Compounding Traumas (Artemis University Book 6)

by Erin R Flynn

  “Yeah, and they also abuse the fae dogs,” I bitched. “We know this. They shoot them and chase them out of safe places. That ends.” I shook my head when he tried to object. “None of them are dragons in Australia. What do you care? We could go in and just do it without your permission as we have people who are not dragons. You’re just taking something off my plate by giving them a safe zone to meet.”

  “Unless you don’t need the crystals so soon and can wait until all the interrogations are done,” Claudia said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. “I think fifty is a generous show of good faith, given most of the hobgoblins from your people have been abused, so the final number will be half of what you thought.”

  I caught a stray thought from his security, mentally laughing that Alec kept wearing telepathy blocking charms around me, but his people didn’t. That wasn’t as helpful to them then.

  Glancing over at Claudia, I sighed. “Which is why the douche in charge of Africa hasn’t tried for this deal. You were right. He knows he won’t get as many crystals, but a lot of justice against his people the hobgoblins are owed as Alec agreed. And he doesn’t want his magical slaves taken away from his elites that love having them.”

  She was unconcerned. “We’ll handle it.”

  Alec snorted. “If you could have done that, you would have.”

  “We try for civil options when there’s a problem, before going in and slaughtering people and wasting valuable lives,” Claudia sneered. “Then again, there wasn’t a problem, but you simply killed for power, you murderer.”

  “Why you—” Alec started, but I was focused on security.

  “Try it, and I will kill you with a rune and risk the fallout,” I warned his people when a few looked to move on Claudia. “His slaughterfest killed one of her family. She is owed her moment to say what he deserves to get.”

  They all gave me looks that they didn’t agree with that, but believed I would kill them, so they backed off.

  “Take my deal, Alec, because I’m not sure you’ll get any crystals otherwise,” I pushed. “The hobgoblins have been asking to let the dragon castles fall as justice for what they suffered. The testimonies we hear are—they’re insanely cruel, and abuse doesn’t cover what they went through.

  “I’m inclined to give it to them if real justice isn’t received as you promised, so you might want to start balancing priorities if you let certain families fall or your castle. If I wanted to be mean and start real trouble, I would offer crystals for the hobgoblins you got out of your area that don’t work for dragons.”

  He chilled his attitude, almost looking pale at the idea. So he didn’t have the backing of other supe leaders in Australia. Interesting. Very interesting. I was learning a lot with this meeting. It almost made the hour wait worth it.

  He snatched up the folder and quickly looked over the list, steam practically coming out of his ears when he saw how long it was. “I will handle this immediately. I could see a few falling through the cracks or being overlooked, but this is three fucking pages. You know where they are?”

  I glanced at Claudia and nodded for her to handle that one.

  “We’re not completely sure on all the locations, but we have confirmed they are in your area with more than one source to have them on that list. Mostly from hobgoblins visiting with those they worked for, so they weren’t always clear on locations, but they know who they saw.”

  “I’ll take that help, and we can get them from there when we’re onsite.” He didn’t wait for her to answer, focusing on me and seeming as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. “I apologize. I thought we turned everyone over, and you were dicking us around because you hate me.”

  “I keep my promises on all things, Alec, even when I hate people. I don’t play those sorts of games, but come at people head-on when they fuck with me. Don’t fuck with me, and I’ll do as I say.”

  He gave a swift nod and pushed to his feet, leaving without another word. His people trailed after them, and we waited a few minutes until we were sure they were gone.

  “I’m sorry,” Claudia whispered before I could speak.

  I stood and went to her, hugging her, even if she was stiff and didn’t return it. “I knew you were going to do that. I wanted you to have that moment. I’m sorry I can’t get you more yet.”

  “Yet?” she breathed, fear in her voice.

  “One day, I’m going to take that fucker down if I make it that long. Or the ones I plan to help will.”

  “Yeah, they would for sure,” she rasped, hugging me back. “Thanks, Tamsin.”

  “You good?” I checked after several minutes.

  “No, but that helps. Tremendously.”

  Well that was something for sure.

  I let her go and moved away, leaning my hip against the table. “You can come in, Geoff.”

  The door opened, and the Alpha stepped in looking amused with several of his guards sharing the sentiment. “You rang?”

  I smiled at him, knowing he was teasing me. “You picked up what we did, right? He’s in trouble.”

  “Are you asking me as an Alpha who has people working for you or—”

  “As a wolf who senses a lot and has a good heart, so he doesn’t want to see assholes in power and hurting supes,” I promised. “And off the record.”

  “He’s in serious trouble. The distress coming off of him was real and thick,” he answered after a moment. “I don’t think he delayed to fuck with you, but it was something legit. He came through the portal flustered and worried, like he thought he blew this and you wouldn’t wait.”

  “And we apologize for him walking right into the room you were using,” one of the guards said, his voice tight. “We had injured that came in at the same time, and he was late for us as well. Two of us showed them to the hallway thinking there were guards in the conference room, except you had called them off.”

  I waved it off. “Thanks for explaining, but I figured it was a schedule thing. More importantly than him seeing me in lingerie—are your people okay?” They all winced, grief thick in Geoff’s eyes, and I nodded. “Take me to them. Now.”

