The Last Smile in Sunder City (The Fetch Phillips Archives #1) - Luke Arnold Page 0,49

much I hated him in that moment. It was ridiculous, of course. He had known Amari far longer than I had. He knew her world. They’d spent months on the road together, saving lives and walking through warzones. But I already believed that Amari and I shared something precious and entirely unique. I felt that I understood her in a way that nobody else ever could. So for anyone, even my dearest friend, to try to tell me something about her that I didn’t already know, it cut straight through to my deepest, most terrifying fear. That perhaps I didn’t know her at all.

I didn’t say anything. To his credit, neither did he. He just put a hand on my shoulder and we kept on walking and I did my best to push down the indignant anger that was curdling in my stomach.

The next week was hell. There was some kind of secret challenge going on inside my head. I needed to see her again so I could know for sure that Hendricks was wrong. So he could see Amari and me together again and acknowledge that there was a connection between us.

A week later, I was summoned up to the mansion. I was there too early. Too eager. When Amari arrived, she greeted me with warmth and sweetness but I felt wounded when she wrapped her arms around Lark and Hendricks in much the same way. There was no reason not to be happy but I was poisoned and selfish and I wanted her all to myself.

The conversation took flight and, as usual, I stayed mostly silent. I brooded, convinced that I could never measure up to the more interesting men in Amari’s life.

Hendricks had come back to Sunder with a mission. He was leading a recruitment drive to bolster the numbers of the Opus. In a north-eastern forest known as The Groves, the Hallowed War had been underway for six months. It was a battle between Centaurs and Satyrs that had spiraled out of control into the largest open battle in three hundred years. Surrounding areas were taking collateral damage and the Opus needed more members to quell the fight.

“As soon as I’m done here, I’ll be happy to help,” said Amari.

“You mean I’ll finally be rid of you?” bellowed Lark, in jest.

“Just get construction started before the wet season, like you promised, and I’ll be out of your tangled hair before you know it.”

Amari had finally got her way. A plot of land in Yorrick Park had been cleared for her hospital and workers were preparing to lay the foundations.

“Thank you, Miss Quay,” said Hendricks. “You know I’ll take advantage of your talents whenever they’re on offer. What we’re really struggling to find are worthy candidates to become Shepherds.”

The Opus was run by Chancellors who liaised with Ambassadors from each magical species. The Chancellors gave orders to the Rooks who managed teams of enlisted men known as Shepherds. Shepherds were essentially soldiers but also bodyguards, negotiators and peace-officers. They were trained in self-defense, crowd control, politics and diplomacy.

“It’s a contradiction from the very start,” said Hendricks. “We need loyal and dedicated soldiers who follow orders but we are drawn to bright individuals who think for themselves. It’s why we need a range of species. Personally, I am disgusted whenever I see a battalion of Elves all marching to the same beat like some terrible horde of Zombies.

“We need diversity but not to the point where the army becomes splintered. The lowest soldiers cannot be pawns but neither can they be independent cowboys. Far from mindless, but never conflicted in the heat of battle. There is no perfect soldier. We just need capable young people who are humble enough to be part of the greater cause without ever becoming a tool of it.”

“Good luck around here,” remarked Amari. “Every boy in Sunder is all muscle and ego. Look at our friend Fetch. He can’t commit to a career, let alone a cause.”

There were laughs all round. It was an old routine and, to be honest, one that I’d fostered myself. I was defined by being indefinable. Nothing was expected of me because I expected nothing of myself. I was never ashamed of my poor living or ripped garments. They sent out the message that I wasn’t trying to compete with anyone, especially those creatures who would always be superior. I was alone. I was happy with my place. I had played the same game since my days in