Chapter 32 #2
She glanced towards Auren who still didn’t look at her. His gaze remained fixed on some point over her shoulder, professional distance radiating from every line of his body.
“We’re going to need you to surrender your ACS unit for inspection,” Nareen said, her voice matter-of-fact but not unkind.
“What? Why?”
Nareen’s gaze stayed steady. “A formal complaint’s been filed.”
Cassara blinked. “By who?”
“I can’t disclose that.”
“Then what’s the complaint?”
Nareen sighed. “Tampering. Data manipulation. The report alleges that you’ve altered your ACS sync settings to falsify and enhance your beast’s combat performance in a way that is both a danger to your beast and yourself.”
It didn’t register at first. The words bounced in her skull like hail, hitting too fast to absorb. “What?” Cassara’s world tilted sideways. “You’re saying… I cheated? That’s—that’s impossible. I would never—”
“Nevertheless, we need to examine your equipment.” The tech held out his hand, expectant. “Please remove your ACS unit.”
For a moment, Cassara couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The accusation was so absurd, so completely contrary to everything she’d worked for, that her mind simply couldn’t process it.
“Cassara,” Nareen’s voice was gentler now, but implacable. “Your ACS unit.”
Cassara’s throat closed. With trembling fingers, she undid the latch, detached the bracer, and handed it over. Her wrist felt cold without it.
Liri stepped closer, alarm creasing her face. “That’s insane. Flicker’s been acting weird, sure, but she’s not cheating. Why would she?”
Rett stayed silent, eyes fixed on the ground.
“Any tampering will be verified by academy tech,” Nareen added. “If the claim is baseless, it’ll be dismissed.”
“And if it’s not?” Cassara asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Nareen didn’t answer.
Auren turned away.
The tech bent over the case, his fingers working fast and unflinching as he connected her ACS to the scanner. Runes lit across the interface in waves: white, then blue, then a flicker of pulsing amber.
Cassara tried to speak, to explain. “If there’s something wrong with it, it wasn’t me. You can ask—”
“Please, Cassara,” the tech interrupted, polite but firm. “Let the scan finish.”
Each second dragged.
And then the color shifted, amber deepening into red. The scanner chimed. The tech straightened, eyes flicking to Nareen.
“Preliminary scan shows evidence of system modification,” the tech announced after what felt like an eternity. “The harmonic signatures have been altered, and there are traces of unauthorized code in the resonance matrix.”
Cassara felt the ground drop out from under her. “No. No, that’s not—Oliver worked on it! He was fixing sync issues, that’s all!”
“I’m sorry,” Nareen said, and this time there was something like regret in her voice. “You are suspended from all academy training, including team sessions, Rift access, and arena participation until further notice.”
“But—” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t do anything.”
“The evidence says otherwise,” the tech said quietly. “You’ll have a chance to speak at the hearing.”
“What hearing?”
“There will be a formal hearing to determine if disciplinary action is warranted,” Nareen explained.
“Disciplinary action?” Cassara already knew the answer.
“Suspension though expulsion is a possibility,” Nareen said quietly. “Data fraud violates the academy’s core principles of integrity and fair competition.”
Cassara’s knees nearly gave out. Everything she’d fought for, everything she’d earned, was crumbling in her hands.
“Additionally,” Nareen added, and her voice carried genuine regret now, “academy policy requires that we notify your family of any formal investigation. Your father will be informed of the charges.”
That was the final blow.
Her father. Who already doubted her worth, who saw her as a disappointment, who would view this as confirmation of every suspicion he’d ever harbored about her judgment.
“This is insane!” Liri burst out, her usual gentle demeanor replaced by fierce loyalty. “Cassara would never cheat!”
But Cassara barely heard her. She was drowning in the weight of stares, in the terrible silence from Auren, in the growing doubt she could see taking root in Gideon’s eyes.
After everything. After proving herself, after finding her place, after finally believing she belonged, it was all being ripped away by an accusation she couldn’t even comprehend.
And the worst part was the tiny voice in the back of her mind whispering the question she was afraid to examine too closely:
Why did everyone suddenly look like they weren’t sure they believed her?
The overlook was empty in the deep hours of night, just as Cassara had hoped.
She stood at the railing, gazing out across the training fields that lay dark and silent below.
Somewhere out there, in those very yards where she’d finally learned what it meant to belong, her reputation was being torn to shreds by whispers and speculation.
Cheater. Fraud. Liar.
The words had followed her through the corridors like poison, spoken just loudly enough to ensure she heard every syllable. Students who’d congratulated her on yesterday’s victory now looked at her with suspicion.
Tomorrow afternoon would bring with it the hearing that would determine her fate along with her father who would be there to witness the end result.
“You aren’t thinking of jumping, are you?” The voice came from behind her, familiar and warm despite its teasing tone. “I didn’t bring my glider with me. Be a shame if I had to jump after you without it.”
Cassara didn’t turn around, couldn’t bear to see whatever expression Auren might be wearing. “Depends. Would you really jump?”
“For you? Probably.” His footsteps approached slowly, giving her time to object if she wanted solitude. “Though I’d prefer we find a less dramatic solution to your problems.”
