Surviving Plagues (Artemis University Book 3) Read online

  I told him the same thing, careful to block the light from my eyes even if they were closed. The gym had harsh bright lights for sports after all.

  “I’m sorry you hurt, especially because I was enjoying what you were sending me. Immensely. I felt you in my head and it was so real.”

  “I got her,” Darby said as he rejoined us. “Here, I added some ice from the locker room so it’s extra cold for you.”

  “Thanks.” I took a long drink and then held it to my face. “Thanks, that’s better, really. It was just so many so fast it like sliced through my brain. I need to not play with new so openly. I’m not used to my telepathy being this strong.”

  “You’re slurring,” Darby worried.

  “Sorry, my head feels heavy and I was just mumbling into the water bottle,” I replied, adjusting how I was holding it. “I’m good, really, go watch the fight.”

  “Whatever, this class is such a waste of a good idea and what we really need,” Darby bitched under his breath.

  “Agreed and I know my parents aren’t the only ones who suggested Melody take over the class and Coach Khan focus on the sports teams only as that’s where he’s mostly focused anyways,” Hudson muttered.

  That sounded smart but I really hadn’t had a chance to even get into the supe sports. I knew there was something in the fall semester but mostly spring were the big ones.

  What that was? No clue but I had enough on my plate already trying to finish high school while attending college so yeah, my brain and focus were pretty well taken up.

  Khan dismissed us not left to fight and I took a long cold rinse in the shower to finish up the headache. It had been fun and totally worth it to learn what I could do and tease Hudson, but no more in volatile or wound up groups.

  Darby waited for me and we walked to lunch. I was ready to load up my tray high given we were having a geometry review before the last section test on Thursday before the final.

  I noticed when Craftsman came in and the hobgoblins had his food ready. They were as dedicated to their punishments as I was and I loved them for it and the backup.

  We were halfway through the period when someone shouted, several others joining in. I glanced around and saw it was a group of students near the windows… And what they were shouting about. The window was covered black from the outside.

  With bugs. It seemed we were on the third plague after all, just later in the day to mess with us again. Fuck. Only half the student body was in the huge cafeteria, the rest having the earlier period and in class now.

  I jumped from my seat and went to Hudson. “I need several dragons.”

  “You thought up something?” Juan asked me, nodding as he stood. “Of course you did.”

  I shrugged. “I like being prepared.” I headed for the door, Hudson, Juan, and two of their dragon friends on me.

  “Wait, Ms. Vale, you cannot go out there,” someone argued.

  “I got this,” I promised. I wrote the rune for the barrier Geiger had showed me and looked at the dragons. “Keep one hand on me to move as I do and you can shoot out fire but nothing will come in.”

  They caught on to the idea then and nodded they we were with me. I ducked out the door first to block it with the barrier from the billions of gnats waiting for us.

  I’d also looked them up and found there were biting and non-biting ones. I was pretty sure whatever asshole was doing this would send the biting ones for maximum effect.

  The dragons came out one at a time and then we cleared the area, which worked because Craftsman was right behind us with another group. He held the barrier and four dragons took up around him. We moved out and they held the doorway, probably until more groups formed. Awesome.

  I gagged as the dragons started throwing fire. The smell of all the bugs burning up was… Indescribably gross. Like that charred stinky smell going near a bug zapper times a thousand. It was so ridiculously thick and pungent that all I wanted was something to cover my face to not inhale it.

  Juan tapped me on the shoulder and passed me some Chapstick. Cherry flavored. Right, that could help if I put it under my nose. It cut through the scent a bit but it still was unpleasant. I passed it along and we kept moving forward.

  It was definitely not a natural occurrence because we’d clear one area and more would come right for us. It was as if they were bespelled to come right for us. They probably were and the frogs too. Why else would they try for human interaction?

  I glanced around the quad to see that was the main area they were gathering. Maybe there was something there that called them in like a beacon. It made sense given how far the edge of campus was. Then again, they could just be like bullets and the guy had to simply point and shoot.

