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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAsRQzvT4n
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8d5qDMgFr
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Then I hear it.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZYwAd7Qju
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A shout.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qekxw4lDW
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Something crashing.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3b2GUUHA6
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RMAxQqkE2
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeySlp3BYmC
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaonE3EOP6E
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And then I see her.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQsSt75QcJ
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Clara.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdr2mJVIuk
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9ahnqS1DH
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1ADfEAC9D
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnGvSS5PB1
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXt7CSCi3q
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She doesn’t move.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnq1rIQQhWv
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Her chest isn’t rising.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKDOP1lowz
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTOBerZwgD
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZ3gA0DZni
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkPD0TqFB4
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17TMmpgo0d
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWhkCwFFee
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qv4TtG012
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And then—175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4M0uARI2d
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those footsteps again.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXIIrM1EkZ
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfLgByRqsx
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I look up.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL88leXqLvH
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5t7hcE9kYq
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJeDuc2ZWF
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsC4DmFeyio
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaIEI5EhLm
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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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7OF3LERUE
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4qXiBsqwm
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The floor disappears beneath me.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0V8UCzRfg
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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 protection171ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48SyWahfIZ 尼

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