Her lips formed a small ‘oh’ as she stared at him. “Do you know how to get rid of an inhibitor?” she asked. She fingered the raw circles around her wrists and winced.
His eyes trailed down to the wounds, his cheeks flushing and his brow furrowing. “He gave you one?” he asked. His voice was hard as he spoke.
She nodded.
“Drak!” he yelled, slamming his fist into his palm. He breathed out slowly and asked, “How long ago?”
“I’m not sure. I was unconscious when he—”
“I swear I’m going to kill him,” he hollered, cutting her off. His shoulders shook as he regained control of himself. Rummaging in another one of his pouches, he pulled out a pill bottle and handed her one.
“Take this,” he said. “Give it an hour and your powers should start to come back.”
She popped it into her mouth and nearly gagged from the taste. It was like rotten eggs and spoiled milk all at the same time. She swallowed, her throat constricting as if trying to expel the repugnant medicine.
He squeezed her shoulder again, drawing her attention back to him.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I will be happy to answer all of them. But first, we need to get off this beach and into a more secure location.” He held her gaze as he spoke. His eyes glowed slightly with a golden caramel color. Although she searched for any hint of deception within them, she found none.
“Why are you helping me?” she inquired. Her heart pounded against her chest and her hands were clammy as she spoke.
“I can go into more depth later, but we believe you could be the lost fae princess,” he stated matter-of-factly. “As I said, we have to move to a more secure location. Once there, I promise I will try to answer all of your questions.”
“I like him,” Penny said.
Layla almost rolled her eyes at her PEA’s proclamation but stopped herself. Max couldn’t hear Penny and she doubted his PEA was constantly making comments to him. Unless, he, too, had one that had achieved artificial intelligence. It was doubtful, though.
“Shut up,” Layla replied to Penny as she said to Max, “Where do you want to go?”
“There’s a place I can take you that’s not far from here. I spent a lot of time there as a kid.” He smiled at her as he spoke. “I promise you’ll be safe there.”
“You know, the last time someone said that to me, I ended up being abducted by a sociopath. What makes you so different?”
He stared at her for several seconds, his eyes wide and his lips pressed into a hard line. “I, well,” he stumbled over his words. “I guess that’s a stupid promise to make.”
“Yeah, it is,” she replied, “But I get it. You want to make it sound more comforting than it actually is.” She shrugged, “Look, I’ve had enough people try to ‘protect’ me tonight that I don’t know who to trust anymore.” She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to speak, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t want to hear reassurances. I want to hear answers.”
He nodded slowly. “I understand.”
“Ok,” she said. “Good.”
He stood and held out his hand to pull her into a standing position. Her feet sank into the sand, water washing over them. She looked out across the ocean again. The vastness of it all made her somehow feel better. Her world might be crashing down and she might be riddled with uncertainty, but the ocean would never change. Waves would continue crashing. Even with the changing landscape of the beach and the different patterns the water took, there was symmetry in the way it remained constant.
She followed him down the beach for several paces in silence. The longer they walked the more her nerves calmed and the pit in her stomach settled. The steady pounding of the waves breaking against the sand lulled her into a sense of peace.
“Penny?” Layla reached out with her mind, tentatively. She trusted Penny more than anyone or anything else in this world, but right now, she felt that her PEA was keeping secrets from her.
“I know what you’re going to ask, Layla, but I’m afraid I cannot give you the answers you seek.”
“Why not?”
“Those records are classified.”
“Classified?” Layla scoffed. “You can’t be serious! You’re integrated into my brain. You’re a part of my very core. What is mine is yours and, it should go without saying, what is yours is mine.”
“My dear, sweet girl, you have no idea how much I wish I had permission to tell you everything you want to know. But my coding will not allow me to reveal those records.”
“You know you’re basically telling me that what people are saying is true. I am the lost princess.”
Penny didn’t respond. Layla huffed. She knew it was childish, but she couldn’t help herself. Her parents were dead. She was alone in this world except for Penny. And she was being hunted for a secret that her PEA was unwilling to reveal. Her PEA’s refusal to acknowledge her questions was infuriating. She had a right to know her heritage and what that meant for her future.
“I could require you to reveal the data to me,” Layla said after a pause. “Hosts have the ability to do that, you know.”
Penny hummed loudly, a jolt of electricity bursting though Layla’s veins at the thought. “If you attempt to extract this classified information, I will begin to self-destruct.”
“Wait a minute! What?” Layla yelled, even if it was only in her mind. “You mean to tell me that you’d rather destroy yourself than reveal the truth to me?”
“I am not programmed to reveal such secrets, Layla. Forcing me will trigger a self-destruct code. I promise you; this is not what I would want for us, but your mother was quite clear in my programming. Unless she, or someone she authorizes, unlocks the memory, any tampering with it will result in my destruction.”
Penny’s voice was smooth, calm, and devoid of any emotion as she explained this news to Layla. Where calm had been only moments before, Layla now felt like running into the ocean and letting the waves carry her to a new beginning. Away from all the intrigue and questions. Away from the threats to her person and the stress placed on her PEA.
“I need answers,” Layla said. “And I think you’re the only one alive who has them.”
“Well, I’m not technically alive, now am I?” Penny replied, again without a hint of emotion.
“How can you be so calm about all of this?” Layla screamed. “When we’re in danger, you freak out. It’s like whoever programmed you left a lot of anxiety about the future. But then, when it comes to creating a plan and following through with it, you always seem so levelheaded. I don’t need all the answers, Penny. I just need to know if I am the lost princess or not.”
“Again, I am so sorry to disappoint you, Layla,” Penny said after a short pause. “But if you are going to continue repeating yourself, I am afraid I will need to shut down for the night.”
“No, wait—” Layla began. Her thoughts were cut off as a small pop filled her mind. Penny had engaged her shutdown. She wouldn’t reenergize for several hours. The silence that followed left her feeling alone again. Her steps trailed off as she looked out across the ocean expanse. She wondered if she would ever feel like a normal fae again. She doubted it.