Valmont Series - Inheritance Code

Chapter 7.5 - Linked in Public

"I can carry you, if you prefer."

That earned him a look. Sharp. Disbelieving. Not entirely offended.

"You're serious?"

Luc's tone didn't change. "I don't make unserious offers."

Her eyes narrowed further. "You'd really carry me through Avalon's halls?"

A pause.

He didn't blink.

"I'd carry you through fire if I had to."

Then, after a beat—

But quieter. Almost teasing.

"This isn't that."

Aria's breath caught, but only for a second. She masked it with a huff.

"Is that supposed to be reassuring?"

Luc's hand didn't waver.

"No," he said. "It's supposed to be true."

And something about the way he said it—

quiet, certain, without demand—

made her hand move before her pride could argue.

She reached out.

And placed hers in his.

Not because she couldn't stand.

But because—for the first time—she didn't want to do it alone.

They stepped into the corridor—sleek, pristine, edged in ambient light that adjusted subtly to their presence. Morning still reigned outside, though it felt impossible. The subcouncil forum had stretched time into something unreal, unmeasurable.

Aria blinked against the clarity. The air was cooler here, sharper. Her limbs still lagged behind her breath, like her body hadn't yet agreed they were safe. Each step felt like waking up from something too large to process.

At the far end of the corridor, two figures waited—impossibly punctual.

Allegra stood with practiced stillness, arms composed—not crossed. Aurora lingered beside her, gaze wide, unreadable.

Neither spoke.

They didn't need to.

Presence, after all, said enough.

Luc adjusted his pace to match hers, only releasing her hand once her steps held steady.

She didn't stumble. Not anymore.

They stopped just before the others, the space between them thick with something unspoken.

Luc glanced down at her—one last time.

"I didn't reset the scenario," he said quietly. "That wasn't me."

Aria's brow tightened—just faintly.

"I stood for you. But the system override... that wasn't part of the plan."

There was no apology in his voice.

But there was something else. Something rarer.

Then—just before stepping away, his voice dropped.

Luc walked beside her in silence. Not watching. Just... present.

Then, as they neared the corridor's edge, his voice broke gently through the stillness.

"Next time..."

A pause.

"...you don't have to face it alone."

Another breath passed before he added—

"Just ask."

No pressure. No expectation. Just the quiet offering of someone who didn't extend help lightly—but meant it when he did.

He didn't wait for her reply.

But he knew she'd heard it.

Luc turned and walked off—measured, composed—his coat sweeping clean across the ground like the scene had been staged for him all along.

But Aria felt it.

The echo of his words folding into the silence he left behind.

Not just a reminder.

A promise.

From now on—she wouldn't have to stand alone.

Not entirely.

* * *

AVNX CORE NOTE [CLASSIFIED]

Zeroth Tier – Override Detected
Trigger Source: External Stimulus (User ID Redacted)
System Response: Instinctual Protection Protocol Engaged
Authorization Status: Pre-Existing Trust Index Surpassed
Outcome: Subject Shielded Without Manual Override
Trace Visibility: Concealed from Standard Logs

The subject did not breach the system.
He only triggered its deeper instinct.
The system had already chosen to protect her.

Next: Unwatched – In a world of algorithms, the only rebellion left is silence.