Page 70 of The Anointed's Paladin

She hopped down and put her hand on the ground. Then she straightened. I was anticipating another fight.

“Someone’s been sneaky,” she said, walking over to the side of a large rock. She knocked on it, the sound thumping like wood. I stepped over, running my hands up and down the thick layers of moss. Yup, there was definitely wood instead of stone here. I found a metal handle and pulled it, revealing a door.

“What is it?” Kaine asked, stepping forward and trying to peek over my shoulder.

I shifted my wing, blocking his view and shooting him a grin. He didn’t notice, going to the other side, where I shiftedagain. Nidori giggled, and he glared at me as he realised I was doing it on purpose. I elbowed him, getting myself a smack.

I moved my wing out of the way and let him look around. He peered forward with an adorable huff.

“Finally. Some gods-damned comfort in this wilderness hellhole,” he said. “No offence, Nidori. You have made it bearable. But this place has abed.”

He was right. It must be some kind of stop house, complete with a fireplace, table and chairs, and, as Kaine had said, a back room with a bed. A smile came to my face.

I shrugged off my wet cloak and took off my boots, putting them by the door. I grabbed Kaine’s arm as he tried to march past.

“What?” he snapped.

“Take off your boots, you animal.” I bent down and started to unlace them. He huffed, folding his arms as I tugged them off him. As soon as I was done, he went to the fireplace, setting it up.

Nidori zoomed around, peering at everything intently. I smiled as I heard her ask Kaine if he’d teach her how to light a fire “without Talon’s magic.”

I poked around the back room. There was a set of drawers, which I opened hopefully. Thank the Gods, there were proper clothes in it. Blessedly clean clothes.

I hummed as I took them out, dropping a few coins in as payment.

I came back to the main room and took out my sewing kit. The shirt was big enough for my shoulders, but nothing was ever built to accommodate wings.

I took out my knife, sharpened it, and cut two slits up the back. Now it just needed some buttons. Ideally, I’d hem the seams I’d cut, but I was low on supplies.

Nidori had returned to the door, sitting on the floor by the door with her hands deep in small bushes. She came back with a basketful of berries and plopped down beside me as I worked.

“How do you do that?” I asked, admiring the perfectly ripe fruit she was setting on the table. My question seemed to cheer her up a bit. She smiled with pride.

“Lots of practise,” she replied. “I had so much free time, with nothing to do except perfect food.”

“So, not every woodweaver can do it?” I asked, threading my needle.

She snorted. “Vines are simple. There’s a million things you can get wrong and still have them do what you want them to. But growing food—you have to be precise. You’re making something that’s been pollinated, that is perfectly ripened, that has to taste good and be nutritious too. I’d practise again and again while I was in the nursery until I got it perfect. I hoped, if I got good enough, they’d reassign me to growing food. But…obviously that didn’t work.”

She twirled a blueberry in her hands, gazing at it. Tears were starting to well in her eyes.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to go back,” she said, her voice thick. “As soon as they find out what happened to Laurel and the others, they’ll cut my parts from the Asimir tree.”

“Well, lucky for you, they’re not going to find out,” said Kaine, sitting down on the armchair and putting his feet up.

“Yes, they are. Two of them left. They’ll report what happened.”

“Are you talking about the two cowards that fled when they realised they’d picked a fight they couldn’t win?” he said, eyes flashing. “Because I chased them down and made sure they didn’t escape.”

“Kaine, Nidori specifically told us to let them go,” I said, glancing at her. Her eyes were wide.

“Huh. Must have missed that,” said Kaine lightly, folding his arms behind his head. I pursed my lips.

“So, they’realldead?” whispered Nidori.

“We shouldnotbe regretting that.” Kaine’s posture was still relaxed, but there was steel in his voice. “They came and threatened you. You were kind enough to give them multiple warnings and chances to leave peacefully, and they didn’t. They deserved what they got.”

Nidori sniffed. I glared at Kaine before reaching out and carefully brushing her shoulder.

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