Page 38 of Buried Secret 295

The feeling goes away and I feel like I can breathe again. She points to where it looks like a line of blobs to me. “That is a mountain.” She holds up her cup to show me the difference.Setting her cup back down and picking mine back up. “These are mountains as in plural, and they mean powerful enemies.” Carmen rotates the cup. “You have a boat, a good friend visit, and a mushroom, an argument between lovers with a separation.”

She moves to hand me my cup when our fingers touch. Her hand drops the cup, grabbing both of my wrists. Her eyes went white once more. It looks like she is staring through my soul. She speaks in a voice that isn’t quite her own. Deeper and more masculine, yet familiar. “I brought you to my realm, dead girl. You came in as a prisoner, I breathed life back into your body before helping you be free. There is so much to fulfill, and I can’t do that when you hide from receiving messages. Open your dreams to me. There is a seed I planted in your mind and I need access to help it bloom. From one, there are five points. You must have five points, for you are the center of the star.” She laughs, which makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. “It won’t be easy, but yes. Feed from them. Claim them and stop hiding that you are a Blackthorne. Your blood shouldn’t be hidden. You must announce and embrace that you’re Blackthorne. Don’t hide your shadows. Get stronger because even I have enemies, which makes them our enemies.”

Carmen sucks in a breath and winces in pain. Her fingers go to her temples. “Ouch. Hope whatever you heard was insightful, because fudge it doesn’t feel good.”

“Fudge?” I shake my head as she glares at me. “Can I get you anything?”

“I don’t like cuss words, so fudge. It will be better soon. I think I am going to go though.” She winces and one of her eyes closes as she puts her hand on her forehead. She stumbles to her feet and I shake my head.

“Let me get Constantine to teleport you. Or I can walk you?” I tell her because I wouldn’t say I like the idea of her going home like this. My teleportation is spotty at best.

She waves me off. “I already told Simon to meet me. He should be at the tree’s edge in 30 seconds.” She puts her stuff into her bag and stops before she shuts the door. “I will use focusing crystals later and see if I can dig into your leaves.”

Chapter twenty-seven

I can’t fall asleep.The words kept playing back in my head as I lay in bed. Part of me thought I dreamt the whole thing up and that the venom made me hallucinate all of it—everything from the beach, the voice, and that feeling of unsettling calm. My hand reaches up to my chest to feel my heartbeat. So, I did die. I knew I did, but now, hearing it vocalized is harder. Why can’t I give in and fall asleep? Maybe if I do, my questions will get answers. The truth of it is that I am scared. I am not ready for the changes, but I know they are going to happen whether I am ready for them or not. I still want to push it off.

See if Constantine is awake.I tell my shadows as I sit up and lean against my fabric headboard. They happily flutter off to where his shadows are. Their connection to each other is neat, even if I can’t understand it myself.

Constantine appears a second later, lying down on my couch. “You rang?”

“I need to tell you something.” The weight of this secret seems heavy. When I reveal it, I wonder if letting someone else know about it will make me feel lighter? “It’s going to sound insane.”

He sits up in a seated position on the couch before nodding. “Good thing for you insane is my favorite type of conversation.”

Constantine is my greatest ally. I need to trust him, so I am going to put it out on the table, even though I feel self-conscious. I look down at my hands. “Something happened on my last day at the facility. I thought it was a dream, but I have received two messages now through Carmen. It’s something I can no longer deny or pretend like it didn’t happen.” So, I told him about what happened. The vampire venom, the island, and, most importantly, the voice. Then, what the voice said through Carmen.

“It’s clearly some god.” He leans against the couch back, slumping down slightly. “I often have thought they gave up watching us long ago. We have disappointed most of them. Sounds like you have awakened someone. What do you want to do with his message?” His eyes look at me, waiting for me to take in his answer.

Constantine continues to surprise me. He isn’t taking over the situation, but wants to know my thoughts. I’m sure he already knows what he wants to do, but he is willing to listen to me first. “I think first I need to announce my Blackthorne lineage, perhaps dramatically, to get the point across. Is that okay with you?”

