Aurelia is a Courtesan, not an Assassin. Her world is turned upside down, however, when she kills a high-ranking Senator in self defense. Given his status, and the political power his family wields, Aurelia knows she will be executed without a trial...
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Countdown: 2 days, 9.5 hours, 4 deaths
A public pool house is not where Aurelia would have expected to meet Aron.
When Mikael had returned, breathless and red-cheeked, his dark hair curling with sweat over his collar, and had thrust a crisp white card into her hand, Aurelia had read it twice to make sure that the information was correct. It had been printed with the sparsest of information in silver ink: Jacaranda Pool, 9:30PM.
She had slipped the card into her pocket and thanked the Universe that Mikael had been smart enough to present it to her when neither Kaol nor Colin were nearby.
Kaol had left the bar shortly before his shift was scheduled to start, and had told her that he wouldn't be able to come by later, since he had previously made plans. The guilty look in his eyes had informed her of exactly who they were with.
Aurelia had excused herself to bed, claiming fatigue, soon after. The sidelong look that Colin had given her over the bridge of his hooked nose informed her that her acting skills were not as good as they had once been. He hadn't called her on her deception, though. Instead, he had sighed a sigh that said 'It's your funeral,' and had left the Backstage Bar with twitching hands.
Now, Aurelia stands before Jacaranda Pool- an ordinary place noteworthy only in that it was where the Amaliem girl Rena Baliem was last seen before her disappearance. And because of Aron's apparent interest in it.
Aurelia shudders, catches herself fiddling with her earlobe, forces her hand down. Now is not the time to show her nerves. Not when Aron's spies could be watching.
She squares her shoulders, lifts her chin with a bravado she tries to force herself to feel, and goes to the entrance of the building. The sign beside it shows that operating hours ended a half an hour ago, but the door opens easily when Aurelia pushes against it.
For a moment she stands there, frozen as a statue, Kaol's words running through her head. Bodies with tattoos gouged out, missing eyes and teeth and identifying marks, dismembered hands with no fingertips. Colin losing an eye at her own hand.
She takes a deep breath, steeling herself, and forges ahead.
It is quiet in the vaulted, white-washed halls, the echoes of her sandals against the concrete floor the only sound. The glow-globes paint the underwater frescoes on the arched recesses of the walls in shadow. The place is deserted.
When she emerges from the hallway and into the pool room itself, she finds it equally empty. The fact that no one is there is more disconcerting than it would have been had someone been lurking behind a pillar.
She arrived on time- so where is Aron?
Aurelia crosses the room to the pool. She hikes her dress up above her thighs, and submerges her legs into the water as she sits on the ledge and waits. She distracts herself by admiring the glass tile mosaic that covers the entirety of the pool. As she swirls her legs through the water, the ripples on the surface give the tile sea-turtles below her the illusion of movement.