  “I gotta stop,” one of the dragons panted.

  I moved my hand over his arm on my shoulder and pushed magic into him, recharging him so we could keep going. I did it to the others, ignoring their shocked looks I could handle that, and focused on where to move us next.

  There were a dozen groups like ours on the quad so we were making progress fast, especially with the strong dragons like Hudson and Juan.

  We went another five minutes before heading back to the cafeteria. Even if I recharged them, that was still a lot of magic to focus and something we shouldn’t push so hard when there were hundreds of dragons on campus.

  Someone had put a barrier at the cafeteria doors so we could get in and out easily without letting the bugs in.

  “Can you go again?” a dragon asked me.

  “Yeah, the barrier’s easy to hold if you have the juice to make it,” I told her. She grabbed a few of her friends and I traded out dragons, Hudson not looking happy I was going back without him.

  We didn’t go for very long, some of the dragons changing forms, and then they had a lot more fire to take out the swarms of gnats. All in all it took us less than twenty minutes from first shout to getting the vast majority of them. I was starving again and went right for food I could take on the go.

  “You need more hydration too,” one of the cafeteria workers said as she handed me a drink carrier with four extra-large cups filled with what I thought was juice.

  I thanked her and finished everything on my tray before dropping it off to be cleaned. The bell rang and people groaned, the crazy cutting into our eating time. One of the deans made an announcement that the last period of the day would allow eating in class and asked the cafeteria to allow boxes for the day.

  “Well, at least we’ve got a plan now for the flies tomorrow,” Izzy said with a shrug as she looked at her phone. “Flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death to the firstborn. I seriously doubt that last one as they want answers or to fuck with us, not every elite family gunning for their heads. How would livestock work?”

  I thought about that a moment. “Spoil all the meat on campus?”

  “Yeah, good one. I’m asking Craftsman if there’s a boil rune or just the basic healing one would work. We need barriers for hail, fine, you got that. Locusts same as today. Darkness, well geeze, we have our phones or fire there too. Done and done.”

  “Awesome, you get to be team captain then,” I teased her, amusing those walking with us. I was just proud she was getting confident enough in herself where she spoke up with what she wanted to say and not just nerves.

  Maybe all of us were growing a bit like that.

  17

  It was after eleven when Izzy fell asleep and I snuck out of our room to head to the dragon dorm. I’d mentioned the fancy, private rooms—just to ask what they were like—and that was all it took for Juan to brag about how nice the rooms for the dragon princes were.

  And more importantly, where they were.

  And of course they had to be on the top of a six-floor building. Hudson’s was in the far corner facing the woods with the most peaceful view, but I was hoping that corner had a good way for me to get up. Staring up at it a few minutes later, I saw that wasn’t actually the case.

  No probl
em, I had magic, right?

  And mad ninja skills I learned from Mel.

  I got up on the windows from the first floor but there wasn’t so much as a brick to grab onto. I focused on the ice rune and hoped if I put up a big enough spike I could make it work. Actually, I changed that and made it curved so I could use it like a rung in a ladder. It took a few tries but then I got one I thought had the right thickness and attached well enough to the building to be safe.

  I put up several spaced a foot apart and several feet up from the next before I steeled my resolve and went for it. It worked ridiculously well for my first time and I hurried to get more put up so they were ready when I reached them.

  Hudson’s window opened as I approached, which shocked me since I was being quiet as a mouse. But then I felt the energy dancing over my skin and realized he might be more sensitive to it so he knew I was near. He reached out his hand to me and I easily caught it, letting him swing me up and curling to go right into his window.

  “Who needs Rapunzel’s hair and waiting for the prince to go to her, right?” I panted, excited at how fun that was and I’d managed it. “Or the dragon guarding the tower and princess. Nope, I gots that too.”

  “Put up the barrier,” he murmured as he closed and locked the window. “Put it up now because I’m going to make you scream, my princess.”

