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Jari grabbed Aurelius’s hand and shoved it into the opening. “Feel the salt. Dig your fingers in. See? Isn’t it better?”
Dear Elira, please let it work. He noticed the locket a few feet away, and his gut further dropped. He’d ripped that off, and that meant a little salt inside wasn’t enough. Aurelius heaved for breath under him, and he dug his fingers into the grit as if he couldn’t get enough.
Jari held the sack as he scrambled to get off and pull on him. “Sit up.”
More salt fell to the floor as Aurelius trembled. “I’m sorry-”
“Shh.” Jari undid the ties around the mouth of the sack and completely wrapped them around Aurelius’s wrists to secure his hand inside. “Do not take your hand out of that bag.”
“I wanted them. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Jari hadn’t realized his heart had been pounding so hard, and he took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have brought you, but I couldn’t Fuck.”
Aurelius sniffled and suddenly jerked forward. Jari grabbed his arm, but he was going for the locket.
“I didn’t mean to break it!” He grabbed it with his free hand. “I had to take it off. I mean-I didn’t want to, but I did-I don’t want to hurt you, Jari.”
He started to sob, and Jari grabbed him to pull him against him. “I know you didn’t want to.”
Shit. With the items so close, Mammon had told him to take off the locket. A little bit longer, and Aurelius would have truly attacked Jari. He couldn’t keep the items with them in the tent. If that happened again, Jari might never wake up.
“I wanted to hurt you after I took off the locket.”
“No, Mammon wanted that. Not you.Youdidn’t shock or gild me.”
Fuck. If it made him take off the locket, was it smarter? Stronger? No wonder Aurelius was crying. This thing wanted him to get the items, get rid of Jari, and be free to start havoc.
“What did it want you to do?”
“I don’t know. We just wanted them, and when you brought me in here, it whispered to remove the locket.”
“Is that the first time?”
“Yes.”
“Was it telling you something when we first left?”
Aurelius shook his head. “I didn’t want to be left alone. That’s the only reason why I wanted to come. Nothing happened until you started digging.”
“You didn’t turn me gold, and I know the real you is in there. If it ever tells you again, tell me, and-” They needed something better. “Let me see that.”
He took the locket from the Prince’s shaking hand. The clasp wasn’t broken, but the last link had since Aurelius had yanked it off. Jari spotted the broken link on the floor.
“Look, you can clasp it on the next one, and it’s like nothing happened. It’s not broken.” He moved Aurelius’s hair and managed to get it secured before he hugged the Prince again.
Aurelius sniffed against his shoulder. “It’s better with salt.”
Enough direct contact worked great, but Aurelius couldn’t keep his hand in a sack of salt all of the time. He’d only have one free hand, and life wouldn’t get a lot harder. It would draw attention too, and the fib about a skin problem likely wouldn’t stretch that far.
What if it wasn’t visible? He couldn’t moisten salt and spread it on Aurelius’s skin because it would dry and soon fall off. Any kind of paste or moist stuff wouldn’t work for long.
Unless…Jari wasn’t entirely positive if his idea was any good. They’d have to try it.
“Aurelius, do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“I have an idea to make you feel better.”
