Page 88 of The Anointed's Paladin

Fuck the universe. It had already taken Nidori.

Talon wasn’t my bonded ward, but suddenly I realized that didn’t matter. Even without it, he could still be mine. He was still mine.

I dropped down from my perch, landing softly on the ground. I rolled my eyes again as Talon didn’t hear and stepped deliberately on a twig.

His face lit up as he found me, and the sight of that made my heart sing.

Fuck everyone.

I was allowed to be happy.

Talon rushed towards me, sweeping me up in a hug, and I let myself smile as he did. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him, breathing in his warm scent. Why had I not kissed him more?

As we moved apart, I buried my head in his shoulder, soaking in his warmth, his safety. He’d come back for me.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he said quietly, and I tightened my grip on him, leaning back to look up at his lightning blue-in-black eyes.

“Let's go,” I said firmly before I could change my mind. “We should just…go. Together. Tonight.”

“Go into the tower?” he asked.

“No. Leave with me. We can just forget all this shit,” I said, my certainty growing. “Fuck the gods. Fuck their quest. Let’s go back to Nidori.”

I sank my head into his shoulder again, feeling his arms around me… I had the beginning of hope that maybe,just maybe,happiness did exist. But not without him.

“I just…I’ve never been happier than I am now,” I said quietly. “And I feel that if we go into that tower, it’ll all be over, either way.”

“No, Kaine. We need to go to the tower. Cassandra… She’s here.”

Cassandra.

She had found me. I held Talon tighter, fear building inside me as he continued.

“She found me and tricked me into telling her everything. But I got away, and I knew I had to find you again. We need to get your freedom.”

Despite the fear, my heart skipped a beat. He would do that? He’d said if he failed, his oath would break. He’d lose everything he was.

“Really?” I asked hesitantly.

“It’s not even an argument,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “You have so much more to gain and so much more to lose. I can deal with a broken oath.” He lifted my chin, looking into my eyes. “I want to see it. I want to see you free.”

There was a lump in my throat, and my eyes were…watering. If Talon mentioned it, he’d get a blade in the side again.

“Talon, I…” I shook my head, struggling to find the words. “Fuck. You’re too good for this world. Too good forme.” My voice broke on the last word, and he just held me close.

“I mean… I can’t bethatgood. I’m literally about to break a sacred oath and defy the God of loyalty. And sell my soul on top of that.”

“Figuratively speaking.” I said dryly.

“No. Literally,” he took a deep breath, before bringing his eyes to mine. “Kaine, will you help me?”

I stared at him, shocked, as the magic buzzed in the air around us. He lifted my hand up and pressed a kiss to it as I blinked at him. My brain took a moment to catch up and realize my part was next.

“W- if you’ll be mine?” I said, and despite all my years of practice, the words had never felt so unsteady as they slipped out.

“Fuck, yes. For as long as I live.”

The magic fizzed, encasing us both as he became my ward. We weren’t done yet, though. I needed to make this permanent.

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