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He rolled through just in time and hit the floor on the other side as his heart pounded. Maybe it was set to close faster if Mammon left his cave.
He'd made it, and Jari had to be alright. Somehow. That fool shouldn’t have come back. He was a damn lion, but he couldn’t kill a dragon with his bare hands and a sword.
They couldn’t get this far for him to die.
Aurelius had no idea what to do except try to follow. The sunlight made him squint when he left the cave. In the distance, Mammon was a small figure, and he couldn’t tell if Jari was still on him or not.
Aurelius crashed through underbrush and trees as he ran that way. With the canopy, he couldn’t see Mammon anymore, and it was hard to keep straight. Vines and branches snagged at him, and a thin one cut his cheek. He still didn’t stop. If Jari had somehow hung on for a bit and fallen into the water, he might not be able to make it out if he was hurt and too weak to swim.
He dropped the lantern at some point and forced his legs to keep going. Just one foot in front of the other. The woods seemed to go forever, and he could barely breathe when he couldhave sworn that something yanked on his brain. The forest floor rushed up to meet him.
He woke up on his stomach and pushed himself to his knees. Fuck. He’d never run so hard that he made himself pass out. He hadn’t even known that was possible, and he forced himself to get up and keep going. That wasn’t holding him back. Thankfully, he didn’t pass out again.
The length of the island seemed impossible to cross. Gullveig had said it wasn’t that big, and in a way, he was right. It still took forever with the underbrush slowing him and the panic in his gut.
He smelled smoke, and when he reached the edge of the tree line, he saw why. He was pretty sure the two charred, fairy-shaped things were bodies. What must have been a ship had fallen apart, and bits of blackened wood drifted in the water.
“Shit.”
Mammon had blown fire down as he passed overhead. He was nowhere in the sky ahead, and his heart sank as he imagined Jari possibly drowned and lost out at sea somewhere. When he fully burst out onto the beach and looked to his right, he spotted a tiny figure on the sand.
The sand tried to trip him as he pumped his legs. It was Jari. Had he fallen? Aurelius gasped for air and wanted to scream again when he saw Jari lying as if dead. He was soaked and must have swam back.
A wicked cut on his back showed through his shirt, and blood had tinted the wet fabric. There was too much red.
“Jari!” Aurelius collapsed to his knees. “Get up! Don’t you dare fucking die on me!”
Jari grunted. “Can you let me have a minute before you start with the orders, Your Majesty?”
Aurelius didn’t know whether to smack, hug, or kiss him. Jari rolled a bit to look up and smile. Aurelius’s eye stung with tears even though he tried to hold it back.
“It’s okay,” said Jari. “He’s dead, and he drifted into the Mist. I put the items in your pack, and it snagged on his wing. Everything's truly gone. The saltwater weakened him.”
Aurelius stared at Jari as he sat up. “Wait, you’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“There’s a lot of blood.”
“Help me take off my shirt, and you can look at it. I feel like shit, and my shoulder is killing me, but I’ll live.” Jari’s eyes widened as he took Aurelius’s face. “Your eye…it's blue. Do you feel different?”
Aurelius had been so terrified and panicked, he’d only been focusing on that and finding Jari. Now that he thought about it, there was no desire to have a kid or gild. He didn’t even have the slight urge that he’d dealt with his entire life.
That’s why he’d passed out. He hadn’t blacked out from panic and a lack of air. Mammon was gone from the realm, the items were too, and Aurelius was free. He didn't have to die, he wouldn't go insane, and he wouldn't wake up to find Jari turned to gold beside him.
He burst into tears, unable to hold it back.
“It’s okay.” Jari cupped his cheek. “Breathe for a moment.”
“I could almost smack you,” growled Aurelius. “I was afraid you'd die-only you would jump on a fucking dragon and ride him out like-like a horse.”
Jari suddenly chuckled. “To save you, yes. I can’t believe you ran all this way.”
“That’s nothing. You killed a dragon. You are my lion.”
***
The cut wasn’t enough to kill Jari. He was banged up pretty badly, and Aurelius helped to support him as they made the long walk back around the beach. Gullveig’s boat was no more, and two sailors were destroyed. Hopefully, the beach would wash away the charred remains. Considering they had followed Gullveig out here, Aurelius had a feeling they'd been outlaws of some sort, and the realm wouldn't miss them.
