Surviving Plagues (Artemis University Book 3) Read online

  I raised an eyebrow at that. “No going home to the family?”

  He cleared his throat and led me out of the gym, keeping his hand in mine.

  “No real family to go home to. Ma died when I was young and that was when we left Ireland, too many memories for Da. We don’t get along. My family’s very working class and I’ve insulted them and their upbringing, their very beliefs according to them, by accepting scholarships and advanced education.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not. I was never going to be what my da or granddad expected and they have my older brother to groom. He thinks I’m a spanner and I think he should feck off.”

  “Your Irish is showing,” I teased him.

  He snorted. “I’m too American to them, just an ape American, which is so my fault when they moved us here when I was a toddler. It comes out strong when I get angry or think of my family. But they make me angry so it double thickens, which just pisses me off.”

  “I think your accent is sexy,” I muttered, shrugging when he gave me a shocked look. “I always have. And I’m not the only one.”

  “Huh.” He shook his head and kept walking, going right up the stairs. “So if you’re game for me joining wherever you’ll be, I think you should take chemistry, Algebra II, and a few others you can crank out then. You’ll have the time and we can work on what you have issues with. Plus, you need chemistry done before you can start physics second semester which I thought you said you wanted.”

  “Yeah, cool, but tutoring me over break sounds like the shittiest break for you ever,” I worried.

  He smirked at me over his shoulder. “There are perks for sure, but anything to get out of going home is aces with me. I do have some projects of my own I want to get started before senior year and thesis time. I could spend all break studying those chunks of the mountain you said I could if you’re game.”

  “Yeah, sure, I have to follow up with that,” I agreed.

  “He cooks,” Izzy announced, nodding to where she was focused. She glanced at me and then my hand in Darby’s before giving me a shocked look. She turned away, pretending like she hadn’t seen it or was making a deal of it, but I could feel her curiosity.

  “She knows,” Craftsman chuckled. “I said I’d make her a full English.”

  “Oh, breakfast,” I groaned, rolling my eyes when he glanced at me. “Dude, you don’t always explain it all for us not in the know. I thought you were going to make me some type of Brit tea since I wasn’t having coffee.”

  “No, duckie, breakfast, as your stomach was grumbling and I asked Izzy to pick up what I needed.” He gave me a wink the others couldn’t see, again letting me know “duckie” was code for “love” as if I hadn’t figured that out already. Goof. “Any chance you’ll go get more of that fruit so we can all have some?”

  “Sure.” I shrugged.

  “Is that fae fruit?” Darby asked, his eyes flashing shock as he hurried over to the table. “How did you get this?”

  “There’s a whole grove on the back of the property. I didn’t know what it was and I grabbed some when I went for a run.” I shrugged again when he and Izzy glanced at me with wide eyes. “The fae dogs probably have been busy for a while.”

  “Good thing I plugged in the ATVs,” Mel chuckled as she walked in looking at her phone. “I charged everything in the shed just in case since I knew we had a crew coming.”

  “What shed?” I asked.

  She sighed, rolling her eyes at me. “That’s why we were laughing you wanted to keep the dogs in the garage. If you drive past the garages where the driveway thins out, there’s a huge fucking shed full with ATVs and more.”

  “Oh, right, there wasn’t even a lawnmower in the garage,” I muttered, bobbing my head. I hadn’t put that together. I grabbed my phone off the table and made the call I’d been planning. “Good morning, want some fae fruit?”

  “Of course I do, but what do you want?” she asked with a hesitant tone.

  “I have fae dust too.”

  “I’ll portal right there,” she agreed, not even waiting for me to answer her original question. She knew where we were and that I was at the Townsend estate so with the temp portal and once I opened the “door” in the barrier, she could come in.

  Mel just snorted, shaking her head. “Never a dull damn moment with you.”

  “Nope. Let’s go see what’s in the shed.”

  “Quick, because your food will be ready soon,” Craftsman told me.

  “Yes, duckie,” I teased and headed for the garage. I smirked at Katrina Calloway as she came through the portal. “Good morning.”