The casual certainty in his voice, that he would jump, that her problems could be solved, made the tears she had been fighting all evening burn in the corners of her eyes.
“Do you believe it?” she asked softly, the words trembling more than she wanted. “Do you think I cheated?”
Silence.
It dragged long enough for her stomach to twist.
And then she felt him step in. His arms wrapped around her waist from behind, firm and steady, and pulled her against his chest. His breath stirred her hair, his voice a murmur.
“No. I don’t.”
She let herself lean into him, just a little. “Why?”
“Because you’re too damn proud. Too stubborn. And if you were going to rig your stats, it wouldn’t be for a win you earned.” He paused. “You would’ve done it the night the poacher came.”
She stiffened and turned to look at him. “You knew?”
Auren’s expression didn’t shift. “I saw him sneak in. Knew you were still down in the bonding rooms, pushing yourself too hard like usual. I followed. Watched. Overheard enough to understand what he was offering
She stared. “You didn’t stop him.”
“It wasn’t my place.” His tone was calm, edged with something quieter, something close to pride. “It was a choice you had to make on your own.”
Cassara looked away, the ache in her chest dulling for the first time in hours. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You wait,” Auren said simply. “You let them scramble and you trust your team.”
She gave a soft, humorless laugh. “My team’s falling apart. Gideon won’t even look at me. They all think I’m guilty.”
“Gideon is being careful. There’s a difference between doubt and caution.” He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “Give them time to process. Give them a chance to prove their loyalty.”
Before she could respond, he kissed her—soft and sure and full of the kind of faith she’d forgotten how to have in herself.
When they broke apart, his forehead rested against hers. “You’re not alone in this, Cassara. And you’re not done. Not yet.”
The afternoon sun did nothing to warm the courtyard.
Cassara paced beneath the marble arches, boots scuffing the same worn path she’d walked a dozen times already. Her Aether Codex weighed heavy at her hip, but it was the silence that pressed heavier.
Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, tugging it down to hide the fading bruises that ringed her wrist. Her pulse skittered with every shadow.
“You always did look lovely in distress.”
Cassara froze.
Julian stepped into view, posture relaxed, hands folded behind his back like a nobleman out for a stroll. His smile was all teeth. “Though I think I preferred you flushed with victory rather than panic.”
She took a step back.
Julian’s gaze dropped to her wrists, where the finger-shaped bruises from their last encounter had faded to a sickly yellow-green. His smile sharpened.
“Easy,” he said, holding up his hands in defense. “I’m not here to touch. I’m here to talk.”
“I’m not interested.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Julian mused. “You used to hang on my every word. How quickly things change.”
Her fingers curled into tight fists.
“Where’s your knight in shining armor now?” he asked, glancing around the empty courtyard with mock concern. “Or has Gideon finally realized his damsel’s not worth the trouble? Funny how quickly people abandon you when your reputation becomes… questionable.”
“He’s not abandoning me.” But even as she said it, doubt crept into her voice. She hadn’t seen Gideon since yesterday’s devastating revelation, hadn’t spoken to any of her teammates except for Liri’s brief, fierce hug in the corridor.
“Could have fooled me,” Julian took another step forward, close enough she caught a hint of the clove-oil cologne he favored.
“I was thinking,” he said airily, “once all this blows over and your name’s tarnished beyond repair, we should consider a summer wedding.
I’ve always liked the gardens at your family’s estate. ”
“I’d rather jump off the edge of this island than marry you,” she hissed.
His smile didn’t falter. “Noted. Though I’m confident it won’t come to that. You know, I’ll miss our little chats once you’re no longer attending Vallemont. But don’t worry…” He leaned in slightly, voice dipping to a whisper. “I’ll visit often. Wouldn’t want you forgetting your place.”
Her nails bit into her palms, fury crackling at the edges of her vision.
“Miss Allencourt.”
They both turned to see Auren standing at the entrance to the covered walkway, perfectly composed except for the rigid set of his shoulders and the careful way he wasn’t quite looking at Julian.
“You’re needed for the hearing,” he continued, his tone professionally neutral. But Cassara could see the tension radiating from every line of his body, could practically feel the violence he was holding in check.
Julian straightened, brushing invisible lint from his jacket. “Ah, Instructor Veth. How thoughtful of you to escort our dear Cassara to her… appointment.”
The pause before ‘appointment’ was deliberate, weighted with implication.
“Miss Allencourt,” he repeated, not acknowledging Julian’s presence.
Cassara moved toward him quickly, grateful for the excuse to put distance between herself and Julian’s predatory smile. But as she passed, Julian’s voice followed her.
“Good luck, dearheart. I’m sure everything will work out exactly as it should.”
Auren fell into step half a pace behind her as they left the courtyard, his presence a solid, reassuring weight at her back. But she could feel the coiled tension in him, could sense how close he’d come to abandoning professional restraint entirely.
“Thank you,” she said quietly once they were out of Julian’s earshot.
“For what?”
“For not killing him. Though part of me wishes you had.”
Auren’s laugh was short and humorless. “The day is young.”