Compounding Traumas (Artemis University #6) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,83

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