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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7K9kvGNTZ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdi1OEtI4mz
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGzKBs4EwJ
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwpamjG8DP
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadQQhfmQw9
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLR70aX35oM
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnMX7mtDUk
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGsZQWNH4K
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyJaGDGEE3
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTw1uV3D1Iy
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53d1emheNS
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMajuUmnpt
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9Sv93nWBy
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjFh3wWRlC
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo00yFefoGW
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P3e3om1FR
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuW4BTkdZb
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD4HBzSAjH
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeVg48MRuW
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKzAgTBcRl
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFHNVS9giO
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ046kM4NjKC
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOSYBLAwLE
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeV7aGPd01
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0l0oIUcf1
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0XA6UTBGk
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0bR9avC52
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghoAvCJ1GZ
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6disqSUN3j
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIBVWh2YBo
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGyaKze5Gm
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPnzqPzryH
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0Ht0ut7Tb
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoUykeipxB 尼

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