by Erin R Flynn
Wow, he was slow on the uptake there. It took him a few beats to catch that insult?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” he tried again, completely ignoring what I’d just said. “I was saying that your necklace is really pretty and I wanted to know what it was to get it for my girlfriend. Can I see it?”
I didn’t even look at him as I flipped on my telepathy. My suspicions were confirmed in under five seconds and I snorted. “Wow, you’re so super clever, and no one else would have thought of that plot to get me to take off my essence charm to figure out what species I am. I mean, it’s not like you’re subtle or anything. It took you five seconds to go right for that with the lamest excuse ever.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” he argued. “How was I supposed to know that was an essence charm? I don’t even know your name or—”
“Or that I’m a telepath apparently,” I drawled. I flinched when several guys across the aisle burst out laughing, focused on the guy.
“What a douche,” one of them said, elbowing his buddies. “The idiot from one of the lowest ranked schools thought he could walk in here and just do what none of us could. Hey, why don’t you try to rip it off of her in sparring? That worked well for the last guy who tried too.”
The exchange student glanced between us before focusing on me, clearly dropping the act. “What did you do?”
“I worked on his flexibility by folding him into a pretzel and breaking more bones then he could count on the hand he used to try and steal my charm.” I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I’ve had council aides come after me, and they’ve run screaming. I’ve had Underground come after me, and they’re in supe prison. But yeah, sure, you’ve got this. You go on with your bad self, dude.”
He had enough good sense to admit defeat, tucking his tail and hurrying off to anywhere other than the spot near me.
I glanced over to the guy who had interjected and saw him watching me with amusement in his eyes. There wasn’t a hint of hostility or the desire to find out himself. After a few moments, it hit me why.
He was a dragon. I recognized him from the gathering of dragons the day I saved the Diazes and came back to campus. He was one of those who knelt before me in thanks.
I dipped my head to the guy, letting him know I had pieced it together. He shot me a wink and turned back to his friends. I was cool with that. We didn’t need to be friends or pretend our goals would magically converge because I’d done his people a solid… But it was nice to see they had stopped seeing me as an enemy, instead as an ally to speak out for if I needed it.
That was some nice fucking progress in a year.
But not too much, as the spot next to me stayed empty after I scared off that guy. Fine by me.
Once class was over, I met up with everyone for lunch, noting that energy danced over my skin when Hudson went to sit by Juan and Lucca… And Lucca wouldn’t stop staring at me as if I was on the menu. The cafeteria was abuzz moments after Darby leaned down and gave me a kiss. I heard whispers about us being back together from at least a dozen people when I went to get more food.
It was better they got it out of their systems and moved on.
Right, like they would ever just move on from me. Stalkers.
My last class of the day was Shifter Culture I, taught by Professor Puth. He was a wolf shifter, a very Beta one, according to Ray and Zack, but a good guy. He liked the cousins because they put a stop to the guard boss and Alpha being a dominant dick to the professor.
About a half an hour into the first class, it was clear Professor Puth was a good teacher, engaging, and liked the material. He seemed the type to stay out of the drama and simply do his job, which was my favorite given how many wanted to interject themselves into everything to do with me. Granted, it was needed for some, and I liked several of them, especially Dean White.
It was simply too much and overwhelming. It blurred all the lines, and it was nice to just have a teacher be a teacher, and Professor Puth would only be my teacher.
When class was over, I felt Zack fall in step with me. “How are the new pup guards?”
“Good. Lots of potential, and it seems to have chilled Glen out to have pups again instead of mostly strong Betas, but…”
“But just because Glen’s an Alpha doesn’t mean he should be boss, and he’s always going to be a dick whose face you want to punch in?”
“Yeah, I really want to punch in his face. I will once before I leave here for good when our job is done,” he confessed.
I snorted. “Good to have goals.”
It was his turn to snort. “Like you don’t have the same one.”
“There’s a reason we’re friends.”
He threw back his head and laughed so hard it echoed in the open area, lightening both of our moods. Sometimes it was the little things that we needed to get through the day.
Even if the “little things” were plans to punch someone out when we could.
18
“Your development is good,” Instructor Larson praised the next morning after my run. “Melody Rothchild did well by you, and I fully believe that is the only reason you’re not imploding with your vast power as an unknown. Many unknowns have gone that route that have had even a fraction of the juice you do. Sad, but true. It’s so much easier for the unknowns that are shifters as it’s a matter of shifting or not.”
I nodded. I’d heard it before and it made sense, but it was nice to have as many independent sources confirm it as possible. It was something that kept me up at night or filled my nightmares, given all fairies were relying on me to get them out of Faerie or… The possibilities were long on what could have happened.
“I’m going to speak with the guy who was your power assessor last year and go over where you were before drawing up the best plan on combining the two.”
“Ahhh, well, that’s a bit complicated,” I warned.