  “Yes, yes, good morning,” she sighed. “What are you up to?”

  “Can’t we just hang out?”

  “Yes, but you are in way too chipper of a mood not to be up to something,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

  “That’s fair,” I admitted. “I went for a jog and found a grove of fae fruit trees.”

  “Show me.” She glanced around, nodding to Izzy, Darby, and Mel. Her eyes went wide as she spotted what was in the corner.

  I followed her gaze and was just as shocked. There was a huge pile of what I now knew was fae dust. I hadn’t noticed it because the other vehicle had been blocking it but Mel had pulled it out so the crew could use the garages if needed.

  “You trained the dogs to poop in the corner?” she asked me.

  “Only fairies can train fae dogs,” Darby muttered. “They were just on the estate she inherited because…” He gave me a look as if asking how much Katrina knew.

  Which clued Katrina in that not everyone there knew what I was.

  “The distant cousin’s mate was a fairy,” I said so she knew the story. “FYI, we pretty much adopted Izzy—Isabella Kincaid—so she can charge whatever to my account.”

  “Good to know,” Katrina said as she studied Darby. “And the vampire tutor who must be a very good friend to buy that charm for.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I can’t pay my damn tutor and it seemed only fair to help him too. Stop trying to hook me up with all the available men.”

  “But it’s so much fun,” Mel purred, throwing back her head and laughing as she led us to the shed. “We can go back for more but I want to see what the good doc can cook.”

  We grabbed some bushels from the shed as well and I rode with Katrina and Izzy since the three of us were the smallest, while Mel drove the other one with Darby, both having those small flatbeds so this was probably what the Townsends had bought the ATVs for.

  “This is a fortune right here,” Darby muttered as we climbed out. “You have people paying gobs to dust collectors just for one tree or plant the dogs turn into fae plants or trees. And you have a fecking grove of hundreds of trees on your property. They will give fruit until snow even. They don’t react like human trees or plants.”

  “It’s why the vines didn’t die off, yes,” Katrina muttered as she squatted next to a massive orange melon. “It has been so, so many years since I’ve had fair orange sangria. Oh, this is such a find, Tamsin.”

  “Help yourself,” I offered, gesturing all around when she gave me a shocked look. “Even I can’t eat all of this, Katrina. Let’s grab whatever and head back. I’m starving.”

  “Tams takes the idea of hangry to the max,” Mel warned. “I mean, she gets nasty when starving.”

  “Unflattering but true,” I admitted.

  Katrina opened her mouth as if to say something but shot a quick look at Darby and Izzy before deciding not to. Right, something else to ask about later.

  “I’ll make sure how to teach Melody to make the recipe from the fairy friend I told you of. You probably have a whole book of fae food recipes in your library if a fairy lived here. They love to feed everyone and cook.”

  Now that was damn accurate if we were going off of me.

  We loaded up fast and headed back, everyone excited for the score or to try it. Even Mel said she hadn’t had a marble since she was a kid
and had basically forgotten what they tasted like. We pulled up as Natalie and her family were coming out of the portal.

  “Right, this was why I called you here,” I told Katrina as I turned off the ATV. “And you’re going to owe me big for landing you this contractor over your relatives.”

  “Oh?” she challenged, raising an eyebrow at me.

  I snorted. “Wait until you see my new kitchen or what they did with several rooms in one day. Rich people like to use their money smartly so it’s not always the outrageous price of designers and interior decorators. Even I know that. Oh, and they’re going to use fae dust in their exterior renovations or pool designs. They agreed to help feed the fae dogs so they can have some.”

  “I have before pictures,” Izzy offered helpfully.

  Katrina made an exasperated noise but then took the phone. She flipped through the pictures as everyone grabbed bushels to bring in. She stopped when we reached the kitchen. She glanced from the phone to the room. “This was done in a day?”

  “In a morning,” I told her. “They know their shit.” I sniffed haughtily. “I’m insulted you would even doubt I would mention anything but the highest quality. I may have to love a different Calloway now.”

