Warning: Bad language.


Iris

Khione must be some kind of witch because the only explanation behind how much she's improved my life is magic.

I get three meals a day and a safe place to sleep. Lobos never expects me to actually spend time with him, which is nice because I'd probably attempt to assassinate him if I had to spend more than five minutes listening to his droning, District 10 country-boy voice. Plus, with every bite of food I eat, every night I fall asleep between clean white sheets, I don't feel like I'm a charity case. I feel like I'm giving Lobos the middle finger.

And I've never given anyone the middle finger before.

The highlight of my day is when Khione serves me dinner. I always invite her to sit down and chat - something that I never really wanted to do with the avoxes. I don't think my grandfather would've allowed me to talk to the avoxes, even if I'd wanted to.

I don't think my grandfather would've allowed me to talk to Khione ever. Which is a shame, because she's really nice. And pretty.

I remember I once sat to watch the Hunger Games with my grandfather. I told him one of the girls looked pretty. He told me that beauty meant nothing, especially if that beauty came in the form of a meaningless girl from the districts. It was better to search for power.

So I was set up on dates with countless rich boys from my school but it felt more like I was sitting through another dinner party than meeting my future husband. I never really saw the point of eating with other people until I started eating with Khione.

Today, I pick at my steak, feeling uneasy. My grandfather would never approve of this. He'd probably take one look at Khione and have her avoxed.

"Have you ever doubted something?" I ask. "Have you ever been told something your entire life and then suddenly disagree with it?"

"Yeah," Khione says.

"Do you feel bad about it?"

"No. Sometimes the thing that you've been told is bullshit and you hate yourself for believing it."

I frown. "What if you've been told it by someone who's always right?"

Khione shakes her head. "Nobody's always right."

"Not even my grandfather?"

Khione sighs. "You loved him, didn't you?"

I hold back a sob. "I did. He was the only family I really had."

"What about Alexander?"

"Alex was my brother but he was stupid. He never followed the rules. He married that whore from District 3, Ramona Hirose. She cheated on him with that piece of trash from District 8. She probably poisoned him as well, just like she poisoned my grandfather. Alex would probably still be alive if he'd listened."

Something dark flashes in Khione's eyes. It's gone in an instant.

"I think you need to be careful how much you trust your family," she says. "Other people need to earn your trust but family… they get it automatically and sometimes they abuse it. I trusted my parents and they told me it was wrong for me to like other girls."

Something strange flutters in my heart. Khione likes other girls.

Does she like me?

"That's awful!" I cry.

"I take it your grandfather didn't teach you the same thing," Khione says.

"He didn't," I say. "He said it was okay for girls to like other girls."

I don't add what he said after that. But it's not okay for you to like other girls. You're not an ordinary girl, Iris. You are part of a great bloodline and it is your duty to continue this bloodline.

"Well, I didn't have anyone to tell me it was okay," Khione says. "Not until I was eighteen. I spent years hating myself because of what my parents told me. I don't want you to be in the same situation. Maybe you should open yourself up to the possibility that your grandfather was wrong about something. It'll save you a lot of pain."

"What was he wrong about?" I ask.

"Tell me what you have doubts about," Khione says.

"I shouldn't be friends with you because you're a commoner."

"Well, he's definitely wrong about that. When it comes to friendship and love, class doesn't matter. I've only had one girlfriend and she was rich."

"What happened?" I ask.

"She died," Khione says. She sets her steak knife down on the table and flexes her fingers. "She was sick. There was nothing anyone could do."

"I'm sorry," I say, reaching across the table to take Khione's hand. She looks at me with luminous hazel eyes.

I've definitely seen those eyes before.

There's a distant noise like thunder. Suddenly, a peacekeeper bursts into the room.

"Miss Snow," he says. "Please come with me."

"Where are you going to take me?" I ask.

"The city is being bombed," he says. "I'm going to take you to the presidential bunker where you'll be safe."

