The knocking came again - three precise raps that might as well have been nails in a coffin lid. Cel’s eyes tracked to the window. Second floor. Survivable drop if he needed to jump. His body could take the impact. The real question was whether he could make it across the grounds before they caught him. Whether running would make things worse than they already were. Whether worse was even possible.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlV841U4VqU
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“Celvian.” Instructor Saren’s voice carried that same clipped precision it always did. “I won’t ask again.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ009uqaD7Oy
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His legs moved without consulting his brain. Some distant part of him recognized that delaying would only confirm guilt, would give her reason to escalate. The rest of him was busy calculating exit vectors and wondering if Silent Moon could cut through iron bars.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRN0SWJXye
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The lock disengaged under his fingers. The door opened.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ728ICaueuF
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Instructor Saren stood in the hallway with her arms crossed, expression carved from granite. She looked exactly as she did during lectures - stern, uncompromising, wholly uninterested in excuses or explanations.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixBOkVHGkK
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Behind her, the hallway stretched empty. No guards. No witnesses. No one waiting to clap him in shackles and drag him away.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqm0jB9qlG
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Just her.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtRKsvwAxR
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“Inside,” she said. Not a request.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ilRB3pf5b
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Cel stepped back. She entered without ceremony, closing the door behind her with a soft click that somehow carried more weight than if she’d slammed it.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcalgLbMoQ
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She turned to face him fully. Her eyes swept across his face, tracking details he couldn’t name - the tension in his jaw, the way his hands hung at his sides, the careful neutrality of his expression.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4oWchMXI9
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“Do you have any idea,” she began, voice dropping to something quieter and somehow more dangerous, “how close you came to ending your time at this Academy tonight?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsXq6CsIR5
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The words hit like stones. Cel’s throat worked but no sound came out.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9Cpq8IraD
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“Violence between students is strictly forbidden. You know this. It’s foundational to maintaining order in an institution where every person carries divine power capable of killing.” Her arms remained crossed. “And yet you attacked another student. A noble at that.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNbouSN3uR
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI08ZycvJU
Cel wanted to argue. Wanted to explain what Kyros had said, how he’d been pushed past boundaries.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyfqAHyTPc
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But he kept his mouth shut.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BAixksavM
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“Lord Kyros suffered severe injuries.” Saren’s tone remained flat. Clinical. “The floor requires emergency repairs. Do you understand how serious this is?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGd79axtMtt
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Cel nodded once. Barely.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRL9riDSCF
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“I don’t think you do.” She took a step closer. "Under the laws governing assaults on nobility, you would be executed.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqOjKbcRVC
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Each word landed with measured precision, building weight rather than volume.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAz58zk16mQ
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“You are a commoner with no family backing, no political protection, no influence beyond your own capability. One mistake - one moment of lost control - and everything you’ve worked for vanishes.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HcjKYtO2o
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Silence pressed heavy between them.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1Dcu6kC5G
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Cel’s mind raced through implications. She was describing what should happen. What could happen. Past tense and conditional phrasing. Not what was happening.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5luyJ31q5u
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“Fortunately for you, the young noble heirs present at the disciplinary conference showed remarkable restraint. They acknowledged that tensions exist between students of different standings. That in this particular instance, Lord Kyros may have contributed to the situation through his own behavior.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnobKbDuU4
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The words didn’t make sense. Noble heirs defending a commoner who’d attacked one of their own?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dHKRZjIFC
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“You will not face consequences.” Her eyes bored into his. “But understand this clearly - if anything similar happens again, I will personally ensure you are removed from this Academy. Noble support or not. Are we clear?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTdgUnmBtK
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Cel’s voice returned in a whisper. “Yes.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXJKZl6XEf
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“Louder.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1uAfGYWXk
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“Yes, Instructor.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebaLVDy8KV
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“Good.” She turned toward the door, then paused with her hand on the handle. “Control yourself, Celvian. You’re better than this.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u6DmcvhjN
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The door opened. Closed. Her footsteps receded down the hallway.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVYQnzMC0b
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Cel stood frozen in the center of his room, staring at the space where she’d left.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrcUyjh6au
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That was it?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxAoxJvcZ9
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A scolding?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwpZEbYFbC
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His mind tried to process what had just happened. This couldn’t be the end of it. There was no way a commoner could put a noble through a floor and walk away with a warning.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLP4qQo9DJx
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Unless—66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjTah7Yx4X
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Esrin had intervened again. She must have done something.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrc6Bpe4XZ
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But she’d left the Academy weeks ago. Returned to her duties with the Chosen Legion, or the Reckoning, or whatever else occupied someone of her standing. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTFsGRjWoT
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So how?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTVr9ASicd
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Movement in the hallway. Running footsteps, lighter than Saren’s measured stride.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6dpommyGR
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Cel’s body tensed automatically, preparing for whatever came next.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1uqt15cjP
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The door burst open.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1L9LZPgGl
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Lior crashed into him with enough force to stagger them both backward. Arms wrapped around his chest in a grip that bordered on desperate, wheat-blond hair pressed against his shoulder.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq4Js7llDr
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“I thought—” Lior’s voice broke. “When I heard what happened, I thought they’d take you away. I thought I’d never—”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywy8y6azSt
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The words dissolved into something between a sob and a gasp. His entire body shook.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvDv9Cdcd3
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Cel stood there with his arms hanging uselessly, completely unprepared for this. For genuine fear on his behalf. For someone caring enough about his survival that the possibility of losing him produced this reaction.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCh9pIbrlX
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He raised his hands slowly, awkwardly, and returned the embrace. Lior’s trembling gradually subsided, though he didn’t let go.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUh80k9eDR
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“What did she say?” The question came muffled against Cel’s shoulder. “What happens now?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfgVYUfPYt
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“Nothing.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHJabdhvh1
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Lior pulled back enough to look at his face, sky-blue eyes red-rimmed and disbelieving. “Nothing?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDQc6aSTVR
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“Nothing”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5mB3nekXV
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Lior shook his head, struggling to process. “That—That can’t be, right? You attacked Kyros. Everyone saw the aftermath. How is it just nothing?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tIqwAa5o7
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Cel had no answer. The same disbelief churned through his own thoughts in circles that led nowhere.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vg9yZLoOJ
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“I don’t understand either,” he said finally.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVCtNQNO6r
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They stood in silence, Lior gradually releasing his death grip and stepping back to a more reasonable distance. His breathing had steadied but his expression remained troubled, working through the same impossible calculations Cel had attempted moments before.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6oiIy8L5G
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“What happened?” Cel asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil swirling in his mind.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzw0Cfz1iuV
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“You just attacked a noble!” Lior stared at him in disbelief. “How can you not—” 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZl5mzZ9gLR
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Cel raised a hand to interrupt, catching Lior’s gaze. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbeoWifU3a
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“I meant afterwards,” he clarified, his tone more composed.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNdxgcZ7X2
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Understanding flickered across Lior’s features, the urgency in his posture easing as he processed. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GEDOJXe6a
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“Oh,” he replied softly, taking a breath. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajbH6FFZRM
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“I...” His hands moved restlessly, trying to organize thoughts that clearly didn’t want to organize. “I don’t really know much.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpQl5mh1zZ
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“They brought Kyros to the healer immediately. His face was... bad. Really bad. Blood everywhere.” Lior’s voice dropped. “Everyone was talking about it. About how you’d put him through the floor. About what would happen to you.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYqjR1Q5Ki
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He paused, swallowing hard.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8gvloXWy6
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“Then the instructors cleared everyone out. Told us to return to our rooms. But I stayed close. Tried to hear what was happening.” His gaze shifted, not quite meeting Cel’s eyes. “They held some kind of conference. In the headmaster’s office, I think. I couldn’t get close enough to hear details.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFO3elsgvC
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“Who attended?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWgffuRgFu
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“The instructors. The Academy head. And the noble heirs. All of them. Kyros - after the healer stabilized him. Sylvaine Grovethorn. Cordelia Tidecall. Owen Peakscale. Percival Tempest. And Hestia Mortveil.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgMc2GNlGf
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The name landed with particular weight.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEFVie1KAy
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Cel’s thoughts immediately tracked to her. Hestia.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04TeENPl0p
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Had she done something to help him? Spoken in his defense somehow during that conference?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6Q16aRLI0
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But why would she?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfsZW9Xrr8
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She was suspicious of him at best, actively hostile at worst. She had no reason to protect him. No incentive to risk her own standing by defending a commoner who’d attacked a noble.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiHtiVF6Qj
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“Cel?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXvsOUIlO3
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He blinked, awareness returning to find Lior watching him with concern.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDLbDlcKAX
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"Are you okay?" Lior fell silent, studying whatever he'd caught in Cel's expression. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrFnPrOGRD
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“Yes. Just thinking.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡro5rkTzeHs
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“About what happened?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX593dLI4pr
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“About why it didn’t happen. Why I’m still here instead of in a cell.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaaW6pO4bo
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Lior’s worry deepened. “Does it matter? You’re safe. That’s what matters.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSv2swboPj7
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The simple certainty in those words made something twist in Cel’s chest. Lior genuinely believed that. Genuinely cared only about the outcome rather than the politics behind it.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVqa5INfoO
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“You’re right,” Cel said, though the words felt hollow. “Thank you. For… waiting. For...” He gestured vaguely, unable to articulate what he meant.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAT0THrtnQ
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“You’d do the same for me.” Lior’s voice carried absolute conviction.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUrKoL4HHm
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Would he? Cel wasn’t certain. Self-preservation had been his primary instinct for so long that genuine altruism felt foreign. Uncomfortable.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOiSV9D2NW
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But he nodded anyway. Let Lior believe it.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1KUGZdU16
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They talked for a while longer - meaningless reassurances, speculation about what the noble heirs had discussed. Eventually Lior left, mumbling something about exhaustion and needing sleep. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCiXMJYaXz
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Cel waited until his footsteps faded completely down the hallway.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4O0r7UkUw
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Then he left his room too.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkiP0ThvIg
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The dormitory was quiet - most students were already asleep or at least pretended to be. The hallway where he’d attacked Kyros showed fresh repairs, new boards replacing the shattered section. Someone had worked quickly to restore order.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiaFksUbdO
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He took the stairs down, crossed the grounds toward the training area with moonlight painting everything in shades of silver and shadow.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOllUMa78LQ
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The training grounds were empty except for one figure.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPO2v2pyx9e
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Hestia.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbdJokwjMX
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She moved through a sequence of exercises - not meditation this time, but physical conditioning. Push-ups executed with perfect form, her body rising and falling in controlled repetitions. Sweat dampened her shirt, her black hair pulled back to keep it from interfering.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEdkR48jsp
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Cel approached slowly, boots crunching against packed earth.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslequUmvr5
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She noticed him before he’d closed half the distance. Her body stilled, arms locking in the up position. Then she pushed herself to her feet in one fluid motion, turning to face him fully.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzt9jDKH21
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“Celvian.”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvp3xij5jT
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“Hestia,” he replied, the syllables barely breaking the silence yet carrying an undeniable weight. 66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOhlUBQL0i
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He could feel the intensity of her gaze cut through the shadows of the night. The air crackled with unspoken words, thickening between them like the tension before a lightning strike.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1nc84Xfxu
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“What did you do?”66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFxofkIUXs
1234 copyright protection62ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAa9VrOSCF 尼

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