The knocking came again - three precise raps that might as well have been nails in a coffin lid. Cel’s eyes tracked to the window. Second floor. Survivable drop if he needed to jump. His body could take the impact. The real question was whether he could make it across the grounds before they caught him. Whether running would make things worse than they already were. Whether worse was even possible.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMnU9lBdt4
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“Celvian.” Instructor Saren’s voice carried that same clipped precision it always did. “I won’t ask again.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJxZRW87Pq
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His legs moved without consulting his brain. Some distant part of him recognized that delaying would only confirm guilt, would give her reason to escalate. The rest of him was busy calculating exit vectors and wondering if Silent Moon could cut through iron bars.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjAZJSLXTV
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The lock disengaged under his fingers. The door opened.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYe1wzvhxiF
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Instructor Saren stood in the hallway with her arms crossed, expression carved from granite. She looked exactly as she did during lectures - stern, uncompromising, wholly uninterested in excuses or explanations.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGg85nusxU
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Behind her, the hallway stretched empty. No guards. No witnesses. No one waiting to clap him in shackles and drag him away.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hIFtXBvTN
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Just her.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroRM7BvmX1
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“Inside,” she said. Not a request.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBcBrUehp1
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Cel stepped back. She entered without ceremony, closing the door behind her with a soft click that somehow carried more weight than if she’d slammed it.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNtJilFkwl
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She turned to face him fully. Her eyes swept across his face, tracking details he couldn’t name - the tension in his jaw, the way his hands hung at his sides, the careful neutrality of his expression.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLRIV5gFPO
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“Do you have any idea,” she began, voice dropping to something quieter and somehow more dangerous, “how close you came to ending your time at this Academy tonight?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudBCmfbP9H
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The words hit like stones. Cel’s throat worked but no sound came out.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4euMldvrb
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“Violence between students is strictly forbidden. You know this. It’s foundational to maintaining order in an institution where every person carries divine power capable of killing.” Her arms remained crossed. “And yet you attacked another student. A noble at that.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI6qfY510M
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Cel wanted to argue. Wanted to explain what Kyros had said, how he’d been pushed past boundaries.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOccqwPGE6E
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But he kept his mouth shut.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiMxFxzRAL
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“Lord Kyros suffered severe injuries.” Saren’s tone remained flat. Clinical. “The floor requires emergency repairs. Do you understand how serious this is?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6trXBFRN3
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Cel nodded once. Barely.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0k7eBRnxl
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“I don’t think you do.” She took a step closer. "Under the laws governing assaults on nobility, you would be executed.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9BFAsnLap
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Each word landed with measured precision, building weight rather than volume.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqo8hhN8t6
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“You are a commoner with no family backing, no political protection, no influence beyond your own capability. One mistake - one moment of lost control - and everything you’ve worked for vanishes.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGONZnhvkGu
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Silence pressed heavy between them.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rneb2fCtu
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Cel’s mind raced through implications. She was describing what should happen. What could happen. Past tense and conditional phrasing. Not what was happening.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB03zOjwzuE
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“Fortunately for you, the young noble heirs present at the disciplinary conference showed remarkable restraint. They acknowledged that tensions exist between students of different standings. That in this particular instance, Lord Kyros may have contributed to the situation through his own behavior.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfvyCpL9vY
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The words didn’t make sense. Noble heirs defending a commoner who’d attacked one of their own?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTlpFHS1BU
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“You will not face consequences.” Her eyes bored into his. “But understand this clearly - if anything similar happens again, I will personally ensure you are removed from this Academy. Noble support or not. Are we clear?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCUSmD9jYR
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Cel’s voice returned in a whisper. “Yes.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRnJHgqKJV
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“Louder.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HGkf5EQAk
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“Yes, Instructor.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMq4tV3Xkb8
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“Good.” She turned toward the door, then paused with her hand on the handle. “Control yourself, Celvian. You’re better than this.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVihyf1LcV
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The door opened. Closed. Her footsteps receded down the hallway.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4Dcfox3eM
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Cel stood frozen in the center of his room, staring at the space where she’d left.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oICuDphMk
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That was it?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtcarcpSab
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A scolding?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPkBJstdWQ
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His mind tried to process what had just happened. This couldn’t be the end of it. There was no way a commoner could put a noble through a floor and walk away with a warning.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmr88dQVc90
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Unless—12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvBfcDF3D4
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Esrin had intervened again. She must have done something.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTmzpwKX6Y
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But she’d left the Academy weeks ago. Returned to her duties with the Chosen Legion, or the Reckoning, or whatever else occupied someone of her standing. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcMZPmuAun
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So how?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfj1IPBrZ6
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Movement in the hallway. Running footsteps, lighter than Saren’s measured stride.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DEylIs9HU
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Cel’s body tensed automatically, preparing for whatever came next.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqr0qmqWRBg
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The door burst open.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX933i5EPFC
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Lior crashed into him with enough force to stagger them both backward. Arms wrapped around his chest in a grip that bordered on desperate, wheat-blond hair pressed against his shoulder.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLJNAUgwvQ
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“I thought—” Lior’s voice broke. “When I heard what happened, I thought they’d take you away. I thought I’d never—”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3kLzC4mCB
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The words dissolved into something between a sob and a gasp. His entire body shook.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ940Fal5Yp
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Cel stood there with his arms hanging uselessly, completely unprepared for this. For genuine fear on his behalf. For someone caring enough about his survival that the possibility of losing him produced this reaction.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbAhOncInW
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He raised his hands slowly, awkwardly, and returned the embrace. Lior’s trembling gradually subsided, though he didn’t let go.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqplUb9F9cM
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“What did she say?” The question came muffled against Cel’s shoulder. “What happens now?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbds2nHBXnT
