Page 8 of Gilded Crown

After a while longer, Jari figured he could get his dinner from downstairs real quick, bring it back, eat, and the Prince would be ready to go to dinner in the Hall like before. Afterward, they needed to have a serious talk without Aurelius lying and withholding information like before. Or postponing, as he’d put it.

In the hallway by the stairs, he stopped and almost thought it was Zylem, but it was Gullveig. He’d cut his hair short too, probably to match his shitty role model in life. Jari stepped back to let the Prince come up, go by, and hopefully avoid anything. Gullveig wasn’t so confrontational on his own.

The youngest Prince paused halfway up the flight to stare at Jari as if he’d grown an extra head. “You’re back?”

“Yes.” Jari kept his voice neutral.

“Oh. Why?”

Jari gave a partial shrug. Wasn’t it fucking obvious? Aurelius didn’t feel safe here.

“Well, I’m sorry about that…thing. It was Zylem’s idea.”

The thing? Because smashing a wine bottle into Aurelius’s head and drugging him was just a minor mistake. He’d participated and helped to attack Aurelius, so he could shove theapology right up his arse. He might have been a less dangerous snake, but he was still one.

“When Zylem says something, he doesn’t take no for an answer,” continued Gullveig.

“Okay.” Was it too hard to grow a pair of nuts and say no? Also, couldn’t he fucking go? Jari wanted to get some food and return to eat, not listen to shit pour from his mouth.

“Sometimes, being the youngest brother is hard because you want acceptance, but it doesn’t always come so easily.” Gullveig came to the top step. “I'm just a replacement in case the first three Princes are dead. When there are more than two siblings, the youngest is either treasured because they’re the last one, or they’re overlooked because the older ones are hogging up too much attention. It’s still the same with quadruplets even though we come at once, but you don’t really get it, do you? Aren’t you an only child?”

“I understand.” Jari struggled not to let his eyes glaze over. If Gullveig wasn’t a snake, Jari would shoulder past him to get down the stairs that he was blocking. How fast could he take his dagger from his belt?

Gullveig tilted his head and a tinge of imperiousness close to Aurelius’s came over his face. “You don’t use Your Highness. You don’t even say m’lord.”

“My apologies, Your Highness. I’m a commoner. I’m not used to it.” Jari wanted to scream at him to move and fuck off.

“You had time to learn manners before. I thought Aurelius would teach you how to speak to your betters.” A sneer to rival the other two formed on Gullveig’s lips. “But Zylem was right when he said you’re just a stupid ox, so what-”

The slug to Jari’s back came so fast that he barely had time to think of what to do with his body before a sack went over his head. Another fist, likely Gullveig's, slammed into his gut, knocking the air and any words from him. Zylem snappedsomething. Jari’s fist flared with fire for a second before something metal clanked and wrapped around his neck tight enough to cut off speech.

A chain with lirek. The fire on his fist instantly snuffed itself out. His first thought, besides the fact that he couldn’t breathe, was that Zylem probably had that so he could attack Aurelius some other time.

Jari was yanked backward. He blindly swiped with his bare fists as he tried to breathe, and the arms around him tightened. Fuck. If they got him into either Prince’s rooms, nobody would hear shit. Aurelius was asleep and too far away. Gullveig grunted as Jari supposedly got a hit on his arm, but neither Prince let go.

“Get the rope,” said Zylem. “You know where it is.”

A door slammed, and Jari was thrown down. Someone still had a hold of his left arm, and he immediately reached for the chain with his right. He only managed to loosen before a knee was in his back a second later. He assumed it was Zylem who grabbed his right wrist.

Jari tried to twist because if he could get himself right enough, he was stronger and could get Zylem off. The damn knee sent a shock of pain through his back as it dug in.

“Fight me like a man, you fucking bitch!” Jari snarled.

“Shut up, prick.”

Gullveig’s excited voice came closer, and he added his knee to Jari’s upper back. “I saw you looking out from your room. I knew you were thinking something.” He chuckled.

“Good plans come to me at the best times,” said Zylem. “This is payback for kicking me in the gut. That still hurts.”

“You're a rapist and should hang,” snarled Jari.

“I’m not raping you. I wouldn’t fuck a dirty ox like you.”

They shoved his face into the cloth carpet when he tried to shout, held him down, and tied his wrists behind his back.

“What now?” asked Gullveig.

“I’ve got an idea to have fun with our peasant here and make him useful.”

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