  “It’s beyond a healing rune,” Geoff explained, thanking me for wanting to help.

  “I know, you guys wouldn’t be so upset then.”

  “When did you learn healing magic?” Claudia asked, not hiding her shock.

  “It was made a priority, given all the threats,” I vaguely answered. Professor White had taught me a few things since I was always being targeted, but more than that, we learned my healing rune wasn’t the normal one.

  It had fairy magic behind it, so I was the next level they could need. Claudia probably surmised that, as her posture went stiff, but I ignored that and went for the door.

  They quickly led me to the infirmary the Alpha compound had, and what we walked into had my eyes burning with tears. At least a dozen wolves were fighting for their lives, howling in pain as people tried to help.

  I rushed to the nearest one and quickly drew all sorts of everything on him to make it look like I was doing something more than focusing my magic with a basic rune. I stopped faster than I would have liked, but there were more, and he was out of critical condition.

  “I need food, and fast,” I called over my shoulder. “That asshole pushed back lunch, and I was doing training this morning.”

  “Get her whatever we can, fast,” Geoff ordered.

  “Here!” one of the guards called, tossing me a few protein bars before racing out of the infirmary.

  I scarfed them down as I pulled the next wolf out of critical condition and moved onto the next one. By the fifth one, I was really down on the tank, relief filling me when that guard came back with a few sandwiches, bottles of pop, and bags of chips to start. I kept going, ungraciously stuffing my face in a way that left a mess of crumbs I didn’t think anyone would mind.

  Since there was a fuck ton of blood on the cots and floor—just everywhere. The moment I was done, I planned on asking
who the fuck had done this, and going for their blood.

  “They’re no longer critical,” I whispered when I was done, heavily leaning against the nearest wall. “Who—” I gasped as strong arms hugged me, knowing it was Geoff and not fighting.

  Not that I had the strength to right then.

  “Thank you,” he rasped. “Thank you for saving those of my pack and two of my nephews, Tamsin.”

  That explained why he was so upset. I patted his arm, and then ended up leaning against him. “You let me go and I’m going to fall. Sorry, I need more fuel and a break, and I can finish healing them.”

  “You’ve done more than enough, young one,” the last wolf I’d healed said with a cough. “We were dead and you saved us. We are in your debt.”

  “I didn’t have anything on the schedule at the moment,” I teased, several people snorting. “Who did this?”

  “We were ambushed by Underground,” he answered. “The job was an escort of magical goods. They knew we were coming but luckily, we got there early, and the goods secured before they started attacking. They could have just run, but once the goods were out of their reach, one of their people tossed some sort of magical grenade weapon at us. It was as if hundreds of knives stabbed us at once. Our wolves—”

  “Save your strength and heal,” I cut in, hating how pained it sounded for him to talk. “I’m glad that stuff was safe, but your lives aren’t worth things.”

  “It wasn’t just charms and trinkets,” Geoff muttered as he changed his hold on me and picked me up. He carried me over to an empty cot and sat me down. “It was serious power, and detrimental if it had gotten in their hands.”

  I opened my mouth to bitch about them not just transferring it by portal, but then closed it, remembering something Calloway had warned me about once; some of the items in her shop were not able to travel by portal, or the magic would be stripped away. Okay, that made more sense… And made me feel like I was still a total newb to this world.

  Always.

  They brought me more food, and I was lost in my thoughts as I inhaled it. I realized people were talking around, and to me, when Geoff moved into my line of sight.

  “Are you okay?”

  I blinked at him. “Yes, fine. I was thinking of Alec and his situation and what to do next.”

  “I asked what we could do to repay you for saving so many of our pack.”

  I shrugged. “We’re cool, Geoff. You’re helping the hobgoblins and facilitating a lot that would be on my plate. I was glad to do it.”

  He scratched his cheek and glanced at his wolves recovering on the cots. “I’m tight with an Alpha in Australia. If you’re plotting something, I can give you a secure location.”

  “Thanks, but it would also have eyes. It’s better to do such things in human-heavy places where no one would watch for it.” I winked at him when he gave me a surprised look. I not only confirmed I was going to do something, but that I still had more secrets.

  Didn’t we all?

  Once I’d refueled enough to seem fine and not show how much I needed, I left with Claudia. She was surprised when I brought her home though.

  “I want to share this with Chief and explain where my head is,” I clarified as I knelt down by the Alpha.

  He placed his paw on my hand, and we spent a few minutes updating each other and talking options. He leaned in and licked my face when we came to a decision, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

  “While Tanesha brings the dog to Australia to search for other fae dogs, and eyes are on them, we’re going to sneak Chief and the pack in there as well. One of the other packs not sworn to me can take up guard duty here and get a bit spoiled. I think they’ll be fine with that.”

  “What are they going to do?”

  I smiled up at her. “Find more hobgoblins. Alec could only get us the ones with dragons. This will help us find the rest.”

  She smiled at me, an evil glint in her eyes. “And the hobgoblins are doing well with their new power. The apology from the warlock council was lame and complete bullshit, but even they caved to the pressure of their people wanting fae goods.”

