Page 63 of Gilded Crown

“He was quite torn up,” said Jari. “I don’t know how he made it this long. He looks like he’s been walking for days.”

“I think he wanted someone to deal with his body instead of animals possibly eating it out here,” said Aurelius. “I told him we’d give him a cart to ride in and figure something out, but…It all happened so fast.”

The whole moving mass had to slow, and people were craning their necks to look. The closer ones stared at the man’s ragged appearance, the knife clutched in his hand, and the blood. One man came forward to check the servant’s pockets and found nothing. A few muttered about finding family or someone he knew, and the news started to spread.

Two soldiers wrapped him in a sheet and placed him in a cart so he could be buried later.

The whole procession started once more as everyone talked about the poor, unfortunate man who’d been so gutted by his wife taking the baby and running away.

They’d never know how easy his passing was or that Aurelius had something in his pack that could turn every single one of them into a mindless slave.

Chapter Fourteen

“We need you sane,” hissed Jari. “If anybody ever finds out-such a powerful item-”

“I’m not using it to lay out the opposition, so calm the fuck down,” Aurelius hissed back.

“I saw that look in your eye, and I know you haven't forgotten-”

“You hold such power for a second and see if it doesn’t occur to you. Ithoughtabout it, but I think about a lot of things. It doesn’t mean I do them.”

Jari pointed at the Prince. “I don’t want you to even think about it!”

Aurelius jabbed a finger in his direction. “You don’t control my head, so watch your mouth, or I’ll make you fucking walk.”

“Go ahead and try,” said Jari, and Mercury snorted.

They were about a hundred yards ahead of everyone else, and Jari was aware they probably looked like they were having a lover’s spat. Aurelius was rigid in the saddle, and Jari forced himself to take a deep breath.

“Aurelius, please listen to me,” Jari begged. “After seeing that, I’m afraid the temptation might be too much. The crown isn’t for gilding. It’s for control, and you’ve got the hand that can kill from afar too.”

“Do you think I’m that weak and stupid?”

“No. I’m scared to lose you before we can be rid of those things. You can’t get that far and go insane. It’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair.”

“It’s also not even about being weak. We should put them somewhere.”

“I still have to get the fourth item. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the rest wherever.”

“We’ll destroy the three first, okay?”

“What if that doesn’t work, and I still have this streak, but the fourth item with Mammon in it is enough to drive me insane? We don’t even know if melting them all will work. Why didn’t Elira do that?”

That had occurred to Jari, but he shoved away that possibility. There had to be a way to save the Prince. “I don’t know. Why did she disappear in the physical? That’s not the point.”

Aurelius turned to face him. Thankfully, the gold steak in his eye didn’t appear any bigger. “Eurig said you can’t recover from the key. As long as I don’t gild out of greed, I’ll be fine, and I’ll have time to live.”

“Okay.”

“But if it looks like we're on the losing side, I will do what I need. If I have to retreat, and it seems all is lost, I will get the crown and end it with me on the winning side.”

“Aurelius-”

“It’s that or Zylem. If the items never existed, him on the throne would still be a nightmare. He already has a harem of slaves he’s raping. Do you want that to go on for decades?”

Jari couldn’t pretend Aurelius was wrong. “No.”

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