Page 66 of The Anointed's Paladin

I’d known he was massive—six foot, seven inches, at least—but he had a way of standing that almost apologised for his stature. The slant of his shoulders, the soft expression on his face saying,Sorry, yes, I know I’m a giant.

Now, with his shoulders raised and back straight, he radiated a different message.Why are you all so tiny?

He raised his sword, squaring up against a foe who took a hesitant step backwards. It was too late, though. Talon struck out. The man deflected the blow, stumbling, and Talon took advantage. With a deft twist of his blade, the man crumpled.

There were goose bumps on my arms.

How delicious. I’d have to explore this side of him in much greater detail.

And fuck, I’d hadthatkneeling at my feet, obediently clinging on to my every word.

All right, Kaine. Enough swooning. Go stab someone, I told myself.

I reluctantly ripped myself away from my thoughts and got to work.

After so many years of fighting solo, it was amazing how much easier fighting with Nidori and Talon was.

Nidori’s tangles slowed everyone down, providing even more distraction and easy targets. Talon’s presence and skill demanded attention, and that often meant no one noticed when I struck. It was like he was handing me the best part of the kill without all the tedious setup.

They really were spoiling me. I’d have my work cut out for me after all this, when I’d have to re-learn how to do this without him.

Without him.

The thought was like a punch to the gut.

I dropped down next to one of the archers at the back, plunging my blade into her ribs and drawing out a death gasp. I frowned, not enjoying this as much as I should be.

I didn’t want to think about fighting again without him.

My mind was viciously rejecting that possibility.

I drew my bow, aiming at a moving target.

Nidori was safe; she was mine.

Talon was the problem.

My shot went wide.

To have a future, I needed to win. Get to the tower first.

But…how much did winning mean to Talon?

Shit, I didn’t even know why he was here.

I frowned. This felt like dangerous territory. I wasn’t supposed to give a shit what he was here for. He was supposed to have a date with my blade within the next week.

A beautiful shriek of pain cut through the night. I turned to see Nidori impaling one of the attackers with a branch—a glorious sight. Her face was twisted in a snarl, and she twisted, the branch splitting with a groan and ripping the man in half. I drew up short, staring at the bloody mess she had made.

Yikes…I had a new addition to my list of ways Idefinitelydid not want to die.

And catapulted her right up there with Talon for “things I think are sweet and also are kind of terrifying.”

Winning, for her, meant shedding her tiny form for a more…fuckable one. But that wasn’t why I wanted her to win. She said it was something she’d always dreamed of. And simply for that reason, I wanted to give it to her.

This was all backwards.

I’d charmed and captured hundreds of people for my masters over the years. Most of them ended up dead. It was my job. I had approached Nidori and Talon like that too—tools to get ahead.

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