  I did as he wanted, pulling away from him as I started stripping. “I thought you wanted me to rub your belly? Do you want me to rub you, Hudson?”

  “Get naked and on my bed before my last thread of control snaps,” he warned as he ate up every inch of me with his eyes.

  “You’re spoiled.”

  “I am and you’re about to be fucked,” he chuckled, giving me an evil smirk as I hurried to finish undressing. “On the bed, Princess.”

  I slid on it and moved to the middle of it, running my hands all over my body. He watched as he stepped closer, only in low-hanging pajama pants that for some reason made him look taller and bigger. Maybe it was just anytime he wasn’t wearing a shirt it was so obvious how big he was.

  And all over. It wasn’t just that he was seven feet but his frame was wider than most doorways and he had the muscle to fill it in.

  I licked my lips as I eyed him over. “You know, before we officially met and I knew your name, I used to refer to you as Mr. Panty Soaker. You so are.”

  “You’re not wearing any panties. Are you getting my bed dirty?”

  “Maybe. Want to see?”

  “I want you to show me what you want,” he challenged.

  Oh, game on. I turned on my telepathy and showed him exactly what I’d been hoping for when I decided to climb up to his room.

  His grin grew until it was almost feral. “Gladly.” He yanked off his pants and was on me a second later. He kissed me like he was dying for me, his hands all over my body. It wasn’t enough though, and he stood up again, dragging me to him and lifting my lower half up so I was hanging off of him as he put my legs over his shoulders. He buried his face between my legs and devoured my pussy.

  I came and came again, loving his thick fingers stretching me out for his massive cock as he moaned at how good I tasted.

  “You want me to ride you, Tamsin? You want your dragon who loves being inside of you to ride you like the animal he is?” He chuckled in my head when I moaned and got close again. He didn’t let me have the orgasm that time, moving me off of him so I fell to the bed. Then he flipped me over and yanked me back to him. “Say it.”

  “Please fuck me, my dragon. Fuck my pussy like you’ve always wanted to fuck a woman who wants nothing but you.”

  I was pushing his buttons and we both knew it since I could hear this thoughts.

  But still, he took the bait and I was so turned on it was all I wanted even if I was walking funny tomorrow. He thrust in me, grunting when my body accepted him although it was a tight fit. Then he moved his hands around my waist and against my thighs, lifting me up to the right height as he slammed in me. He wasn’t only thrusting but yanking me to him.

  “Yes?”

  “Yes,” I whimpered, something snapping in me as he completely owned my body. It was pressure and hitting things in me no one had before and I didn’t just mean my cervix—which he was—but Hudson had found the right button to make me beg or do anything else he wanted because it felt so fucking good.

  I cried out as he did it again and harder, knowing I was going to ache later but wanting that pain if it came with such pleasure.

  “Show me your nape,” he snarled in between thrusts. “Show me all of my princess.”

  I barely had the coordination to make that work but I managed to get my hair down and off to the side for him. He growled his approval and then started chuffing, sounding more like River than Hudson.

  “You like this rough fucking, don’t you? You want me to fuck you like the animal I am, my princess?”

  “Yes, oh fuck, yes, it feels so fantastic. You ever fuck anyone like this?”

  “No, only you, Tamsin. Only you could I want like this. Only you could give me this.” He seemed happy about that when we were talking way over the line of casual and being downright possessive.

  Well, I was. He always was possessive.

  He kept going until I came with a scream, like an obnoxious-type porn scream that I couldn’t even control if I’d wanted to. He drew it out for me and went right back to completely plowing me. The noises he was making weren’t all that human but they were still hot because I knew it was Hudson and it was how much he wanted me.

  He brought me one more time and then I was done and done, relieved when he followed me right over and pumped himself deep inside of me. The snarl he gave when he finished was raw and crazy.

  And I loved it.

