The renewed silence that followed the Lord Sentinel’s question was suffocating. His crimson-streaked mask bore down on Klarion with an intensity that made his chest feel tight, each breath a struggle. Beside him, Hatsune had just forced herself back up to one knee, her body tense, muscles coiled as though ready to flee despite her expression being one of mixed fear and determination. Neither of them dared to move under the weight of the Lord Sentinel’s glare.


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    He had noticed the moving pinpricks of light before, but across her face and neck, they had grown in size to tiny, ethereal glimmers visibly moving beneath her skin, like stars twinkling in the night sky. It was subtle—almost illusory—but unmistakable. A celestial dance of light and shadow, and he was struck by the otherworldly beauty.


    must be removed from the Sentinels. That is what Academy law demands,” the Lord Sentinel said without apology. "But since she came here, acting on your behalf, I wanted to give you the option of claiming the Bond first."


    you. She acted for you. In the eyes of the Sentinels, in my eyes, you have the first right to claim her.”