Upended Life (Artemis University Book 1)

by Erin R Flynn

  This was going to be fun.

  I went for him again but this time he pivoted out of the way. I countered with pivoting the other way so I spun around almost like a dance and was back with him when his weight settled.

  I got him in the face that time but pulled back. It was always smart to react like you could be hit even when sparring with someone only blocking.

  Except some of my best moves were when someone came at me.

  “You’re limiting my range by not attacking,” I bitched, clipping him in the ribs after he tried to block my fake out.

  “Oh, that sounds like fun,” he drawled.

  “I enjoy it.” I winked at him and he snorted.

  He relaxed just for an instant, probably about to say something else, but I saw my opening and rushed in, grabbing him around the chest and falling backwards to land on my ass. I kicked my feet so they landed hard around his hips as I rolled my body, using that momentum to propel him.

  I rolled onto my stomach to see how it went, wincing as he landed past the mats. “Shit, my bad. That normally lands on the mats.”

  “Apparently you’re stronger with your magic being unlocked,” Marshall muttered.

  Sean just groaned, tapping out on the hard gym floor.

  “Well, now we know how it would have ended if Craftsman hadn’t used his siren’s voice on me,” I teased as I flipped to my feet.

  “He wasn’t attacking you,” Marshall drawled.

  “Well, come on, big guy,” I purred, bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Maybe it’s time you get I don’t need a babysitter like you think.”

  He frowned, handing his clipboard to a different guard and walking towards me.

  “We get you’ve trained, Tamsin, especially now having met Melody. We’re not saying you’re a defenseless baby. We’re saying you don’t know what to defend yourself against always. Some of the calmest, most polite, and nicest people are the deadliest in our world.”

  I nodded; that was fair. Still, I waved him to come at me and I annoyed him enough that he did. I blocked him and went for his legs, knowing he would jump out of the way.

  So when he did and landed, my foot connected with his face. He tried to get me when I wasn’t balanced completely but he didn’t manage it with my block.

  We went back and forth until he got annoyed and wanted to use his size and strength against me, blocking my defensive hit and grabbing me. Except I was most lethal when caught.

  I dropped my weight so he had to hold me fully, balancing a bit to compensate. I pushed my feet off one of his knees from the side and we started to fall.

  I caught myself first given our positions and flipped us so he landed hard with me on top of him to be extra weight. I punched him and winced, the hit harder than it should have been… And knocked him out.

  “Fuck, that was an accident,” I muttered. “I pull my punches in sparring, I swear.”

  “Yeah, you need some corrective training once you’re full power,” Sean grumbled, looking at Marshall. “He’s going to be so pissed.”

  I winced again. “How do you apologize to a wolf shifter?”

  “Meat,” several of the guards said immediately.

  “Um, like a package of steaks or a pig roast?” I asked as I stood, glancing down at Marshall before focusing on Sean again. “If you tell me a live animal or something, I’m going to have trouble eating lunch.”

  “City girl?” he teased me, snorting when I shrugged. “Yeah, you get him a pig to roast and I promise, he’ll absolutely forgive you, probably even work with you on correcting your training.”

  “Seriously, a whole pig? That seems a bit much,” one of the other guys muttered.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m rich. He can have a whole five-hundred-dollar pig. I kept offering to do something since they have to babysit me off campus.” I shrugged at the confused looks. “Mel and I were talking about getting one. We looked it up. A large pig, cleaned and delivered, is five hundred.”

  “That’s fascinating,” Coach Khan drawled from behind us.

  Whoops. I’d forgotten about class. I glanced over at him as he glanced from me to Marshall again.

  “Put Vale in the third class with a note she’s had training and to work on her strength burst,” Coach Khan told one of the guards.

  Sean snorted. “Yeah, she learned from a Rothchild, has been for years.”

  I blinked as the entire gym went dead quiet. I looked at Sean. “Mel’s really that big of a deal?”

  “Yeah, it’s like getting acting lessons from a line of legends like the Coppolas or the British royals taught you etiquette. It’s kind of unheard of that they share their ways with anyone outside their clan.” He waited until I nodded before looking over at the coach. “I thought the headmaster talked to you about this?”

  “No, I had a personal emergency and couldn’t arrive at campus until late yesterday. I’ll talk to him today.” He looked at the rest of the room. “All right, come forward when your name’s called and listen to your assessor.”

  The guards started calling people and since there were a lot of them in the gym, I got the feeling I was done. At least for a while.

  Deciding to take advantage of the time and get away from all the thoughts before I got a headache, I headed to the locker room. I found the book Headmaster Edelman gave me and went to the corner of the gym where there were yoga mats stacked.

  That sounded perfect actually. I could use a good core workout and time to learn about myself. Assuming the author actually knew much of anything.

  It was the best I had for now. The headmaster promised to get the books scanned that I had donated—even more after Mel helped me find them—but I doubted that would be a high priority.

  I moved into plank position and opened the book in my hands to read. I frowned as I did, the author seeming to be annoyed and completely resentful of fairies. I understood it had to be frustrating for him to not get the answers he wanted, but he acted like the fairies asked him to write the book and then were jerks.

