Adjusting Course, page 10
“Of course. What else?”
“The princess has outgrown the training facilities you have here and as such—”
“Thank you, Commander, but I have that on my list,” I told Onas.
“Of course. I apologize, Your Highness. I simply didn’t want it to be missed.”
“You can add anything needed once I’m done speaking instead of assuming I don’t know what’s best for me since I am not a moron,” I lightly chastised, several people smothering a chuckle. I felt a flare of pride though and glanced over my shoulder to see Lageos beaming at me. I raised an eyebrow at that, but then I noticed Iolas had the same reaction.
It was about my mom then. I must have reminded them of her.
I focused on Edelman again. “I doubt you’ve watched my livestreams but—”
“Many of us have, and your solo training was impressive,” Dean Collins praised. “It’s extraordinary now that Dalyor is training you and very informative.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the vampire. He would never be my favorite, but it was nice that he now had his life back. There had been so much turmoil and crazy that I honestly had worried if we could get to this point, but we had and I needed to remember that progress.
“Thank you. Captain Dalyor is extremely dedicated and was the right choice. But my training has progressed past the facilities here. Neldor and I will continue our training at night as well, but it will no longer be the circus we first allowed.”
I held up my hand to ward off any objections because that had been ridiculously popular.
It was also ridiculous it was ever agreed to like we were there for their entertainment and they had a leg up over us. I couldn’t even fault the commanders—except not checking with me first—since they’d done it as a goodwill gesture.
Except that was something the elite supes didn’t do, and they saw it as a concession.
“As much as everyone blames me for everything, this school’s training program has vastly improved because of me. Yes, Mel teaches it and rocks the classes now, but I started it. However, I’m not a zoo animal, and the fact I was ever allowed to be viewed that way was a joke. It’s not about being princess but a person. An unknown isn’t a sideshow freak either.
“But I know how popular it was to watch us with popcorn like we were here for their amusement. We’re not doing that. What we will do is allow them nights to join in the training. We’ll allow the master’s students to try and fight us like the tournament this summer.”
“Your Highness, I must object,” Iolas gasped.
“Noted,” I chuckled… And continued right on. “I can absorb magic. I’m sure Neldor can too or learn how in a second. We’re in no danger, and I’m sure there can be safety bubbles put into place. However, it’s good training for us as well since—as you can see—fairies don’t approve of their royals in danger. Other supes won’t have a problem with that.
“But I’m livestreaming it. So if they come at us, it’s on the record and nothing shady later. I might do donations to watch the training and split it with the school, or we can work out the details later. It’s mostly going towards paying for the Faerie Guardian headquarters we will be designing and building. It’s a long-term goal but one we can get started on.”
“Well done,” Queen Sasha praised.
“Thank you.” I winked at her which amused the dragon. “Also, as Commander Onas interjected, the facilities here aren’t up to what I need. I have a place I train, and I need permission to use it without the main portal here. I already have unlimited portal passes, but people were bitching I just open a portal wherever and don’t get punished.
“They’re not wrong, but there are extenuating circumstances, and it needs to be addressed. I need permission. So does Neldor. It’s not me being a brat but a huge security risk as people try to follow us everywhere. It’s also dangerous for the students who work the portal for passes. I’ve seen people hassle them demanding to know where I go. I was protecting them too.”
“We didn’t know that,” Edelman admitted, jotting down some notes.
“You have a lot on your plate, and you can’t know everything. I would recommend cameras at the portal because people didn’t hassle the attendants just about me. It’s over the line, but they’re normally scholarship students and until last year, had no real rights. So that’s why I need the exemption and permission.”
“Granted,” he agreed before anyone could object. Even Von Thann didn’t seem to have a problem with that.
“Good. Lucca Von Thann and a few of his friends used the facility and worked with some of Captain Dalyor’s colleagues for additional training. They all said it was very helpful to raise their own goals. Plus, they seemed to enjoy trying to do what I did.” I smothered a snort. Yeah, that was an understatement.
I couldn’t even pick on them for being competitive. It was practically my middle name.
“So I’m willing to continue that as a gift for the students of Artemis. One they must appreciate and take seriously. It’s not a chance to find the location of the facility or be assholes. I would suggest the sports teams being the ones allowed to train early morning or scheduled free times. If it’s open access—well, I’m not going to allow that. We know it would be chaos.”
“That’s a very generous offer. One I’m shocked you would make,” the Dean of Hawks admitted. “I’m sure you have several reasons to make it, but I doubt you will tell us.”
I smiled at her. “I always thought you were wise.”
That amused several people. Edelman accepted the offer.
“Now, on to safety,” I sighed, scrubbing my hand over the back of my neck. “There is an ongoing issue of miscommunication, most recently Mason being on campus without anyone telling me.” I hurried on when I knew how this topic would be received. “I know the world doesn’t revolve around me, but he almost killed me.
“It is not asking too much to think someone would have informed me. I get it, you guys aren’t used to fairy royals being here or these circumstances. I’m not either. A lot of crap just happens. However, because it has, there will be a pack of fae dogs on campus at all times. One that is bonded to me. They will also help the garbage bills.”