  “Bite your tongue,” she muttered, going back to the phone. “It’s not only the quickness I’m impressed with but this is absolutely your style. I can see you in this kitchen. That’s a talented designer to get this result from someone inexperienced in remodeling or interiors like you are. Who are they?”

  “Remember I told you I met a cool witch who took all my ‘vintage’ designer dresses and brought them to right off the runway?”

  “Yes, but that sounded more like someone new to our world in shock at what can be done,” she countered.

  “That’s not unfair,” I agreed.

  “It’s not but it was much better than that,” Izzy defended, taking her phone back from Katrina and opening different photos. “I took some shots then too of before and after. I had people at the ball asking me where I got my dress and when I said it was a designer redesign, they thought it was cool until they’d have to ask the scholarship students to get it.”

  “Yes, but adults wouldn’t care over that as much to get a whole updated wardrobe for alterations fee instead of the regular price,” I interjected. “And it’s a group of witches from Artemis, scholarships or not, they could open their own business with just that and have a whole range. Get other vintage dresses for cheap at places and redesign them for an array of functions.”

  “Yes, yes, you sold me on the idea and I’d even help them broker deals to not get eaten by elites,” Katrina said firmly when I started to ramp back up. “I’m hungry, you’re about to get hangry it seems, and I want to meet this designer and see your new bedrooms.”

  “Natalie Higgins, meet Katrina Calloway,” I introduced, smiling brightly at my good deed before accepting a loaded plate from Craftsman. My eyes went wide and my stomach grumbled loudly. “Damn, I like the way the English think on breakfast.”

  “Most of us do but you’re simply a bottomless pit,” Katrina teased.

  Fair enough, but I wasn’t going to waste a moment with hot food on my plate. I sat down and dove in while people were still introducing each other or dishing out food.

  There were at least three scrambled eggs—but I saw others had fried so he paid attention I didn’t like those—five sausages, five strips of bacon, four pieces of toast, sautéed mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and three freezer hash browns he fried.

  In other words, heaven. Absolutely heaven. I saw there was also beans for some but I was glad he’d left those off too.

  “If you get some of those pearlberries to my mum, she makes a fantastic jam with them,” Craftsman told me as he snuck me some more bacon. The man knew the way to my heart, that was for sure.

  “That sounds so good,” I groaned, already having tried a handful of the pearlberries after Mel washed them.

  “I know how to do it too,” Mel told him. “It’s not hard if you toss them all in the slow cooker with some sugar and smashed apples for pectin with a splash of lemon juice. No reason to bug your mom.”

  She shot me a look and I gave the barest nod. Or let more people know we had fae fruit. Yeah, that was something that would get around fast with the way people clearly wanted it.

  “We need to get more supplies because he needs to cook again,” Izzy announced between bites.

  “I have limited capabilities,” Craftsman admitted. “Fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, and a roast, but that’s it.”

  I snorted. “I can only make curry and grilled cheese. Mel’s got a bunch down.”

  Mel rolled her eyes. “Because I can cook pasta and that makes for a wide variety. It’s still all only pasta dishes.”

  “Pancakes, omelets, French toast—”

  “Yes, fine, breakfast foods and I make great ice cream sundaes, which doesn’t count as cooking either.”

  “Still better than me,” Izzy snickered. “Mom made sure I knew how to run a household as any good rich wife should but never actually learn anything domestic. So basically I was taught how to lecture and reprimand the staff.”

  “You already know how to do laundry,” I offered.

  “Because you taught me,” she drawled.

  Yeah, I had. She’d looked hopeless when she’d helped me with mine when I’d first gotten to school and then needed to do her own so I’d showed her what to do.

  And now the hobgoblins did it for us. Honestly, I was a bit shocked Irma hadn’t showed up and tried to clean the whole house and feed us. That seemed something she’d absolutely do.

  “Wait, you also know how to grill everything and make real pizza,” I reminded Mel. “You got the spit roaster and a pig is coming Tuesday, right?”

