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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLZVPfiFId
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSXwNOFGy1
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Then I hear it.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9cOC95Nxx
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A shout.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfS7OthbQW
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Something crashing.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMAfXvVAic
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoDOmcIpj7
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5wodRS8Dr
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKgptWcAX7
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And then I see her.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTF2JEPKZkD
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Clara.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2lNKuthFw
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kTkHqimRP
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQn69p9JQAF
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4XEJKu4j5
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsZEzG6SHD
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She doesn’t move.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSQplOnm2P
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Her chest isn’t rising.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOVNqWwCLD
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FvdJoBr3X
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrxsIObkuM
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7RsAOxdzg
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5keprYOnh
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimEkyfUouG
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLMbMA9qPS
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And then—176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPKqdSlXAf
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those footsteps again.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jDlYr8yD1
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhl47NDHvO6
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I look up.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rUX1C9CA5
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeS6tdDjzrD
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2mzCfJlui
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbK1laUQgV5
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzreLIQU0F1
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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.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUcQfK2oVY
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETdFjcid5h
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The floor disappears beneath me.176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQ8CCwWiOS
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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 protection172ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30f0KQjpes 尼

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