Page 71 of The Anointed's Paladin

She looked up at me, moving her hands away from her face. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Kaine came over and scooped her up, his face gentle. She sniffed into his shoulder.

“Am I a bad person?” she asked, voice trembling.

I shook my head. “Nidori…”

“Everyone is going to hate me,” she whispered. “They always loved me. They would come and thank me. They were so grateful. Every time one of them thanked me, I felt horribly guilty knowing that all I wanted was to leave. But…I don’t want them to hate me,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I wanted to go back and have them be proud of me when I did something I wanted to do. But now, I’ve abandoned the little ones, and it’s my fault those sprites died…Laurel…all because ofme.”

I frowned. “I don’t think you’re a bad person. Kaine does have a point—Laurel chose to fight us. She could have just left, but she didn’t. As for running away… I spent my whole life trying to do the right thing. But the right thing isn’t simple. I spent my whole life doing the ‘right’ things for the wrong people. And I think you have too.”

“Not just any people. My people.” Nidori wrapped her arms as much as she could around Kaine’s neck.

“People whoabusedyou,” cut in Kaine, reaching up to stroke her hair. “They may hate you for leaving, but that’s because it’s inconvenient for them, not because you meantanything to them. Don’t waste one more second feeling bad for leaving, Nidori.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t meet my gaze.

I lifted Nidori’s chin. “You’ll find your place again. We can search together.”

My stomach dipped as I thought of the empty space where my oath had been. I still didn’t feel any closer to finding my alignment than I had the day I left the Guild. Luckily, I hadn’t seemed to need it so far on this quest.

Nidori nodded, her expression serious. “I’d like that,” she said, taking my hand. Or rather, my finger. She gave a sweet smile. “I think…it’s all going to work out. Even if the future is kind of scary. I’m here, with you two. I like that. And that’s enough for now.”

“That’s the spirit,” I said.

The fire was crackling, and Nidori moved over to the table, gazing into it.

I’d finished tailoring the shirt. I pulled off the strange vine shirt Nidori had made me and started putting my arm through the sleeve of the new one. Kaine snatched it out of my hands, leaving me bare chested. He pulled me down into a chair facing him. Arousal swirled in my gut as he stood over me.

“Can’t put it off any longer,” he said and pulled out one of his daggers and his whetstone, considering me as he sharpened the blade. My eyes flicked to Nidori, still humming as she brought blankets over to make a pile on the table.

She paused, looking at us and giving us a wave.

“Look here, Talon,” he said, taking my chin and lifting my head up. My heart rate soared as questions burned in my brain. What was he doing? And why was watching him sharpening his knife so hot?

I licked my lips nervously. “We doing this now?” I asked, sliding my eyes back to Nidori.

He tutted, giving me a crooked grin. “Don’t get all hot and bothered. Ineedto fix your hair,” he said, brushing his fingers through the scorched strands on the side of my head. “I’m thinking…we’ll have to trim the sides, but we can leave the length on top.”

“Oh,” I said, clearing my throat and trying not to sound too disappointed. It took a moment for me to switch gears and process what he was suggesting. “Um, no. We’ll have to cut it all off, I think.” Reaching up, I ran my fingers through it. I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Have to? Do you notwantto?” he asked.

“No, I’d love to keep it long on top, but there are strict regulations about hair. It has to be a uniform length.”

Kaine crouched down, looking me in the eyes. “And you care about these regulations…why?”

I opened my mouth, trying to explain, but I realised I didn’t actually have a reason. Not anymore.

“Huh.” I smiled as I leaned back in the chair. “I guess I don’t.”

“No, you don’t,” he said, satisfied.

He moved behind me, starting to detangle the mess. It felt so pleasant, his fingers running through my hair. I closed my eyes. Nidori’s sweet melody played in my ears, the warmth of the fire settled on my skin. When was the last time I’d felt like this? I didn’t want this moment to end, ever.

The easy part was trimming the initial length; the blade simply cut through my hair. I glanced at it, white strands on the ground.

“Hold still,” he said, bringing his blade up above my ear. He held it sideways, the blade running straight against my scalp and shaving off the sides, one stroke at a time. His hand was steady, and he finished without a single nick or cut on my skin.

“There,” he said when he had finished. “Much better.”

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