“Your Highness!”
“Stop calling me that.” And then I add, “That’s an order!” Just to see if it works.
It does. Talina snaps to attention and wipes her eyes. Breath still hitching, but she is suddenly stoic.
Better. I think. But still not good. “OK. Let’s be calm here. I think you’re jumping to a lot of conclusions and—”
“What is going on?”
Talina and I both whirl around to find Tarq looming in the doorway, his deep, rough voice still echoing through the room.
Talina falls to her knees again, bowing her head to the floor, mumbling, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
I squint my eyes at Tarq. “Great. That’s just great,” I snap at him. “Look what you did! I just got her to stop doing that!”
“Talina,” Tarq barks. “Leave us.”
She scrambles to her feet and scurries out of the lab. Tarq closes the doors behind her and points to the Book of Debt, which I am still holding in my hands. “You wanted to know how the debt works. I’m here to explain that.”
“How about you explain her,” I say, nodding my head at the doors. “She thinks I’m some freaking princess. Some bitch called Pianna. What the actual fuck is happening here, Tarq?”
He seems… confused for a moment. No. Not confused. Conflicted. I’m familiar with this look. It’s the look people give me when they’re coming to a conclusion. Usually that conclusion is something along the lines of… Yeah. I thought she was normal, but she’s not. I need to end this relationship as gracefully as possible, then get the hell away from her.
This reaction is so common in my experience, it makes me tired. So I sigh. Loudly. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Tarq points to a conference table chair. “Sit down, Pie. We need to have a talk.”
“No. I don’t want to sit. I want to stand.”
“Fine. But trust me, you will need that chair.”
I turn away from him, place my hands over my face, and try my best not to melt down. I am so sick of being the weirdo. So damn tired of being the freak. I was having such a nice, normal experience for once. Coffee, and work, and girlfriends. I was having a Sex and the City moment. I was pretty, successful, confident Carrie for like ten minutes. Someone who fit in.
And now I have no idea what’s happening. The only thing I do know is this:
I am not normal.
I will never be normal.
Tarq takes the Book of Debt from my hands and drops it down on the table, the thump of thick bound pages crashing my pity party. He says, “Luciano mentioned that you left the building today.”
“What?” I turn to look at him.
“You left work.”
Shit. “Yeah. To get coffee. If that wasn’t allowed—”
“It’s fine. Did you run into any trouble?”
“Trouble?” It’s a weird word choice. But then again, maybe it’s not. “You knew.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Whatever this princess shit is all about. You knew, didn’t you? Talina thinks I’m some princess. Some missing princess. And you do too. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? And that’s why you’re asking if I ran into trouble.”
He points to the chair again. “Take a seat.”
This time I do. He’s right. I need this chair.