The Great War.

XXIII

"Our Palace of Bones."

The anthem resonates in my ears, and when I hear the crowd going wild, I know they are presenting my preparation team, who must be thrilled with the attention. Next, they introduce Lauren, who is probably more grounded than the rest of her Capitol colleagues. This isn't her first time on stage, as she was already an escort for District 2 when Enobaria won her games.

Nouria and Arlo receive a strong chorus of applauses and cheers, but the crowd goes into a frenzy when our mentors are presented. I believe that now, more than ever, we are their favorite district, with a total of seven victors. I start to panic because I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

During the first interviews, I showed myself as a confident and dangerous tribute, but that strategy is no longer an option. The childish outfit, Lyme's warnings, and the way the games ended—it freaks me out, and I want to run away right now. But where will I go?

My stomach growls, and a drop of sweat falls down my face as the platform starts to rise. The bright lights blind me, and I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon until I can distinguish the crowd of people celebrating on the Avenue of the Tributes and the streets that lead to it. Large screens display my confused face, and I can't take my eyes off them because I can't recognize myself. The screams are deafening, making me want to rip my ears off with my bare hands, but I try to smile for the cameras; if they've dressed me up as a sweet and innocent girl, I must act like one, even though I don't like the idea.

I see Cato a few feet away, looking at the audience. He senses my eyes on him, turns around, and smiles softly at me. I try to ignore the lingering anger I still feel and smile back, biting my tongue until I taste the blood in my mouth. Cato walks towards me, and we stand face to face. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and takes my hand. My first reaction is to pull back, but he squeezes my hand tighter, forcing me to turn towards the crowd. He raises our intertwined hands in a gesture of victory, the audience goes wild, and the air in my lungs feels like pure, heavy steel.

The Gamemakers have placed a medium-sized red velvet sofa for both of us. I sit on one end, and Cato takes the other. He wears a pale pink shirt, matching my dress, along with black pants and boots of the same color. The only eye-catching detail in his outfit is the small embroidered flowers on his shirt, which soften his appearance.

They are definitely doing everything they can to make us look childish, and this baffles me. Cato and I were part of the career alliance, fully aware of our actions at all times. Everything we did, we did willingly, but our current image does not reflect that.

Caesar makes a couple of jokes before starting the show, which will last about three hours and is mandatory viewing for all of Panem. The lights dim, and the Capitol's seal is projected on the large screen onstage. I lean back on the sofa; since I'll be here for three hours, at least I'll get comfortable.

The initial hour encompasses events leading up to the games, starting with the reaping, emphasizing the fact that both of us volunteered. It then transitions to the tribute parade, training scores, and culminates with the interviews. An insufferable soundtrack accompanies the projection, making it lose some charm. The noise is deafening, and I do my best not to cover my ears with both hands whenever the notes become too high-pitched.

Next, they show the initial bloodbath from different angles, excluding the part where I let the girl from District 12 and the boy from District 11 escape. They show Lover Boy joining the alliance and how I helped him treat his arrow wound. I do my best not to show my displeasure as I hear the audience's pitiful sighs.

They alternate videos of us running through the woods, escaping the fire, until the tracker jacker attack, which had been caused by the girl from District 12. I see Cato fighting Lover Boy, some images of all of us suffering due to the hallucinations caused by the venom of those mutations, and finally, they show when I decided to help Marvel and Cato after the attack.