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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQagpET1Yjk
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2bJVuOCbp
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Then I hear it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdo0fygUfY
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A shout.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMzcnJ3qe3
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Something crashing.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYeAM14b8E
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg10IIxmUn
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0maGsOH4i
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCny4l4gnI
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And then I see her.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY2KBJ0CsV
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Clara.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52W5dhsFRy
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGZni93iG8
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01km5SbuJY
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHAP2H2atR
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzI122OJmy
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She doesn’t move.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQO6hylRYfH
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Her chest isn’t rising.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk82HPcxkfX
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7DArcaue0
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznqHKSAgqL
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eMYY90894
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pfsSPtntK
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW56dzFAEFx
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrg3y1lRmPL
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And then—10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiCl7dBqCf
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those footsteps again.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXD8Ilpc9VS
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKG0NnC27M
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I look up.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4ZT4Hwb48
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZFX7bldIn
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAijnakJ0l8
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcbTZZuleI
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE61kBz1FNx
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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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyZrj1ZlPt
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2gXDRJCzT
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The floor disappears beneath me.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82koctkGjr
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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 protection6ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUcoOdcsEd 尼

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