inkdreamw
In the shimmering heart of the Capitol, Aurelia lives a life woven from silk and shielded by ivory walls. As the daughter of District 4's lead stylist and cousin to the enigmatic Cinna, she is known to the world as the "Capitol's Sweetheart." With a heart too soft for the city of stone and eyes that see beauty in everything, she has remained blissfully untouched by the darkness of the Hunger Games-until she meets the boy who survived them.
Finnick Odair is the Capitol's greatest prize, a seventeen-year-old Victor crowned in salt and blood. To the cameras, he is a flirtatious god; to Aurelia, he is a boy drowning on dry land. When she is sent to District 4 to prepare him for his Victory Tour, she doesn't see a hero-she sees the way his hands shake and how his gaze lingers on the horizon. Driven by a quiet, fierce empathy, Aurelia strikes a desperate deal with his handlers: she will create the most breathtaking wardrobe the Capitol has ever seen, but only if Finnick teaches her how to swim.
What begins as a trade of art for lessons becomes a sanctuary. In the turquoise depths of the ocean, away from the prying eyes of President Snow, their bond deepens into something the Capitol cannot control. But when the gold capes are stripped away and Aurelia finally sees the jagged scars etched into Finnick's skin, her innocence shatters. As she weeps for the boy beneath the mask, Finnick realizes he has finally found something worth more than his own life. He will stand between Aurelia and the world's cruelty, protecting her light even as the shadows of Panem begin to close in.