I was ready for the shock and some amusement with how I ended it, but several were pissed. That was a big allowance, and people were scared of fae dogs.
They should be. That was also the point so Neldor and I were safer.
“Your main Alpha, Chief, demanded this, yes?” Dean White asked, breaking the silence.
I gave her an amused look. “It was made clear to me that I get permission, or he would still do it and not care about stupid rules. Or he would get the permission and didn’t care if he scared people to do it.” I looked at Edelman when he didn’t reply. “They won’t sleep in my room. One might chill outside the dorm, but they know how to behave.”
“I simply worry about them being visible with us having more eyes on us.”
“They won’t be,” I snickered, several of the fairies amused as well.
“Headmaster, there was never a need for the dust collectors,” Shael informed him when the other supes were confused. “Fae dogs know how to clean up after themselves and hide. There were lots of packs the collectors didn’t follow, and they were never found out. They were never going to be.”
“But there were instances of plants and trees from Faerie being found,” one of the councilmen objected.
“Yes, because they chased off the fae dogs,” I drawled. “Fae dogs have fae fire. They will burn any evidence of their being there. It was all lies for people to use and abuse fae dogs and make money. Fae dogs could have stayed hidden the whole time or gone with allies like the Vogels. But there were people chasing them so lots never could.”
“That’s highly unlikely and not at all believable,” a different councilman argued. He cleared his throat and added a mumbled “princess” after a moment.
Yeah, Onas was that scary.
“I don’t care if you believe me. It’s the truth. People conned you into thinking they were needed, and you paid them to get what you wanted. There are still packs of fae dogs that haven’t come back to us or been found. There aren’t dust collectors anymore, and yet the humans haven’t found anything. So which really seems like the truth?”
Idiots.
“And you thought I would have nothing without Artemis, no other options, and my businesses would fail. It would embarrass me to the humans that I was a college dropout. Some of the most successful humans have never gone to college, so your whole theory was shit. Your mind is diluted crap, and you don’t live in reality. Your opinion means nothing to me.”
The room went eerily quiet after I said that. I ignored it.
“Now keep the fucking stupid to yourself so the adults can actually get shit done instead of how too many of you spin your wheels.” I focused on Edelman. “If things chill, the dogs can go. They will stand a foot off the property if you say no, and there will be problems with the wolf Alpha here, Glen, if you don’t make the call.”
“I’ll allow it for a few weeks’ trial, so make that clear to your dogs that they need to be on their best behavior.”
I nodded, not surprised but also done with this crap. I knew I’d backed him into a corner to say yes or it was still going to happen, but fuck, like enough.
There were a few other things to discuss while I finally got some eating done. For one, I didn’t want Darby with a roommate anymore. His had been kind of a jerk, but fine really… Until last year when he started getting it into his head that doors would open for him if he used his access to Darby and thus me. It was best to sidestep that kind of crap.
Plus, I would pay for the single room over what his scholarship allowed. I was bringing it directly to him because it was last-minute. Done and done.
“The curriculum needs some overhauling and less propaganda taught instead of truth,” I said, getting to my last issue. “It’s too late to add a new class, but I propose adding a weekly Saturday seminar for one course credit. I will fund it, a fairy can even teach it.”
People immediately started saying that was too difficult.
“We managed it just fine when it was the seminars for the groves and advanced learning,” I reminded them. “And that was organizing a class off campus and building greenhouses, so I think an instructional course would be just fine.”
“What class?” Dean Collins asked, glancing around at the objectors before I’d even said it.
Yeah, but I’d hinted it would be bad for the councils. That was always enough to get objections.
“The inception of the councils and their charters,” I answered, biting back a smirk at not only the objections but the people who winced at the topic.
“Enough,” Edelman cut in when people ramped up. “You are here to advise, not lead this meeting. So just enough.” He waited a few moments before focusing on me. “We had a class like that, but it was dropped because of the low numbers it had.”
And then he looked at the council members gathered.
“So did they just hover to see who attended, or did their names get put on lists that affected their family?” I drawled.
“A bit of both,” White chuckled. “A councilman from each council taught the section of their council and many attended the class.”
“Oh yeah, no one would want to go then. It was all bullshit.” I glanced over at the council members. “But things are different now. People were shocked to know the Witches and Warlock Council wasn’t legitimate. So this will happen. But you know I want more in the future unless you’re a total idiot.”
“A whole class of council laws,” one of them guessed. “And the genealogy of our seats. A history of council members who have been unseated in the past?”
I smiled evilly at them. “All of the above. But I’m a fair woman. If there’s no real interest when you don’t interfere, I’ll let this go. I’ll let the sheep be sheep.”
“You’ll entice them to take the class. You push and push and people cave then too.”
“I won’t,” I promised, holding up my hand as if that mattered. “I will not coerce one person to take this last-minute, extra seminar for one credit. You have my word.
“Don’t,” Taeral bit out. “Don’t even say what most of you are thinking. She has always been honest. You simply didn’t believe her.”
