AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You left me,” snarled Aurelius.
Jari did a couple of ties on the flap. “Este’s tent is right across from us, and I didn’t go inside. We stood by the front and talked. I could see our entrance to make sure no one went in. I think we can probably trust her by now, and I wasn’t that far from you.”
Shame burned in Aurelius because Jari couldn’t stay right with him at all times, and he shouldn’t ask for that anyway.
Jari hesitated. “I’m sorry. I should’ve woken you up to say something. You were asleep, and I thought you needed more rest.”
“You don’t have to,” muttered Aurelius.
“Do you want a hug or-”
“Don’t touch me.” It came out with a bit more nastiness than intended as Aurelius stared down at his bedroll. He and Jari had been all over each other last night, and he'd absolutely loved every second of it and wanted to do it again. Elira, it had been tempting to go farther. At the same time, he couldn’t bear the thought of being touched at the moment even though he liked Jari’s.
For fuck’s sake, he was messed up. How could Jari love someone like him, unless he’d accidentally said those words? Aurelius hadn’t brought it up, but he remembered. He loved Jari too because no one else had ever gone so far for him, but it wouldn’t be fair to say it now.
He stood from the bedroll while Jari remained there, still awkward and unsure. Aurelius tried to stick pieces of his brain back inside their slots. Except something else had jammed itself in his brain, and the whole structure was shakier than ever. He could resist Mammon…for now. He didn’t see how this would last.
“You don’t like me like this,” he said in a level voice. It was best to remind Jari of that, especially since they weren’t thinking with their cocks at the moment. It would help later when Aurelius had to do something that his guard certainly wouldn’t like. It wasn’t like he had many options at this point, considering what he’d turned into.
“I still-”
“Don’t lie to me,” said Aurelius. “I’m dangerous, and you know it.”
“The salt’s helping-”
“It’s temporary, and we both know that.”
Jari’s jaw tightened. “I’m not going anywhere so knock it the fuck off. You’re not chasing me away just because you've grown to expect that.”
Aurelius’s blood should have stuck by him without asking or trying to kill, hurt, and abandon him. Aurelius had used Jari before and done unpleasant things, yet he couldn’t get rid of his guard now even though he tried.
He moved to sit by the small crate where the food still waited although he didn’t have much appetite despite not having a proper meal in a while. He probably should be hungrier.
“You need to eat something.” Jari sat on the floor on the opposite side of the crate. “You need to put something in your stomach.”
“Okay. What did you talk to Este about?” It was better with him around, but Aurelius still needed something to distract him. The tent seemed smaller with Jari, and that meant it was safer too.
“I’ll tell you, but you need to eat. They took Zenith. Technically, all of Zora is Este’s now. Well, she’s saying it’s yours, but her men did the work. She’s already taken King David’s body to the tomb. The Royal one isn’t that far from here.”
Nobody would open it again, so the King’s body being gold would stay a secret. Only a few would know about it. Jari continued while he cut some bread and smeared preserves on it.
“She has some people she trusts. Only they were allowed in the Castle grounds, and they’ll keep quiet so we don’t have rumors getting out of control. I told her they better keep their mouths shut forever. Half of the soldiers are a bit lost as to what is going on exactly, but they’re loyal to her. Also, no one alive has seen you gild. A couple asked Este where the King’s actual body was because they thought the gold one was a statue.”
“What about the other one?”
“In the entrance hall?”
“Yeah.”
Jari pushed over a wooden plate with two slices. “He’s not recognizable anymore.”
“There was blood on the floor.”
Jari cut himself a slice. “The army doesn’t know what you can do or what happened. When those trusted by Este walked in, what do you think it looked like?”
“Like a rapist got what he deserved. I’d have done that a thousand times to Corvo if I could have.”
“That’s your point of view, and you know what happened. To them, it looks like gold was tossed around. Maybe David was going crazy.” Jari shrugged. “I’m sure things your Father has done have gotten around such as him sacrificing chickens. Insanity isn't a new thing.”
