Upended Life (Artemis University Book 1)

by Erin R Flynn

  “Do you really think I’m the last?” I whispered, finally asking what was bugging me most.

  “I hope you’re not. I didn’t know too many fairies, but besides those who were jealous of their power or wanted it for themselves, there are few who had bad words about them. I met a few when I was younger and they were filled with goodness in a world with too much else always around us.”

  It made sense that was the answer she gave. Either way her answer could have upset me.

  And I might have asked for her honesty but most people didn’t really want that much honesty.

  6

  We talked for a while longer about several things that left me feeling like a fish out of water… Or maybe trying to swim in something toxic.

  No big deal, right?

  All I could do was cling to the revelation about Mel. I wasn’t alone in this.

  Thank fuck.

  I used the key Claudia gave me along with the code for the alarm that I was shocked still worked. Twenty years leaving a house no one could access seemed it would be a disaster.

  Claudia assured me that the spell kept everything like a time capsule and my crossing through it started the clock again even if the fairy magic would protect the place.

  That wasn’t freaky or anything.

  Awesome and useful but freaky.

  I locked the door behind me out of habit more than I didn’t trust the magic. Claudia had showed me how she couldn’t cross the gate after it opened.

  I found my way to the kitchen and to the house-specific instructions, a handwritten letter on the top of it.

  Dearest Cousin,

  If you are finding this, my family and I did not return from protecting our queen and people. If that the case and Mr. Geiger has passed the estate on to you, we give it freely to any cousin who could use it.

  I wish you a long and happy life and hope our estate can ease your life, as a fairy’s life is always full of hardship.

  I understand accepting a stranger’s estate would be confusing and a troubling situation but know it was given freely. There wasn’t much time to go into detailed instructions with Mr. Geiger as we weren’t the only family returning to Faerie, but I left some in my study.

  If you can find a better use for our belongings, please do as you want, Cousin.

  But if that not the case, we don’t want to be a burden to the living and please refer to the instructions for guidance.

  I’m sorry we never met, but I grasp to the hope that someone survived this war, as my greatest fear through my years has always been our constant wars will be the end of us. And I speak not only of fairies.

  Take care and may our wealth provide you a shield in a perilous world.

  Fond Blessings,

  Conall Townsend

  I sniffled and quickly wiped my eyes. Wow, what a nice man to worry about easing my distress at inheriting his fortune. That sounded crazy but that was classy in a way I hoped I could be one day.

  The money was great, but I knew I would absolutely use his list for their possessions.

  I set the letter down on top of what looked like a folder of appliance booklets and warranties on the top of a stack of folders, and headed to find the study. It took me a bit and several wrong turns before I found it. On the desk was a large journal.

  List my ass, that’s a damn instruction manual.

  Still, it seemed more than fair to carry out his last wishes to inherit his estate. I scanned the pages, finding it to be mostly family stuff and stuff that needed careful handling.

  A lot of it, but I found what I needed about ten pages in. Any clothing, household items, or vehicles I could use or sell as I wanted. There was a list of exceptions that were older or heirlooms.

  Fair enough. Don’t sell fairy stuff to humans.

  Got it.

  I was about to close the book when something caught my eye. Professor Kyle Edelman. The headmaster was in the book. Huh?

  I read the page and found at the time he was a professor of the history department at Artemis and in charge of the school’s relics and historical acquisitions. I whistled when I read the long list of what Conall Townsend wanted donated to the university.

  It made sense since Claudia said the family had helped found the school or something. She was a font of information but gave it quickly.

  Then again, I could have admitted I was overwhelmed.

  Then again, that sort of seemed like a given.

  I decided to be nice and wrote down a few things from the list I thought I could find with the specific instructions. I didn’t want to mark up the book but I would definitely need a copy or something to keep it all straight.

  As luck would have it, there was a large copy machine tucked away in the back of the study. It was one of those all in one monsters that printed like a bazillion pages a minute too.

  Nice. I copied the start of the list and went on a search. It didn’t take even a few minutes before I found the set of journals. It took longer to find the gloves Conall had written to use when handling the books.

  Then I had to wrap them in blank paper that didn’t have ink to press on them and finally wrap them in cloth before whatever I used to transport them. Yeah, the book was that specific but I was glad it was because I’d feel crushed if I ruined something valuable by mishandling it.

  After my good deed I went in search of what I needed. He’d said clothes and household items were fair game so I started with one of the guest rooms.

  “Bingo,” I whispered when I saw the queen-sized bed fully made with everything I would need. It was even my style with a sleek look.

  I found some garbage bags in the utility room that I could use to transport and got to work. I stripped the bed and found an extra set of sheets. A couple of the pillows would work nicely so I bagged those up too.

  I dragged the bags downstairs and wished I had brought something to drink or eat. Everything edible was cleaned out of the kitchen, which was a blessing as even with magic I couldn’t imagine the smell of twenty-year-old rotting food.

  But that meant I didn’t trust the tap water even if the toilet worked fine when I used the bathroom earlier.

