Page 60 of Her Lawless Prince

“Some cyborgs are people who have body parts replaced with technology. But they were people first, and they have the flaws of people. There’s a giant debate amongst cyborgeneticists over at which point in the artificial intelligence process the person ceases to exist and when you can call them a true cyborg. People can upload information into their brains, learning things they never studied but it’s still their brain. Some purists argue that makes them artificially intelligent.” Nyle looked at his hand, flexing it to see the movement beneath the skin. “But Yevgen was never a man in that sense. He is a sophisticated machine. Half built, half grown. His programming was a work of art, and it was left unattended for decades. It grew, and learned, and morphed. He reprogrammed himself and rebuilt himself. He improved. There is no other cyborg like him.”

Nyle knew this wasn’t the answer the Var commander sought. He dropped his hands and met the man’s gaze.

“Why won’t you answer my question?” Falke’s claws extended and then withdrew back into his fingers.

A threat? An involuntary gesture? Nyle wasn’t sure.

“If you’re asking me if Yevgen is alive, then I would have to ask you what your definition of life is,” Nyle said.

“Does he feel?” Falke pushed to his feet, resuming his previous stance. “Can he love my daughter?”

Nyle felt the words like a slap, and he held his breath. He thought about what Payton had once said,“All he wants is to understand love. Sometimes the yearning for something is enough.”

A father would not be comforted by those words. Payton deserved the love of a man who would give everything for her.

“I wish I had a definitive answer. If Payton believes it is possible, then perhaps that is all we need to know. Yevgen is my creation, but he’s her…” Nyle wanted to say the right thing, the comforting thing. He wanted to put the man’s mind at ease. “I’m sorry. She deserves better. She deserves everything. I can’t imagine any man being worthy of her, but Yevgen will be loyal. He’ll give himself to protect her. He’ll be attentive. He will try to love her as he understands it.”

Before he arrived on Qurilixen, Nyle would have said without a doubt that the cyborg couldn’t feel emotions. Yevgen could mimic them, quite convincingly, but it all came down to computer programming.

But clearly Payton felt some kind of attachment. Who was he to negate what she felt? And Yevgen acted like a man in love, mostly. He showed jealousy and a desire to please.

He felt the commander’s eyes on him, as if analyzing his every movement.

“I’m not the right man to ask about this,” Nyle said, unconsciously stepping back. “You should speak to your daughter about her relationship.”

“What is your relationship with my daughter?”

“You should ask her about that too,” Nyle said. “I’ve already said too much. I have no right to speak about her choices or on her behalf.”

“By not answering, you imply there is a relationship.”

“I would never presume. She’s married. I would never dishonor her by implying such a thing.” Nyle wondered what the odds were of him getting Falke to leave. He’d rather face the man’s fists than his words. At least with a punch, the torture would be over quickly.

Falke stared at him for a long moment. Nyle tried not to shift his weight as he waited.

“The Federation is coming,” the commander stated. “They want control over the Cysgodians, and they want their alliance with Qurilixen. They’ll try to lay claim to the planet if they can’t have an alliance. They are prepared to take it by force as long as they can claim righteousness in doing so to the rest of the universes.”

“You can’t let that happen,” Nyle said. “The Cysgodians will not survive Federation rule. The Federation wants Cysgod. They’ll make sure no one is left to lay claim.”

Falke studied him.

“I’ll do anything to make sure that never happens,” Nyle insisted. He wanted the nightmares to end. “Anything. Trade me to the Federation. Let them make a public example of me. Let them blame me for the virus. Let them look like heroes. I won’t fight it. Just make sure they agree to give up all claims to my people.”

Falke continued to stare as if contemplating everything Nyle had said. Finally, the commander nodded and turned toward the doors. He gave a soft growl low in his throat, and the doors automatically opened to the sound. The guards waited for the commander to pass and then closed the doors behind him.

Nyle took a deep breath and relaxed his stance. That conversation could have gone better, but he said what he needed to.

22

“Father?”Payton stopped short on her way through the corridors. “What are you doing here?”

She’d checked on Yevgen long enough to tell him not to break into the palace system but quickly excused herself to find Nyle. She looked behind him to where two guards stood outside the guest suite doors.

“I could ask you the same,” Falke said.

“Were you talking to Nyle? What happened? What did he say?” She couldn’t take her eyes away from the door as if waiting for him to appear while knowing he wouldn’t.

“I went to hear the truth from him.” Her father crossed his arms over his chest. The stance would have been intimidating to most, but she had made a childhood out of pushing his limits. His demeanor didn’t frighten her. His talk with Nyle did.

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