  “Yes, but we should run out of leftovers for Monday and—”

  Darby cleared his throat. “Tamsin and I won’t be here for dinner Monday.” He glanced at me. “If that’s okay? The place is closed on Sundays so I thought we could go Monday for dinner.”

  “Yeah, we could do that,” I agreed, hiding my smile behind my hash browns.

  “Did Darby finally nut up and ask you out?” Mel asked, her eyes bug wide.

  “Classy, Mel, really classy, thanks,” I drawled.

  “Well, that depends on where he’s taking you,” she purred.

  “Yes, because I scream I want to go to a posh restaurant. He picked a date knowing I was the one going.” I waved her quiet when she opened her mouth. “Five-pound nachos food challenge, like that massive burger I did.”

  “Oh, and I’m classy,” she quipped.

  “Hey, don’t shit on my first date,” I snapped, clearing my throat when she gave me a shocked look. “I think it’s cool. He looked up a bunch of places for us to have fun. He even called to make sure I could do a couple of substitutions.”

  “That is nice, I’m sorry,” she accepted, giving me a soft smile. “If he tries to stuff you with anything other than food, I’m going to fuck him up though.”

  “You are the worst older sister ever,” I growled. “It’s no wonder I’ve never really dated.”

  Craftsman burst out laughing at the guilty look Mel shot me. “Your aura is flaming with guilt. How many have you beat off with a stick, Melody?”

  “How come you got to date all over the place but you wouldn’t let me?” I demanded, but then frowned. “How come I only hooked up with anyone?”

  She growled. “Because you only hooked up with a few idiots when I wasn’t around. Yes, I kept away most of the assholes who saw you as wounded and prey and I knew wouldn’t treat you right. You would have done the same if assholes came sniffing around me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why? You don’t keep guys, just have fun.”

  “Yeah, but I’m twenty-seven and was engaged to a guy I didn’t want, Tams. You were fifteen and deserved the sweet first love with all the fluffy romance. None of the guys who dared go near you were going to
give you that.”

  The look she shot Darby spoke volumes. And if he didn’t behave to that level, she declared, he would be dead.

  And painfully.

  “Okay, so we’re going to get started on the theater room,” Charlie cut in, and the majority of the Higginses disappeared in a flash.

  Smart. I wished I could disappear too.

  But instead, I ate and ate and then got to work on geometry with Darby. It was weird studying and having him tutor me now that we’d kissed and officially said we wanted to date.

  It got better after we let some of the awkwardness dissipate but I did notice he was touching me more… Which I wasn’t against.

  Who would have thought that the prickly tutor ended up being my best chance for a sweet romance and maybe a bit of puppy love?

  6

  Darby didn’t hide his shock when I met him at the portal for our date. I had decided to go all out and even let Izzy do my hair and makeup when she offered.

  Maybe it was silly or stupid, but I had wanted to too. It was my first real damn date and I wanted it to be special.

  “Too much?” I muttered, fidgeting with the clutch purse I had stuffed my phone and what I needed into. I was wearing a one-shoulder black dress with a short, flared skirt and a sweater over my arm in case I got cold.

  I made sure the heels weren’t too high given he wasn’t that much taller than me and with the flip Izzy had done for the top of my hair, we might be the same height actually.

  “You look gorgeous,” he answered as his eyes raked over every inch of me. “Incredibly gorgeous, wow.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek, running his hand along my arm as he did. “You really do look beautiful, Tamsin.”

  “Thanks.” I felt my cheeks heat and I hated he could do it to me, but maybe that was the way things should be. Or could be between us and that would be nice?

  “I set the portal. Do you mind charging it up?”

  “No, I got it,” I answered, reaching over and touching it.

  I felt the magic flare and was glad when he went first. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust Darby of all people to be precise and know what he was doing, but it was still nerve-wracking to travel by portal and simply trust it would work. I blinked as I stepped out the other side, that pressure in my chest dissipating fast.