  “And people will blame Alec for opening Australia to our scrutiny. We know that’s not the truth, but they will see it like that and blame him. I see that as an all-around win as they’ll all be focused on each other and fighting like idiots, distracting their councils even, if we’re lucky.”

  “I’ll let Geiger know, and we’ll start strategizing immediately. It’s a good play.”

  “Good, then I’ll leave it to the adults because I’m starving.”

  She snorted, shaking her head at my antics. Yeah, I was always hungry.

  5

  The photo shoot was at the new resort in South America that I was majority owner of. After a lot of back and forth, it was decided this was also how we were going to announce—loudly—that I was the main owner with all the dragon royals. When we found out that they hadn’t been keeping my help with the crystals quiet, but the councils were pushing a narrative that it was bullshit, we knew we had to act.

  But how?

  We couldn’t seem as if we were reacting to them and risk their pushing back. They wanted that chance.

  There were also rumors that their oath of protection was bullshit too. I didn’t need two guesses who those came from, plus elites that were jealous and wanted me torn down as well. Announcing that it was the truth seemed as if I needed the protection though, so we wouldn’t do that.

  In other words, there were several sticky situations we were dancing around. It was Keya, the hobgoblin who managed the business estate of Natalie and our friends, along with her mate, Mourn, who came up with the answer.

  “Hold the photo shoot at the new resort and have the launch party for the new partnerships there before the opening,” she had said in passing while we were all debating, easily as if we were dense for missing that. “Frame it that of course you were also promoting your new resort. Sneak pictures out as previews, and people will do the rest.”

  “You’re the best, Keya.”

  She had shrugged, but turned yellow in joy at the praise from me. “You went with my suggestion to name the business Recast Wardrobes, and that meant a lot to me. I’m always here to help.”

  It had been an ingenious suggestion there too. Everyone was playing with “revamp,” given Natalie and our friends did that to the clothes, but the puns since vampires were real was too much. Recast had that magical hint but didn’t scream it.

  I arrived with Mel and Izzy fairly early since the goal was to have as many lighting options as possible. Plus, the hobgoblins had snuck in some new designs they wanted to launch as coming soon for fall. And of course they were clothes for business and would place me in the setting perfect for also saying I was the owner.

  Mel had worried saying it so loudly could backfire but I agreed, even if I didn’t like the attention. There would be no taking it back or brushing it aside. The councils kept assuming that it was only me standing before them and there was no one at my back. Or that I didn’t have any pull as they didn’t know the estate and assets.

  It was time to make them take a step back and want to reassess before making their next move.

  The photographer Katrina Calloway had hired for the first shoot was who we were mainly using again. He was great, but uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting for the wrong reasons. That was fair, and we appreciated him being honest, so this time we weren’t saying it was him.

  I hoped Izzy could take over for him soon. She needed just a bit more experience, but had also worked hard all summer and taken some online photography classes. She loved it and it was… Cathartic for her? It was something her parents would never have allowed and she loved. She could make a career and life from it, free of them, and not being my “sidekick” as several people accused her.

  It was funny that she didn’t hate being called that. She had simply said she wanted a fabulous costume then.

  We had all died
laughing. That was so Izzy to say.

  The photographer was already hard at work with his team, getting as many early morning shots as he could. We started on the beach with me running and the resort in the background, plus a few with all the water crafts available for rent.

  Next was the ultra luxurious and super inviting pool. I had learned to swim officially with one of my guards, Zack, teaching me for real. I had “learned” when staying with an abusive foster family that used to toss me in their pond, but honestly, it wasn’t much more than a doggy paddle sort of ugly… Thing. I was glad I really knew now and loved swimming.

  There was just something so cleansing about water that I couldn’t get enough of. So I simply wanted to use the pool, and I didn’t care if they took all the pictures they wanted. They put me in a seductive one piece that had a lot cut away, but wasn’t over-the-top. I actually liked it a lot.

  I had to wait a few minutes though, as they wanted one shot of me diving in, but once they gave me the green light, I didn’t hold back. Though I had forgotten he had said someone on his team would do underwater shots because when I opened my eyes and saw someone else already underwater, I had almost freaked out. I kept it together and surfaced at the right spot they wanted me to, pulling myself up and holding there.

  “Perfect, you’re perfect, and so easy to work with, hon,” the photographer praised when they got it all in one take. He waved me out to change and focused on Izzy, going over her shots and giving her some pointers.

  I really liked him for that. He was awesome enough not to be territorial and selfish. I knew Izzy sent him stuff on the side for feedback and looked to him like a mentor.

  That sort of nice behavior should be rewarded, which was why I bought dozens of his prints from his personal collection online and used them to decorate the havens. It was a perfect fit as they were all relaxing and gorgeous.

  We needed that after what those women had been through.

  Next was a very pretty bikini and he had me lay so my head was at the foot of the chase lounge with my feet perched at the head. The goal was to show off my toned legs, plus the bikini, but he also had my hair hanging off and cascading into the water, which I thought was cool.