by Erin R Flynn
“Tamsin,” Hudson hissed.
“No, let him try,” I pushed. “Let him see what I could do in one class whereas he just wanted to bully you and lecture me that I was just garbage that didn’t know your supe ways.” I pushed to my feet and fisted my hands, getting angry all over again. “I get it, you were bullied as a student by dragons. Hey, Hudson wasn’t alive then, you jerk.
“You had every chance to be the bigger person and move past that, but you’re a sick and twisted fuck who knows saying ‘penetrated’ makes the women uncomfortable and you get off on rooting through their minds to learn about their sex lives. That’s not education, that’s violating them mentally. You’re full of it that others have learned from you.
“I would bet others cheat with charms or hire outside help after one round with you. But you’re so awesome then have a go with me.” I took a threatening step towards him. “Because I have two shields. One mental shield and another keeping my thoughts in, which you do not as I can read your thoughts. That’s not invasive. You should not be looking down at anyone when you don’t even know that.”
“I agree,” Headmaster Edelman said from behind me.
“I tried to warn you,” Hudson grumbled when I flinched.
I slowly turned and glanced over my shoulder, seeing it wasn’t just Edelman but several other deans standing in the doorway. “You said I couldn’t punch anyone for their thoughts, but you didn’t say I couldn’t trick them into making deals to resign when their thoughts are I’m an easy lay and how much he’ll enjoy seeing my escapades and whacking off to them later.”
“Oh dear gods,” Professor White muttered, looking slightly pale at that. “You breeched his mental shields?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how to do that.”
She gave a slow nod. “You said he doesn’t protect against a telepath. He can’t block you.”
“Right, but it’s not…” I sighed, trying to think of how to explain it.
“Let’s table that for the moment,” Edelman interjected. “Koch, you made a deal with these witnesses?”
“It was a joke,” he lied, flinching when Hudson growled.
“Mr. Vogel, what happened here?” Edelman asked. His eyes couldn’t hide his shock when Hudson answered, and I went to battle for the dragon prince so fiercely.
Yeah, well, I would have even if I hadn’t been worried people would learn we were sleeping together. Hudson didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
“Koch, my office. White, if you would supervise as Ms. Vale finished her teaching of class,” Edelman said, shooting me an amused look before giving Koch a wave to follow… And he might lose his head if he didn’t.
Wait, teaching class? Shit.
I sighed and hopped up on the desk after Koch, Edelman, and the others besides White left. “Look, I don’t know the real theory or what you should be taught for mental shielding. I have real-world experience only.”
“Let’s start there then,” Professor White guided, nodding for Hudson to take his seat. “You said there were two types of shields. What are they?” She clearly knew the answer but wanted me to explain, so I did.
“One protects your mind from being invaded,” I told the class, careful not to meet the gazes of people, especially since Katy and several hated me. “You heard what I was doing with Hudson and making a dome. Mine is a metal fucker like you wouldn’t believe.” I flinched as I felt magic, glancing at Professor White.
“Impressive, truly impressive, Ms. Vale. The fact you have a mental shield that is possibly stronger than my own is monumental given you had no training or supe education growing up.”
I shrugged. “I picked it up as I went. I got… Vibes? Yeah, I got vibes now and again of what protected people in between random thoughts from them. Which is my second shield. It’s not to keep people out, but my thoughts contained.” I sighed. “Look, no matter what people say, telepathy isn’t invasive. I don’t go into brains.”
“My aunt calls it speaking while mute,” Hudson offered.
“Yeah, that’s accurate,” I agreed. “Or a language not everyone knows at a volume you can’t hear. If you think of it like the mystical juju kind of thing, it’s what you put out into the universe and some of us can just hear it. I have a second shield that’s basically a fence around my mind so those thoughts can’t get out into the world.”
“It works,” Hudson confirmed. “My aunt said she doesn’t get anything from you when she listens.”
I nodded again. “I don’t get anything from her.”
“What is your visual on that shield?” Professor White asked.
I opened my mouth to answer but then closed it, crossing my legs and fidgeting uncomfortably. “With all due respect, and I do respect you, Professor, so I’m not just saying that, but I’m not sure I should answer that. I’m not sure I want to teach people how to hide their thoughts from me.”
“You are such a hypocrite,” Katy sneered. “Yeah, you’re all for protecting people and the underdog unless it’s protecting people from you. We’re all entitled, but you refuse to level the playing field and be fair.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “How you can sit there with a straight fucking face when you’re thinking you want me to die and wish Mason had killed me is the hypocrisy in this room, Katy.” I continued when she flinched and opened her mouth to argue. “Someone just tried to mate me against my will and almost killed me.
“And we were friends and I missed it. Yeah, I think I’ll pay better attention and not teach people to hide shit like that from me. What I already hear on this campus is seriously disturbing and someone should monitor it. I just wish it wasn’t me as it keeps me up knowing how horrible so many people are here. So, you want to try and guilt me into helping you hide how you want me dead from me? Try again.”
