Page 30 of Gilded Crown

Eurig mumbled to himself as he entered the sitting room. Instead of leaving, Jari was positive he was tinkering with the many gold items on his shelves. He dared to peek and sawEurig’s back as he fiddled with something to the left of the fireplace.

Why couldn’t he go and stop looking at his pile of gilded junk? Jari drew back his head as Eurig turned. His muffled footsteps sounded on the floor as he started pacing and grumbling under his breath. Jari started to sweat and cursed himself again for wearing the high-neck shirt. As he prayed for the footsteps to head toward the door, they started coming closer.

No, no, no. He shouldn’t have come in here. He tried to make himself smaller as his heart pounded.

Mumbling and gesturing to himself, the King went right by the armchair. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. Eurig turned and stuttered to a stop as his eyes went right to Jari who froze and tried to come up with a good excuse as to why he was there.

“You!” Eurig snarled as he darted forward.

Chapter Seven

Jari jumped up and avoided the King’s fist. “I-I was just coming to talk to you!”

“Bullshit! I know what you’re doing in here.” Eurig advanced toward Jari who hastily backed up.

“I wanted to know more about your idea on harvesting spinny thread for silk because I had the same idea. Your way sounded much better.” The King’s brain was partly toasted, so maybe it would work. “I came in to speak to you, but…I got nervous.”

“You’re after my crown!” shouted Eurig. “I remember you. You’re Aurelius’s whore.”

“No, I’m not!”

“He wants my throne, just like my other two sons and the rest of the court. I’ve given them everything, and they still don’t appreciate it.”

Dear Elira, why did he have to keep focusing on that? Jari paused in the doorway to the bedroom as his anger got the better of him. “Your son was a prisoner, but I don’t remember hearing about any invasion to get him back or to get revenge. It sounds to me like you fucking abandoned him, and he got lucky when he escaped the Zorians. Do you think a bunch of materialistic things make up for-”

Eurig bared his teeth and came after him again. Jari hauled ass into the bedroom. He’d royally fucked this up, and his options had boiled down to a couple that all ended in potential death. If he could get out first, maybe Aurelius could smooth this over with words although the chances of that were pretty small too.

He wouldn’t be getting out with the King blocking the door. Jari jumped up onto the bed, went across, and hopped off on theother side as he thought about his sword. Eurig was gripping his hilt.

“He doesn’t even want the crown,” fibbed Jari. “Why would he want that cursed thing? It’s your second son that you need to worry-”

Eurig blinked before he drew his weapon. “You can’t know about that. I’ll stick you like a pig! You’re just a whore for my son.”

“Zylem’s been sneaking it out-”

Eurig wasn’t listening. Jari drew his sword as he came around the bed for more room to swing. Steel sang as he parried a swipe. Eurig went for a thrust in the second that Jari was open, and he jumped aside. He was tempted to use his fire, but with too much flammable stuff around, that might not end well for him either.

The King was more on the hefty side with the weight of a person who eats well and has decent muscle but isn’t as active or young as they used to be. He still had a strong swing, and he must have been confident that he could quickly end this. Jari parried the next that came with enough strength to reverberate up his arm. He had to back up or take a cut to the arm that probably would have gone to the bone.

In a split second, he knew only one of them was getting out of this alive. If he tried to go back over the bed, he’d likely take a hit to the side. He couldn’t go left, and even if he did escape, the King would have guards go after Jari.

He’d never make it past the Palace guards, and this wasn’t something Aurelius could talk their way out of. It had gone too far. Jari had no good reason to be in the King’s private space, and the King would say Jari was trying to take his crown.

Eurig raised his sword. Jari barely thought before reacting in the split second that the King was open. He launched himself off his back foot, thrust, and felt the useless resistance of silk, skin, and flesh. His blade sank into Eurig’s upper gut, and he rammedit in until the hilt stopped it. The King grunted as Jari planted his boot in the King’s stomach and kicked him back as he yanked on his sword.

He jerked away to avoid the last, half-hearted swing, and Eurig stumbled. He dropped his sword, clutched his stomach as blood blossomed on the white silk of his clothes, and sank to his knees. He looked down at the growing blood as if unable to believe it was real.

“Fuck.” Jari kicked the King’s sword out of his reach. “I’m sorry, but you’re already lost.”

Eurig collapsed on his side as he said something. Jari tried to go past him and almost tripped as the King’s fingers suddenly locked around his left ankle. Instinctively, he raised his blade.

“Jari,” whispered the King. “You have to tell him.”

He paused with his weapons as he stared into Eurig’s eyes which were entirely free of the gold. They were just as deep of a blue as Aurelius’s, minus that one streak he now had, and he looked…lucid.

“He can’t let the items get a hold of him.” Blood bubbled from Eurig’s lips as he pressed his hand against his bleeding stomach, and the fingers of his other hand loosened.

Jari fell to his knees beside the King who probably hadn’t been this lucid in decades. “How? You put the key in his eye, and-”

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