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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyc82hi2dT
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8W3oZcIEXt
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Then I hear it.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrDEUq479Z
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A shout.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgT0sZ3wiR
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Something crashing.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrKeaQZUMf
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbxa74PZzM
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcquKIHa9bA
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJWULsfmjh
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And then I see her.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUqJOkE2bI
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Clara.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbJoanCmlk
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStgFT6RMFd
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7Ho5V1uCV
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezyEIQcWQ9
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJSAlbsKgw
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She doesn’t move.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrSY9HwbJV
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Her chest isn’t rising.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpOefepG1Q
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiiRv6U5hG
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zuthiKh7Q
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuUKtk1wWP
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELRLCAtLRX
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPFXWk9jn9
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA5ge7MKNK
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And then—160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncFConq208
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those footsteps again.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliKHSa1dDs
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUZAiydzzL
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I look up.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiyYXCQpZC
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FH8kdSb96
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPmGPioCDP
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYeMmtRqEW
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkp2tAGg6g2
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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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStMjmIC2zf
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XbiTok7SK
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The floor disappears beneath me.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvdq9UM2lT
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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 protection156ＰＥＮＡＮＡc63HxaOQ1U 尼

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