Secrets of the Sea | Finnick Odair

- chapter 33 -

CORDELIA

Cordelia's blood ran cold. The blood smell she'd thought she was imagining just moments ago was clearer now, pungent and fresh.

She couldn't move, terror freezing her in place. She'd been aware he was still alive and the lack of his portrait in the sky each night was a stinging reminder. Deep down some part of her hoped that he had been the one the canon had sounded for on her walk over. It seemed not.

"It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you." His words were joking and light, but the tone he used- it felt dangerous, he felt dangerous. Her mind screamed at her to run away, to get herself as far away from this boy as she possibly could. And yet, she was still on her hands and knees, facing away from him, body refusing to move. "I said look at me!" He definitely wasn't joking now.

Turning to face him, Cordelia couldn't help but let out a gasp at the sight of him. The boy from One was unrecognisable at first glance. Parts of his skin were black. His hands, his feet- which lacked shoes, and most disturbingly, parts of his face. Where the black ended a white began which was surrounded by a red that came before any of his original skin and its natural colour. Along each section blisters were prominent. Some were a clear bubble of skin, others filled with blood. So that was where the smell was coming from. This time she couldn't hold back her bile. Cordelia emptied her stomach on the ground below her.

"Well, that's not exactly polite either," Dorian mumbled, stepping forward. "And here I was thinking we were friends Red." She still hadn't moved from the floor. Currently, he was making no attempts to come towards her. So like a cornered animal, she stayed frozen, watching. "I will say. I'm a little surprised to see you're not looking like this. Somehow the only difference is the hair." She'd almost forgotten it was still brown from all the mud that was in it. "Thinking of going brunette are we? I wouldn't recommend it. The red suits you- and it ruins the name. Couldn't walk around calling you Brown now could I? Sounds almost as stupid as it really is."

She was confused and scared. Not a great combination if she was being honest.

Last time she was near Dorian he had tried to kill her. She had done the same, but he was targeting her. Deliberately aiming for her- she was just defending herself. If she had a choice she would have avoided the careers at all costs, really she was just lucky it took them as long to find her as it did. Any sooner and they would've had more energy, Cordelia wouldn't have lasted against them in a fair fight. It was a miracle it played out the way it did. Years spent at District Four's academy combined with the past year of specific training with Finnick seemed to have paid off. That situation made her grateful that as a young child, she'd never been big or strong enough to train with anything much bigger than a knife, and that Finnick had helped her train in specialised ways.

Remembering where she was Cordelia snapped herself back to reality. Now was not the time to be thankful for a fight she'd been successful with days ago, not now when she was on the verge of another- only this time without a weapon of any kind and too weak and tired to move as quickly as she could otherwise. Fortunately for the moment, Dorian was still monologuing. Why? She had no idea.

"When I heard that canon, I'd almost been annoyed, you know? I'd spent all this time coming after you, hunting you down, only for you to drown? Seemed so pathetic for a District Four tribute, though I assume there wasn't much to compare to considering your partner took the easy way out." He chuckled. "For a second you had me fooled Red. Thought I'd been beaten by some frozen water." Another step forward, one step closer. It seemed like he was not dragging this out any longer than he wanted to. Whatever pain he must be in had to be unbearable. Plus she'd stabbed him all those days ago, that couldn't be comfortable either. "But now here we are. Alone at last. No annoying children to get in the way. I doubt it'll last as long anyway- you're a total tease Red, did you know that? Really pissed me off last time. I'm not a huge fan of being stabbed, no matter how hot you made it look." She felt like she was going to be sick again.