  Next I explored the rooms. I didn’t want the master suite just yet as Conall had mentioned family, so that meant more than him. Could I be so lucky that he had daughters?

  I could and they weren’t little kids from what I found in the first room. There was another letter greeting me and offering all she had for me to use with some caveats.

  A lot less than her father but all reasonable. There was even a bit that she hoped I would be kind of heart and donate what I didn’t need instead of wasting what was now mine.

  Sister, you read my mind. That was totally how I was and after going through her closet a bit, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

  A loud chime interrupted my laying out gowns on the bed. I flinched as it rang again. The doorbell? How the fuck was anyone at the door?

  I raced to it, pulling out a few of my weapons as I did. I checked the large speakeasy knocker and didn’t find anyone there.

  I didn’t feel anyone close either. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, letting out a yelp as there was another chime.

  Who the fuck was ringing the doorbell?

  I saw a flash of something down the drive, almost like mini fireworks. Oh, right, the gate. There had been a call box.

  I blew out a harsh breath, my nerves totally frying me as I headed that way. It was probably Claudia with something else for me, but it could also be someone who wanted the estate and knew someone was there? Or other bad people?

  They can’t get on the property or they already would have. That helped and I jogged down the long drive to the gate. I squinted when I saw three figures, the Claudia theory out then.

  No, it was Dr. Craftsman, Marshall, and Sean?

  What the fuck?

  “What are you doing here?” I asked suspiciously, about growling when something hit me. “How did you even know I was here? Did
you put a tracker on me?”

  “No, but clearly we should have,” Dr. Craftsman snapped. “There are rules, Tamsin. You cannot just blatantly ignore them because you feel you can.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I muttered, seeing mostly worry in their expressions and backing down.

  “You knew we were flagging you down, not just waving hello,” Marshall pushed.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but I’ve been on my own for a while, Dad. I was planning to be back before curfew and I wasn’t smoking with the bad kids. I was meeting my attorney and handling life.”

  “You were also supposed to register,” Marshall growled. “We’re in charge of your safety, Tamsin. Everyone on campus. We don’t have your number. You don’t have a school ID if there’s a problem. Everyone has to sign out with where they go, as the world is dangerous.”

  “I know the world is.”

  “No, you don’t, as our world is more dangerous,” Sean said calmly, taking the tone of the interaction down a few notches.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” I blew a raspberry. “I haven’t read the full packet and whatever I got—this is a lot. I know it’s a large campus but I felt everything closing in on me.” I waited until they eased down a bit. “How did you find me?”

  “Headmaster Edelman contacted Mr. Geiger,” Dr. Craftsman answered. “He wouldn’t tell us at first and there were some delays even getting him, but then he admitted the address after the headmaster agreed not to blow a gasket at breaking the college rules.”

  I winced. “I really didn’t know. I follow reasonable rules all the time.”

  “How could you not know?” Dr. Craftsman demanded, narrowing his eyes at me. I was about to snip back at him when he continued. “Darby gave you the tour and instructions.”

  Oh crap. Oh fuck. Did I just get my new tutor in trouble? I fidgeted with my ponytail and cleared my throat. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure—he told me. I forgot. I was overwhelmed and blocked it out, but he told me.”

  The anger and worry finally leaked from his eyes, replaced with amusement. “You’re a shit liar, love.”

  I huffed. “I’m actually a great liar but I’m not great on the spot and it’s been a stressful fucking twenty-four hours, okay? He probably did tell me, as Darby seems a guy who would absolutely always mark everything on the checklist, but we had a few hiccups with bitch students—one of whom tried to blackmail him to do her homework this year—and some other stuff and my brain can’t remember it all.”

  “Fine, I understand. Let us in so we can guard you,” Dr. Craftsman said, waving me to come towards them.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why do I get the feeling signing in and signing out might be part of the normal student rules but you’re about to go way over the line?”

  “You’re not wrong, but for now,” Sean cut in. “Just for now, Tamsin. You’re the only fairy left and you’re new to our world. Let us protect you while you learn what you need to be protected against. Please? It’s our job to keep the students safe.”

  Well shit. Now I just felt guilty.

  I blew another raspberry and looked at the sky with my hands on my hips.

  I was just about to tell them the problem with letting people in when energy rushed under my skin in a weird way, almost like when I’d thrown it at those guys the day before but different. I let out a gasp as I fell to my knees, clutching my chest as it grew.

  “Love, let us in,” Dr. Craftsman begged. “Come on, Tamsin, touch me so I can come in and help you.”

  They were all trying to reach me through the barrier but nothing was working. I was still about five feet too far to even reach out and there was no way I was moving in my current state. All of my nerve endings tingled and I felt like someone had shot electricity through me.

  “Wait, it’s the pills,” Sean cut in. “She took her first dose of the pills from Doc at breakfast probably.”

  “They don’t do this,” Marshall said.

  “She’s a fairy. She’s powerful so maybe it does.”

  Well, at least that helped the panic at whatever was going on with me. One last jolt to my nerves and the energy slowly receded.

