Amber clung to Onyx as they went into the Justice Building. She continued to cling to him until the Peacekeepers pulled them apart and sent them into different rooms. Amber was terrified of being separated from her brother for longer than three seconds, but she was more scared of the peacekeepers, especially on Reaping Day. Not that they would kill her when they needed their precious tribute alive for at least the next week, but she wasn't sure what they would do to her other family members. Maybe kill them in front of her to lessen her will to fight. At best, they would ban them from seeing her to say goodbye.

Taylor and Maia were the first two to visit her. She concluded that her father and other brother were visiting Onyx.

Taylor held on to his sister tightly. Maia rubbed his back in comfort. Amber realized that Taylor was crying pretty hard, causing her to sob all over again. After they left, Amber's friends came in.

Avery was crying, Ash had tears running down her face, and Violeta was a mess. Amber figured she looked no better. She kept her eyes on Avery's blonde hair in envy. She may have been her best friend, but Amber had always been a bit jealous of her. She never had to deal with tesserae, both of her older siblings were safe, and neither of her parents were dead.

After that, it was her father and Mika who entered. Peter was hysterical. Losing his only daughter would be like losing his wife all over again. When the peacekeepers signaled for them to leave, Amber yelled out for Mika to stay. Mika turned.

"I'm sorry, Mika, but I need to know… is Ana pregnant or not."

Mika answered with. "If it's a girl we'll name it Amber."

Amber smiled to herself. "And if it's a boy."

"Onyx."

Amber almost burst into tears again, but she knew she had to hold herself together. She had to at least fight. She wouldn't let Mika, Taylor, her father, or her friends see her give up. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting.

Besides, Onyx needed someone to protect him.

As Mika left, Amber was certain that he was her last visitor, so she was shocked when the door opened and Troy walked in.

The room was silent until Amber spoke. "Did you already visit Onyx?"

Troy gave her a slight smile. "Yeah… and everything that needed to be said was said, which is why I am here." Amber gave him a confused look. Troy took a breath and continued. "Take care of him will you? He's all I have."

"I promise I will do all I can, but I can't promise you he'll agree."

"I know." Troy said, looking like he was going to cry. "You're his twin sister. You'll always be more important to him than me or even himself, but I just need to know that you'll protect him too."

Amber pulled Troy into a hug. "He'll be fine." She whispered.

A part of her didn't believe that.

A few hours later, Effie had pulled Amber and Onyx out of their rooms to watch the recap of the reapings. Amber would have rather to stay in her quarters, which was larger than her house in the Seam.

She turned to her twin brother. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Onyx whispered back. Amber cuddled into her brother and watched the Reapings. It seemed about as normal as usual. The District One boy was a volunteer, the girl was tall and intimidating. As District Two came up, Amber noticed the way the girl tribute reacted when the guy volunteered.

Onyx did too. "Even the other Career seems scared of him." Amber and Onyx looked at each other, knowing now for sure that neither of them were coming home.

The girl had entranced Amber enough that she scanned her face during a close-up, taking in everything about her. She was obviously younger, but was much taller, probably due to the District Two abundance of food. Her red curls fell down her back in long waves, and her camouflage-shaded eyes held a composed, regal look in them, only broken when the male stepped forward.

"She's a legacy." Haymitch slurred as he walked into the room. "Don't let her fool you. She may look weaker than him, but she's the daughter of Victor Ajax Ramirez. Name's Drucilla, if you cared to know. I really don't."

Amber stayed silent. She'd already disgusted the escort by eating with her hands earlier, Onyx as well, not that it was their fault that they didn't have "manners" as Effie called them. They were from the Seam. Who cares how you eat it. It's food! She turned back to Haymitch, eyeing him. The mentor was renowned for his alcohol, and Amber had seen the drunk angry once… Not pretty.

Amber zoned out until District 12 came on. She watched herself, noticing that even before Onyx's name was announced, it was obvious that she wasn't holding up very well. You could see her struggle to hold back her feelings.

Onyx wasn't much better in the recap. He was crying worse than she was. He had more to live for. He had Troy, who had no one but his mother, dying of illness, after his younger sister had been reaped when she was twelve.

Onyx had to win, Amber thought, but she couldn't help but think of the queen-like redhead from Two. She wanted to know more about the girl behind the stony look. Sure, in a world where everyone around you had to die, it probably wasn't smart to get close to Drucilla, but there was something in those hazel eyes, something that Amber wanted to know.

She looked at Onyx. She figured he wouldn't agree with Amber on the choice for their potential ally, not that the Career would ever agree. She was more likely to run the twins through with her sword.