  He wanted to write the book and basically thought it was the duty of fairies to answer his questions because he deemed it so. Asshole.

  I wasn’t even sure if I could trust anything in the book. If I were those fairies I would have told him a bunch of bullshit because of his attitude.

  He had to at least verify it somehow, right? Multiple sources? I really hoped so or this was going to be a waste. Maybe it would be smarter to see what I could find in the Townsend library.

  When my arms started shaking I flipped over and changed to the glute bridge position, holding the book up in front of me.

  “What are you doing?” Darby asked me as he squatted down next to me. I didn’t even realize he was in this class, but he would know the answer to the question I had.

  “What does ‘scurrilous’ mean?”

  He frowned. “Grossly abusive. It’s an adjective, like an abuse of power or position, governments or leaders abusing the trust put in them.”

  I snorted. Wow, this author really was an asshole. Basically he was saying the power fairies had was wasted on them because he didn’t think they used it how he would.

  The way he wrote it, they were abusing their magic because they didn’t use it for power but for fairness and to tip the scales. Nice way to try and use circular logic to judge them for not being jerks.

  I remembered what he asked me and lowered my butt to the mat. “Core exercises. Did you have your assessment?”

  “Um, yeah, I’m in the first class.”

  I winced. “I assume that’s frowned upon as a junior, right?”

  “Yeah, if I don’t get into the third by the end of the year and pass the final I could lose my scholarship.”

  “Need help?” I asked.

  He paused. “Just like that?”

  I turned on my side and frowned at him. “Yeah, um, you’re tutoring me. It seems only fair to help you if you need it.”

  “Yes, but I have to do it.”

  “
Doesn’t mean I appreciate it any less.” I pushed up into the side plank position and gestured towards the mats. “Grab one and join me. Strengthening your core means better balance, which translates to better fighting.”

  “All right.” He went over to the mats and brought one back. I switched back to plank and showed him what to do. After he got into the position, I adjusted him as needed and left him be. “I just stay like this?”

  “Yeah, until you can’t hold it. Take a break and then get back into it. It’s just like any other working out and your endurance will go up.”

  “I don’t really work out,” he grumbled. “I don’t have time.”

  “Well, we’ll figure out how you can help me study while working out. I run every morning.” I smiled when he groaned. Well, someone wasn’t athletic.

  “I hate running. I’m a swimmer. That’s the only cardio I like besides football for fun.”

  “I can’t help you there. I don’t know how to swim.”

  “Well, we’ll need to fix that,” Mason said as he came over with another mat. “If nothing else you’re going to have your first summer break as a college student and there has to be a beach or pool party with that.”

  I actually had a huge pool at the Townsend place so I did want to learn to swim, but I had a list before it. “Sure, join us.”

  “Might as well use the time instead of gossiping about stupid stuff,” he drawled, handing a mat over to Lucca. So he was in this class too.

  Okay then. All we needed was Juan and… Yeah, Juan was in the class. When he came over with Hudson I burst out laughing.

  “What? What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Nothing, just every student I know besides my roommate and a senior, Natalie, is in this class together. It’s odd when we’re different grades and then you all come over here like this is where the party is. And yet I took a book to the very far back corner.”

  “Yeah, Blake’s already bitching that you’re building a harem,” Juan admitted.

  “Bitch be jealous,” I said with flair before glancing over at Darby. “Okay, now flip onto your back.” I showed him how to do the glute bridge and noticed the others were as well. “Um, when did I become Yoda?”

  “We saw you fight and your moves are awesome,” Mason praised.

  I shrugged. “Right, but these are basic core exercises, not ninja secrets.”

  “Yeah, but you dropped into plank and held it for over five minutes the first time,” Juan drawled. “I could never hold it that long. I think maybe your toned tummy might actually be your secret.”

  I didn’t answer. I had a feeling my secret was more I’d had to fight for my life too many times so I took every fight seriously.

  16

  “What are your thoughts so far about your classes?” Darby asked me as we faced each other in a side plank.

  “Professor White is no nonsense and not looking to screw us as long as we do what we should,” I answered after a moment. “And dutiful in her helping us get caught up. She said there’s a place like Diagon Alley and wants to arrange a field trip, or if it’s just me that’s never been there, have Dr. Craftsman take me. She’s focused on us thinking it through instead of memorizing facts or dates.”

  He nodded. “She’s a good teacher. Knowing where to find the information you need is more important than how much you can memorize in a semester.” His lips did that half twitch. “And it’s not like that, though I understand the reference from your perspective.”

  “The best option is more like a very large art gallery,” Lucca explained. “But instead of there being one painting and maybe prints you can order, people are allowed to have their wares or services there for people to browse. Each has the information of who to contact and price. The store gets a commission for each item sold and they also verify it’s not a bullshit item.”

  “So like a broker, cool,” I muttered, thinking that was smart when you could have global commerce easily. “How many are there?”

  “Ten in America, the ten biggest cities,” he answered. “But the New York one is by far the best, and if you’re using a portal to travel, there’s no point in bothering with the others.”

  The others agreed, Hudson grunting.

