Page 34 of The Anointed's Paladin

“All I’m saying is—”

“You’re a maoferni,” he said, cutting me off. He was really getting irritated. “You can manage a cliff climb.”

I was silent. Fuck. He really seemed set on this. The words danced on my tongue, the magic swirling in me, ready to be used.

Nidori, pull me up there.

I wanted to say them, desperately. But Nidori hadn’t reacted the way I’d expected when she became mine. She was so… happy. I wasn't sure I wanted to ruin that illusion yet.

“So, we’re going with my plan.” Talon continued, taking my silence for sullenness. “Nidori, you ready?”

She nodded and came over to plant a kiss on my cheek. “You’ve got this,” she whispered before launching herself into the air. Somehow, the little action settled my spiraling thoughts, just for a second. We watched as she went higher and higher. Talon had been right about the wind. Her ascent slowed as she took to landing on ledges, growing vines from the cliff to steady herself. I gripped my dagger tightly in my hand as a strong gust blew her into the side of the cliff.

“Can’t we just—” I started.

“Just drop it,”Talon snapped, whirling to me. My whole body seized up at his movement, and I recoiled sharply. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I found my hands raised in defence. No pain came, and I blinked, focusing on Talon again.

Fuck. He was frozen, his mouth partly open, a stupidly hurt look on his face. An uncomfortable feeling twisted in my belly, something I couldn’t quite identify. I lowered my shaking hands, my face heating.

“Look,” he said, pulling back a bit but keeping the hard expression on his face. “I’m not going to let you hurt her.”

“Hurt her?” I said, shocked. There was still a ringing in my ears. I looked up the cliff, barely able to make her out. “She’s the first good thing that’s happened to me in centuries.”

“So, you already have her trapped, then,” he said flatly.

He fell silent after that. We both did.

Way to go, Kaine.

Anger and shame burned within me, and I clenched my jaw, trying to push it away. It was crawling up my throat, trying to form a lump.

Fuck off, I told it.

I had more than enough to deal with right now, besides some idiot trying to make me feel bad. My brain was on the verge of shutting down, and I couldn’t afford that right now.

A long, thick vine grew down from above, landing on the floor with a thump. A cold sweat broke out on my back as I looked at it.

“We’ll attach our packs to the bottom and pull them up after. Do you want—”

“Don’t. Touch me,”I snapped. He looked hurt. Was he just pretending? Perhaps this wasn’t an assassination attempt.

Talon stripped down to his light underclothes, attaching his armour to his pack and securing it to the bottom of the vine. I waited until he was done, and secured mine as well.

Would it be easier for him to kill me if he was above me or below me? He could cut the rope if he was above me. I stepped forward, making sure I was going first. I squeezed my eyes shut, allowing myself a moment before starting to ascend. I took a breath.

You can do hard things, idiot.

Fuck, that’s all your life has been.

Just go one foothold at a time. Don’t look down. You chose this, after all. Chose not to make Nidori do this, chose to protect her. Stupid.

I was doing this all wrong. She was supposed to be helping me, not the other way around.

I kept glancing down, and to avoid comprehending the retreating ground, I found myself watching Talon instead. My half-formed thought of cutting the rope faded—he wasn’t even using it. It looked easy for him. Natural. His wings were essentially another pair of arms,giving him six places to secure a hold, and if he needed any steadying, his tail flicked out and balanced him. He caught my look, eyes hardening.

I looked up again, and the queasy feeling returned to my stomach. My breaths felt tight, shallow, as if part of me was insisting on holding my breath until this was all over. I didn’t want him to catch up to me.

Reach up, foothold, adjust. Repeat. My hands were raw, arms shaking as I continued up. Sweat was coating my back and my palms.

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