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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbak08TY2qq
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5raGLKerAD
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjg39iYjln
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk36RGLF0Q7
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGmVcUUd1T
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUd3cPE8UD
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBHTF0OS6j
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TuF0eGfoE
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzS9CmWaRy
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsD9jpfCyZi
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLam3ZgTpR
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡao7rG80dk1
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXn9CRRtYDr
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFx9o90S3M
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU1CMq8Cy9
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVsegyjRfu
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpws2Z71ZQ0
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSM4k7bQtx
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xBj0F38qz
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrbOzCpb3z
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgUnSCmsQI
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3EHjxLuMe
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VSWH9tLQi
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GHU2zTWZ2
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aRyMFaBfc
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPMGwC3BM9
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv13dWzr5k
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwafjP5wkB
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbTmSID4WL
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4dcuodC9d
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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.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMs1ALgA52p
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJy6w8AysPd
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aEKDqHKrm
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkrpWfJaR9 尼

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