I gasp. I can't quite believe the Capitol is being bombed.

Khione grabs a steak knife from the table. In one fluid motion, she stabs the peacekeeper in the throat. He makes an ugly choking sound. Blood dribbles from his lips.

I squeak and shrink back in my seat.

"Sorry," Khione mutters.

"You…" I whisper. "You…"

Suddenly, it all comes to me. I realise who this girl is and where I've seen her before. It all makes sense, her skill with a knife, her friend in captivity, her dead girlfriend. She fooled me. And all she had to do was dye her hair and hide behind a false name.

She shrugs. "I've done worse. A lot worse, actually. Now keep quiet, Iris. If you put me in danger, I'll have to silence you and I don't want to do that."

"You're… Régine Maurin," I say.

Régine smiles. "Yeah."

She lifts the peacekeeper's body onto my bed and begins to undress him.

"What are you doing?" I ask. There's a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Getting a disguise," Régine says. She slips out of her dress and I blush. "I need one if I'm going to save Ramona."

"Ramona Hirose?" I ask, anger bubbling up within me.

"She was my ally."

"She killed my grandfather!" I cry.

"I know," Régine says, pulling the peacekeeper's uniform on. "I know you loved your grandfather a lot but I'm not going to pretend for you anymore. He was a wicked man. He killed your brother. Ramona only poisoned him because he had her kidnapped. And even if she's the villain here, I'm not going to abandon her for some girl I've only known for a week. Now you have two choices, Iris. You can find another peacekeeper to take you to the bunker and you can stay in the Capitol. Or you can come with me and save Ramona. I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep you alive but I'll try-"

"Forget it!" I snap. "There's no way I'm helping you rescue that murdering witch! I hope a bomb hits you and you both die!"

"Fine," Régine says.

She picks up the peacekeeper's gun and walks away. Part of me wants to yell at her to come back. I can't help but feel like I've lost something beautiful.

But my grandfather wouldn't want me to help rescue his killer.

And he's always right.


Binah

I can't watch. I can't look away.

Ramona is tied to a chimney. She doesn't look scared at all. She's not struggling or begging for help. She just stares into space with a slight smile. She looks eerily like a seventeen-year-old again.

There's a distant rumble, bombs falling somewhere else. Ramona doesn't even flinch.

I'm going to watch my best friend die again. But I can't look away. I owe Ramona that much. She's dying because Coin must've figured out Lumas' trick with the glasses was just a trick. She must've learned it was my blood on them and not Fawkes'.

If I'd just let Lumas cut Fawkes, Ramona would have longer to live.

All three of us are sharing the guilt of letting this happen. Fawkes hangs his head, probably thinking about all the people dying because he's still alive. Lumas is kneeling in front of the TV. The light reflects onto his face, making him look like a ghost.

"Say something," he begs. "Please, Ramona. Tell me you forgive me. Tell me… tell me you still love me. Please!"

Fawkes and I exchange glances. I know what he's thinking. What would it be like to watch the love of my life die?

I know. I watched Eros Buonafonte drown the life out of Fawkes in the Quell bloodbath. His heart stopped. If Silver hadn't known CPR, his heart never would've started again. For a few moments, I'd lost him forever. I'd failed him.

I'd hate for that feeling to last forever, to live in a world that doesn't have Fawkes in it.

Suddenly, Ramona moves. She looks off to the side, as if somebody's moved off-camera. Her eyes widen.

"I always knew you'd be the one," she says. "You'd kill me."

There's a laugh and burst of gunfire. The screen goes black.

"No!" Lumas cries. "No…"

There are tears streaming down my face. I'm barely holding myself together. I look to Fawkes for comfort. He's the only one of us who was never really close to Ramona. He'll be the first to figure out how to recover. What I see shocks me.

Fawkes is smiling.

He shakes his head. "Oh Régine…" he mutters. "You've outdone yourself."

