Page 57 of Gilded Lies

Aurelius watched him stir the goo with a flat stick. “So how are you going to do that?”

“Watch.” Jari set the stick aside and inched closer. “You usually lay on your left side now, so I’ll do it on your right arm.” He dipped the brush into the goo and painted a thick line of it on Aurelius’s upper arm. “Lift.”

He made a circle all the way around before he removed a roll of extra wide bandages. They had healers, but no army would go anywhere without supplies in case something happened to all of the soldiers with healing magic. The chances of that were low, but it’d be stupid to head to war without physician supplies of all sorts. The wide bandages were probably intended to loosely cover large burns, but they’d work for any massive injury.

He wrapped Aurelius’s arm like a wound and made sure the bottom edge was aligned with the stripe of resin. Once he had enough wrapped, he cut off the access and pressed on the edges all of the way around to make sure it was stuck.

Aurelius was sure he understood it when Jari painted on more resin about five inches up and stuck the upper edge of thebandage to it as he went. The bandage wasn’t flush against his skin, and Jari took a small sack from the bag when he didn’t have much left to do.

He poured it into the bandage and made Aurelius tilt his arm. The salt filled the empty space and sat against his skin. Once no more would fit, Jari sealed the last gap.

“There. The salt’s trapped against your skin, and that’s what you need most.” He’d gotten resin on his fingers, and he hooked the bag with his pinky to pull it over. “There’s vodka and a rag in there. Get it out for me.”

Holy shit. Aurelius hadn’t thought of anything like that to keep so much salt directly against him. It looked funny, but it was practical. He pulled his hand from the little sack and still felt normal. Well, as normal as he could be with Mammon’s hooks so deep in his brain. The faint urge to make gold in the back of his head was a little stronger than before, but he could ignore it.

If Jari dumped the items on the floor of their tent and walked out, Aurelius was sure he’d have the brains not to grab them or do anything stupid. It was still better for Este to keep them away from him.

With the salt against him, he hadn’t even thought about the new crazy idea of having a child even though he didn’t want a baby.

“It’s working.”

Jari gave him a small smile as Aurelius poured a little vodka on a rag. “I should have thought of that earlier.”

“I didn’t think of it either. Thanks.”

“Anything for you.”

He meant it too. Aurelius watched him struggle to wipe off the resin. He was too good for Aurelius who had put him through so much shit lately, and his throat tightened. If he’d completely lost it out there…

Jari cleaned up everything and put everything away in the corner before he sat by Aurelius again. “Hey…stop looking like that.”

“This still isn’t a way to live.”

“Can I touch you?”

“Yeah…”

Aurelius couldn’t help the slight cringe as Jari’s fingers touched the scarring. He rested his head against Jari who didn’t move his hand away even though the rough lines under his hand had to be disgusting.

“It’ll be hard to do that yourself, so I’ll do it,” said Jari. “I think switching arms every couple of days would be best. The resin shouldn’t irritate your skin, but if it stays on, and you never give it a chance to breathe, that’s likely not a good idea. It’s not a big deal to redo it, and if it keeps you sane, it’s entirely worth it. We’ll get through this and beat it.”

So optimistic. Aurelius wasn’t going to beat this the way Jari wanted. He knew what he had to do, but Jari’s hopefulness made him doubt himself. If he could get Mammon out of him entirely, live, and…

It wasn’t going to happen, and he should be honest about something, but he couldn’t bear to smash Jari’s hopes into nothing. He was trying so hard to keep up Aurelius’s spirits too. Besides, he’d dig his heels in and refuse to believe. He’d also refuse to take Aurelius to Ash Island.

“You don’t think much of yourself,” said Jari.

“Yes, I do,” muttered Aurelius, even though he knew Jari was right.

“I thought you were a snob like the rest of the court, but I think it’s an act because you thought nobody would stick by you, or come to save you. Without the royal layers, you don’t seem to put much worth on yourself. You are worth everything and more. I just wish you could see it.”

“You’re the only one to stick by me.”

Jari sighed. “If things had been different and Eurig hadn’t been insane, I’m sure he would have started a full war to get you back. Mammon stopped him. Without that thing in his head and pulling too many strings, he would have been a better Father. He wouldn’t have let your brothers get away with shit either. They probably wouldn’t have dared to touch you in the first place.”

Deep down, Aurelius knew he was right about that too. The life he’d had with Eurig overshadowed that knowledge, and being abandoned to the enemy as if forgotten had left a deep scar in his head. In their later years after Mother’s death, he should have been peacefully living at home and not plotting to keep himself safe and alive. People were supposed to be safe with their families.

Jari kissed the side of Aurelius’s head. “One day, you’ll see it.”

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