. “We just wanted to see what you were like, because we can't trust anything Felix says when it comes to you. The man's blind with doting.”

  I didn't say anything, although I smiled at her words. If I was being honest, it'd been absolutely thrilling to fight alongside some of my favorite gladiators. By now, only a few messy spots remained and I sent them all on their way since they still had the rest of their punishment left to do. I looked around, pleased.

  The bar itself was tucked in an alcove at the back of the courtyard. Behind me, bright mosaics bordered a large piece of slate embedded in the wall. It had been a stroke of genius to use cosmetic chalk for the menu instead of carving into wax tablets, and I was really proud of it. Stone benches and tables sat under a trellis of grape vines. The courtyard had a pillared entrance that faced the edge of the walled-in training grounds. I'd had this space built into the corner of the ludus, and a short path between the grounds and courtyard wall led to the main road outside.

  A new customer stepped in. "Is this Invictus Shakes?"

  "The one and only!" I beamed. "What can I get for you?"

  The day was still young and I was just getting started. What else could go wrong?