My stomach twisted into knots. “Mom, you're not making sense. You need help—I'll come home.”
“No!” she cried out, but her words were clear. She wasn’t drunk right now; she was hysterical. “You can't—they'rewatching. Just…talk to Charlotte. She knows.”
Confusion rammed into me, and I closed the bag of my cotton candy and clipped it. “Charlotte? But why?—”
The call ended abruptly, leaving me staring at the blank screen.
Charlotte, my best friend that I met online and have never seen in person other than my dreamscape, was linked to this craziness? I had never even introduced the two of them. Mom didn’tknowabout Charlotte, to my knowledge. So, then, why?
I tapped out a message with shaking fingers, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
Reed Nyx
My mom just called me and mentioned you. What's going on? How do you know her?
Her reply came swiftly.
Charlotte Vane
We need to talk.
In your dreamscape.
ASAP!!!
It’s probably time I tell you more about me.
Frustration gnawed at me as I set the tablet aside. What did she mean by that? And how did she even get to know my mom?
Gumdrop wiggled his head almost as if he were shaking it.
“I know. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, too,” I muttered, my gaze locking with his. “But what choice do I have? If I ignore it, then I won’t ever know. Mom hasn’t called me inyearsbefore I came to the academy, Gumdrop. Something is really wrong.”
He let out a few more bubbles and dropped his head.
With dread in my gut, I got under the covers and pulled up my blanket, letting magic tingle over my skin as the haze of my dreamscape enveloped me.
I was surrounded by purple clouds and blue-leafed trees in no time. I allowedCharlotte in, and it was no surprise to me that she was already waiting.
She materialized, her usual warmth noticeably absent. Her green eyes were serious,probing. “Tell me, have you talked to Death’s daughter lately?”
Something in my gut twisted. “Not much,” I admitted, voice strained. “Why are you asking?”
Her glossed lips twitched in satisfaction. “Oh, no reason.”
“Can you tell me about my mom, now?” I crossed my arms, feeling totally unsettled with her here.
She nodded, smiling brightly. “I reached out to your mom to help her with her mental health. I mean, I could tell you were worried about her last time we talked.”
“Explain, please.” I stepped back. “My mom hasn’t spoken more than a few words to anyone since Dad died. But she’s talking to you?”
Her smile faded just a bit. “Um, yeah. I mean, you and I clicked right away. Remember? Same thing with your mom. We’re like best friends now, too. Isn’t that cool?”
I swallowed a lump in my throat, keeping distance between us. “What did you mean by texting meit’s time you tell me more about you?”
“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” she admitted, crossing one leg behind the other. “My dad reallydiddie when I was young, but it wasn’t an accident like I said. He actually sacrificed himself to dark magic for the good of demonkind.”
Static filled my brain at her admission, and my breath caught.
