Page 78 of Gilded Crown

The cavalry marched in, and the surrendered Novans made no move to grab their weapons. Jari watched in stunned silence for a few seconds before he turned to Aurelius who spoke.

“I told Gullveig I planned far better than him.”

Este’s horse snorted and stamped like he hadn’t had enough action. “You could have told us you had someone inside besides an herb woman.”

“You should plan ahead and fight like no one is on your side.” Aurelius took off his helmet.

“You do have someone on your side,” said Jari.

“But you were outside with me. Those that I hoped would be loyal were inside, and they could have followed Gullveig.”

“How did you manage it?” asked Este.

“Before you came back, Jari, we had all new soldiers on the Palace grounds, but some of the city ones were the same, and nobody had switched the ones who would be in charge of the cannons. I paid off several to take care of things if needed. I said no war was planned, but my brothers weren’t to be trusted. I figured that if I ever had to flee, help from Darlim would be myonly choice. Getting into Morning Glory would be a lot easier with aid from those loyal to the rightful Crown Prince and King.”

“And they went with that?”

“By this point, most knew my brothers weren’t pleasant, to say the least,” said Aurelius. “Zylem was the worst, and they all took slaves, indulged themselves however they wanted, and were cruel. I’m not exactly fluffy and lovable-”

Jari almost snorted. Fluffy wasn't a word he’d use to describe Aurelius.

“-but everyone knows I’ve never taken a criminal to be my sex slave, I don’t rape, and I wasn’t like them. If you had to pick between me or any of my brothers, who would you pick?

“You,” Este said without preamble before she nudged her horse into a trot. “I also don’t see you coating someone’s corpse in gold.”

The Novan soldiers had been rounded into a group, and some Wockstons were going around the side of the Palace to check for more. A couple of Wockstons were collecting the abandoned weapons.

“You paid these men off too?” asked Jari.

“No. I didn’t try with the new men on the grounds because they barely knew me. I think they’ve surrendered because they’ve had enough, and it’s clearly over. I doubt they ever wanted to fight for Gullveig.”

“I could kiss you,” said Jari. “You’re a snake, but we got in faster than I anticipated, and we probably would have lost far more soldiers in different circumstances.”

“It helps when around a third of the enemy is down and out to start with.”

“It saved a lot of Wockston lives. You still could have told me.”

“They could have decided to stay on Gullveig’s side,” said Aurelius. “Do you want your hopes brought up only to be smashed down?”

“No, but-”

“Trust me. It was better this way. You don’t want soldiers to get too comfortable and think getting in will be easy. If everything goes wrong, their morale will take a beating. It’s also hard to rely on men who might decide the closer ruler is something to fear instead of the one outside. If they had betrayed me, and things turned out to be more difficult-”

“All right, I get it.” Aurelius had also planned things out at a time when he didn’t have Jari with him. He was always distrustful, so why would that change all at once?

“You can tell me how brilliant I am,” Aurelius added as he pulled a cloth from his right greave to wipe the gore from his sword.

“Watch it, big head. You’re not hurt, right?”

“No. You?”

“No.”

“Come on.”

Este had asked the surrendered Novans in the yard where Gullveig was, but everyone swore they had no clue. The last they’d seen of him, he’d gone inside after returning from his talk with Aurelius. One said he thought Gullveig intended to put on his armor so he could fight too. Jari almost laughed at that. He’d never fight like a man for what he’d taken through trickery.

He and Aurelius went inside with several soldiers who immediately hurried to start checking the Palace. Jari knew Gullveig was already gone, and he highly doubted any soldiers were hiding and planning a final attack. They still had to do it just in case. Aurelius went into the Hall, and Jari paused in the doorway to watch him.

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