❝FIRE ON FIRE WOULD NORMALLY
KILL US, BUT THIS MUCH DESIRE,
TOGETHER WE'RE WINNERS❞
in which a girl from district 4
meets a boy from district 2
during the 74th annual
hunger games.
[the hunge...
——☆ FIRE ON FIRE chapter fifty-one: hiding in plain sight
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FINALLY, AFTER WHAT FELT like hours, they reached the surface. The survivors — Cato, Lilia, Peeta, Cressida, Pollux, Gale, and Katniss — moved in silence. The faded lights of the Capitol city greeted them, followed by their faces on every billboard. Cressida led the way, her eyes scanning the empty streets before waving them forward.
"We're close," Cressida whispered. "There's a shop nearby, owned by an old friend."
Lilia's legs trembled with exhaustion, but she raced forward, her hand clutching Cato's for balance.
They followed Cressida through the back alleys, moving between the buildings until they reached a Capitol clothing store. The windows were dark, but the door creaked open, and a tall, slim woman emerged from the shadows.
Lilia immediately recognized her. She was one of the stylists in the Games.
The woman's face was marked with catlike surgeries that had become infamous in the Capitol, but her eyes softened when she saw the group. She ushered them inside without a word, her gaze searching outside as she locked the door behind them.
"Thank you, Tigris," Cressida spoke.
"You're safe here," Tigris murmured, her voice low and rough as she led them toward a hidden stairwell. "Come. There's a basement below. No one will find you there."
They followed her into the basement, a dimly lit room cluttered with old fabrics and sewing supplies.
"Sit," Tigress ordered Cato, motioning to an old chair. "I'll take care of that."
Tigris worked quickly, wrapping Cato's abdomen with cloth. The boy winced but held still, his gaze fixed on Lilia. When Tigris finished, she retreated upstairs, leaving them alone in the basement.
Cato collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving from exhaustion. Lilia sank down beside him, her body trembling as she buried her face in her hands.
Finnick. Jackson. Messalla. The others — they were all gone.
Pollux silently let out strangled sobs, keeping his head low as he mourned the death of his brother. Lilia moved her gaze upward stared at him, feeling the weight of his heartbreak and loss, which mimicked her own.
"I'm so sorry," Katniss spoke aloud, breaking the silence. "Pollux, I'm so sorry about your brother...and Lilia, I'm so sorry..."
"He was the only family I had left..." Lilia trailed off, her gaze dropping to the ground. "Finnick was family. He was the only person I had left from..."
Lilia couldn't even finish her sentence before she broke out into tears again, her sobs muffling as she curled into Cato's side, her head resting against his shoulder. Finnick's loss had torn her apart, and there was nothing she could do to take away that pain.