  “Ready to move on?” I asked Darby.

  “No.”

  “Suck it up, buttercup,” I drawled. I lay on my back with my arms spread and twisted my hips until my feet touched the floor, rotating and doing it on the other side. “You won’t touch to start. Go until you feel a gentle stretch, but keep your upper body in the right spot. Form is more important than how many or how far.”

  I sat up as he did it, correcting how he had his head. I noticed Mason was off too, going over there and fixing him as well. Then Hudson.

  I sighed. “If I’m turning into your yoga instructor we’re not doing hot yoga so don’t ask.”

  “Naked yoga?” Juan teased and I just snorted.

  “So how does one make a reservoir?” I asked Darby.

  “It’s a magically enchanted item that holds power like a sponge, instead of a huge area like you think of a water reservoir.”

  “Yeah, I read the chapter Dr. Craftsman told me to before I used it, but how is it made? Rune? Dipped in potion? A drop of blood dancing naked under the full moon?”

  “Witches and warlocks do not appreciate jokes like that, like not to use ‘leeches’ around vampires,” Darby warned. “And it’s neither. Think of it like building a cedar chest to store something. Trees need to be cut down for the wood. The parts are put together. Then they’re stained or sealed. It’s like that and each step has layers of magic, intense focus, which is why they’re so expensive.”

  I hummed I heard him as I thought about it. The one I had looked like a magical decoder with two metal rings that rotated and could be lined up. Once they were by the person putting their magic in, only that person could turn it and I had to make sure it wasn’t aligned when not in use.

  “How much are they?”

  “Any worth using are a few grand,” Lucca answered.

  I whistled. “Wow, you’ve got to be rich to have magic it seems.”

  “It’s not something most use unless they’re a witch or warlock and building power for a spell,” Juan said.

  I picked up several thoughts from him that he was impressed how powerful I was to be using one and it made me so much more intriguing to him. Oh boy. I was a rare gem and new toy all in one.

  “Let’s do some leg lifts,” I told Darby. “And don’t lift as high as me. If you push too fast, that’s when it hurts, and unless you’re a masochist, you won’t want to do it again. And I already know you’re a sadist.”

  He snorted, shocking me he reacted like that. “Please, you’re the sadist. You could have told Holly or Blake to fuck off but you enjoyed tearing them down.”

  “No, I don’t enjoy it,” I argued, giving him a look that it was true. “I just know if you don’t fight fire with fire and burn them, they try harder each time.”

  “Experience?” he checked.

  “Yup. Show up to a human high school as a girl with this hair color and you won’t believe the bullying you get. I’m talking five girls pinning me down and searching my roots all the time to prove I was dyeing it for attention. The guys were worse. I’m able to fight back now and I will.”

  I made it clear the conversation was over when I went back to my book, the guys following with what I did but none of them being able to go as long as I could. Hey, they were trying.

  “I can’t, I can’t anymore,” Darby groaned, flopping back to the mat. “You’re a machine. You’ve been doing it over an hour.”

  I glanced at the clock and saw he was right. I nodded, moving to my knees and sitting on my feet. “Yeah, because I do them. You did it way too long your first time trying to keep up with me but there’s nothing wrong with doing it.”

  “It sucks,” he grumbled.

  “Oh, come on, you baby,” I teased. “We were talking and you got to spend t
ime with me. Or I was reading my book. Just do it for five minutes now and again while you’re studying and I promise it will help your balance and more. Even your swimming.”

  “All right, only because I got a present from Santa.”

  I blinked at him. “Did you just crack a joke?”

  He rolled his eyes as he pushed to his feet. “No, your damn hyper roommate came bouncing along the vampire dorm asking where my room was and she had a gift from Santa because I was a good boy.”

  I sighed. Heavily. “That girl needs to turn it down to a five, for real. I thought she was a bit too excited to help me out.” I glanced at him and winced. “She didn’t wear an outfit, right? I thought she was kidding with that.”

  “She didn’t, but she was singing ‘Santa Baby’ when I opened the door.”

  “What was the gift?” Lucca asked, frowning as he glanced between us.

  I shrugged. “It wasn’t from me. I can’t pay a scholarship student for tutoring me. It’s against the rules. She must have gotten an extra of something in her order.”

  He gave me an amused look. “Yes, Sam’s Club sent an extra Roomba. Oh, and a box full of toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and snacks.”

  “We were ordering essentials and in bulk and realized unless we wanted a paper towel and toilet paper tower to decorate our room, we might want to share,” I confessed. “I voted for a toilet paper fort.”

  “You’re as special as she is.”

  “Oh, believe me, I can outdo that story and she’s at a level I could never be.”

  “Oh?” he challenged.

  “Yeah, she assumed Dr. Craftsman was my boyfriend and rambled on about how hot he was and she’s not into cock but when we want to fuck she’ll make herself scarce. I thought he was going to fall over.”

  “And you?” Hudson asked, finally saying something.

  “I thought it was deliciously evil given how we met,” I purred. “He used his siren’s voice on me and then he got dressed down to a hottie I would use. Kinda felt like karma.”