Professor White cleared her throat like she was going to interject and take the class back over, but I caught something else from Katy.
I burst out laughing and shot Katy an evil smirk. “Yeah, I should totally teach you how to hide that. By your own thoughts Mason didn’t even like you and you’re plotting a vigil for him tonight? That’s what you guys have been doing? You’re holding a vigil on the quad for him like he’s dead and I’m the killer? Wow, and you wonder if you’re complicit in the rape culture around here.
“You are. You’re at fault for not pushing back and for making me the villain when I was the victim because you hate me. It’s selfish of you and all you think of is you instead of everyone else or the next woman the men of the supe community hurt and brush off. But you’re also stupid, Katy.”
“According to you,” she sneered.
“No, it’s just a fact because you don’t learn,” I purred, pushing off the desk and heading to my bag. “You think I went after corrupt elders, guys who brutalized a student pretending to be me, but I’d just let you keep doing whatever?” I snorted as I pulled out my phone. “Yeah, right, stupid. I let the school handle your last bullshit, but you got the typical slap on the wrist—”
“Your ‘justice’ is too harsh and—” she tried to argue.
“You’re not even sorry,” I blasted. “You think it’s a joke too so don’t give me that bullshit about our society needing redemption and it keeps us from splitting or more Underground. You don’t even believe that! It’s lies to you and your friends and how you keep pulling the same shit, while laughing at the teachers and adults behind their backs for letting you do whatever.”
“That’s not—”
“Well, I’m not a teacher,” I purred as I brought my phone over to the projection system all the classrooms had. “And here is your comeuppance, Katy.”
11
“I’m not sure you should be so full of yourself and call yourself an elite when your family’s broke,” I taunted as I played one of the videos Mel had shared with me. “Daddy’s got a bit of a gambling problem, huh?” I pointed to the wall the projector was playing the video on. “That’s him in Vegas, right?
“Shut it off,” she hissed at me, her fangs coming out.
“Sure,” I chuckled darkly, wiggling my phone at her. “But then I’ve got more. Lots more, Katy. Daddy’s also been borrowing money to cover his company’s losses and your family’s lavish lifestyle. Flat out ripping off humans and starting all kinds of trouble that could bring eyes on us. Should I tell them where he is and his real name? Or where his beloved daughter is for leverage?”
“Ms. Vale,” Professor White muttered, warning in her voice.
I nodded, letting her know I heard her and wasn’t going to go over the line. “See, that’s the difference between us. My justice is actual justice. Yours is what you see as trying to put people in place and knock those down that shine brighter than you. That’s not for you to judge, you selfish brat. You judge me when you’re standing on a splintered glass house.
“So no, I won’t teach you how to keep your bullshit from me. That’s karma. That’s getting what you should because you’re a horrible person and that’s the kind of shit you think. I would say my thoughts out loud as there’s no reason to hide them. You put that shit out into the world and you deserve what you get because someone finds out.”
“Ms. Vale is right, which is why we teach you how to protect yourselves from your minds being violated and how to shield only,” Professor White interjected. She nodded to the projector as if telling me it was enough and to take it down.
I nodded and stopped it, backing out of the video. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and before I could take my next breath, I moved my fingers over my arm and threw up a barrier. Katy flew into it at full speed, bouncing off of it and landing into a group of desks and students who shouted in shock.
That didn’t stop her though as she jumped back up, snarling at me. “Give me that evidence or I will kill you, bitch.”
“Nice to say with witnesses,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. “You can’t even get past my barrier. How will you do that? You can’t take me in a fight. My magic is stronger and I’m just all around better.” I smirked at her and wrote on my arm again, inverting my barrier off me and flipping to contain her. “That should keep you until campus security gets here.”
“You’re dead if you send it,” she hissed. “I’ll be back next year, just like Blake and the others will be, and you better pray you make amends with us by then.”
I smirked at her as I moved closer, knowing she couldn’t touch me. “You are so fucking stupid I almost pity you. You keep assuming it’s just me standing alone and it’s not. You think you have a group of powerful people and I’ll bow to you. I’ve already taken several of them down. Those guys won’t be returning to Artemis. They can’t afford it anymore.”
“There are still ways to get you,” she sneered.
“Please try,” I chuckled. “And you’re still being stupid, Katy.”
“How did you get that video?” Hudson asked me, catching onto what Katy was missing.
“Mel gave some names to the security we hired to start digging into those who were repeated threats against me. They found it. It’s already been turned over to the supe police. He’s going down if not already.” I smirked at Katy as her face went pale and she stopped fighting. “Guess you’re going to be too busy for that fucking vigil you were going to have for Mason, you sick bitch.”
She broke down sobbing like she was the victim. Seconds later Zack and Marshall came flying into the room, both looking relieved when their eyes landed on me.
I shrugged. “You guys said it was a bigger mess to let them take a shot at me and then I beat them down. It’s more fun that way, but fine, I can go easier on you. She was attempting to kill me.”
“She jumped you and—” one of the other students argued.
