Page 32 of Gilded Crown

Zylem was talking to a courtier on the couch, and Aurelius was still in the same chair. He set down his wine glass and stood as Jari approached.

Jari leaned in close to his head and whispered, although he wasn’t sure if anyone was paying much attention to them in particular. “Is your stomach still upset?”

“A little.” Aurelius’s breath was soft on Jari’s ear. “The wine didn’t help.”

All Jari could smell was sunflowers as he tried to think of something else to say. “Erm, maybe you shouldn’t eat those sausages for breakfast anymore. They often don’t sit well with you.”

Aurelius’s fingers were suddenly on his jaw, and his thumb rubbed along in a way that made Jari’s cock twitch even though it wasn’t the time. “You worry too much.”

A lady giggled as her folded wings twitched. “Your guard’s a bit forward, isn’t he? Awfully close.”

“Jari merely worries too much about everything.” Aurelius drew back.

“With a fine body like that, you must not mind,” she said boldly, and she made no effort to be discreet as she let her eyes slide down Jari’s body. For Elira’s sake, they didn’t have time for this.

“I think I need a few minutes to rest before lunch,” said Aurelius. “Come on, Jari.”

“Resting.” She snorted.

“Why don’t you direct such comments at your husband?” asked Aurelius.

She glanced across the room and made a slight face. Jari wasn’t sure which man was her husband, but she clearly wasn’t interested in “resting” in bed with him. Jari’s heart pounded as they entered the hall, and Aurelius wiped his thumb on his dark coat.

“If you’re going to kill, you should check your face before you go out among others,” he said in a strained voice. “You’re lucky no one seemed to notice.”

Jari’s mouth went dry. One little dot of blood…“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Where is it?” Aurelius muttered as they strode along.

“Under your bed.”

“Him?”

“His bedroom floor. It's bad. He would have killed me. You can’t use it to get out of this. It kills. He said so before he…”

Aurelius seemed to get it. The King was dead, the crown was under his bed, and they needed to get the fuck out. He didn’t say another word until they entered his rooms.

“Pack whatever you can. You’ve got five minutes.”

Jari rammed clothes into his pack. His leather armor was still in the chest from last time, and he hastily put that on, just in case. After redressing, he swung his cloak around himself and hurried into Aurelius’s bedroom.

The Crown Prince shoved a bunch of rings into his hands. “I packed all of my money, but still…”

Rings could be traded for food or a room later on if needed. If something happened to Aurelius, Jari wouldn’t be stuck with nothing. Except…fuck that. He was getting Aurelius out of here alive no matter what. He dropped them into his pocket.

The Prince swung a plain cloak around himself, yanked the hatbox from under his bed, and threw it open. He took the crown and pushed it into his pack where Jari caught a glimpse of the gold hand. He cinched the pack and shouldered it.

“We’re going hunting overnight if anyone tries to speak to us. We’ll pretend to talk about it as we leave if someone’s nearby. Follow me.”

“He tried to tell me that the fourth item is in a guard. I didn’t understand him.”

Aurelius’s stride faltered, but he said nothing as he led Jari through the halls. Jari heard a woman’s high-pitched laugh down one way. The courtiers would be coming out and spreading through the Palace as usual.

“Why are we going this way?” he said as they strode down a particular hall.

“Library.”

“We don’t have time to go to the library.”

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