In the blink of an eye, my Victory Tour arrives. LeeAnn finally comes back to visit, I'm interviewed by Caesar for a TV audience, and then I'm off to the Districts.

Almost every District I come across is completely destroyed from the war. In District 8, I think that the District is still on fire from being bombed during the war, but I'm assured that it's just smoke from the factories.

One by one, I meet the other six Victors of Panem. Other than Irma, none of them have said anything to me yet, but that's understandable. They have more than enough to deal with on their own without worrying about me.

The first Victor I meet is Viridi Alvarez in District 11. She's a curt woman with not much to say, but she has a caring look in her eyes. Just like Irma, I can tell Viridi understands me better than anyone else. She gives me a trinket to take home - a small wooden train.

"I carved it myself," she says with a small smile. I guess we all have different things to occupy ourselves with.

Lovina Real in District 10 is the next Victor I meet. According to Irma, she survived the Capitol invasion of District 10 by digging a hole beneath her house and hiding inside. She's very beautiful but seems to have an edge to her. She's the oldest of the remaining Victor, so I can tell she's the wisest of the bunch. You have to be, to survive so long under the watchful eye of the Capitol.

"Give Snow a kiss from me," she says as I board the train, and I'm sure she's being sarcastic, but you can never be too sure with a Victor.

Rye Albertson from District 9 welcomes me to the train station. He completely ignores Salacia, who's standing next to me, and only talks to me, so I obviously love him immediately. I'm starting to notice a pattern - almost all of the Victors seem to be from outlying Districts with the least power, and only one Victor seems to be left in each one. Rye clings to me the whole way to District 9's town hall. It seems like he's just as afraid of being alone as I am, so I don't mind the company.

Just like Viridi has a passion for whittling wooden trinkets, Leah Strulovich from District 8 seems to have a passion for consuming alcohol. Salacia has to shake her awake at the train station, and Leah can't even remember her name when she introduces herself. I have to hold back my judgment - if I didn't have the strength to hold myself back from buying alcohol, I'd probably do the same. Everyone copes in different ways.

Then there's Irma, waiting for me in District 6. "It's been a while," she says with a smile. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm better now," I assure her. "I struggled for a little while, but I think I'm better now."

"I'm proud of you," Irma says. "It won't ever go away, but I'm here for you if you need me. You know that, I hope."

"Alright, places, people! The show must go on!" Salacia shrieks, interrupting both of us, and I roll my eyes as I'm pulled toward the stage.

The Districts pass in a blur. Luckily, I didn't get to know most of the tributes, but seeing their faces still bring back memories I want to leave behind. I see the girl from Eight who I killed in the Bloodbath. I see the boy from Three, and all I can think of is watching his blood drip to the ground from the tree where he lay, dying. I see Axel and Vesta.

Finally, I'm in District 1. The last of the Victors, Velvet Hughes, is there to greet me. He's the youngest of the Victors other than me. According to Irma, he was the only Career Victor to not seek asylum in the Capitol, electing to stay in District 1, and this decision saved his life. Velvet is surprisingly quiet when I meet him. He lets Salacia do most of the talking as we walk to the District 1 Plaza.

Velvet is a thin man. Malnourished almost, which I'm surprised to see in a Career District. He surely has enough food to feed himself, but I don't look into it too much. I've found that when you poke your nose too far into a Victor's business, you'll fall down a dark pit.

Salacia hands me her prepared cards. "For the last time, please read them," Salacia begs me, and Velvet rolls his eyes behind her. I've been reading off of Salacia's cards for most of my speeches, keeping Irma's warning words in mind, but I've gone off-script before, to Salacia's dismay.

Peacekeepers escort me to the stage. In front of me is a massive crowd of District One citizens. Almost all are dressed in white; I heard Velvet say that it's a tradition here.

There he is, standing on a massive screen in front of me: Phoenix. The podium under his picture is empty. I vaguely remember that he was the son of a rebel army general as I step up to the microphone. He probably doesn't have any family left, just like Aurora. I almost feel bad for him.

My whole speech I can feel Phoenix's eyes watching me. Next to him, Isabelle's expression does me no favors either. As I walk away, I can almost feel their eyes on my back. I'm glad I burned the tape of the Games. I never want to see their faces again.

Salacia sighs as LeeAnn steps back from me. "Perfect," the tiny woman announces with a glint in her eye. I've been dressed in a beautiful blue outfit that reminds me of a fish.

"LeeAnn, you need to adjust the collar," Salacia says desperately. "He can't go out looking like that."

"The crowd will love him," LeeAnn says, putting a hand on my back. "It looks perfectly fine. Let's go. Have some fun!"

