“In Aetheria, a marriage could easily be both,” Marcus says.He looks earnest.“This isn't just some cynical attempt to make the best match possible.I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care about you, Lyra, but I also see how good it could be for both of us.”
I stare at him, unsure of what to say.There's no doubt that I feel a lot for him, but I don't understand his sudden leap towards marriage, and his reasons for it seem more practical than romantic.The whole moment seems out of place, uncalled for.It feels like too much, and I can't help wondering about Marcus's motives.It feels as if he's simply trying to set up something else, or maybe just as though he's trying to distract me.
“I… I’ll need some time to think,” I say, because I can't just say yes, and I don't want to dismiss his offer out of hand.“This is all so sudden.”
Marcus smiles.“It's not that sudden when we've been seeing one another for months.”
He has a point there, but it doesn't mean I'm about to give in and simply say yes.
“Just let me think,” I say.“You say to me that marriage is partly romantic and partly practical.Well, I know how I feel about you romantically, but I need to think through the rest of it if I'm going to take this offer seriously.”
I try to put it in words Marcus will understand.He seems to view his offer of marriage as much like any other business proposition, so I'm sure he can understand his potential partner taking her time to understand all aspects of what he's offering.
The truth is I want to understand why he's doing this, why he's so suddenly wanting to push things to the next level with me.
“Of course,” Marcus says.“I'll give you a few days.It's good that you're taking this seriously becauseI'mvery serious about it, Lyra.I think that with you by my side, there's nothing we can't achieve.”
The question for me is what he wants to achieve.I'm not sure I understand any of Marcus's intentions anymore.Not in the senate, not in the city, and certainly not with me.I let him go with a parting kiss.
I’ll try to understand Marcus better later.For now, though, my duties in the senate are done for the day.It's time for me to prepare for the infiltration I'll be conducting this evening.That has to be my priority because we need to stop whoever is putting on death matches in secret.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“Well, don’t you look delightful,” Thalia says, looking me over in the room of the inn as I blush with embarrassment.“No, that won't do.You can't blush like some maiden who's heard a dirty joke.That's one thing that will make it clear you're not who you say you are.”
I bite back an irritated response because she's right about that part.If I'm meant to be playing the paid “companion” to her merchant, I'll need to seem unabashed, regardless of what happens tonight.
“This is almost right,” Thalia says.“But we need to change your hair, and you need more makeup.Come on, sit there on the edge of the bed.I'll deal with it.”
I sit still while she works on my hair, undoing the careful work of the servants at the palace, then tying my hair up in much simpler braids.She applies powders and paints to my face, holding up a mirror when she's done to show me the image of someone who I only barely recognize as myself.
“There's too much makeup,” I say.
“That's the point,” Thalia replies.“It will help to disguise your features, and it makes you look cheap enough that no one will look at you twice.”She passes me a slender dagger, something that will fit at the small of my back.“Here, it's not as though you can walk in there with any bigger weapons.”
I have no doubt that Thalia will be more heavily armed under her merchant’s costume.She stands and offers me her arm.When I hesitate, she grabs my arm and puts it through hers.
“Remember that both of our safety relies on not being spotted.So play your part.”
I sigh and let her lead me from the inn, trying to ignore the eyes on us as we go.Thalia doesn't hurry but strolls through the streets in the darkness, moving from the light of one glowing orb to another.We head out to the fringes of the inner city.We aren't in the slums but instead are in an old district close to the walls, where many of the buildings are crumbling and in need of repair.
Through the eyes of nighttime birds, I can see people approaching through the streets, converging on a location that looks like an old temple, long abandoned in favor of better locations closer to the heart of the city.There are broken columns and fallen sections of roof, but nobody has bothered rebuilding it, or perhaps the sense that this is a sacred place has stopped them.There are statues around the entrance, figures from myth and legend whose identities appear to have been lost.At first glance, the place appears abandoned, but then I spot the lights within.
Thalia leads the way to the entrance, pausing as a couple of tough-looking men step from the shadows, in nondescript delivery but wearing the now familiar symbol of a drop of blood against a ship's sail.
“Name?”one of them says.
“Jada Nessus,” Thalia replies.She holds out her invitation.
“And her?”the door guard asks.
Thalia laughs.“Do you think I care about hername?”
The door guard looks me over, and I know how dangerous this moment is, my heart beating faster with fear.Plenty of people have seen me in the Colosseum.If this man recognizes my face, he will know that this is a trick, and I have no doubt he'll respond with violence.Even if he doesn't, somehow, then he'll turn us away.
Instead, he joins in with Thalia’s laugh.“No, I guess not.Jada Nessus, welcome.You and your guest.”
We go inside the temple structure, and instantly I see that someone hasn't allowed the interior to crumbling quite the same way as the exterior.They've rebuilt enough of it to have seating and tables, couches, and hanging lanterns that give off a soft glow.The statues here aren't obscure ones, but instead reference fighters from the games.
