Strictly Prohibited ➳ THE HUNGER GAMES ✔️

|19| I Think, Therefore I Am

Chapter 19 x

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Elethea Ambrose is another OC that I have created for the purpose of making the plot more believe able and also to potentially set up a companion book to this one based around Elethea and Finnick

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Storm's POV

Beep.

"She has no place here. What were you thinking, bringing her with you? You have made a dangerous mistake, Paylor. This could cost all of our lives, you know. We can't trust her."

It's a woman's voice, sharp and accusing, as I swim into consciousness. I know that she's talking about me, and I realise the controversy I have caused. The knife wound in my stomach burns and itches and stings, and I wonder if perhaps it might have been better if I really had died.

Beep.

"She's just as damaged as the rest of us, Coin," another female woman argues, this one strong but not as harsh. "She tried to kill herself. I think we need to stop assuming that all of the Capitolians are out for our blood."

"She tried to kill herself because she's weak," the first woman – Coin – snaps. "Why was she brought here? Because some District 1 Victor believes himself to be in love with her. Have you heard anything more ridiculous?"'

Beep.

The constant beeping of the heart rate monitor makes me restless. I stir and open my eyes, glancing around a room that's full of whites and greys. Dull colours. There's nothing bright about this room, which is the first indication of how far away from the Capitol I am. I swallow hard and see two women, one dark-haired and in her early thirties, the other with steel-grey hair and about fifty. Gloss is nowhere to be seen.

"She's awake." It's the younger woman with the less harsh voice – Paylor. She gets to her feet and walks over. Although I'm confined to a bed with a knife wound to the gut, she approaches cautiously, as though I might attack her at any moment. Clearly, not everyone here – wherever 'here' is – has become as accustomed to Capitolians as Gloss.

"What's going on?" The door bursts open and another woman barges in – although this one far younger, probably only around nineteen or twenty. Her eyes land on me and I feel a surge of recognition. She's beautiful, as beautiful as Cashmere was, with long black hair and dark green eyes with thick lashes. Her full lips part as she takes me in, and I can't help but be stupidly jealous – especially of the fact that she's curvaceous while I can probably barely fit into a size 8 anymore.

"Elethea Ambrose!" Coin barks, her grey eyes flaring as she marches over to the girl. Despite the fact that Elethea can't be much more than five feet tall, she draws herself up to full height and meets Coin's gaze brazenly. "What are you doing in here? This is a restricted area. Did no one tell you..."

"I just wanted to see the Capitolian," Elethea interrupts, which only makes Coin flare up even more. I know who she is now – the girl who won the 69th Hunger Games, and Finnick Odair's sweetheart. Why she's interested in me is beyond me and at first I tense, but when she looks at me, she smiles.

Coin clenches her jaw, but Paylor crosses over and murmurs something in her ear, causing the grey-haired woman to storm out. Paylor offers me a seemingly apologetic glance before following her out, leaving me alone with Elethea. The moment the door snaps closed, the dark-haired girl sits on the edge of my bed and her face seems to close off, her expression becoming solemn and thoughtful.