Page 93 of Gilded Lies

“He loves me, and he’s done more for me than anyone else, including you. He’d kill a fucking dragon for me.”

He already had, although some things were better left unsaid.

“I’ve already made my decision, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Aurelius. “I will only return to this position if something drastic happens, like the death of the whole family. I highly doubt that’s going to happen, and I think you’ll be fine.” Aurelius pulled out a sheaf of vellum from his coat. “I wrote up a simple contract. It hands everything over to you, and the Kingdom reverts to me only in case of dire emergency as I mentioned. You’re not going to write to me and ask about what to do. You can figure things out on your own. If I ever decide to visit Morning Glory, I’m sure the citizens will be happy and not rioting in the streets.”

Tomson couldn’t technically do anything about it. He read the contract while the courtiers got started on gossiping. Perhapsthey thought Aurelius had gone mad. Let them say whatever they want. Tomson signed with the never-fill quill that Aurelius gave him.

Aurelius put down his signature and stood. “You can do the seal on that yourself. It’s done. I’m sure our horses are ready, so have a good day.”

“You won’t at least stay for dinner or the night?” asked Tomson.

Jari took Aurelius’s arm, turned him around, grabbed him, and threw him over his shoulder. “No, we’re leaving right now.”

“Jari, you can put me down,” said Aurelius.

“Nope. We don’t need some last-minute disaster or anything holding us up, and the sooner we can go start our life together, the better.”

Aurelius lifted his head and caught Tomson’s scandalized expression. “You heard him. Goodbye, Tomson. Er, Jari, I can walk.”

“And I can carry you out.”

“Do we need such a public spectacle?” demanded Tomson.

“I wanted to carry him out ages ago,” Jari called as he stepped down from the dais. “I’m finally doing it.”

A few courtiers appeared shocked, and a couple giggled. Aurelius caught someone saying something about “the cheek of him” and “how inappropriate.”

Aurelius didn’t give a shit what they thought anymore. There was something rather exciting about Jari taking him out like this. Like he was a ragdoll that his big, strong guard could do whatever to.

Jari’s hand squeezed his ass, and the last thing Aurelius saw of the Hall were a couple of courtiers closer to the doors who were giggling and trying to hide it.

He was free to be with his lion.

Epilogue

Houses on the beach weren’t in great supply, most homes were filled, they needed a place to stay fast, and Jari couldn’t build a house in a day, so they picked a small terrace home in World’s Edge City.

The view was nice, but the rent was quite cheap, and Jari figured out why. The floors creaked like they were about to collapse, and the walls were thin. The neighbors next door had a baby that cried for most of the day.

At least Jari got a job fast. The brother of his last employer lived in World’s Edge, and since Jari had experience, he was immediately hired. His boss’s last employee had left for the Windswept Isles, and he had a big job he needed to get started on.

Aurelius wanted to work too and wasn’t about to sit on his arse all day. He said he wanted to learn carpentry, so Jari talked his boss into taking him on as an apprentice. He barely knew which way to hold a tool, so he’d have to start with small, simple things.

Jari didn’t get to see much of him during the day since the big job was past the edge of the city, and they had to hurry. Masons had done the main job over the summer, and since the mortar was set, the rest would be finished.

Este wrote to find out how they were doing. She and her Father weren't on speaking terms at the moment, but he hadn't taken away her title of Duchess. Her Mother and sister weren't talking to him either since he wasn't the man they thought they knew. Wockston was a bit tense since over half of the country knew how he had betrayed Aurelius, and they sided with Este over the matter. If Darlim ever decided to go after Nova, he'dlikely have a civil war on his hands. She said she'd write more later if anything happened, and if Aurelius or Jari ever needed anything from her, they only had to ask.

Aurelius didn’t seem bothered that they’d likely be living in their cheap house for the foreseeable future. World’s Edge had a bank, and he could have made a withdrawal from the treasury, but he said he wanted them to work and not rely on that. Tomson hadn’t said so, but he probably thought Aurelius couldn’t get by as a commoner and would come crawling back soon.

Jari could see that. Rich people might find normal life quite hard to deal with, except Tomson didn't know how badly Aurelius wanted a simple life. Despite the creaky floors and crying baby next door, he seemed so much better overall. He could still be prickly and lofty, but Jari wouldn’t have him any other way.

He got to wake up every morning and see that one blue eye, and every night when they went to bed, he got to have Prince by him in the bed. They went walking along the beach a few times before the cold set in, and Jari could still hardly believe the man he loved was by his side and free of Mammon forever.

Sometimes, Aurelius didn’t want to be touched, and he wouldn’t permit Jari to fuck him. Jari knew certain past things would never go away, so if Aurelius needed a break from contact and wanted to keep their sex life the way it was, he was fine with that.

They belonged to each other, they’d get married next spring, and that was all that mattered.

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