Page 40 of The Sovereign, Part One (The Sovereign Saga #1)

I giggled. “This feels slightly ridiculous.”

“Efficiency is rarely ridiculous.”

I brushed a kiss against his cheek, then rested my chin on his shoulder. “Debatable.”

He carried me toward the transport, twirling once before opening the slipgate.

As if I weighed nothing, he transitioned me effortlessly from his back and guided me into the passenger seat without my feet ever touching the ground.

Maybe every aspect of him had been coded with meticulous precision, but there were still pieces of him that seemed to live outside any algorithm—small, imperceptible moments that defied programming.

I had seen Supplicants engage in playful gestures before, but only in ways that reflected their Sovereign’s disposition.

Never once had I seen it arise from pure impulse.

The Veritas had identified my buried instinct for curiosity, but I had never truly possessed a desire for spontaneity simply for its own sake.

That, it seemed, belonged to Maxim alone.

The ride toward the Aegis Gate—the only way in or out of Hyperion Proper—was quiet, but it was a silence filled with anticipation. As we drove closer to the city’s towering walls, I traced my fingers along the window’s edge, their sheer scale nearly overwhelming me.

I had climbed at the Wellness Center before, scaled synthetic cliffs, relied on harnesses crafted from engineered fibers. But this was different. This was beyond the wall, beyond the orchestrated safety I had always known.

“You’re nervous.” Maxim’s voice was gentle and absent of judgment.

“A little.”

He reached over, his fingers brushing against mine.

“Smith Rock isn’t far from the Strenn Corridor.

I chose it because it offers the right balance of challenge for your skill level—demanding but achievable—and because it’s well within the patrolled zone.

The Sentinels keep out of sight, but they’re heavily stationed there. ”

I nodded, a thread of relief weaving through my unease.

Their presence meant safety, but the thought of them lurking beyond the tree line was unsettling.

The way Maxim had described the Sentinels made me imagine them to be very unlike Maxim—or even the Regs.

They weren’t designed for companionship, for nuance, or to navigate society in a way that put Sovereign at ease.

They were Dreadnoughts—unstoppable, unyielding, built for one purpose: war.

I told myself their protection was a comfort, but knowing the threats they subdued, the battles they won with tactical efficacy, a presence like that was nothing short of terrifying.

As we approached the gate, Maxim eased into one of three short lines of transports awaiting clearance.

Within minutes, a Reg stepped forward. That class of Hiven was taller than most humans.

Its synthetic frame glinted in the early morning sun as it scanned us with a coldness that sent a ripple of unease through me.

Maxim didn’t flinch. He maintained a presence that suggested he had nothing to hide, though we both knew that wasn’t entirely true.

“State your purpose,” the Reg intoned, its voice crisp and controlled—polite only in the way a warning could be.

Maxim’s response was calm and precise. “Our purpose is recreation. Clearance ID XR-74J29K.”

The Reg’s optical interface flickered through several hues before settling. “You’ve been approved for a twelve-hour window. Failure to return before sunset will result in gate denial.”

Maxim nodded once. “Understood.”

“Proceed,” the Reg said, stepping back.

With a mechanical shift, the gate began to part.

Though it wasn’t even a fraction of the wall’s height, it was still massive, a structure that could make even the most self-assured feel small.

The Aegis Gate remained open during the day, but come nightfall, it would be sealed shut.

No Sovereign who misjudged their time—or failed to account for the unexpected—lived to see it reopen.

The transition from Hyperion Proper to the outer terrain was abrupt.

The moment we were through, it felt as if the world had been stripped of its polish.

Roads became rougher, and the air carried a distinct heaviness—damp, like the humidity of Hyperion’s aeroponic bays, but laced with something sharper, a faint metallic tang that hinted at the remnants of a world long spoiled.

The landscape was raw and untamed. The horizon stretched wide, the earth mottled with patches of faded greens and barren browns, remnants of a once-thriving wilderness now scarred by time, neglect, and taken over by invasive species hardy enough to survive.

Clusters of twisted trees clung to the soil, and the air was thick with the scent of decaying foliage.

Suddenly, the city’s auto-misted scent grid made sense, ventline atomizers pushing controlled blends to drown the smell of rot.

Off in the distance, a rusted structure jutted from the earth, its purpose forgotten, strangled by overgrown vines.

There was beauty here, but it was one that whispered of loss, of a world struggling to heal from the wounds left by its past.

We drove as far as we could along the Strenn, the road narrowing until it became little more than a single-lane pathway. When the road ended and the vehicle could go no farther, Maxim pulled into and parked in a designated hold.

Once the transport powered down, he stepped out smoothly, making his way around to my side before opening my slipgate.

As he retrieved our packs, I stretched, rolling my shoulders against the stiffness from nearly an hour on the Strenn Corridor—a longer drive than I was used to.

There was excitement in the air, something unsaid but shared between us.

I had spent my entire life inside the boundaries of Hyperion Proper, existing within a world dictated by rules and meticulous design.

Now, I was standing on the edge of something feral.

Maxim adjusted the strap on his pack and then reached for my hand. “I’ve downloaded the map for the hike.”

I intertwined my fingers in his and smiled. “Of course you have, my incredibly sweet, ridiculously handsome, anal-retentive boyfriend.”

Maxim guffawed, but after his laughter died down, he narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure what you meant was accordant. Though, I do prefer the more elegant term of the old world: fiancé. ”

I shot him a teasing, skeptical glance.

