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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4WcYgi2iO
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGsx1TxmYI
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBjNuIAIXt
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6wMab2zTJ
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZITuwVYqP
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCvobEaLWj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpr4BXaN3IA
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0RXRMPyou
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiehHuZooPM
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8aeuVWUXQ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLi0RE4aPcM
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHbiia9Tsa
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky8QhlOsJq
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYsohWICjw
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGv7Hte4ckA
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPn6SJNNIp
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KXJLP8miG
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQb0TSdrT4
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XiqF1ByDJ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdwWFtp9ku
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3nNamFTyJ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrl1hOBch49
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDAq0eDoUs
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYOCme40L4
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUYfizjnuf
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v2m2PKl3F
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtYwir8Gr9
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxk1eWuAzH
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Lsagy1UGw
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNwojgrHmh
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIK8dfA6lR
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbm9hKadKGA
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxL8LfZgtA
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTBeniGPqC 尼

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