  I was gasping on the ground, crumbled on my side facing them. I think I gave them a thumbs-up I was okay but every inch of me felt more alive. Sort of like that moment after a good orgasm when your body was sensitive, but just more.

  “Wow,” I panted, blinking at the ground. “Shit, that was awesome and terrifying.”

  “How do you feel now?” Sean worried.

  I thought about it a moment before answering. “Like I didn’t realize a muscle was sore until I stretched it and that easing feeling. I didn’t know I was getting a headache until it was gone.”

  “Yeah, that’s the pills,” Marshall agreed. “Most just don’t feel it that much.”

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Two, why?” Dr. Craftsman answered.

  “Because I need to be careful what I’m doing when this is going to happen,” I drawled. “I definitely shouldn’t have been driving or like sparring.”

  “Good point,” he agreed, the others mumbling the same.

  “I just need another minute,” I admitted, feeling a bit jellylike. Sort of post-orgasmic in that way too.

  Or so I heard. I hadn’t had sex that good to have this much after feelings.

  I pushed to sit up with a groan. “Okay, so there’s a problem with letting you in. If I do, you can let others in and so on. Plus, you can be forced to let others in. I can’t. It’s all sealed to me.”

  “We won’t let anyone else in, kid,” Marshall drawled.

  I gave him a look like he needed to use his head. “You didn’t trust I wasn’t flying the coop after barely knowing me and you think I should trust you more than that with all of this?” I gestured behind me.

  He gave me a guilty look.

  Yeah, I knew this was more than they were pissed I broke the rules. They thought I took off, their prized last fairy who one day would be a big deal for them.

  “Fine, just let me then,” Dr. Craftsman pushed. He shook his head when I snorted. “You got to meet us halfway too, love. We dropped everything because we were worried for you and we’re not demanding you get your ass back to school. Let me in and we’ll hurry with what you were doing. That’s a fair compromise, right?”

  I sighed as I pushed to stand, giving him a hard look. “Fine, don’t make me regret it.” I barely bit out the words before reaching across the barrier to touch him.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I still need the gate open.”

  Oh, right. I opened my mouth but then closed it. I didn’t want to give them the code. That was settled when I saw a panel like at the call box on this side of the gate on the stone pillar.

  Smart. I put the code in and reached for Dr. Craftsman again, trying not to pay attention to his strong, calloused hand that was warm as it wrapped around my smaller one.

  I looked back at the wolves. “I won’t take long, I swear. I just need bedding for school and some other stuff like a dress for a ball apparently.”

  Sean snickered at my disdain but apologized before shrugging. “It’s cool. I’d rather stand here for my shift than at the guardhouse dealing with annoyed parents that we don’t have ESP for the moment they were going to arrive.”

  “Yeah, that blows.” I headed towards the house, giving a slight tug on my hand, but Dr. Craftsman didn’t drop it.

  He waited until we were out of hearing range before speaking. “You okay? Should I worry you needed to flee the very large campus?”

  “I’m a survivor, Doc, don’t worry about me,” I muttered as I yanked my hand away. I headed back to the room I’d been in and pulled out the rest of the gowns.

  “You only need one dress for a ball, rich people aren’t that different,” he teased me, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest… Looking delicious. Distracting.

  And reminding me there was a bed in the
room with us.

  He was much more dashing in proper lighting. He was the epitome of “stylish Brit” from head to toe. It wasn’t just the deep emerald green eyes but he had the scruff and perfect hair.

  Honestly, he looked a lot like a younger David Beckham without the ink and footballer swagger.

  Though he had swagger of his own. Definitely, but it was more the genius everyone wants. He was a bit buffer though. Not that I knew from being so close to David Beckham, but in the photos I’d seen he was a lean muscular whereas Dr. Craftsman was a Daniel Craig sort of body.

  But taller. Maybe?

  How tall was Daniel Craig?

  I shook my head at my wandering thoughts. No matter Bond’s height, my sexy Brit professor had six inches on my five-eight. He cleared his throat and I remembered he’d asked me something.

  Whoops.

  “After getting some insight as to how the school and students treat the scholarship students, I thought I’d do something nice,” I muttered as I looked in the closet for a garment bag. “Those are all expensive designer dresses. Maybe that will give them a better chance of surviving the assholes who would look down on them at the ball.”

  I found one and came back out, flinching when I saw the look Dr. Craftsman was giving me. It was a mix of amazement and heat.

  A lot of heat.

  “Can I tell you a secret you’ll keep?” He waited until I nodded. “I was a scholarship student so I know exactly what they go through. I was better protected as the genius most wanted as one of theirs but yeah, I know.”

  I studied him. “Want to help me do a good deed then and figure out how to get these to them?” I frowned at the pile. “And maybe altered?”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely, love, and I can help with that.”

  I blinked at him, getting what he was alluding to. “You’re a warlock?”

  “I am.”

  “Cool.” I wasn’t sure what to say. What was the right reaction? To me it was him admitting he was British.