"In Latin my name, Aurelia, basically means 'the golden one.' My mother literally named me her golden light through the storm that was her life. That is my job. To be everyone's light at the end of the tunnel. And I got stuck worrying so much about...
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Aurelia hated detours.
The quickest path to your destination is a straight line, especially when you have a time limit to reach said destination.
So when her friends detoured their way to a candy store to get some salted caramel then to a cafe to get coffee and grilled salmon sandwiches, Aurelia was annoyed the entire time.
Not to say she didn't eat the salted caramel or have a regular grilled cheese as well, but she was still annoyed that that time was ticking away. It may have been a few hours they spent wandering the city. At some point, they even saw Ella zooming between high rise towers, a large book clutched between each foot.
Not to say Aurelia exactly knew what they were looking for. She has never actually visited Hylla or her headquarters in Seattle. But she knew that when she saw it, she would just know.
Finally they wandered south of downtown into a plaza surrounded by smaller glass and brick buildings. Aurelia paused, her eyes finding a simple office building to their left with a single word etched on the glass doors: AMAZON. "There."
Frank blinked. "That can't be it. They're a modern company right? They sell stuff on the Internet. They're not actually Amazons."
"This is it," Aurelia murmured heading towards the doors. She paused her doors on the handle. "Let me lead—and trust me, do not speak."
All three of her friends had uneasy feelings and expressions but they nodded, following her into the building. The lobby was like an empty fish tank—glass walls, a glossy black floor, a few token plants, and pretty much nothing else. Against the back wall, a black stone staircase led up and down. In the middle of the room stood a young woman in a black pantsuit, with long auburn hair and a security guard's earpiece. Her name tag said KINZIE. Her smile was friendly, but her eyes were skeptical, just like her emotions.
Kinzie nodded at Aurelia and Hazel, ignoring the boys. "May I help you?"
"Yes," Aurelia stepped in front of her friends. "We are looking for a group of people. The Amazons."
Kinzie glanced at Hazel's sword, then Frank's spear—neither should have been visible through the Mist. "This is the main campus for Amazon," she said, cautiously. "Did you have an appointment with someone, or—"
"This is a walk-in," Aurelia said. "We request an audience with Queen Hylla."
Kinzie's eyes flashed dangerously as she studied the latina. "Who are you?"
"We mean no harm," Aurelia assured her—her voice was calming and even and she was using her powers to slowly allow Kinzie to lower down her wall.
"El, we don't have time for this," Percy muttered to Aurelia. That small sentence sent Aurelia on the edge of her toes, the hairs on the back of her neck sitting straight up in anticipation.