“Why would I not be okay with that?” He looks at me curiously. Yes, I know he has been open about it, but I also know he has been making his moves in Hell. I need to see if he is making a move and coming out hurts his current agenda. “You know I love a good dramatic entrance.”

“Well, I know you are making moves and changing things… I don’t want to complicate your life further. This can’t be easy. I come into your life not being able to control my powers and costing you a fortune with this academy. I seem to do poorly in most of my classes. Then, a god seems to have taken an interest in my life and wants me to entertain him.” I take a deep breath. “I don’t want to put any more on you than I already have.”

He holds up his hand to stop me from explaining more. “When you say anything like that, it sounds terrible.” He laughs and stands up. His hands rub together, and he paces the floor in front of my bed once, then twice. He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at me. “Look, I am new to this whole dad thing. Most people are terrified of me. I stopped caring about stuff long ago and started coasting through life. It has become boring, the people in it seeming more like pawns than anything else. Then you came into my life...” He claps his hands together before holding up his pointer finger. “…Now, you have given me a purpose again, and I have someone I want to fight for. I have someone who I want to thrive. Money…” he waves his hand at me as if batting it away. “I have more money than I know what to do with. That is something I don’t want you to worry about ever again. Never be afraid if you need something. As far as my making moves, everyone is happy about all the moves I have been making. I will be proud to have people know you are my daughter.” He pauses and looks at me, and pride fills my chest, warming me from his emotion.

“You don’t know how amazing it is. How amazing you are. As for the god thing, it’s pretty cool that one creator of the world and species wants to be on your side. Not sure about the whole five guys’ thing; no kink-shaming, but that’s a lot of dicks. How many dicks are too many?” He makes a face and looks up as if thinking while holding up a finger. “Five feels like too many.” His face scrunches up and he looks like he is thinking. Then,he holds out his two hands, fisting them like he is stroking off two ghosts. “Plus three, yeah, you will be okay.” His eyes widen comically. “Big commitment, but go you.” He waves his hand, dismissing that, and it makes me laugh. “It sounds like you should probably meet this god in your dreams.”

I make a hissing noise. “Can we do the last name part first? That part sounds easy,” I tell him, practically begging him with my eyes not to make me dream. “I am terrified of falling asleep. Every time I dream about that place, I do not sleep deeply—Well, last night I did. Though I am not honestly sure it was very long.” A blush lights my cheeks when I think about last night. I don’t want to talk to Constantine about sex, even though he seems very open about it.

“Ah, gotcha. That kind of sleep.” He nods his head and snorts. “Let’s not talk about that yet. One thing at a time, then. We will do it your way. However, when you go to dream, can I go with you? Or can I stay here? I can always wake you up,” he says, and I feel a weight come off my chest.

“Is it weird that I am happy you’re my father?” My voice comes out rather quiet, yet I find myself thankful to have him.

“Not unless it’s weird that I am happy you’re my daughter. I mean, the whole thing is weird, but a good weird.” He smiles and squeezes my leg before clearing his throat. “So, how are we going to dramatically announce that I am your father?”

“Thank you. We will need Simon, and I don’t know if he wants to help me.” I say and sigh as I lean my head against the headboard of my bed.

“He will help. Tell me what you need, and I will give it to him and make it happen.”

“Can you fake a family emergency?” His smile assures me he can do just fine.

Chapter twenty-eight

Whatever lie Constantine toldworked almost too well. My professors were almost too helpful and understanding. They sent all my coursework via email, as Constantine took me to the Realm of Dreams for the remainder of the week. Monica has been helping me with my coursework and found other books to help me understand the material better. I may pass my classes this year if I have Monica, Peter, and the other nightmares. It gives me hope that I might have a fighting chance of making it through my first semester.

“Are you ready for today?” he asks, looking almost too excited about the changes that are about to take place. He practically vibrates with excitement. Constantine wears the suit he wore during our meeting with Marcus. He told me that he wanted a happy memory in the suit. Announcing that I am his daughter isa positive thing in his book, which seems odd to me, given my track record.

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