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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBBnll1ejj
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dCPjcOcZO
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Then I hear it.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwioR9oQVd
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A shout.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOypCpzndEK
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Something crashing.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnET7bJ50A
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEGGwaw4ze
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIZPk8rzWA
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3TqRJ26EX
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And then I see her.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NQcfnxtwE
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Clara.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5l8U1zVBdk
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nr078HUyd
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12hv7BU57y
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4pLVZV4Jj
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYzbcdA1sF
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She doesn’t move.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l5w8vXDNQ
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Her chest isn’t rising.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVar5Ye4Y9j
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6580if7Iv
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAGMKKU7mR
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTRj4pVHsa
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJwXMrntNd
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgHMVZ3LMI
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NP3fP2efz
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And then—76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNNdPt2Oo1
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those footsteps again.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2w2Kh2oqr
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZTfJyvUgh
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I look up.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHyAg9xwL2
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5wEch6gG4
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnExcRzZa0
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCiGRrgdL8
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4joPDoyAk
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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.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlGMqcgzvD
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnccnNuyUpC
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The floor disappears beneath me.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtT7YnQftL
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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 protection72ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0H2hlycqkN 尼

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