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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlDCQVZsPZ
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqPzKR7FJu
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VnijXCPBN
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nyvldD8QF
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSL2K1HJ25z
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyiOr1htrN
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ODCT7VBGr
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFypVPkMzZ
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5Gf0rlYZp
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuVAiJDwVH
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzbpZ5Kd6Y
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV7Qst3Bwv
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2ipdcFvru
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovROUqRs6Y
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4A6U5UeYiM
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7N5AipJEd
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVDw8IP9Bj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsd4W3me2hQ
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpD2iFpCbf
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMJ5YfAP1y
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1LERukRiS
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WmRuiEKlU
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeO2HVu0MY2
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEJjdWX2nm
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFktFCERtrA
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7sfcwEKyF
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgD8SU43PE
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd41C4ZPN0
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLWIW7PqZ3
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JLfgA2jCj
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDv8AyB0ceT
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM581Vv2Kz6
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LfeIBCKRw
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7AnpEbgRI 尼

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