I step off the train, where a cab is waiting to take us to the Capitol center. It's a short drive to Snow's mansion.

"This way!" Salacia says, suddenly cheery now that we're back in the presence of rich people. I follow her through the massive crowds of people. I'm slightly scared - some of them look so excited to see me, I'm worried they might jump out of the crowd and tackle me. Some of the women reach out their hands, and I brush my hands against theirs as I pass, but I quickly remember what Snow said about showing any kind of affection. I don't know what category this falls under, but I retract my hand just in case.

I'm led to the massive ballroom, and the crowd follows me in. The food is piled so high I can barely see the other side of my table. I sit next to Salacia, and it takes me a moment to recognize the guest sitting at my other side: Dr. Heinrich, the Head Gamemaker. He offers me a curt nod as we lock eyes, and I barely manage to nod before ripping my eyes away. The man scares me almost as much as Snow.

The ballroom fills with guests and the volume slowly rises. I don't have anyone to talk to, so I sit in silence until a ringing noise catches my attention. At the front of the room, Snow stands on a platform, tapping a glass with a knife. The room quiets immediately.

"Friends and distinguished guests, welcome to the annual Victor's Ball," Snow begins, looking across the room. As he turns his gaze to my table, I look away.

"It is a true honor to begin this tradition again in a new era of our great nation. Tonight we celebrate the return of the Victor of the 76th Hunger Games, Griffin Cohen."

The crowd roars and Salacia taps my arm. That's my cue - I stand, offering the room a wave and a fake smile.

"I won't make you wait any longer to dig in - let the festivities begin!" Snow says, and he doesn't have to tell me twice. I remember how good the Capitol food was the first time I came here, and it tastes even better now without the imminent threat of death lurking in my conscious.

"Congratulations on your Victory," Heinrich says from next to me after I've demolished my third plate. "I don't believe we've spoken in person since that day. As Head Gamemaker I feel emotionally attached to my Victors. You are the fruition of all my hard work this year."

Heinrich has to be playing with my mind, because who would say that just to make conversation? Somehow, I can't hold myself back as I open my mouth.

"You set it up for me to win, didn't you? You wanted me to suffer."

The Doctor looks at me for a moment, not surprised at my outburst but still considering how to respond.

"That's incorrect, Griff. I'll tell you the truth because you've asked, though: I wanted Phoenix to win. In the year following the war, I thought the most fitting ending would be for the two lovers to be crushed by the cruel hand of a former ally. There was only so much I could do, though. I cut some loose ends, but you still managed to become the Victor. As I said, there is only so much control I have over the events of the Arena.

"You cut loose ends..." I muse slowly. "Like Phoebe."

Unlike most people, Heinrich doesn't need an explanation of who I'm talking about. He remembers her. Heinrich turns back to his plate without looking at me.

"She wasn't going to win no matter what. Someone had to be killed by the locusts or else they would be pointless, and it made sense for the three strongest competitors to continue in the competition. What you need to understand, Griff, is that this is my job and my life is on the line. My job is to put on a good show, so I did."

I don't feel like eating much anymore.

At the end of the night, an Avox taps me on the shoulder and leads me to the stage. The crowd quiets as Snow regains his position at the front.

"It is customary to send our Victor back to his or her home District with a gift," Snow declares. "Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude our evening, please welcome Griffin Cohen to the stage."

I offer a tight-lipped smile to the audience. Salacia catches my eye and I'm reminded to wave. Snow takes out a medal and puts it around my neck. Being so close to him makes me uncomfortable. His fingers brush against my neck, and I have to stop myself from shuddering. I'm preparing myself to turn and leave the stage when Snow steps back up to the microphone.

"Now, Griff - before you leave, we have one more gift for you. A surprise."

My heart drops. Any surprise from President Snow is a bad one in my books. Snow steps to the edge of the stage, where an Avox hands him something. It's a bouquet of flowers.

Snow walks over to me and hands the bouquet to me, looking me directly in the eyes. There's no need for explanation, no need to tell the audience what this is. Everyone knows. It's a bouquet of purple bellflowers, just like the one Aurora kept in her pocket during the Games. Her favorite color.

I can't keep this act up any longer. I bow a bit to President Snow, choke out a thank you, and stumble off the stage.

I try to steady my breathing. Dr. Heinrich just gives me a brief glance, unbothered. Salacia fawns over the flowers like it's any other day. I just try to steady my heart rate. I glance up at the stage, and two dark eyes stare back at me. Coriolanus Snow is playing mind games with me, and it's working.