𝑫𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑫 - ❝ if I burn, he will
burn with me; that's his destiny, I'm
not going to heaven anyway so I
might as well drag him with me ❞
➹
ongoing
book 1
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─. ✦˖─
CHAPTER 25 ❝ DOWN WITH THE KING ❞
PERSEPHONE WASN'T sure what to say. For the first time in a long time, she was at a lost for words.
Whilst standing in front of the worn out boy, she could see the way his skin cracked at places the moisturiser couldn't coat and how his eyes had dark rings that couldn't be hidden under the thick concealer. His eyes spoke a thousand words that his words didn't. The way he looked at her showed an extra layer of understanding between them that wasn't there before; something only victors understood.
His hair was groomed extra nicely, combed through and gelled to hide strays. The bloody piece of him that fought to survive just forty hours ago was barely recognisable. Instead, a boy meticulously crafted just for the hungry eyes of the capitol stood in front of her. A carefully strategised smirk donned his face and his dimples creased beautifully on his cheeks.
This beautiful boy was going to be the curse of the capitol, starting with Lysander Cayhen who laid his hands on his sister. Upon taking steps out of the arena, Levi did not hesitate to update the boy on the mishaps that occurred— from the upset audience regarding Valentina's death, to the furious capitol regarding the volcano, and the exceptionally short games this year— not a detail was left out. After being told about the way the gamemaker's son pushed himself onto his sister, Cabel didn't hesitate to ignite the flame on stage with Caesar.
"Say, Mister Willows. What are your thoughts on the arena this year?" Caesar's voice was careful, tiptoeing around the conversation with a deceiving smile. His charisma wasn't lacking as he sat up straight in his chair with his legs crossed. His bright purple hair was groomed to perfection, laying unmoving on his head.
With a subtle, but noticeable, pout, Cabel put a hand over his eyes to rub a tear that forced itself out. The light reflected against the moisture that was left behind and left the audience in an awe.
"I-" his voice stuttered, shaking as he tried to enunciate his words and to speak louder so the microphone could pick up his voice, "I felt that the arena was quite pretty this year, but," hiccuping, he shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, "the volcano was too much. It felt unescapable and could've killed us all. What would've happened if we had no victor this year?"
The sorrow in his voice soaked his words like a flood. The emotions that washed over the audience was immense and caused them to speak up in agreement with the boy. His weak and scared appearance captivated them— they fell into his trap.
Their attention was on him and Caesar's smile fell slightly but his lips stayed curved. Nervously, he let out a laugh and placed a hand atop of the boy's as he tried to curb the anger from the audience, "But we have one! I'm sure everyone is quite happy with the results. Now we're blessed with two Willow siblings, our very own capitol darlings."
