Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,132

you ever want to be flattered in that way again, you'll tell me why exactly you seem so happy about this."

Graydon chuckled, scooping Kira into his arms and turning so she was lying half on him, half on the couch.

"It's considered a sign that partners are highly compatible."

Kira drummed her fingers on his chest, waiting. She knew there had to be more.

"It also shows a deep trust."

Kira reared back.

"You trust me," he teased happily.

Kira struggled to sit up, Graydon's arms closing around her before she could. Though there was strength in the way he held her, it was simply an illusion.

They both knew if she wanted to, she could force the issue and he wouldn't stop her.

A thought occurred to her.

"Wait, your ki resonated too." Graydon had been right there with her the entire time.

Graydon arched an eyebrow. "I never said it didn't."

Her face was pensive as she let her weight settle more firmly against him. This bore consideration.

Kira rested her head on his chest, rubbing her cheek against him. She didn't know what to think about this new information, so she shunted it to the back burner.

"Why don't the Tuann like artificial intelligence?" Kira asked abruptly.

Graydon's hands paused in their stroking. "We have a dark and painful history with them."

Kira lifted her head to peer at him. "Oh?"

His smile this time didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll admit the machines from that period all had a bit of extra mixed in with them."

Kira went still, feeling like there was a nagging sense of importance in his phrasing.

"We called them the soul bound," Graydon said, not taking his eyes off hers.

Kira controlled her reaction, burying the recognition that term brought and the flood of worry afterward.

She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what that phrase was intended to convey.

"They were the reason our former masters retained such control over us for as long as they did," Graydon continued.

His gaze was penetrating, as if he were trying to peer through Kira's defenses.

Not wanting to give him the chance, she hid her face in his shoulder, staring at the couch.

"The way you call them makes it seem like there's more to the story," Kira ventured after several moments.

She needed to know exactly how much danger Jin was in.

"You'd be correct," Graydon pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. She felt him pick up a strand of hair to play with. "The masters have always been obsessed with immortality. I'm not talking about the way Tuann can live for long years unless they're killed either. They wanted true immortality. The kind that never fades and can never be destroyed."

"And these soul bound are part of that?"

"In a sense," Graydon said. "The masters created machines and then they separated the souls of their slaves and bound them to those machines."

Kira could see how someone who cared nothing for moral or ethical boundaries would venture down that path.

Inserting their consciousness into machines would get rid of the inherent weakness of a body that would eventually die and decay. A machine could constantly be modified and fixed as long as its programming remained untouched.

"What was the result of these experiments?" Kira asked carefully.

"Failure due to the complete and utter madness of every single being the binding was used on."

Kira held herself rigid, almost afraid to breathe.

Jin wasn't insane. Cocky, yes. Immature, at times. But crazy? No.

Despite that, Kira could see why those former soul bound had gone mad. The potential was there in Jin. Without the link between them, Jin very well could have descended to those depths.

"Their madness didn't stop the masters from finding a use for them," Graydon continued. "They lacked a conscience or any sense of right and wrong, but they still possessed enough cunning to serve as the masters’ guard dogs. A side effect of the process made them much more obedient to the masters than the rest of us."

"What happened to them?" Kira asked, lifting her head.

"We put them down when we escaped," Graydon informed her. "Every last one."

They stared at each other as Kira came to a realization.

"How long have you known?" Kira finally asked.

Graydon brushed her hair behind her ear, his expression gentle. "Since the uhva na."

So long.

Kira pressed her lips together, not sure what to think.

Graydon was the Emperor's Face. This wasn't the sort of secret he could keep—not without drawing accusations of treason.

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

It was clear to her that even with his suspicions he hadn't made a move. If he had,