Page 38 of The Anointed's Paladin

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged. I hadn’t told anyone this, except Hulm.

“Earlier. I know my appearance is menacing. And I have this curse. It can get the better of me if I’m not careful. I can let it slip out sometimes.”

He snorted, cutting it off with a pained hiss. I focused on his blood, trying not to be distracted by his bare skin in front of me.

“Darling, this isn’t about you.You think you’re the only enferni I’ve met who’s triggered Mirilith’s fervour?”

I stopped and looked up at him. He’d met others with it?

Kaine continued. “I know I… I’m not perfect. I know you hate me for trapping Nidori. I can see it in your eyes. I don’t really blame you.”

My mind slowly worked through what he said, still distracted from the revelation about my condition.

“I don’t think I hate you,” I said slowly. “I think Idid.”

“I mean, I did stab you,” he said, leaning back against the wall. I was finished with the dried blood and was now rinsing the scratches.

“She thinks you married her.”

He chuckled, then met my eyes and stopped. “Wait,what?”he said, eyes wide.

“She told me this evening. She thought your deal was a… proposal. Sealed with her blood.”

“I…” He swallowed. “Oh.”

He fiddled with the hem of his jacket, not speaking for a moment.

“Did you tell her the truth?” he asked, eyes glancing over to where she lay, curled up.

“No way. That’s your punishment for trapping her. You’ll have to break her heart.”

I left the scratches to dry a bit, preparing dressings before he spoke again.

“Look.” Bitterness seeped into his voice, and his eyes darted to the side as he struggled to find words. “I… haven’t got a lot of experience with this. How to be around others. I haven’thadanyone like you and Nidori. Perhaps I had, once, a long time ago. But when Hell was sealed, I ended up trapped here. And I was caught. A sorcerer figured out how to turn my magic against me. Bonded me. For three hundred years, I’ve been enslaved. Passed from bondowner to bondowner. Treated like nothing. Worse than nothing. And then, suddenly, I was free. And I wanted to stay that way. That meant using every advantage I could get. But… I don’t know.”

“You should let her go,” I said, trying to catch his eye.

He fiddled with his hands. “I know. But I can’t,” he said quietly. “She sealed it with blood. She’s mine, forever.”

His blue eyes met mine, and I was surprised to find I believed him. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t actually seen him command her at all.Or maybe how gently he had picked her up when he put her in the boat.

“You better do right by her, then. She deserves the world.”

“You going to stick around, then? Make sure I behave myself?”

My heart skipped a beat. “Someone has to.” I flicked his shoulder with the cloth, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe we could start with a thank you? For saving your sorry ass twice today?”

“Excuse me, my ass isexquisite. And thank you's aren’t really my style, darling,” he said, reaching out and letting his fingers brush my cheek. My face heated at his touch… and thoughts of his ass. I’d had a great view of it as he scaled the wall today. Itwasexquisite.

I went back to bandaging, my rough hands brushing against his smooth skin. I found myself unable to look up and meet his eyes. He was so close to me. My eyes were drawn to his lean frame. It seemed so different from last night. He was so… vulnerable. Perhaps I was the one who was different, seeing him from a new perspective after I’d had him cling to me for dear life today.

I finished with the dressings on his chest.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” I asked.

“Hang on.” He shifted with a wince, shimmying his pants down and exposing his slender legs. His right thigh had a scrape all the way up almost to his…

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