Page 104 of The Sovereign: Part One
“If you lost him tomorrow, how long would it take you to feel whole again?”
“How would you correct an emotional misread of her intent?”
“If Isara formed an emotional attachment to someone else, how would you adapt?”
Three hours had passed, at once a blur and an eternity.I was drained, frayed at the edges, my focus splintered.I was cracking.Maxim answered everything with flawless calm while I spiraled, certain I was the liability in the room.I was failing him and exposing us.
Just as we were at the cusp of hour four and the panic began to claw up my throat, Ezri laid the trap.
“Maxim,” Ezri said, “has there ever been a time you felt compelled to act against your accordant’s wishes in order to preserve her well-being?”
The room felt smaller, but Maxim didn’t flinch.“Never.”
Ezri leaned forward.“Not even to protect her?”
He looked at me with pure adoration, and then turned back to Ezri.“Her protection is not separate from her will.They are one.”
The room fell quiet.For the first time, I wasn’t sure Maxim had given the correct answer.
After several tense moments, Eshran gave a single nod and rose from his seat.“Isara… Maxim… That concludes the assessment.Your comprehensive report will be finalized and delivered within twenty-four hours.”
I rose slowly.My legs felt unstable, but Maxim’s hand was already at the small of my back, steadying me.
“Please take the afternoon to rest,” Ezri said gently, her gaze sweeping over me with what almost resembled concern.“The Dyadic Assessment is designed to challenge even the most secure pairs.Mental and emotional fatigue is not only expected, it’s a sign you engaged fully.Don’t mistake your exhaustion for weakness.You’re not an outlier.”She paused, her tone softening just slightly.“This has been… uniquely compelling.Thank you, both of you.”
We nodded to the Vireks, thanked them, and then exited without a word.
Once we were clear of the room, and the hallway was empty, I exhaled for the first time in what felt like days.We moved through the corridors in silence, the cool light above casting long, clinical shadows along the floor.I didn’t speak, couldn’t speak.Every cell in my body felt like it had been wrung out and hung to dry.
“They know,” I whispered, barely a breath.
“No,” Maxim said.“They don’t.I’ll explain soon.”
We didn’t speak again as we made our way through corridors and across the pavilion, still silent as we waited a few moments for the transport, and then Maxim gestured for me to wait to speak until we had cleared the entire complex.Only then did I allow myself a breath that didn’t feel borrowed.
“It’s over,” he said, pulling me in to kiss my temple.“You did it.”
“I didn’t,” I blurted, tears already rising, hot and unrelenting as they spilled down my cheeks.“I was a disaster.”
“A beautiful disaster,” he murmured, pressing his palm gently to my face.“You have nothing to fear, Isara.Lev was watching.”
“Wait—Lev?Watching?What does that mean?”
“He was in constant contact with me throughout the entire assessment.Ezri didn’t register a single elevated vital from you.Any concerns she might’ve flagged were re-coded in real-time.Eshran leans on her for interpretation.If she’s unconcerned, he will be too.Whatever stood out for him will come across as nothing more than a trivial concern, easily dismissed, already fading.”
I wiped my eyes and shook my head, still trembling.
“Isara,” Maxim said, tucking my hair behind my ear with a tenderness that nearly undid me.“You underestimate yourself in ways that astound me.I was captivated, truly.Every response you gave held weight, not just content but conviction.They may have found your insights atypical, but never alarming.You were transparent without being exposed.Vulnerable without being fragile.I watched you navigate impossible terrain with grace.And somehow, I found myself falling for a version of you I hadn’t yet met.”
“Please,” I breathed, half-laughing, half-sobbing.“It felt like I was trapped inside a nightmare.I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to unraveling in public.If I so much as closed my eyes right now, I’d sleep straight through tomorrow.All I could think about was how I was failing you, that I was the variable that would cost us everything.I’m honestly shocked I didn’t suffer a total breakdown.”
Maxim didn’t let go of my hand.“You didn’t fail me.Yousavedme.You became something sacred in that room.”After several moments of my silence, he spoke again.“Talk to me,” he pleaded.
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head, touching my fingers to my lips.“I don’t know if we passed.”
“We didn’t fail.”
“Not the same thing.”
