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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZFslRmobB
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVO15nzoWe
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNdCgK7XXv
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLkUOL0b9R
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjU5D6ay7O
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XwFBKkunB
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjVh49roeu
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWiBWiY9dI
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtKDfNZYDJ
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YirsitnL8
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWorGtkgi0
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdEz1v6ODI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7s9XadfW8
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcJa6bT51J
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rTIXpLt5I
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyu56hd05k
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAjO5A5Ocz
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsMx7nRVcN
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMbAW0r0eI
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvKw5Otd13
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97JJXZiItV
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMcXkO0kxN
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdupSG6Pd8
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqTLZDJ6ZV
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PTa0aNs3R
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61MUH5d71T
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUer2PGJbJb
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9pgdiYive
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcl8zENPWX
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9STnGC9eeS
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxlKfptGcE
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpUu0vsAb7
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡki6e65lMOe
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSWOwgKyI5 尼

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