Page 79 of The Anointed's Paladin

“Do you not drink?” I asked.

She shook her head. “All that would give me is a stomachache,” she said, eyeing the bottle.

“To when you can join us getting shitfaced.” Kaine raised the bottle to her.

“Yuck,” said Nidori with a grin, turning back to her flute.

35

Everyone except Nidori

Talon

We all sat without talking for a while as Kaine and I continued to share the wine. A warmth settled in my stomach, and a pleasant muddle settled over my mind.

“I almost died last week,” I said suddenly, swirling the bottle around and hearing the liquid slosh inside. It was the second one we’d opened, and I was feeling it.

Nidori stopped her tune and glanced up at me. Kaine was leaning against my legs.

“It was a nagai,” I continued hoarsely. “One of those half-snake bastards. I snapped its neck, but it got me.”

I held up my arm, tracing the thin black line. “I thought…that was it. And it fucking sucked, because I realised I had been miserable. I had spent yearsliving for everyone else. What about me?”

“Mmm,” said Kaine, nodding. His eyes were drooping closed.

“The happiest I’ve been in ten years has been with you two. Here.”

“That’s cute.” Kaine snorted. “I’m the happiest I’ve beenin three hundred years.”

“Don’t steal his glory,” scolded Nidori. “Go on, Talon.”

I waved an arm at her, continuing. “Thank you, Nidori.It’s just all so dumb. I swore my life away to try and stop bad things from happening. But it’s like everyone expected me to do it. No thanks. No nothing.”

“No one gives a shit, mate. No one came to rescue me. No one helped Nidori. Not until the Gods decided they could use us.”

“And now we’re just snatched up, told to do the Gods’ dirty work?” I said, face heating.

“Fuck the Gods,” said Kaine.

I laughed. “Yeah, fuck the Gods.” I waved the wine bottle for emphasis. “Fuck the Guild. Fuck that prick of a nagai.”

“Fuck the moon,” Kaine said, pointing at the silver glow in the sky and raising his voice. “Fuck Cassandra, and fuck that she doesn’t wear shoes. Fuck being told what to do. FUCK EVERYONE!”

“FUCK EVERYONE!” I echoed, grinning as I shouted into the still night air.

Kaine paused, leaning forward and pointing a finger at Nidori. “Except you, sweetheart. You’re an angel.”

I nodded. Yeah, not Nidori.

Nidori smiled sweetly. “Thanks.”

A roar rose up, shaking the trees. It sounded worryingly close.

“Shit,” I said, stumbling up, burning some healing magic to help clear my head. Something had heard us and wasn’t happy. I thought of the clearing with the bodies we had stumbled across earlier. I scrambled towards my sword, trying to shove things into my pack.

“Hurry. Time to go,” said Kaine, already shouldering stuff. We started running, away from our camp and away fromthe noise.

“Oh, dear.” Nidori darted up, cupping her hands to her mouth. “IT WAS A GENERAL ‘EVERYONE’” she yelled. Kaine tried to shush her. “WE DIDN’T MEAN YOU!!”

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