Page 93 of The Sovereign: Part One
“Context,” Lev said.
“Small infractions at first.And then… larger ones.”
“Clarify.”
“Premature domestic preview to start for most of Day Two.The following day and since, we… we, er… we…” I sighed, unable to say the words to the man who’d been a father figure to me.
Maxim saved me.“We’ve shared private, emotionally charged interactions.While we didn’t engage in anything explicitly prohibited, the level of connection, physical and otherwise, was more personal than the protocol allows at this stage.”
Lev’s brows lifted faintly, but he didn’t look surprised.
“And?”he asked.
“And nothing happened,” I said.“No alert.No auditory cue.Not even a flag.I’d have considered it luck if it had only been once.But it’s happened more than once.Every time—nothing.”
Lev tilted his head.“You were testing The Citadel.”I’d have thought his words to be accusatory if he didn’t seem so impressed.
“We should have at least been flagged,” I said.“Based on what’s allowed, and what isn’t, we absolutely should have.And I checked my log.No annotation.Not even a shadow line.”
Lev leaned back, his lips twitching with amusement.“Well.Thatisinteresting.”
Maxim was far from amused.“What does that suggest to you?”
Lev looked between us, then settled his gaze on Maxim.“That depends.What made you take that risk?”
I adjusted in my seat.“Maxim is… different.I noticed not long after we met.”
“How long?”Lev asked.
“The morning of Day Two.Joss approached us during a breakfast date.Maxim was,” I hesitated again.I hadn’t thought this through, explaining Maxim’s behavior in front of him.
“Jealous,” Maxim finished.“I was jealous, on alert.Joss felt like a threat, although I couldn’t explain why.”
Lev’s eyes shimmered with delight.“Tell me, Maxim, from a behavioral standpoint, how would you classify your response?”
“Lev,” I snapped, impatient with his demeanor.“Why aren’t you outraged?These are your protocols, your code he’s somehow evolved beyond.”
“Oh, we shouldn’t speculate.”He was smiling now.“But I will say this, if your Supplicant has a behavioral divergence and he’s bypassing infractions, that’s not simply a system glitch.That’s engineered.”
“I know,” I said.“I keep thinking about my Veritas.I’m not like most Sovereign, but this—” I shook my head.“This isn’t something I could have caused, right?”
Lev’s tone was calm.“If the Veritas operated without oversight, it would be possible.But, no, Isara.This isn’t your fault.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then Lev turned back toward his desk and ran a finger along one of the panels, activating a small, embedded console with manual controls.
He didn’t look up as he spoke.“When you came to me the day of your Eidolon, do you remember what we discussed?”
“Yes, why?”I asked.
“Your curiosity,” Lev continued, “breaking the rules.”
“I remember,” I said, impatient.
“And the next time you visited me, we spoke of The Vale.The Ruhat.And of Blight.”
The word ignited against my already dry nerves, and I had to fight the urge to squirm.“Lev, what does any of that have to do with Maxim?”
