Page 56 of Gilded Lies

“This isn’t very practical.” Aurelius lifted the hand trapped in the little sack. “It’s working now, but how am I supposed to even dress myself?”

“I know, but is it like a salt bath?”

“Yes…”

“I have an idea so you don’t have to keep your hand in a sack, and you don’t have to sit in a bath all day and turn into a raisin.” Jari released him, stood, and helped him up. “I know that wasn’t you a few minutes ago.”

“I can’t have you doing everything, and if I’m not safe-”

“Shh.” Jari gently took his shoulders, and Aurelius finally lifted his gold eye to look at him. His miserable expression tore at Jari’s chest because there was nobody to kill, nobody he could physically fight, and no one to even talk to or bargain with so it would leave him the fuck alone. “I have an idea. When we go back, I’ll show you. For now, I want you to get on your horse, and wait for me. We’ll ride back, and I’m going to give the pack to Este.”

Aurelius’s lips parted for a second as his eye narrowed. “No. If she even looks out of curiosity-do you want to be chasing after her with a sack of salt too?! She only knows about the rose, not what else can be done-”

“I’ll-”

“We don’t need another Zylem, or worse, another me!”

“I’m going to warn her. It’s safer for you this way. I don’t want that fucker getting ahold of anyone, but you’re more important. You might have tried to leave or head back to the Palace to stay there or something. I’m not risking you anymore.”

He was already different and worse than Eurig. He’d touched everything, and having the key in him for so long had made it worse. Este was nothing like Zylem, and if he warned her, she’d listen and not go snooping. Or worse: touching the damn things.

“I don’t want those items so close to you in the tent just in case.”

“All right.”

Jari had to help him get onto his horse. Aurelius cradled the sack with his free hand and waited. Jari couldn’t help but keep glancing over his shoulder as he retrieved the pack and filled the hole. He hid the shovel under the bed and hurried to get back on Mercury with the pack slung over his shoulder.

He had three items, including one that could turn the entire army into mindless slaves, not that the user of the crown would be in good shape afterward. It wasn’t a comforting thought. Aurelius kept his horse a little away from Jari like he was afraid he’d lose it again and try to snatch the pack.

Este was waiting where they’d left her, and Jari drew his horse alongside hers. “Can I trust you with something and rely on you to keep it with you while riding during the day, to stay away from us, and make sure no one else ever touches it?”

“Yes.” Este squinted at him. “But why?”

“I just need you to do this. You’ll find out some other time. You can not look inside the pack or touch anything inside. No one else can either. If you do, you’ll regret it, and that’s not a threat from me. It’s a simple promise.”

She looked at it. “Please don’t tell me you’ve got a skull in there or that it came from a grave.”

“Jari would cut off his hand before he dug up a grave,” Aurelius said in a low voice. “He’s not like that.”

“What’s in there?” she demanded.

“I need you to trust me when I say you don’t want to know, and if you go poking around inside, you’ll regret it,” said Jari.

“Are there more things like the rose that David had?” She glared at Jari’s expression. “Excuse me for wanting to know what I’m supposed to hold for you.”

“I’m not saying. On its own like this, the pack won’t hurt you, and I need you to do this. It’s better for Aurelius. We need you to do this, and he needs it most of all.”

She hesitated before she finally grabbed it. “Fine.”

“I’m only asking you because you’re literally the only person we can trust to keep their curiosity under control,” said Jari. “Keep it closed even if Elira herself comes down and tells you to open it.”

Chapter Eleven

Aurelius sat shirtless by the crate in their tent with one hand still in the sack of salt. He fiddled with the grains between his fingers as he watched Jari mix a little water into a pot of resin that looked like goo. He felt a lot better like he was in a salt bath, but he didn’t see what Jari planned to do.

“If you plan on pasting salt all over my body, I don’t think that’s going to work. It’ll itch and fall off at best.”

“I don’t need to. It just needs to be on you at all times.” Jari pulled a little brush from the bag he’d brought in and dug around for something else. “There we go.”

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