He winced, clutching his chest as if I’d wounded him, then nodded, his nose wrinkled, his eyes nearly slits. “Technically, and by every definition of the Vesture, I’m your fiancé… and you’re mine.”

“You haven’t even proposed,” I said, feigning reluctance.

He stopped in his tracks, squinting up at the sky with an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to remedy that.”

The hike to Smith Rock would take less than twenty minutes, but every step felt significant.

The uneven, rough ground beneath my boots—so different from the synthetic terrain I trained on—reminded me that I was far from the perfection of Hyperion Proper.

As Maxim and I walked, our fingers brushed, and then, without either of us saying a word, our hands found one another, clasping with a quiet familiarity.

His hand was warm, strong, and I held onto it, a comfort I hadn’t expected to feel so far from home.

We walked in silence for a while, until the rhythm of our steps naturally pulled me into conversation. “I’ve been thinking about scheduling a dinner with Bellam, Lourdes, her accordant, Leopold… and Roan.”

Maxim gave my hand a slight squeeze, sensing the underlying uncertainty in my tone. “Is Roan an issue?”

I sighed, glancing at him with a small smile. “We grew up together. I love him, but yes. And also no. He’s been pursuing Bellam, yet she’s less than three months from her Vesture. She wanted nothing to do with him at first, but as Roan does… he’s growing on her. And she hates it.”

“Bellam?” He sounded surprised, as if he couldn’t picture the strong-willed, logical woman I’d described to him succumbing to anyone’s charms.

“I wouldn’t bother confronting her, but I can see them…

the cracks in her armor. She’s stubborn, but even she can’t resist for long.

” I paused, considering my words carefully.

“I just don’t know where it could go. Her Veritas is quickly approaching.

Roan’s a Vanguard, not some random Sovereign she could run off to The Vale with if it was love.

But I don’t know. At first, I thought it was just about the chase.

Now? I’m not so sure. I saw the expression on Roan’s face when they first met…

one I’d seen before, but never from him.

She insulted him in the most brutal way,” I trailed off, my giggles breaking my train of thought.

I cleared my throat, composing myself. “You should’ve seen him. It was instant.”

“I can relate,” Maxim said, his grip tightening ever so slightly.

I glanced over at him and smiled, but my thoughts were tangled. “I want them both to be happy, but not at the cost of a broken heart. There’s no future for them in the city, and Bellam was adamant—almost furious—about my going to The Vale.”

“She was?”

I nodded. “She reminded me how long I’ve waited for you and made me promise to meet you before making a decision.”

Maxim looked down, a smile tugging at his lips. “I like her.”

We walked for a while longer, slowing at a fork in the path.

One trail stretched ahead, winding toward the jagged cliffs of Smith Rock where sun-bleached stone jutted skyward.

The other veered into the dense woodland, its entrance partially obscured by twisting branches and overgrown foliage, the earth beneath it less trodden, a path that seemed to vanish into the shadows of the trees.

Maxim stopped, looking down the route thoughtfully. “Do you know what this is?”

I shook my head. “No? Should I?”

“This is one of the paths that leads to The Vale.”

I scanned the horizon, my eyes searching for any hint of the distant farmlands I’d only ever heard about.

The Vale remained a mystery, hidden just beyond the reach of Hyperion’s ever-watchful eye.

I longed to glimpse it from a closer vantage point than the upper echelon of The Citadel, even just for a moment, but the distance was too great. “It’s so far,” I murmured.

“Maybe someday,” Maxim said as we continued walking. “They say the rocks here are sacred. After the revolt, Aurens spent years trying to carve something out of the land until the rocks themselves refused to yield. In the end, it was earth that shaped them, not the other way around.”

I glanced up at him, surprised by the depth of his knowledge. “Is that in the archives?”

“It is.”

I frowned, unsettled by how intimately The Citadel knew The Vale’s lore.

Maxim stopped walking abruptly. “Did I offend you?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all, I just don’t want Hyperion to erode the untamed spirit of The Vale. The Citadel should mind its own affairs and stop trying to control a world that isn’t theirs.”

Maxim exhaled. “When those in power have nothing left to dominate, they search for something new to bend to their will.”

“Don’t they know? That was what caused the downfall of the old world.”

Maxim held his palm to my face, his thumb gliding over my skin.

He didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to.

I had spent my entire life believing in Hyperion’s foundation, as an adult, dedicating myself to refining its policies from within.

But with each new revelation, that certainty fractured, unraveling piece by piece.

“C’mon, we’re almost there.” He gently tugged on my hand, leading me forward.

Smith Rock was closer now, towering above us with a rugged grandeur. It was a place steeped in history, its rocky face weathered and worn by time. I glanced up at the looming formation ahead, its surface jagged and sun-bleached, nothing like the artificial climbing walls I was used to.

“That’s… a steep cliff.”

Maxim’s lips curled at the edges. “I also mapped out the best way to climb Smith Rock based on your ability level.”

Even with the mapped-out route, it was still unpredictable.

Sheer slabs weren’t programmed for safety, nor designed with hidden safeguards.

There were no synthetic grips, no engineered holds, no calibrated resistance to match my strength.

Every ledge, every crevice, was shaped by nature, not intentional design.

A slow thrill coursed through me. With nothing between me and the raw cliffside, I felt something Hyperion had never given me—something uncertain, unfiltered, real.

I smiled. For the first time in a long time, I felt human.