Page 10 of Gilded Lies

“For fuck’s sake, I’m worn out.”

“Just think of the pay you’ll get.”

Aurelius bared his teeth in the dark. That’s all he was to others in general: a source of money in some way.

A couple must have gone to switch out the tired horses which meant they were near a town or village, but not close enough to be caught or seen. If Aurelius screamed at the top of his lungs, no one would hear except for the bastards right outside. The men had money to make up the difference for horses and buy food if needed.

This had been well thought out.

The horses were hitched up, and they continued. The hours passed in a blur as Aurelius either dozed or stared into space. He couldn’t relax enough to properly sleep. Mostly, he tried to imagine Jari’s face and the way his lips felt.

Aurelius was used to bulkier men hurting him. Except for Jari. Even when he’d pinned Aurelius to the wall and kissed him, he hadn’t hurt him. Something about him said that if he had a chance to throw all restraint out the window, he’d was a man who fucked hard in bed and would go to whatever length to make sure the other had their pleasure.

Elira, despite Aurelius’s fear and refusal to try sex again, that man had been tempting. On that day in the training room, he’d been sorely tempted to let things go much further. To have that hot, muscled body against him…fear had won over as usual.

With the right one, it seemed Jari could hand over control. Their time in the abandoned house had shown that. Aurelius hadn’t needed to restrain him although if they’d had the chance to do that again, he would have just for the sheer pleasure of having a large man at his mercy.

Jari had submitted willingly with the ache of a man who cared more for the other’s enjoyment and was prepared to do anything for them.

Aurelius wouldn’t get that special time with him again. He’d done it that night, trying to say without words how much he craved and yearned for the freedom in bed that Jari had tried to give him before.

They finally stopped on the third night. They grumbled about how tired they were and how good it would be to sleep on something solid. As if they didn’t have a naked captive in a cart who was surely terrified and practically jiggled to pieces.

They unhitched the horses, and Aurelius soon smelled food. He ate some of his chippy blocks, and every bite turned to paste in his mouth. Still, it was sustenance, and everyone said chippy beans were good for people. He softened bites in his mouth with water, and they satisfied him enough. If some slim chance of escape appeared to him, he’d need energy.

He listened by the hole, but the men spoke of mundane shit from what he caught, so he didn’t learn anything important. He didn’t even catch a name. After a while, it seemed they had gone to bed, and while he couldn’t see, he imagined they were asleep around a little fire. Surely, one must be awake to keep watch.

Aurelius took the chance and let his right hand dangle through the hole. His fingers brushed the grass. Nobody shouted at him to stop trying any funny business, and he swung his hand a bit to see if the movement caught any attention. With his face pressed against the wood and fresh air tickling his nose, all he heard were a few faint snores.

Perhaps they had orders to not touch him at all. If they were careful or drugged his food to make him pass out, they could restrain him to prevent him from gilding. But the risk might be too great in their eyes.

And if they had orders, bringing him to King David in such a state might see them swinging from a noose. He didn’t know if any of them had healing powers or not. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t harm Aurelius if he acted up.

He felt along the bottom of the cart as far as he could reach to see if there was a splinter he could possibly work loose. He’d feel better with some form of weapon even if it was pitiful andpractically useless. Unfortunately, everything was smooth, and a loud snort made him withdraw his hand.

Since it was quiet and still, he checked all over the cart for a loose board or nail. Nothing. With nothing else to do, he fell into a deeper sleep for the first time by the hole since everything was still. The cart moving in the morning awoke him.

He received the new day’s rations a few hours later. Other than food and water, nobody paid attention to him. The men did their cycles and went through the night again.

Aurelius grew achy from the constant rattling, the hard floor, and not much time of stillness. His back ached too. He could lay on it when he had a bed, although he often tended to sleep on his sides.

He was used to oiling his back at least once a day. Consistency had helped the good skin between the scars, and years ago, he’d done it at least twice a day. It helped to prevent too much pulling and tightening around the scars which was a torment.

Unfortunately, some of the whip scars were quite deep, and they still created a sort of ache deeper down. He’d grown used to it in a way simply because he had no other option but to deal with it. It wasn’t something that would ever go away.

It was worse with days of no oil, not bathing, sweating in the heat, and finding it difficult to remain comfortable. He found some relief by lying on his stomach, but his hip bones would grow sore from pressing into the wood.

He tried to deal with it by going elsewhere in his head. His old coping mechanism had come back so fast. Occasionally, a little worm of hope tried to get in and say that Jari would save him.

He always shoved it back down because hope brought disappointment, and that made everything worse. Two years of imprisonment had taught him that. His own Father hadn’t saved him, and while something special was there between him and Jari, it wouldn’t be enough.

Why would anything be different this time?

Chapter Two

Mercury huffed and continued trotting along that morning as they followed the ruts that went on through the grassy plains and seemed to never end. To give Mercury a break, Jari had gotten down to walk him, and he ignored his exhaustion as he forced himself to keep going at a good clip.

He wanted to scream. The men who’d stolen Aurelius were still ahead somewhere.

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