Page 17 of The Anointed's Paladin

Wood rot and aphids,what bad luck.

I wrung my hands. I’d never had to fight anything before. The taller one sneered and turned to me again, and the smaller drew a bow. I lurched forward, vines shooting from the ground and entangling the two figures I was facing.

I backed up as the taller one raised his hands and heat blistered the air as my shoots disintegrated.

Oh, no. That was really,reallynot good.

Time to leave. I turned and sped towards a tree, an arrow thankfully missing me. I tried to fly up, but there was magic above me, stopping me from going too high. I started to really panic, heart racing and eyes stinging.

I heard their feet pounding on the ground after me and sped up. I needed to find somewhere to hide.

There was a hollow tree up ahead, and I ducked inside it.

“Come back out, fairy!” one of them shouted.

“I’m a sprite,” I muttered sadly to myself.

I hunched down, panting, praying they wouldn’t find me here. I wrapped my arms around my legs, trying to make myself as small as possible, and stared at my hands. I could hurt them, with my magic. I didn’t want to, but if they found me, I’d have no choice. I sniffed, a tear leaking from my eye.

I jumped as a voice spoke from next to me. “You look like you’re in trouble.”

I stared at where it had come from but couldn’t see anything. Reaching out to the network of roots that spanned the forest floor, I sensed a big person crouched beside me. As I looked, he appeared, shedding the invisibility that had shrouded him. My surprise was quickly forgotten as I took him in. He was most definitelynotstinky or dirty. He had a warm smile on his face. His hair was pale, fluffy and curly, and his eyes were a pale, mesmerising blue. Handsome, just like the heroes in my stories.

“Can you help me? Those people… I want them to stop,” I whispered to him, standing up and edging closer.

“I can do that,” he said, leaning in and looking down at me. He smelled like a forest in winter. “But… I only protect things that are mine. Will you be mine?”

My breath caught in my throat. Be his?

Less than twenty-four hours of freedom, and I’d found someone who wanted to befamily.

“Really?” I asked, hesitating. “I’m worth that?”

“A drop of your blood, sweetheart, and the deal’s complete.”

Blood, the strongest bond.

This was real. A real-life proposal. I could feel my heart thudding in my chest as I unfurled a vine from my sleeve and grew a sharp thorn on it, pricking my finger. I raised it up towards where he was crouched, standing on tiptoes.

“I accept,” I said breathlessly.

He kissed the tip of my finger carefully and licked the tiny drop of blood from his lips. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at me with a smile.

“It’s done, then. I’ll go deal with those two. Be right back,” he stood and disappeared again. I could sense his footfalls through the network of roots I was connected to. He went straight towards my attackers. I clambered up to a hole in the tree, peering out. They were lumbering about. One had a stick he was using to poke into bushes, and the other had fire in his hand, crackling as he peered around.

Suddenly, he jerked backwards and fell with a cry. I gasped, my hand covering my mouth. Blood seeped from underneath him. His companion turned to him, slack-jawed. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see. I didn’t want anyone hurt. I heard another scuffle, and then I heard him call out.

“You can come out, my little one. It’s safe now.”

My heart was thundering in my chest. I slowly flew up, coming out of my hiding spot and toward him.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Another tear fell down my cheek as I hovered before him. “Are they…d-dead?” I managed to ask, looking at the bodies on the ground. They weren’t moving. I started hyperventilating.

The stranger’s eyes darted to the bodies and then to me. “…No?” he said, cocking his head to the side. “Um, they’re just… um, sleeping.”

I let out a sigh of relief, my body relaxing. “Wow. I guess humans have a lot more blood in them than I expected. I thought, for sure, they were dead.”

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