Page 36 of Gilded Lies

“There’s men outside. I’ll gild them too and-”

“No, you won’t.” Jari faced him, and Aurelius didn’t back down. “I came here to get you out as safely as possible, and that means not letting you gild. It’ll make you worse.”

“Everything turns to pure gold now,” said Aurelius. “It’s beautiful.”

“Gild, whatever. Close enough. Every time you use it, the hooks dig a little deeper. Hang on.”

Jari tipped half of the contents of the salt cellar into his trouser pocket. He was sure it wouldn’t protect him, but he wanted to have some of the only substance that seemed to work. Aurelius gave him a scathing look when Jari filled his pocket too.

“Does that help?”

“No.”

“Okay, so maybe there’s a limit to how much it works if it’s not directly touching you. It needs to be on your skin.”

“Do you expect me to keep my hand in my pocket forever?”

“It was an idea. We don’t have experience with it so it’s not like we have something to go off of. Come on.”

Aurelius followed him past the remains of the guards. Jari tried not to look at them, reduced to chunks of gold all over the floor. It had been Jari and Aurelius or them. They certainly wouldn’t have backed down, and with so many, they might have killed Jari and Aurelius. At least, their deaths had been quick.

That meant Jari wouldn’t suffer too much if Aurelius lost it and decided to turn him too.

He held up a hand at the doors and averted his gaze from the mangled corpse. Aurelius made a slight noise, and out of the corner of Jari’s eye, the entire body turned to gold before it cracked.

“Aurelius!” he snapped in a low voice before it too broke into chunks and was no longer recognizable. A few pieces skittered across the floor.

“I think you can grant me that last person,” said Aurelius. “He deserved it most of all.”

“Okay, okay. Please, no more.” Jari glanced at his eye. The remaining blue sliver didn’t appear slimmer, and he focused on the entrance.

One door was closed, and the other leading outside had been left partially open. He could see Mercury in the yard as he nibbled on grass that hadn’t been turned. Thank Elira, nobody had snatched him yet. Jari edged a little more into the entrance hall and onto the stiff gold rug. Just barely, he could make out the side of a man near the gate, and he quickly stepped out of sight.

If one was out there, he was sure a whole group lurked. Jari wasn’t going to try to see and risk being spotted. They were probably crapping themselves at whatever unnatural thing had happened outside, and since they didn’t know the fate of the first group, they were probably expecting someone to come out and give them orders.

“My horse is still there. The gate’s blocked.”

“Someone reported something. I can make sure they won’t bother us. Permanently.”

“No, damn it.” Jari took a deep breath. “We’ll go outback. Maybe there’s another little entrance.”

“The Palace doesn’t have one.”

“I know, but there might be one here. We’ll figure something out. It’s better than saying here.” Jari let out a low whistle and peeked enough so he could see Mercury, who raised his head and saw him. His ears pricked up, and he immediately started toward the steps. Someone outside yelled, and another whistle sounded, but Mercury ignored them. He clomped up the steps and pushed his way in through the partially open door before he gazed around.

“Now you can say you’ve been in a Castle, boy. Come here.” Jari took the horse’s bridle when he approached. He probably smelled the blood on the floor since he let out an uneasy snort. “It’s okay. We’re going to go out back.”

Mercury snuffled at Aurelius’s arm and didn’t seem afraid of him. Thankfully, the men outside didn’t come storming in tofollow the horse. They likely thought he was just being strange. Aurelius stayed with them as they headed toward the back. Thankfully, the doorways were big enough although the builders surely hadn’t intended for horses to be brought inside. The back area was deserted, and they found a door that led outside.

“Thank Elira they haven’t surrounded the place and filled the grounds.”

“Everyone’s terrified of me.” The note of glee in Aurelius’s tone wasn’t exactly comforting as they hurried across the backyard. “Except you.”

“Because I love you,” Jari blurted out.

Shit. This wasn’t the time to declare his feelings even though he realized it was true. If he’d go to the ends of the realm for Aurelius, and seeing him dead or lost terrified him more than death for himself, that had to be love. He wanted Aurelius to be safe and free forever. He didn’t dare look back at the Prince who hadn’t returned it or said anything in response. Maybe he didn’t feel that way or gold was his only love now.

The wall surrounding the grounds was fortunately devoid of men. Out in the city, they heard a bell toll. Aurelius jogged ahead.

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