"What do you mean, Régine?" I ask. "Régine didn't just…"

But, suddenly, I recognise that laugh. That is the laugh of Régine Maurin, Ramona's closest ally from her games and Fawkes' closest ally from the Quell. Fawkes and I spent a lot of time wondering what happened to her after the Capitol captured her. Were they keeping her in a cell or had she escaped into the city?

Now we know the answer.

"I think Ramona is still alive," Fawkes says. "I think she's escaping the Capitol as we speak. What we've just witnessed is Régine helping Ramona fake her own death."

"Why would she do that?" Lumas asks.

"She doesn't want Lobos tracking her down again."

"But does she want us to track her down?" I ask. Hope blooms in my heart but it's fragile. I haven't seen my friend in months. I miss her so much.

"Probably," Fawkes says. "We're her friends. Besides, Régine is probably going to stay with her and I want to catch up with her."

"And we can't let Coin find her first." Lumas says, his voice ragged. "Where do we look?"

"Her house," I say. "We're heading to District 3 anyway. I know she made a lot of plans during the war. I bet she's following one of those plans now. If we find the plan…"

"We find Ramona," Fawkes says.

Lumas smiles. I don't think I've seen him look so happy in months.

"Let's hope her plan is to go home," he says.


Régine

"Do you have a plan?" Ramona asks.

We never made a concrete escape plan. I was only in Lobos' mansion for a week and Ramona didn't really want to escape. She was happy with settling in the Capitol. But she also wanted a backup plan in case tensions flared up and she was put in danger again. That's why I stayed undercover as Khione. So I could drop the act and protect Ramona if she ever needed me.

"I'm improvising," I say.

"Should I be scared?" Ramona asks.

There's a nearby explosion. The roof shakes under us.

"Probably," I say. "Things are going to get messy."

There are ropes keeping Ramona lashed to the chimney. But I have a knife. I can cut through them with ease. Soon, I'm pulling Ramona away from the chimney and towards a hatch in the roof. I jump down into the attic and catch Ramona when she jumps down after me. Then we run towards the stairs.

"Where are all the peacekeepers?" Ramona asks.

I shrug. "Probably hiding from the bombs. We need to get out of here. Stay close to me."

Ramona nods.

We race through the empty mansion and out, through the gardens. I'm in my comfort zone, acting on instincts and adrenaline. I'm sure we can make it.

"What's the fastest way out of the city?" I ask Ramona.

She looks around to get her bearings. The air is full of smoke and the skyline is lit with flames.

"This way," she says. She starts sprinting. When she turns the corner around the mansion's hedge, I realise where she's going. Around the back of the mansion.

After a few minutes of running, I feel out of breath. I'm pretty fit but the smoke makes it hard to breathe. Ramona slows down, coughing harshly. She's not as fast as I am.

"You okay?" I ask.

She nods. I put an arm around her shoulders to support her and we keep running.

Finally, gasping and wheezing, we reach the city limits - a tall concrete wall in front of us.

I feel a sick, dropping sensation in my stomach. I tug Ramona around a corner and tackle her to the ground. There's an explosion so massive that the ground shakes like it's breaking apart. My ears ring. My vision flashes with white. I cling to Ramona, hoping that we both survive.

We do. Eventually, my ears stop ringing. I peek around the corner.

The wall is gone. All that's left is a thick cloud of smoke and a pile of rubble.

A way out.

I help Ramona up. She looks rattled but unhurt.

"Let's get out of here," I say.

We run towards the hole in the wall. When we step from the last stretch of rubble onto green grass, we cheer.

We made it out of the Capitol. Now we just need to keep running.


Régine is another character conspicuously absent from the first few chapters and that's because I was building up for the big reveal. Khione is Régine in disguise. Which means she's now in the perfect position to save Ramona from the bombs. Now they've made it out of the Capitol… but where will they go?

I'm ill at the moment so that might affect my update speed. It might not. I hope I'm able to work through it.