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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkxlytnGzT
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBXbhkwqxf
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Then I hear it.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrniB3s4zNi
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A shout.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KB5bfRl9H
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Something crashing.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGsXsoEBli
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A few people gasp—then the laughter dies.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDJUeQH5HP
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I stop chewing and look up. The air feels… off. Like everyone’s holding their breath at once.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KCS7PEik8
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1kZToJ2HH
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And then I see her.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPXQglKOU6
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Clara.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtR59AU2AF
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9tVgmWOZG
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I blink once. Twice. “No… no, no, no—”150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqtzL5ynZN
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gqo7xu6OK
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“Clara?” My voice cracks. I shake her shoulder gently. “Hey. Wake up. You’re fine. It’s fine.”150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5cPCR2BWT
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She doesn’t move.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwFZPDKehy
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Her chest isn’t rising.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTOpOmVXSN
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I press my fingers to her neck. Nothing. Just cold skin.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpAkTasmF5
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqKWa71Ofv
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Someone’s crying behind me. Someone else throws up.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyyXH6A3Cp
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbO4lkPcZg
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwZ3gw0Gae
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoYpxFweZO
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And then—150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7eZNQV5Zn
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those footsteps again.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wCobetZTt
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Slow. Calm. Out of place.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FmLyb0xfJ
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I look up.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9VA8uLL8m
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fKzDoL8OZ
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He just stands there, staring at me. Not the body. Not the guards. Me.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCn5pRYrj2J
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And for a second, I forget how to breathe.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFtuR7bChC
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbDrJNnL42
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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.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSbRTyUL69
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The screams vanish. The torches flicker and die.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpTGZY09WV
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The floor disappears beneath me.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBP1NGhABX
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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 protection146ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21izacYZB0 尼

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