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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCNiTY4uNY
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIa3K1kDdAf
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hrlkuA5wg
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qF9UQnJqi
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGLlHQbp4H
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZ76U5yUWm
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpUBp9WvCh
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtIqR5UZSX
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhnpDBz2po
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpijbOLjIld
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7qTbEBnKW
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDlqr4IZn1
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfRZr9r22c
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxF39kunQg
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrj7qwdOzU
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTsFKSmogP
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfUH3FCh8q
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3DjwEJXs9
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFBljz6uOr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXrO4Nsjno
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hMCw0XrtP
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzHRdQaWBI
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlD8bxAfkv
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvqMlYM1zD
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK98NeulqPQ
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7p076PRQrG
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPXOF4kRFm
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ816KnsmqX3
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9YFRIlQy3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOd1IxHS8lI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWo055a4g2
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlKW3A41zr
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jc9Y4KPW3
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtD8zXOE48 尼

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