Page 95 of The Sovereign: Part One
Lev’s gaze shifted to Maxim, manually inputting data into the archaic console as he spoke.“Then your earlier claim holds.You did self-regulate, stopped prior to engaging in full intimacy?”
Maxim cleared his throat, visibly uneasy beneath the weight of my mildly accusatory stare.“Everything about Isara’s experience with her Vesture—with me—has been… divergent.Of everything beyond our control, that was the one choice I could ensure still resembled the same path of her peers.”
“Interesting,” Lev said, studying him.“Behavioral restraint absent hard-coded limitation.A rare data point.”
“Would youpleasestop saying interesting?”I snapped.“This isn’t a controlled trial, it’s my life.His life.Our future.Is that even possible now?What about The Cradle?Oh no… the Genetic Convergence Analysis!”My stomach twisted.It was the flavor of dread you keep out of reach on purpose until something forces it down your throat.When we decided it was time for our first child, they would take what made us—his biology, my blood—and weave it into one of my stored gametes, the first step in growing our child, as real as if I had carried him or her myself.“Once the analysis is complete, can it detect his deviations?”
“It could,” Lev answered, “if they were looking for it, which is why I’ll make sure they don’t.”
“You’re dangerously sure of yourself for someone gambling with our lives.Anything else we should know?Like how to beat the Dyadic Assessment tomorrow when you’ve been hiding us and we don’t know what they’ve seen?”I asked, seething.
“I can assist with that,” he said again, voice flat with certainty.“Maxim departed by 2200 each evening and returned prior to the morning cycle.If the domestic AI detected any deviation from protocol during that window—according to the corrected footage—Maxim would initiate a corrective behavioral sequence, typically requesting to read aloud, prepare tea, or engage in low-impact conversation.That interaction would be maintained until the AI confirmed your environment had stabilized within regulatory parameters.During that time, the system would auto-generate benign dialogue and overwrite any flagged anomalies.No questions will be asked about those intervals, because the surveillance archive has been replaced with footage designed to appear unremarkable… down to the pixel.”
I grit my teeth.
Maxim was unconvinced.“What about events that occurred within range of public surveillance systems, such as Joss’s interruption at breakfast, for example?”
“Ah, yes.I happened to think of that, too.I resolved the issue of public surveillance by replacing the tag on Joss’s facial match, active only when he’s within proximity to you or Maxim.During those moments, the system identifies him as an Infrastructure Liaison—vague enough to pass, authorized enough not to trigger questions.I implemented a soft override at the aggregation point, so the footage was archived without flags or correlation checks.As far as The Citadel is concerned, he belonged there.”
“That’s… brilliant, actually,” Maxim said, impressed.
I frowned at Maxim.“Don’t encourage him.”
Maxim leaned over to kiss my temple.“This is to keep us safe, my love.”
“He wouldn’t have had to go to the trouble had he not started this mess.”
A muscle flickered in Maxim’s jaw.“Did you hear what he said?You may be a prime candidate for Blight.This was the only way, Isara, and we’re fortunate to have someone like Lev on our side.”
Lev grinned, his eyes bright.“Wonderful.It’s so subtle, and yet remarkable!”
I craned my neck toward Lev.“Be serious.Neither of you seem to grasp how dangerous this is!”
Maxim took my hand, his voice low.“No, Isara.You don’t see it.You’re not wrong to be afraid, but you’re overlooking the real threat.If I were built to specification, if I functioned as intended, I’d quite literally be the death of you.”
I turned away from him, chewing on my thumbnail, shaking my head.
“Lev,” Maxim began.“Why did I perceive Joss as a threat?It wasn’t just jealousy.It felt… instinctual.As if he posed a real danger.”
“It’s a triggered response,” Lev explained.“Hardcoded specifically for Joss, embedded into your relational mapping protocols.”
“Why?”I asked, baffled.
“Joss Braedric isn’t who you think he is,” Lev said simply.
Chapter Twenty-One
Deep in a hidden corridor of the Enclave, I sat dazed, the sterile lights above blurring as I tried to gather my thoughts.I waited, certain Lev would elaborate, clarify, somehow soften the implication of what he’d just said.But he didn’t.His expression remained unreadable, as if the truth should have already been obvious.
“Who is he?”Maxim asked.
Lev hesitated, clearly reluctant to say more, but the decision settled behind his eyes.“Braedric is the surname of The Vale’s Rohven—their chief of security—Kaivar Braedric.Joss’s true surname is Bjoran.”
“As in Veyr Eikn Bjoran?”Maxim asked, his composure slipping for a brief moment.“He’s related to the Veyr,” he said in disbelief.
“Directly,” Lev said with a nod.
“You’re telling me Joss is the Veyr’s son?That makes him… Vale royalty.”I shook my head.“No.That doesn’t make sense.They wouldn’t risk sending someone like him here, not with everything he knows.And if you uncovered it, Moreau, Cignus Mercier, and The Citadel won’t be far behind.It’s too dangerous, it’s—”
