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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9UVwyzpPJ
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfs4adFjlQ
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Then I hear it.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpOITJadxI
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A shout.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbe8STsjjsz
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Something crashing.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2BzHbcpEy
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkuALtWOnO
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhcOObyRu2
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH80JpzI7LH
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And then I see her.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRLJ2ED42Q
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Clara.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmUfn7BQaU
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntBrc0igVU
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hMPBqgMZG
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcDFSE29lN
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCEFb6v5bl
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She doesn’t move.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgedodng5K
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Her chest isn’t rising.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4E466evKsw
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB0FQUhIbo
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpDE8Qjxbs
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdnSBpzg7D
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZvdfGgasQ
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoOAPotX9Q
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3a47lvRap
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And then—119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9nkCIvEHU
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those footsteps again.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhowq9PkB5
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjH7uNcfTk7
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I look up.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrr5RFMjXk
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVSmAJi6R4
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCiACKzZCW
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgzEUPHQ5W
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrkIIRX0Oq
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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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSyUK3yuao
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhK4pqxCXyR
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The floor disappears beneath me.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqegUH5Vvb9
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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 protection115ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77tqs9yf7o 尼

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