Die for You | Catching Fire

chapter twenty-nine

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chapter twenty-nine
FALLING FROM GRACE

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He's in Ally's Arena. He can make out that much, the sound of waves crashing against the rocky island scratching at his eardrums. Dark foliage surrounds him, only slivers of sunlight breaching through. Ptolemus almost shivers when he recognizes the nightmare he's relived every night since he was twelve.

His sister is only alive for fleeting moments. Enough time for him to hug her, to hear her voice, for her to crack a joke in his direction and smile the smile he misses so much. Their reunion is always short-lived, because then they have to run. Someone's coming. He's got his sword, she's got her arrows, but it isn't enough to keep his net from swooping her up. Ptolemus tries to hack at the vines before Finnick can throw his trident at his sister. She's screaming at him to help her. To save her.

Then her screams start to sound like Sage. His heart rattles and wheezes.

"TOLLY!"

She sounds so scared. He's just about freed her from the net, hand latching onto hers and the relief flooding her pretty brown eyes when there's the metallic whir of a trident soaring through the air. Ptolemus shifts to take the brunt of it instead, but it's useless.

When he hears the crunch of flesh and bone along with her breathy gasp, he screams. He's hovering over her in a beat. Sage stares up at him, gaping with blood staining her lips and with Finnick's gleaming trident in her heart. Every single cell inside him collapses into itself like a dying star, the blaring hole starting in his chest. He wishes it would kill him. Another breathless scream escapes him as he reaches to hold her.

Sage just turns to dust in his hands.

Ptolemus lurches up in a cold sweat, heart racing out of his chest and a raspy cry dragging across his throat. His wild eyes dart around in the darkness, and he tries to determine if a shadow's outline across the room is him or just a lamp. Something stirs beside him, and his hands reach out to find her. When he feels Sage shift against him, he clings to her, looking for her eyes.

"Hey," she breathes. He swallows the bile down his throat at the sound of her voice. Through the darkness, she peers up at him, and he flinches when her gentle hand finds his cheek. "Hey, you're okay, you're okay."

Tears are stinging and burning his eyes, and he tries to blink them away. One falls down his face and off his chin onto her palm that's found his racing heart. He holds her against him like a lifeline, frantic brain trying to make sense of the fact that she's right here, she's safe, she's okay, and it was just a nightmare.

"Tolly breathe, you're alright," Sage tries carefully. She pulls his head into the crook of her neck, rubbing soothing circles against his back and running her fingers through his cropped hair. He listens for her heartbeat through his own panting. "You're alright, it was just a nightmare. Okay?"

She continues to murmur gentle and soothing words, and it takes him about ten minutes to stop panicking. To pull himself out of his mind's hold, it always betraying him and playing out his worst fears. This one in particular haunts him even when he's awake. She kisses the top of his head, and he finds himself kissing her cheek and nose too in a desperate attempt to prove to himself she isn't going to disintergrate right in front of him. His fingers play with her hair and grip her waist anxiously.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks gently, brushing her thumb against his cheekbone.

Ptolemus just shakes his head, and he kisses her temple again, closing his eyes tightly. Another tear slips through, and he draws her closer to his chest. She lets him, holding onto him too.