He raised an eyebrow at that. “I know the savant was young, but I saw your performance at the Power Playoffs. It was a thing of beauty. He—”
“He didn’t approve of the plan. Things went sideways and—it’s complicated. You’re going to want to speak with Dean White on all of that as she’s the one who’s been working with me since. On a lot too. I mean, way past what… Well, I’m not sure what. She simply always uses ‘astoundingly advanced’ when she refers to much of anything I do.” I shrugged, not sure how else to explain it.
I was still ridiculously new to all of this.
He nodded after a moment. “Fine, but I’ll still start with the one you started with. I need the journey, not simply where you’re at, if I’m going to fill in any gaps as well since your education has been crammed into a year. Too much can be overlooked then.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “Preaching to the choir, man. I worry every damn day if we skip anything and everything that it will out me or blow up in my face, so be the adult and handle what you think best.”
He shot me another glance, seeming amused this time. “You’re a lot more reasonable than I would have thought given half of what’s said about you.”
I snorted. “I’m reasonable with people who are reasonable with me. I respect people who treat me with respect. I know it’s a crazy idea when I have breasts, and big strong men pee standing up, but well, it’s also a great place to kick them when their heads are up their asses. I want to survive and save my people. If you can help me get there, then I’m diligently under your tutelage.”
“Good, because I also want to go over your diet and possibly make changes. College kids don’t have the best diets, and that could greatly help you—”
“Talk to Irma. She’s the boss of me. Izzy’s my roommate, and she tracks a lot of bars and stuff she’s always ordering me extra to eat. There’s gels, and I never have plain water, but herbal tea with juice infusions for extra calories and sugars.” I nodded when he couldn’t hide his shock. “I use a lot of magic. Talk with White. Maybe she can put it in terms that make sense without
telling you what I’m doing.”
He didn’t take offense to what I said, but cleared his throat so I knew to listen to him. “My mental shields are a fortress, believe me.”
“I do, but everyone slips. The one thing I’m learning reading journals is there’s always a stronger rune or a way to sneak past a ward or barrier. I have the charm and a rune, and I’m still ridiculously careful. No one can keep guard all the time and take on all challengers.”
“It’s smart you’ve learned that so young.”
I snorted. “I learned it way younger, but that’s not a conversation for someone I’m not friends with.” I was impressed when he let it go since most would have pushed.
We swung by the dorm and picked up Izzy who was more than happy to fill him in on the types of snacks I eat and the vast amounts of them. He followed me around at the cafeteria buffets and kept shooting me glances as if wondering if I was messing with him. It had to be that I was still young—especially to fairies who matured at thirty—because I’d constantly read fairies ate a ton.
“I’ll be back for seconds,” I told him. “Sometimes thirds.”
“I’ve seen her go for fourths and fifths,” Mel drawled as she joined us. “Take her as a few hobbits and remember that she was severely neglected growing up. She spent many years starved, so she’s got a lot of catching up to do.”
“I understand. Thank you. I’ll speak with Irma and see you for your routine in the morning. If you could start journaling what you eat…” he trailed off when I shot him a look of horror. “Take a picture of your trays before you tuck into them?”
“That, I can do. I’ll try and send texts with snacks. Drinks with calories?”
“Yes, for now. Juices especially.”
“Got it.” I realized there was something I should have asked. “How much is Geiger paying you to do this?”
The serious and hard man chuckled, finally giving me more than a smirk or some subtle amusement. “You are paying me gobs, Ms. Vale.” He strutted off with his tray after dropping that bomb.
“I approved it, and he’s worth it,” Mel muttered as we headed to our normal table. “The guy is a legend and it’s not known, but he’ll double as protection. I saw him placing wards on the witch and warlock dorm. It’s all or nothing with him, so the full package is totally worth his skills and knowledge.”
“Hey, you don’t have to sell me on him. He’s detailed and all over it like your dad.” I did a double take when her thoughts said Instructor Larson was probably better than Trigger Rothchild, which I hadn’t expected. She quickly explained in her mind that it was because of Larson’s extensive magical knowledge and all of his power, but yeah, the man was seriously lethal and could take things to another level.
It wasn’t Mr. Rothchild’s fault that he couldn’t. But it was just like Mel to always be fair and acknowledge that, even if it was only in her head.
I took my pictures, ate tons, and hurried for a shower before heading to Physics 101. As I knew, it was going to be a lot of evil math that I wouldn’t be friends with, but I was pretty sure I could struggle through.
Magical Advancements 101 was going to be fascinating, and I was ready to dive right in and read all the material. Others didn’t seem to have the same opinion and thought it a blow off class. They seemed to have that same opinion of Professor Campbell from their thoughts, which was a shame since she was a good teacher.
I simply had other issues with her since she had been completely into Dr. Craftsman and pursued him the whole time we were together. Every time I’d seen her over the summer, his name was on her lips. She wasn’t trying for him again, but she still cared too much, and that was obvious from the way she would comment about trying to help him and the way everyone shut him out.
