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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTa1IWHdCuP
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeDWh6Z0rb
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Then I hear it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0JM4XNgPz
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A shout.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cn6cRYJvk
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Something crashing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AFPin78gb
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4B19oSIJe
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8V72HJNb4
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwjorxMC0Q
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And then I see her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZECDrDv3Ip
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Clara.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaISJt8PKK
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeVYrLmwp5
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwIyI2ms0U
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBH080Zj4C
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdf4aCYfPJt
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She doesn’t move.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuPg19ke2w
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Her chest isn’t rising.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTuNf3fqNx
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWjERQInAD
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4e87xNaaQB
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwJiXfKiLc
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZkxV9i7ZL
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyHyQxp4Q6
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPG7LfXolw
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And then—35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlLxm32eHd
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those footsteps again.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUO07g0t7mg
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFQDYfQINN
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I look up.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwCFqBjZ4u
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSbFgbPqka
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡct9FRrIzC9
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7TfrpF0Hv
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNce3GvI9H
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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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaBeTPWhDO
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkhEO0y8JB
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The floor disappears beneath me.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iLhB0lIcx
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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 protection31ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0CKJuebKR 尼

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