Free Heretic (The Sanctuary Series Book 7) by Robert J. Crane

bastards are going to do their best to crush you, and they’re not going to do it cleanly or politely or honorably.”
    “Yeah, but I learned from my mistake with the titans not to buy into unfounded assumptions,” Cyrus said. “Like believing that they were going to teleport into the north when they couldn’t.”
    “Do you believe Goliath is not going to come for you?” Terian asked, arms folded. “Because I think they’ll siege the Sanctuary guildhall the moment they believe they could win. They’ll pull the wall down brick by brick, or blow it open with Dragon’s Breath, and they’ll come in and slaughter everyone, then set up their headquarters there. It’s what Malpravus has wanted all along; he didn’t even need an excuse to do it before, but now he’s got one, and Sanctuary is weaker than it has been since Enterra.” Terian took a step closer and looked up at Cyrus. “You’d better get ready. You’d better prepare to do the ugly things. You’re not a paladin; you’re a warrior and a heretic, and they’re going to come at you like you’re one. They will beat you any way they can, and they won’t care about the high-minded ideals of Alaric Garaunt, even if you do.”
    “Doesn’t that mean I should care more about them?” Cyrus asked quietly.
    “Your tribe is growing smaller by the minute,” Terian said. “When it’s all done washing out, Sanctuary is going to have less than a thousand members. You will be strained. They will attack us—all of us—in ways we can’t predict.”
    “The sidewinders,” Vaste muttered under his breath.
    “This is the last stand against Goliath,” Terian said. “It’s going to be you or them this time.”
    “Make it you,” Kahlee said quietly. “I hate Malpravus. You, I like—though I think you should be—”
    “Taller, yes, I get it,” Cyrus said.
    “I was going to say meaner,” Kahlee said, smiling at him.
    “If you follow their lead,” Terian said, stepping right up to Cyrus, “if you wait for them to move before you counter, you will lose. Their attacks will be merciless, their treachery unfathomable. Malpravus … he knows no law but power, and he will do anything, say anything, to anyone, in order to get what he wants.”
    “If I sink to that level … I’ll be as bad as he is,” Cyrus said. “Do you not recall? I led an expedition that started a war with the dragons in order to smear the titans—”
    “ Smite the titans,” Terian corrected. “They ended up pretty damned smited. I’d take that as the lesson.”
    “We lost—”
    “You will lose more,” Terian said. “Get ready for it. This is war. You can no longer try and merely be the Guildmaster of Sanctuary, Cyrus. Alaric never attempted to be both, and for good reason. You need to be the General again.” The lines on his face softened. “I’m sorry, my friend. I truly am. I wish this weren’t so. I wish that all in Arkaria were good and virtuous people, seeking nothing but to live in peace.” His gaze hardened again. “But they aren’t, and you need to make a decision. Give it some thought. Mull it all over. Talk to Vara about it. These people … they want to destroy you because they couldn’t control you, and now your very existence threatens their control over everything else. They won’t let you live, and they won’t hesitate to wipe out anyone standing near you for fear that if they let even one live, they’ll never be able to regain that control again.”

9.
    “Where is your lady wife this fine day?” Administrator Cattrine Tiernan asked Cyrus as they walked through the woods near Emerald Fields. There was a rustling sound between the branches, and a flock of birds broke loose from a large oak to their left. Cyrus could see his guard within fifty paces of him, but he and the Administrator were speaking in whispers so as not to be heard.
    “She sends her regrets,” Cyrus said, “but she’s staying at Sanctuary to oversee the defense. We’re …