“And you will not interfere. No outlawing it or warning people they’ll get in trouble. We’ll know.”
“It’s not done unless we vote,” someone objected. “In matters of the council or law education, we aren’t advisors only. It has to be approved by the councils.”
“Or their present representatives,” I finished, smiling brightly at them when they winced. “Yes, I know. So vote.”
“Of course, you knew that,” Onas chuckled. “Which is why you not only made it clear which votes we will have, but sat us right here with them. Only the biggest idiots will go against you now for something so small and get on our radar. Hell, most are, but we’ve been too busy.”
“I think we can be less busy now that a pack of fae dogs will be guarding the prince and princess,” Shael said, her tone threatening.
I wasn’t shocked when they all agreed to allow it. Chickens. They had so much dirt in their closets that they would go against what they “believed in” to save their own asses.
Seriously, chickens.
9
I went to my house in Italy to tell Neldor things had gone well, and we had a meeting with all the commanders for a second lunch. I asked Izzy to come as my aide, and I was going to invite Darby as counsel on the workload.
Except he walked out of the shower in nothing but a towel, water dripping all over his toned body… And suddenly school was the last thing on my mind.
“Did the meeting go okay?” he asked, studying me closely as if looking for any hints to my mood.
“I got what I wanted, but now I want something else.” I walked over to him with a smirk before moving my finger to catch a bead of water off of his chest. I brought it to my lips and licked it off my skin. “Yummy.”
“Shit, do that again, agra,” he whispered, his eyes full of heat.
Instead, I hooked a few of my fingers in his towel. Then I leaned in and licked a few drops off his shoulder by his neck. “I had to put so many of those fuckers in their place. It was more of the same and so much bullshit. I’m so tired of the bullshit.”
“I don’t blame you,” he whispered, moaning when I leaned in and licked more water off of him. “What can I do?”
“You just being you helps,” I promised. “I was going to come here and ask you to come to a meeting with me. I wanted to take five minutes and get this mood out, blow off some steam, and bitch a bunch.”
“Whatever you need.”
“Now I think I’m going to blow you instead.” I licked up his neck and bit his ear. “On my knees. Yeah, I’m going blow my man like that after I was the fucking boss and beat them all into place.”
I dropped to my knees and took the towel with me. His dick was hard and standing proud for me. I nuzzled him for a few moments before grabbing it and moving it to my mouth. For the first time, I didn’t hesitate. I was hesitant, but I didn’t act like a goober. It wasn’t like I deep-throated him, but yeah, it felt okay.
“Wait,” he hissed after the fourth time I bobbed my head.
I pulled off of him and glanced up… Right as he finished. I blinked in shock, not caring that spunk landed on my neck and a bit on my cheek. I was too surprised.
And of course, I said the worst thing possible.
“That still counted, right?”
His chest was heaving, and it was his turn to blink at me. “Counted?”
“I mean, it counts as me giving you a blow job even if…” I mentally winced.
But amusement filled his eyes. “Yes, agra, you still get credit for it.”
“It came out wrong,” I sighed, physically wincing when he did because, well… Yeah, I doubted he meant to come on my neck.
Fuck.
I got flustered and just started rambling. “I didn’t mean it to be mean. It’s just, I’m trying, and this is still—I’m not good at it and I wanted to be sexy, but I can’t ever seem to be like sexy, and my seductions blow up or go right and then things blow up, so I just wanted to do something fun now, and maybe I shouldn’t use the word ‘blow’ so much right now.”
Darby moved his fingers over my lips when I was about to ramp back up. “Thank you for not caring I blew like a teenager getting his cock touched for the first time. I know what you meant, and I was thoroughly seduced, agra. That’s why I blew so fast. This was sexy as fuck and I appreciate it. A lot. So yes, it counts. You even get double points for making me go so fast.”
I burst out laughing as I stood. Of course, that was what he said. Gods, I loved him. Only he could make this so easy on me when so much was a mess, and I was trying so hard not to lose my shit every day.
Sighing when I realized I’d projected all of that to him because I was frazzled, I used his towel to clean up. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I know it’s an accident, but I love when you’re so open and honest with me. I feel the same way when you’re easy on me. It’s what we should do when we love someone.” He leaned in and kissed me softly before taking the towel and getting a few spots I’d either missed or didn’t do well enough. “What meeting?”
I explained as he got dressed, feeling my soul ache because it was really something Julian would have helped me with. It was another time I felt a void and pain because of the jerk, and it was hard to handle with the piles of everything else.
Something I once again projected to Darby.
Fuck.
“Sorry,” I whispered as he hugged me. “I’m so sorry. I just wanted to—everything gets ruined when I try to be better.” I pulled away and walked out of the room, ignoring when he called after me. I smiled at Izzy in the kitchen and thanked Irma for the food she prepared for me.
I could feel Neldor’s eyes on me but ignored them. Opening a portal when Darby joined us, I muttered an apology for bothering them and thanking them in the same breath. I went to step through the portal, but Darby grabbed my hand, telling the others to go first.
