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The voice was quiet, but the urge was stronger. Gild.
Some part of his brain said he needed to sit after what he’d done. Or lay down. Or go somewhere silent to curl up so he could let the feelings out or shove them all back down in the box like usual.
He was safe now, and he’d always be safe because he ruled himself. He pictured Corvo’s corpse one floor down. Glee and shock were a strange mixture. He should go gild others, and make it nice and easy as he made himself richer, and richer, and richer, and richer…
His eye was almost as pretty as before. Once the last of the blue vanished, it'd be perfect.
He turned and left the privy room he’d found upstairs.
A ragged laugh escaped him when he came down the stairs to the entrance hall. The bastard was finally fucking dead. The body, with its arms and legs frozen gold, lay on its back with its wide eyes staring at the ceiling. The wound on his crotch was the most obscene.
Aurelius had cut off Corvo’s testicles, shoved them into his screaming mouth to shut him up, and sliced off the precious body part that he’d used countless times to hurt Aurelius. Maybe he’d used it to hurt other innocent boys too.
Aurelius had turned that gold, shoved it in after the testicles, and let the man choke to death on his balls and cock. Glee had filled him while he’d watched Corvo, helpless with his limbs heavy and shiny, fight for air that wouldn’t come anymore. Desperation had filled his eyes, and his strange noises might have been choked pleas. None of it mattered, just like Aurelius’s all those years ago.
Eventually, Corvo had gone still. Disappointment followed because Aurelius could only kill him once.
The uncontrollable stabbing once he'd removed Corvo’s armor hadn’t been needed while Aurelius tried to vent more of the absolute rage that had come on so suddenly. The bastard deserved to die a thousand deaths. He also hadn't needed to slice open Corvo’s gut to spill his intestines.
He'd done it anyway.
He leaned on the banister as he came to the bottom step and covered his face. He didn’t need the stupid, fairy memories even though he was a fairy and more. He could still feel the man’s weight on him, the pain, everything he’d done…The killing hadn’t erased anything. It never would.
He crouched on the bottom step, clutched at the railing, and turned that gold too before resting his forehead on the cool metal. He let the gold spread up the steps, and the urge eased and then increased when he stopped it.
If only he could see those green eyes again. He wouldn’t, and he couldn’t change that either. He gripped the gold rails and stared at the gleam.
He had his gold, and that was all he needed. King David was right when he said it was dependable and wouldn’t leave him.If Aurelius went into the Hall, he could sit for a moment, turn everything, and be the richest Prince right there. He’d always been a Prince in both memories. All of his brothers had been Princes too.
The humans called that place Hell.
He forced himself up and into the Hall. The Castle felt so deserted now, but that was all right. If he couldn’t find his demon brothers, that was all right too. As a fairy, he was fine with loneliness. It kept him safe because no one else was going to do it.
He sat in King David’s chair at the High Table and looked around. What a large space to eat alone. But all David had wanted was to be rich and enjoy his food, right?
Lunch probably would have been served in an hour or so, not that Aurelius cared to eat after feeding Corvo his own genitals. The servants wouldn't be returning anytime soon either.
Two stacked plates had been set out, and the wine glass was empty. A pitcher of water covered with a cloth was ready next to another glass. Gold utensils were set just so. The silver salt cellar was to one side along with a bottle of olive oil. A smaller cellar probably held pepper. A tiny plate sat next to the bottle.
All so King David could come in and have his fine food for his empty, worthless life. So much for that.
He leaned forward, propped his elbows on the table, and lifted the lid from the little cellar. Ground peppercorn lay inside, and he ran a finger through the specks before turning them.
This was all he needed. If a fairy panned in a river or stream and saw so many bright specks, they’d whoop and get that feverish look of greed. He’d seen that look on the human’s face back in the beginning. He couldn’t picture it exactly, but he remembered. Everybody thought Eve eating the forbidden fruit was the first sin. It wasn’t. She’d thirsted for all of the knowledge God had kept from them, and that was greed.
Then again, maybe the forbidden fruit shouldn’t have been left around in the open.
He lifted the salt cellar lid to see the fine, white specks to be sprinkled on a meal that would never come now. He touched a finger to the side to feel the smooth silver and decided to turn it. Nothing happened.
The most beautiful had said it wasn’t for them.
A sudden movement by the door caught his eye, and he looked up. Of course, he was going insane. Mammon had merged with him, and his brain was cracking becausehecouldn’t possibly be standing there. It was a want, but no matter how much he changed things into gold, he couldn’t havethat. He didn’t need it anyway as long as he had the beautiful, yellow metal that everyone wanted so fucking badly.
“Aurelius?” Jari’s stricken face sent something lancing through him.
It sounded like him, but it couldn’t be. Jari came into the Hall with his sword loose in his hand.
“It’s me,” he said.
