Page 20 of Gilded Lies

“John made an effort to prevent things before he was too lost,” said David. “If you’ve buried them in a grave, someone will fetch the items for me.”

Because nothing was too low for him. A man had to be truly desperate, greedy, or insane to rob a grave.

“You also don’t seem eager to have kids,” said David. “Does it tell you to have them?”

“No.”

“The key was in you for years, and I wonder if that did something else to you. Did it make you stronger?”

“I doubt it.” Aurelius filled his glass. “I don’t want some squalling brat puking on me. Besides that, I don’t want any future relatives to deal with this. I destroyed the items. If you want the key or anything else, you better hire people to look for gold dust. I ground down each item with metal files and let the wind take it.That’swhat John should have done.”

David stared at him as his jaw tightened.

“I said you wouldn’t like the answer.”

David unhooked his finger. “You can still gild.”

Aurelius snatched the locket before the King changed his mind. They’d have to pry it from his dead hands to get it back now. The delicate chain slithered between his fingers as he turned it to see the words on the back.

I will always love you.

Mother had said those words to her children many times. When he opened it, the tiny lock of hair still lay inside.

“If you’re stronger, we’ll see how long you last,” said David.

Aurelius clicked it shut. “So I'm going to die here while stark raving mad? Will that make you happy and be your last fuck you to my dead Father?”

Considering what David could do, Aurelius had a feeling what the item was. He hadn’t put it together after Jari repeated Father’s words, but he should have. The answer was so blatant inthe story, he should have realized it, and since Eurig had known David's ability, it made sense.

The item wasn’t in a guard.

David leaned back in his chair as he chewed on one of the little pastries. Aurelius said fuck it to the chicken. Despite the sauce, it was bland and dry. He might as well eat cheesecake before he ended up starved since that was surely coming.

“It’s not much punishment to Eurig, but what else should I do with you? I owe Darlim money. I'd like to make it back and then some.”

“I’m sure you do. I went straight to Morning Glory like a fool, took his army and daughter right to my doorstep, and handed over my home.”

David patted his mouth with his napkin. “I offered a great deal of money to Darlim. It was tempting.”

“Men are so greedy.”

Well, some were. Jari didn’t seem to care for that shit.

“Men might leave you,” said David. “Gold doesn’t do that.”

“It’ll never put its lips to yours.”

“I don’t really need that anymore, and if I want, I can pay a whore to act sweet for a few hours. Gold is constant and forever. It might not kiss me, but it won’t leave me either. It won’t snap its neck and die. It won’t cause me grief. It’s always there and constant. The same. It never grows dull or picks something over you. It's always yours. You should know this, considering you’ve lost everyone.”

Aurelius squeezed the locket. “You could let this all go and release me. You have your item.”

“I knew you’d ask that, but no.”

“Eurig’s not around to punish.”

“That’s fine,” said David. “I can still do it. Besides, the fourth item isn’t quite the same, and since you’ve touched everything,Mammon is a part of you, and you had the key for so long, I wonder if you'll be able to do more.”

They might be more powerful. Aurelius shoved in bites of the cheesecake even though that didn’t taste good either. Probably nothing would ever taste good again.

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