Page 75 of Gilded Crown

“Because I care about things that will go on long after I’m dead. I’m not going to have children, pass this curse down, and leave Nova to whoever comes after me. Not like that. I’m not going to leave the people in the hands of a man who will pass it down and terrify the citizens. I’ve fought this thing in my head for almost twenty-four years, Gullveig, and once I could gild, Istill fought. You’ve known your power for a few years, and you’re already buckling under it.”

Gullveig’s streaked eyes flashed in the sun. “I’m giving you a chance to live, and I don’t care what you do afterward as long as you never step foot into Nova again. The crown is the toll.”

“No. I’ll give you one chance and permit you to live in prison. I could never trust you to be free. Or I can grant you a quick death if you’d prefer. Those are your options.”

Gullveig chuckled. “Morning Glory is made for defense.”

“There’s more than one way to win this battle.”

“If you think you’ll send soldiers up the cliffs, good luck. They’re manned, and most of your men would die before they got halfway up.”

“We’d never be so foolish as to try to climb the cliffs. That’s ridiculous.”

“If you take the front way, those guarding the cliffs will converge. If you get lucky and make it close to the gate, you’ll only have more and more to fight.”

Gullveig gave Aurelius a look as if he expected the Crown Prince to give up right then and there.

Aurelius sighed. “You may have the basics down, but I’m an enemy from the inside, and those are always the most dangerous. I know your Commander will have sent men to the outer cliffs to make sure we weren’t trying to get in another way or sending fliers that way to sneak into Morning Glory from the sides. They won’t be returning when the battle starts, so your army is already cut, and we haven’t even started yet.” He lightly clapped. “Good job, dear brother. You gave it a good try, and you did better than Zylem, but you’ll have to get up a lot earlier to beat me. You should have put more effort into defense instead of practicing what you’d say to me when I returned.”

Gullveig’s sneer dropped for a second before he forced it back up. “You’re so full of shit. You’ll say anything-”

“Those patrolling the cliffs are full of smoke now, and I’m sure a good deal are splattered on the ground.”

Jari cast him a glance. What the fuck was he talking about?

“I might be cold, and friends aren’t my thing, but I know how to pay people and talk them into what I want,” said Aurelius. “Everyone knows I’m not exactly pleasant, but I’ve also never been like my brothers. You probably don’t even know about the herb woman in the forest. You only thought ahead when it seemed war was imminent.”

Jari almost wanted to gap at him, and he managed to keep his expression like he’d known that the whole time. He thought the herb woman out in the forest to the south and still within the mountains had just been someone for Aurelius to use once to check Blake’s herbs.

“Mother was also planning ahead in case something happened,” said Aurelius. “I was her favorite, and it wasn’t because I’m the oldest. She loved all of her sons, but she saw how the darkness in all of you grew despite her efforts. She knew very well I could turn out the same in the end even though I wasn’t at the time. She paid that herb woman to be loyal to me and only me in the future, just in case my brothers ever decided to betray me and cause a war.

“What herb woman!?” yelled Gullveig. “You’re lying and simply trying to bluff-”

“Like I’d tell you. You should have thought of things years ago like Mother did, and later, me.”

“You’re full of fucking lies. You’ll suffocate like Zylem. When I get a hold of you-”

“Show your teeth, puppy. If you flee, I’ll have you hunted down, and you’ll never spend another day in this realm without looking over your shoulder.”

“Fuck you. I’m done.” Gullveig whirled his horse around and snapped his fingers.

“Yes, you are done,” said Aurelius.

Gullveig didn’t grace him with another response. The two guards with the hammock rode forward, yanked away the blanket, dumped the load on the ground, and turned to follow their pissed King. Without a backward glance, Gullveig rode toward the pass with his head up.

In the bright morning sun, Zylem lay gilded on the ground with his face frozen in a mask. Shock, horror, anger. It was hard to tell which had been strongest in his final seconds. His hands were out as if to fend someone off. Everything from his short hair to his boots had a perfect, rigid, smooth coating, and beyond the shiny metal, the second-oldest Prince lay suffocated.

Even Jari hadn’t suspected Gullveig of something like this. He’d appeared content to be the second pea in the pod as long as Zylem did more of the thinking and doing with his impulsiveness. This whole time, he’d been the smartest besides Aurelius, lurking and hiding in his den and waiting for a heel to bite as soon as it passed by.

Aurelius stared at his gilded brother as Este and a few others approached. “What is that?”

“Gullveig killed Zylem and had him covered in gold,” said Aurelius.

Este tilted her head. “That’s a statue of Gullveig. Are we supposed to kiss its ass?”

“It’s not Gullveig, and I can tell my brothers apart. I can guarantee you that my oldest brother is under that gilt, which means that needs to be taken in so we can properly bury it later.”

“How did he get him posed like that? And-”

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