“It does, and I do bear responsibility as a teacher, advisor, and dean.”
I snorted. “You weren’t her parent, White. She was a fucking college kid. That’s adult enough to make her own choices, right or wrong. You lost one. Horrible, but it was going to happen, and it will probably happen again. To me as well. It’s not us, but free will. We can only lead them to water, but not force them to drink or however that goes.”
She was quiet until we reached the kitchen. “Yes, I supposed you might lose some from your havens as well. I didn’t think of that.”
I shrugged. “Leaving everything and forging out on your own is too much for some. It took me a while to understand that it wasn’t me, but I’m not the gods. I can’t control that and I wouldn’t want to. They make their choices.”
She nodded, seeming to think about that, but I could tell she wanted to move past the conversation. She came up with the topic change before I even could. “How is your eating out fun? Where did you decide instead of London?”
I winced. “Actually, Izzy had way more than London mapped out, including a lot of England. We might do that next summer, but we’re starting with Tokyo instead and working out from there if we have time. She says we will, but the list of what she keeps adding and adding seems crazy. I know a lot of summer festivals since we’re not doing the outings with the dragon royals anymore.”
“I would think not,” she sighed as I went for the fridge. “I assume they will still keep up their end of the deal?”
I snorted. “They’re going way over what they were buying before as compensation for the traitor and what your council tried to pull. More, probably, but they say it’s because they don’t have to arrange it all, pay for security, and all those other expenses now. It’s that, but really, we know it’s so I don’t pull the plug after the threat to me like some wanted.”
“You’ll be safe?”
I smirked at her. “I was a hot target with a lot of humans for a lot of different reasons and knew how to handle it and be safe.” I gestured to my bright red hair. “And that was before I knew about magic or had access to glamour charms. Yeah, we got this, trust me. Hell, it’s some of the most fun I think the Rothchilds have had in a while.”
“Guarding you?” she asked.
“That, and because I feed them as well, but also glamouring as me.” I chuckled when her eyes went wide. “Yeah, we got this. I’m going to be popping up at certain places all summer. Very popular, very exposed, and very good places for college kids to take breaks, so idiots assume I’m being stupid and am around there somewhere.”
“You’re going to let them chase their tails looking for you.”
“I do misdirection fairly well.”
“That you do. That you do, Tamsin.”
I had my moments for sure.
2
A few weeks later, I was standing in a bedroom at the main estate of HAVEN, waiting for my summer soiree to start. It was the only address we’d made public—for obvious reasons—and while people had scoffed at us starting it or taking such precautions… They had since changed their tunes.
We had been submitting reports to all the councils from the beginning, and the last one stated we had two hundred and forty-seven women we’d helped in under five months. While we wouldn’t give names, we did list species and the reasons we allowed them sanctuary and protection. Many were forced matings with abusive spouses or arranged matings with the same.
So they could treat women like crap or think it a matter not to be concerned with, but when the numbers were right there for them to see so blatantly—and so quickly—I think a lot of them were getting a much-needed wake up call. Plus, the numbers were overwhelmingly witches and vampires. Less than an eighth were shifters, and we had a handful of dragons.
And they were from Africa or Australia, no regions where the royals ruled, as it was explicitly outlawed.
The best part? We were about to report another huge influx. A hundred and sixty more, all witches and vampires. People could act like they were scandalized at what happened to Izzy all they wanted, but it was incredibly common among vampires and witches.
Not anymore. I wasn’t going to fucking allow it.
We suspected it was worse than anyone would admit when we received phone calls, like our first with someone from the household asking for help. In response, Mel and I had sent people through all the supe high schools to spread the word that if parents tried to pull that crap, to contact us and we’d handle it.
Our phone was ringing off the hook from the moment college acceptance letters started going out. Instead of referring them all to Claudia like before, we decided to pull them all in for a summer retreat away from their parents, and in protective custody, while we handled the assholes.
And told their fucking councils. The hope was that all the councils that had people involved in this would pass laws to stop it.
It was simply a happy coincidence that it might also give them something to focus on and handle, instead of fixating on me for a while. If I was lucky.
I was rarely that lucky.
But tonight was about the scholarship fund I had started at Artemis. After talking with Edelman and