  He set me down on the bed but didn’t pull out, moving over me and massaging my breasts as he kissed all along my neck. “That was worth a week wait and you coming to my room.”

  “Mm-hmm,” I agreed, my eyelids feeling too heavy. “You’re going to be a perv and check how swollen I am or something, aren’t you?”

  “Sleep, my princess,” he chuckled, not about to fib to me when I could hear in his head. He turned me enough so he could kiss me as he pinched my nipples. His eyes went wide when I cried out and came again. “Fuck, Tamsin, that was sexy.”

  “I think my body is still going and really sensitive,” I moaned. “You’re touching that spot in me and—yeah, I’m right on the edge.”

  “Can I keep fucking you?” he rumbled, rotating his hips and hitting what I was talking about. “I want you again.”

  “Don’t know I can.”

  “Will you come back?”

  “Maybe.”

  He smiled against my skin. “Do I have to lure you in like a mouse with cheese? How about—”

  “Too soon,” I cut in, not wanting to hear about the heavenly dragon donuts when he’d used them against me. It was still a sensitive topic, especially after what Craftsman said. “My stomach doesn’t only rule me. There’s a reason I eat so much.”

  Yeah, like I was trying to fucking fix all of Faerie. I ate and ate to ramp up my magic and fill my reservoirs. Sure they didn’t know that but I also worked out a ton.

  “He really hurt your feelings,” he murmured as he turned us on our sides to snuggle while he was still inside of me. “You are more than your stomach. It’s just cute how excited you get and personally, I like the noises you make when happy eating.” He kissed my hair. “I make those noises eating you. Nothing taste better than you, Tamsin.”

  We’d have to agree to disagree on that because lots tasted better than I’m sure I did but it was nice of him to say.

  “I’ll just have to figure out a way to lure you in,” he promised as he snuggled in tighter. “I like you here in my arms, in my bed, and not just because my cock is still in you.”

  “I liked that part too,” I reminded him. I felt safe and something more in his arms, liking the feeling. I’d gotten a bit spoiled getting to
sleep next to Craftsman over break. Someone was going to bust me on my cuddling ways if I wasn’t careful.

  I must have fallen asleep because I woke when my phone started vibrating saying it was time to get my ass up.

  “No, still need you,” Hudson grumbled, hugging me tighter to him like a kid who didn’t want to get up for school. “I want you for breakfast and in my shower. I want to take you in my shower.”

  And then he let out a snore. Oh damn, he was talking in his sleep and being not only cute but dirty. That was just too funny.

  I managed to wiggle my way out of his arms, grateful to him when I realized he’d cleaned us up the night before. Nothing would be worse than waking all… Yeah, just nasty.

  I was, however, tender and sore in the best places. I’d already had Craftsman teach me the healing rune and I wrote it on my bare skin before getting dressed. I felt right as rain as I went over to the window.

  I took down the barrier—impressed with myself it stayed up while I slept as I didn’t think that was normal—and climbed out the window. Using the rune for ice again, I managed to climb down.

  Mostly. I slipped on the rungs about the second story and luckily I knew how to land or I would have been doing more than writing a healing rune on a tender ankle. I winced as I glanced up, wondering what he’d do if he found out I’d fallen climbing down from his room.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

  Mason in animal form was waiting for me on the run, his bear more playful and touchier than normal. At one point on the way back, he just nabbed me and gave me huge bear hugs until I gave him one back.

  “What’s with you, you big goof?” I chuckled as he finally set me down. “You’re so weird, Mason. You’re hanging with me most mornings but then you’re cold since I started going out with Darby. Pick a lane, mate.”

  I wasn’t going to get a response from his bear and I didn’t wait for one, heading back to the dorm and then to the cafeteria. I’d worked up quite the appetite and I shivered thinking about how I had.

  Just after I sat down and started digging in, Hudson came into the cafeteria and immediately our eyes locked. He licked his lips and stared at me like a man who wanted more—much more—of what he’d gotten.