And today, her thoughts were on him as she started the lecture. She was glad he almost seemed more like himself, and he was looking forward to something. It was nice for him that he could get back into the semester, and it would push him past whatever had happened that he wouldn’t talk about with her, no matter how hard she tried.
That was about when I shut off my telepathy. I hadn’t meant to listen that long, but I had flinched, wondering if he was looking forward to me being in his class… But that sounded utterly self-absorbed. He had to seriously know it was over, right?
Please let me be right. I felt like an overfilled water balloon most days, and if anyone tried to push more in me, I was going to burst all over the quad.
When class was over, I stayed back to ask a private question, waiting until she was finished talking to another student to approach her.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Vale?” she asked as she packed up her materials.
“I wondered if there was any flexibility on the paper topics? I did a lot of research over the summer into advancements, and there are others I want to research. I was hoping there might be a chance for some crossover, even if you don’t cover them specifically or they might be covered in later classes.”
She stopped what she was doing, glancing at me then. “Some of the research was for your traps.” She smirked when I didn’t reply. “If I made the exception, I’d want to see those and—”
“No,” I immediately shut down.
She blinked at me in shock, probably given how flexible I’d been with teachers going over the line with me, but also the harsh tone I used. “Whyever not?”
“Those are weapons in the wrong hands, Professor Campbell. I trust you, but someone gets it from you, or the knowledge how I did it—I’m not going down that rabbit hole. I won’t even show them to Dean White, and she’s been my magical advisor on several other projects. I’d love her help because I think she could guide me how to use a ton less magic to make them, but it’s dangerous.”
“How are spy traps dangerous?”
“I caught council spies in them,” I reminded her, thinking she was a bit too naïve on our world and lived in her fancy lifestyle bubble. “I’ve been ordered by powerful families to make more for them and alter them as they want. People threaten, abduct, and kill for less.”
“My word, you go to the darkest options fast,” she whispered.
“Professor, I like you, but you’re not paying attention to what really goes on in this world if you don’t.” I shook my head when she flinched and looked miffed. “White did. She yelled at me for letting the other headmasters and schools find out that I could make those as it was another reason I was a target.”
She pressed her lips in a thin line and nodded. “I’ll speak with her on that then. I admit that my family kept me sheltered from much and are good people, so I didn’t experience the horrors most elite women do.” She went back to packing. “Fine, yes, I’ll allow other options for your assignments, but I would like another half of a page to a page as to what drew you to that advancement or your interest in it.”
“As long as I don’t have to give specifics or intents of how to use it.”
“Not at all. I find your mind fascinating and the way you see our world. Call it professional curiosity as I’ve never spent time with an unknown, nor a young witch of your power. Plus, now you’re training with Nathan Larson, who’s a legend, and I find myself jealous I’m not ever invited into the fun club. Melody isn’t much younger than I. Pillay is involved all the time.”
I ignored the comment about my being a witch. “Only on the extra seminar and co-op stuff, which I’m not,” I defended. “And it’s not a club, Campbell. It’s dangerous. White signed up knowing it might cost her life to fight with us. Are you willing to go that far? Because we are. It’s not a club, but a war we’re fighting.”
She blinked at me as if I was going too far. There was no good way to say that, and I appreciated she was at least being polite as she couldn’t seem to make her mouth work.
“Talk to White, but you’re more than welcome to help Pillay or the hobgoblins or HAVEN or whatever you want. The super inner circle is locked to people only willing to take this all the way.” I sig
hed when she tried to say something again. “Councilman Ainsworth is one of the top dogs of the supe black market. He is a murderer who wants me to drain my magic and steal all I have. This is war.”
There wasn’t anything else to say and I had to get to class, so I left her to settle with that. I kinda thought she was a bit dense to not have realized it was so serious already. I mean, she had been right there when one of Ainsworth’s aides attacked me and tried to rip my mental shields down to find out what species I was so they could control me.
Did she think things got better after that?
I mulled that over as I hurried to my next class. Campbell might be the type of person who preferred her head in the sand and only saw what she wanted to. She saw Craftsman’s last name and his prestigious family, but no matter how many times even I’d heard him talk about the shit of his family… She never seemed to get there was bad to them or being among the ultimate, top-powered elite.
Every protection and warning rune and charm I possessed flared or reacted as I walked into Potions 101, to the point I almost turned tail and raced right back out and found my security. They were dull responses though, so I continued, flipping on my telepathy and keeping alert while ready to book it. I felt a strange sort of excitement I hadn’t in a while, not since Mel and I had stopped giving ourselves assignments.
There was a predator in the room, full of glee at being able to trap prey.
And there was someone who was wearing a telepathy blocking charm. I didn’t need two guesses that it was the same person.
The thing that did shock me was Instructor McGrath wore the charm. I didn’t know much about him, just the quick background Mel had given me about all my teachers so I was prepared. He was a warlock, new to Artemis, but had a few years’ experience teaching under his belt.