“Oh no, she didn’t deny she wanted Ms. Vale dead when Ms. Vale read her thoughts,” Professor White interjected. “She attacked Ms. Vale when she was distracted to get the upper hand and the evidence against her father. It was not some random fight.”
“We need you to drop the barrier so we can get her,” Zack told me.
I nodded, holding out my hand and pulling the magic back. “I’m shutting off my telepathy too because I can’t handle hearing any more of her crazy or the visuals of how she plans to have every vampire on campus bleed me dry on the quad.”
“I’ll warn the Dean of Vampires of that,” Professor White muttered. “I think that’s enough for class today. We’ll see who we can get to teach for next time.”
“Call Tanesha Jameston,” I suggested, snickering when she gave me a curious look. “I wasn’t just being a smartass that a telepath is the right person to teach this. I can see exactly what their shields are like and help them.”
“My aunt has several important matters to attend to and couldn’t be available,” Hudson argued.
“Well, you might be our teacher for the time being then,” Professor White sighed, waving off my arguments. “Give me a moment to catch up, but it might be the only option and one that might have you come out ahead, as clearly you would place out of the four required classes. But you need those credits to graduate.”
That got me. Yeah, I could use a break for sure. “I’d be open to discussing that, but I’m sending jerks to Zack and Marshall to eat.”
“Gladly,” they said together.
I made a snap decision since I already had my phone in my hand, tapping away as I went for my stuff. I let everyone else file out of the room after the guards dragged Katy off. It wasn’t until I headed out that I realized Hudson was quietly walking with me. I rubbed my neck and shook my head. I didn’t want to turn on my telepathy. I just needed some quiet.
Which I didn’t get, but he didn’t push it. I pulled on my winter gear and headed for the cafeteria, knowing at least I had enough time to swing by there.
Darby was pacing just outside, and I had a minute to worry why he was upset… But he only had eyes for Hudson. “You kissed my girlfriend?”
“Yes, but—” Hudson answered but was cut off by Darby’s fist.
To his face.
“Nice shot,” someone chuckled.
“It was and I deserved it,” Hudson accepted, moving his jaw around with his hand. “And I am sorry. It just happened and—”
“It’s fine,” I interjected, grabbing Darby’s arm and pulling him away. “I got how frustrated you were.” I forced Darby to look at me. “Please, please just drop this. More went down and I need to not be here.”
“You want to go?” he worried, Hudson instantly forgotten.
“Just not to the cafeteria,” I explained. “I ordered Portal Chow. I was coming for you. I—will you come eat with me? I mean, I could alone—”
“No,” he blurted, and a bit too loudly, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses. None of them liked that I went off on my own so often for lunch and some of them probably figured more about it now. But not Darby. He didn’t know I was a fairy and things were still tense between us and I didn’t want that. “No, I want—thank you for inviting me, agra. It’s forgotten.”
“Thank you,” I sighed, pulling him towards the student union.
He moved his arm around me protectively and we didn’t even give the others another glance. “What else happened?”
“Less ears,” I muttered as I glanced around. We arrived just as the delivery guy did, which seemed fast—especially with what I ordered—but it was lunch time even on the East Coast, so it made sense they had food ready. I thanked him and signed, giving him a fat tip as Darby took the stack of boxes.
Unfortunately, I turned and locked on the spot where I’d learned about Portal Chow when I’d found Lucca and Mason eating it there. Darby either remembered that story o
r knew something was up with me because he took the lead and brought me to the lab building next door with the mecca of vending machines.
He quickly got us drinks and we found a private corner to dig into the massive order I’d made from Joe’s Pizza in New York.
And I told him everything. Not in the right order, as I started with what was upsetting me most and the fucking vigil people were planning for Mason just to stick it to me, but I didn’t hold back.
“I’m happy you’re being so open with me and worried at the same time,” Darby admitted as he set aside another empty box.
“Too many hits in rapid succession and I feel like I can’t keep my head above water,” I whispered as I wiped an errant tear. “It’s so horrible to poke at me about this. It’s like a level of evil that… Gossip, sure, I expected it. But they’re trying to blame me like I’m the reason he’s unhinged and it’s not just the victim blaming and bullshit I hate—”
“I get it,” he murmured, not making me say it. “You normally just handle it all on your own and so well, that turning to me specifically when we’re fragile is worrying me how traumatized you were.”
“I could have just been pulling you away from Hudson.”
He snorted. “You ordered my favorite pizza. You were coming for me.”
I wrinkled up my nose. “Yeah, I’m not eating that. You weirdo.”
“Lots of people like spinach on their pizza, agra,” he chuckled.
“There’s a lot I don’t like cooked that I like raw. Fine, I’m the weird one because I like spinach and artichoke dip but only a few. I’m picky with that.”
“You have high standards,” he teased, clearly including himself in that.
“I don’t know how to handle this alone,” I admitted, going back to what he said earlier about being worried. “I feel like there’s validity that I’m the cause here. I asked the same of Mel. I made you go off the rails so how do we know I didn’t with Mason and—”