Target Of The Orders (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

it.”
    “And?”
    “Don’t start this again.”
    His partner’s silence was sharp as a blade.
    They served themselves as the stewpot. The broth was filled with venison and rabbit, tubers and wild scallion. The broth boiled at the edges of the pot. They took their bowls to a quiet creek bed and sat down.
    Springtime had turned to summer, but the breeze here was cool and fresh. Water slid over slick stones of brown, red, and orange.
    “I’m sorry,” Garrick said. “That was uncalled for. I didn’t ask for this, though. It's all too much. I’m not ready to be the Torean leader.”
    “The Freeborn would accept you as Sunathri’s champion.”
    “That’s not how it works, and you know it. I’m god-touched. If I join the Freeborn, I’m the leader.”
    A crooked expression came to Darien’s face.
    “I see,” he said.
    “You see what?”
    “How could I have missed it before?”
    “Missed what?”
    “You're probably telling the truth about being afraid to lead, but that’s not why you’re avoiding the Freeborn. You’re ducking this because you're afraid to commit to anything larger than yourself. It’s easier for you to just complain about everyone else than it is to do what you think is right.”
    “Is that what you think?” Garrick replied.
    “I see it all over your face.”
    “We are only a half-day’s ride from Dorfort,” Garrick said.
    “And?”
    “Will you go see your father?”
    “What does my father have to do with this?”
    Garrick scoffed. “How can you can sit there and tell me about my inner demons, when you’re afraid to deal with your own?”
    “My issues with my father are different,” Darien said. “Even you can see that. The Freeborn is different.”
    “You should join them yourself, then.”
    “I think I will.”
    Garrick raised an eyebrow. “You’re no mage.”
    “They won’t care, and I find their cause just.”
    “There is no just cause,” Garrick said, feeling strange as he finished the thought inside his mind,
only actions and consequences.
    “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
    “I don’t know what I believe, Darien. But I know I don’t want to rely on anyone, and I don’t want anyone relying on me.”
    Darien’s face grew clouded. He stood deliberately, cradling his bowl.
    “Tell that to your new superior.”
    He strode away.
    Garrick spooned stew and tried to settle down again. He leaned back against the tree trunk.
    Darien didn’t understand—probably couldn’t understand—but, nonetheless, who did he think he was telling Garrick what he should and shouldn’t do?
    Footsteps rustled behind him.
    This time is was Sunathri who sat down, her forearm brushing his. The contact was brief, yet still felt warm, and still felt intimate.
    “Caledena is an example of what it will be like if the orders take control.”
    “Caledena happened because the orders were looking for me. That’s all,” Garrick said. “That’s why our path to the city was so simple. The orders decided to wait for me, rather than attack straight away when I might actually be prepared for them.”
    “That’s true enough as far as it goes, Garrick, but you’re missing big parts of the picture and your view is short-sighted. That the orders were able to take Caledena so easily shows they have the ability to take what they want, and that they did take it shows they will continue to do so as soon as it meets their purpose.”
    Her eyes were dark, and her hair hung to her shoulders. She kneaded her temple.
    “We need you, Garrick. History is filled with lessons taught by short-sighted people. Don't be one of them. You’re god-touched. We desperately need you.”
    “I have other things I need to do.”
    “I know,” she said. “You intended to fight the orders on your own.”
    “Darien’s lips are too loose.”
    “Let me help you. I know where the orders’ weaknesses are. I have people in important positions. We can do this together.”
    Her eyes blazed, then.
    He could