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“Nothing.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjGW3n42Yz
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Lior pulled back enough to look at his face, sky-blue eyes red-rimmed and disbelieving. “Nothing?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRc8f2WW9cm
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“Nothing”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzREcnwTF4
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Lior shook his head, struggling to process. “That—That can’t be, right? You attacked Kyros. Everyone saw the aftermath. How is it just nothing?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeNEgt77Zx
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Cel had no answer. The same disbelief churned through his own thoughts in circles that led nowhere.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYNZ5BGJ3K
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“I don’t understand either,” he said finally.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lH9a0YTcN
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They stood in silence, Lior gradually releasing his death grip and stepping back to a more reasonable distance. His breathing had steadied but his expression remained troubled, working through the same impossible calculations Cel had attempted moments before.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmAreek4zE
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“What happened?” Cel asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil swirling in his mind.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQb0e5XD0e
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“You just attacked a noble!” Lior stared at him in disbelief. “How can you not—” 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyTgfutGMU
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Cel raised a hand to interrupt, catching Lior’s gaze. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw1nUzC2ZC
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“I meant afterwards,” he clarified, his tone more composed.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PA2YX0zPz
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Understanding flickered across Lior’s features, the urgency in his posture easing as he processed. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKb5RTuEwhb
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“Oh,” he replied softly, taking a breath. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfs4nE3nDBI
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“I...” His hands moved restlessly, trying to organize thoughts that clearly didn’t want to organize. “I don’t really know much.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tXYtNrMKi
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“They brought Kyros to the healer immediately. His face was... bad. Really bad. Blood everywhere.” Lior’s voice dropped. “Everyone was talking about it. About how you’d put him through the floor. About what would happen to you.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRZ7WEjAap
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He paused, swallowing hard.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibrgHn0rf4
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“Then the instructors cleared everyone out. Told us to return to our rooms. But I stayed close. Tried to hear what was happening.” His gaze shifted, not quite meeting Cel’s eyes. “They held some kind of conference. In the headmaster’s office, I think. I couldn’t get close enough to hear details.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEIpCb6U64
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“Who attended?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXY3nvqing
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“The instructors. The Academy head. And the noble heirs. All of them. Kyros - after the healer stabilized him. Sylvaine Grovethorn. Cordelia Tidecall. Owen Peakscale. Percival Tempest. And Hestia Mortveil.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdm3F7x0zv
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The name landed with particular weight.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaY6dhbfAZM
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Cel’s thoughts immediately tracked to her. Hestia.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOekZV3GK7
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Had she done something to help him? Spoken in his defense somehow during that conference?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaQJ8NRUhI
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But why would she?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbIozqZTX5
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She was suspicious of him at best, actively hostile at worst. She had no reason to protect him. No incentive to risk her own standing by defending a commoner who’d attacked a noble.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbWJy6EvZn
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“Cel?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9XXbQC0qI
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He blinked, awareness returning to find Lior watching him with concern.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlewTxuLj8O
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"Are you okay?" Lior fell silent, studying whatever he'd caught in Cel's expression. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2TIJhugBE
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“Yes. Just thinking.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLyGzrl9Km
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“About what happened?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3yEKhx2Is
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“About why it didn’t happen. Why I’m still here instead of in a cell.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbMuZ9JdWV
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Lior’s worry deepened. “Does it matter? You’re safe. That’s what matters.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSqX5imBJb
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The simple certainty in those words made something twist in Cel’s chest. Lior genuinely believed that. Genuinely cared only about the outcome rather than the politics behind it.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aYh0bbg8W
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“You’re right,” Cel said, though the words felt hollow. “Thank you. For… waiting. For...” He gestured vaguely, unable to articulate what he meant.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8Cz30mTCq
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“You’d do the same for me.” Lior’s voice carried absolute conviction.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRvN1cc72P
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Would he? Cel wasn’t certain. Self-preservation had been his primary instinct for so long that genuine altruism felt foreign. Uncomfortable.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1AnzqhFQH
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But he nodded anyway. Let Lior believe it.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhZjrMGw4a
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They talked for a while longer - meaningless reassurances, speculation about what the noble heirs had discussed. Eventually Lior left, mumbling something about exhaustion and needing sleep. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrX7An7OwJ
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Cel waited until his footsteps faded completely down the hallway.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhjvX25ibE
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Then he left his room too.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4angb7hoJ0
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The dormitory was quiet - most students were already asleep or at least pretended to be. The hallway where he’d attacked Kyros showed fresh repairs, new boards replacing the shattered section. Someone had worked quickly to restore order.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdZIktKunY
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He took the stairs down, crossed the grounds toward the training area with moonlight painting everything in shades of silver and shadow.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GiRqbKELQ
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The training grounds were empty except for one figure.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUQkhN2179
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Hestia.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeftCCwStVd
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She moved through a sequence of exercises - not meditation this time, but physical conditioning. Push-ups executed with perfect form, her body rising and falling in controlled repetitions. Sweat dampened her shirt, her black hair pulled back to keep it from interfering.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN4gdwGiMm
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Cel approached slowly, boots crunching against packed earth.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxrkpvJHsQ
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She noticed him before he’d closed half the distance. Her body stilled, arms locking in the up position. Then she pushed herself to her feet in one fluid motion, turning to face him fully.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RKWlds9GU
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“Celvian.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9GmX24rPe
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“Hestia,” he replied, the syllables barely breaking the silence yet carrying an undeniable weight. 12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UZUUl7k1V
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He could feel the intensity of her gaze cut through the shadows of the night. The air crackled with unspoken words, thickening between them like the tension before a lightning strike.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X6fBT6FOU
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“What did you do?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bB8Uu10m7
1234 copyright protection8ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGT8jwCr2p 尼

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