And in Avalon, that meant everything.
Heir of House Dominion.
Archon-tier.
And now, unmistakably, publicly—bound to her.
Aria felt it like a hand against her back—steadying, anchoring.
The scenario trembled.
A ripple of static flickered across Veritas.
Then another.
Midway through data logging, the stream cut.
Archives reset.
The scenario fractured in real-time.
Veritas logs vanished.
Live indexing cleared.
No blackout.
Just a clean slate—
as if the Subcouncil had never happened at all.
A silence deeper than silence took hold.
Vesaria didn't speak. She didn't need to.
She glanced to the adjudicators—silent signal.
Then back to Aria.
"Dismissed."
The word didn't offer grace.
It halted escalation. Bought time. Shielded exposure.
The Solvana mist had thinned to nothing. Her heartbeat rattled in her ears.
But something told her—this was survival. And Luc had just bought it.
For one suspended second, she stayed frozen—part disbelief, part collapse. The scenario had vanished, but its weight hadn't left her bones.
It clung like cold static. Unspoken judgment. Unanswered questions.
The chamber emptied with sovereign silence.
Not a shuffle. Not a murmur. Not a shuffle. Not a whisper. Just the disciplined echo of polished soles against the floor—measured, dignified, absolute.
No one looked at her directly as they passed.
But she felt it—the weight of their second glances, the recalculations behind every perfect posture. The girl who should've been erased... and wasn't.
She waited until the last echo faded down the corridor.
Only then—when the chamber held nothing but stillness—did her body surrender.
Her knees gave out before her pride could stop it.
Not collapse. Not drama.
Just gravity, claiming what the Solvana mist had been holding back.
She sank to the floor—grace abandoned, breath uneven.
It wasn't weakness.
It was aftermath.
Her feet, numb from stillness, now trembled beneath the weight of survival.
Every nerve buzzed like static, her heartbeat still pounding like it hadn't realized the scenario was over.
And for the first time in what felt like forever—
she exhaled.
A breath.
YOU ARE READING
Valmont Series - Inheritance Code
Teen FictionWhat if your perfect life was just a rehearsal? On their twelfth birthday, Aria and Aiden Lancaster wake expecting luxury, freedom, and the future they were promised. Instead, they're given an ultimatum: Leave everything behind - their friends, thei...
Chapter 7.5 - Linked in Public
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