The hall’s loud. Too loud. Forks clinking, nobles laughing at jokes that aren’t funny, the smell of roasted meat thick enough to choke on. I’m just sitting at the far end of the table, focused on my food like it’s the only sane thing in this world.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAKaryqoVK
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Honestly, I couldn’t care less about whatever “festival” this is. Witches, blessings, dancing—whatever. My current religion is this plate of honeyed bread.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKBNknlxsk
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Then I hear it.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABGatWwC3Y
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A shout.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5nhmN0kbg
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Something crashing.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLghn9jgE78
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLvNm0mXsI
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncJ2Qz25lg
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Another sound—someone yelling, then a chair scraping across the floor. I frown, wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, and stand. From where I’m sitting, I can’t see much—too many jeweled heads in the way—but I can feel the panic spreading.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPemJjbLZI
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And then I see her.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fEuw1m2wQ
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Clara.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhfVr55myT
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She’s on the floor. Dress torn, hair spilling out like spilled ink. There’s sauce—no, blood—on her chest. People are backing away, covering their mouths, screaming.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QkZaJKHFG
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinxV1ZR43U
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I push through the crowd, almost tripping on someone’s stupid dress train. When I kneel beside her, everything feels unreal. Her skin looks… pale. Too pale. Her lips are turning blue.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQl4gPzLhF
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9TgH5amHz
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She doesn’t move.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPmJnjyUHN
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Her chest isn’t rising.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9o0qwwmwBf
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDEdkMx0SS
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My stomach twists. I don’t even realize my hands are shaking until I pull them back and see the blood smeared on my palms.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslzJ48Ba0n
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjs3cv0ikm
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The hall is chaos. People are screaming, nobles tripping over each other to get away, guards shouting orders no one listens to. I can’t move. My knees are still on the floor beside Clara, who’s just… gone.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5mRSUFrXq
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I keep staring at her face — pale, soft, peaceful in the most terrifying way. Her eyes are half open, like she wanted to say something before the end.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcqO2Sw6a1
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Someone yells to “get the princess away,” but the sound feels distant, like I’m underwater. My pulse is pounding in my ears.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjcSzH7rRB
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And then—147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAX1oGHTwym
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those footsteps again.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡED5KXN2Y7q
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacqbalXB2u
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I look up.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZlyc8NkBe
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He steps out of the crowd, golden hair messy and streaked with blood, eyes that sharp, unreal shade of blue that almost doesn’t belong in this world. Everything around him feels… quieter. The noise fades, the chaos dulls. Even the air feels heavy.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcb1EuVErGK
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HAui6Eer4
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6B167LiWv
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Something about him feels familiar in a way that makes my stomach twist. Like I’ve seen those eyes somewhere before — not here, not now, but in another life.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgK1bhROA9
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My heartbeat slows. The light in the hall starts to bend, stretching like melted glass. His blue eyes shimmer — and suddenly everything around me blurs.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZFakRS3Xg
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOLbzcvwcW
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The floor disappears beneath me.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqlmlMwYks
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And the last thing I see before everything turns black is his face — calm, distant — as if he’s been waiting for this moment for centuries.1234 copyright protection143ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8pCZ1Nk7B 尼

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