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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSAiiZAmL3
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLwOj3j0mv
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nz4TCQGvK
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqizkHPRal
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGM00AIZSV
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmz1BkhC0mn
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZkkdHLB7b
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk43iW5NijL
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv7yjRF8Gk
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHZaF7PjLF
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75CxpoqlqN
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNzfJEBttV
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAqtTGz0Hc
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYP3GPCsKKL
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCytQRZDZwQ
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAD0eT7koI
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQgf853xHm
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqS0Cg4bUSH
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jFpvP2B5m
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJnpfDj8M5
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTAzO3GRre
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMU3VwwHtGb
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZ9Q3Ue38n
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiDy9X0Uvx
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76U9iztOL0
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0XWjb42PA
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCceF1F9j4
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQO7SHQnDi
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSxvC61aZj
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8br9NI9JMt
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6gYrRDsKh
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcH75s6C6DU
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM935OfcoUG
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTLYPjofnt 尼

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