Timber

Chapter Thirteen: First Night In The Capitol

Silus caught the shift in Hazel's expression. "What is it?"

"Don't you feel it?" Hazel scrambled to wipe off the blood, rubbing it against her skirt. The dark red stain smeared but didn't come off completely. "You're bleeding."

Silus looked down. His hand, still tangled with hers, was streaked in red. Her skin, too. "Damn it."

He started to pull away, but Hazel clamped tighter. "Don't," she said. "That'll just make it worse."

She angled their hands into a fold of her skirt, dabbing at the mess. "I'm not the only one who noticed," she added under her breath. Her chin tilted toward the Peacekeeper with the piercing stare.

They moved with the rest of the pack, funneled onto the bus. Hazel picked a seat near the back and slid in beside Silus, the scent of metal and sweat clinging to them both.

She glanced at the rearview mirror. Gray eyes met hers.

Twilight slouched against the bus, shadowing their hands. Hazel took the opening and resumed wiping the blood with her skirt, slower now, more careful.

"I didn't mean to squeeze," Silus murmured, eyes locked on the front of the bus. "Didn't think it broke open again."

"You did," she said. "But it's fine. Just don't pass out or something. We've got enough problems."

She checked the wound. The skin around it was tight and pink, angry-looking. "We need to clean this. Last thing we need is infection. Especially in your axe hand."

"He's still watching us."

She leaned back, letting her head rest against the window. "Ignore him," she said. "Pretend we're boring."

She didn't say the rest. They'd already drawn too much attention. And in the Capitol, attention was blood in the water. Literally.

The bus jolted forward and they left the city center behind.

Eventually, the road curled toward a compound walled in by old weathered brick. It looked like someone had tried to make a castle, then quit halfway through. A name was carved above the entrance arch.

Castellan.

Hazel read it once and tucked it away. The Castellan family used to matter. Used to own the kind of Capitol money and power that made people nervous. Not anymore.

The bus rolled to a stop.

Peacekeepers stepped in, herding the tributes out and down onto the gravel. Cameras blinked from the hedges. Armed guards flanked the doors. Even the ivy seemed to be watching.

Hazel nudged Silus. "Pocket. Now."

He obeyed as they followed the other tributes up the grand pathway leading to the entrance. Two heavily armed peacekeepers stood on either side.

"Tributes, welcome to your new home away from home," Commander Drayton announced. "As you've probably noticed, it's a step up from the zoo. But don't take this for granted. This building is locked, wired, and watched. Try anything clever, and the only thing you'll earn is a short feature on Capitol news and an early exit."

The corners of his mouth pulled into something close to a smile. The kind of smile you'd see before the gallows dropped.

"Each district gets one room. You don't leave until 8 a.m. You're locked in at midnight. You'll have a personal peacekeeper assigned to babysit. We call it security. You can call it whatever makes you feel better."

He glanced down the line.

"You're free to use the common areas outside those hours, but don't test your luck. You start a fight, you throw a punch, you look at someone sideways...let's just say you'll be begging for the Games to start early."