I should have known it would come to this.

The moment I stepped into the clearing, I could feel the tension in the air. It wasn't just the weight of the Careers closing in on me—Cato, Glimmer, and the others. It wasn't just the sound of Peeta's voice, cold and steady, urging them forward. It was something deeper, something I couldn't explain, but I knew it was too late to turn back.

I had no choice now.

My instincts screamed at me to flee, but I was already backed into a corner, surrounded. The dense forest behind me might offer a temporary escape, but I couldn't outrun them—not with Cato and Glimmer leading the charge. And Peeta—I wasn't sure where he stood, but he wasn't going to make this easy.

They had already recognized me—Emerald, the girl with the magic.

The girl they thought they could control.

The girl who could barely control herself.

I wasn't the tribute they thought I was. Not anymore. The power that lived inside me had always been wild, untamed, as if the arena itself wanted to see what would happen if I lost control. And I had come too far to let it consume me now, but I was running out of time.

Cato stepped forward, his heavy boots crunching the leaves beneath him. He had a grin on his face, like a predator about to sink his teeth into a meal.

"Emerald," he said, his voice oozing mockery, "I've heard stories. Let's see if they're true."

I swallowed, feeling the weight of his gaze. The fear inside me was palpable, but it wasn't fear of him. It was fear of what I might do. The storm brewing inside me, the magic that I could barely harness, the power that had killed everyone in the 71st Hunger Games when I had lost control…

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to center myself. I couldn't afford to make a mistake. Not this time. Katniss and Rue were depending on me. They needed me to survive this.

"Stay back," I said, my voice shaking just a little, but firm enough to carry. "I don't want to hurt you."

Glimmer laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But we're not giving you a choice, are we?"

Before I could react, Cato lunged.

I didn't think—didn't have time to think. My body moved on instinct, stepping sideways as his fist swung toward me, narrowly missing. The air around us shimmered as if it couldn't contain the pressure building up. My fingers sparked, the air around me thickening with a strange, crackling energy.

I had to focus. I had to control this. But it was already slipping from my grasp.

Cato advanced again, faster this time, his hands reaching for me. The ground beneath us trembled, and I felt the magic rising like a wave. I had always known that when I was threatened, when my life was at risk, the power within me would surge. It was only a matter of how much damage it would cause.

And right now, I was the threat.

"Emerald!" he snarled, swiping at my neck. "Come on, show us what you've got."

I raised my hand instinctively, and that was when it happened.

The air shifted. A gust of wind swept through the clearing, so powerful it uprooted the nearby trees. The wind whipped around me, wild and uncontrollable, twisting in spirals as if it had a mind of its own. Cato staggered back, but it was already too late.

A bolt of lightning shot out from my fingertips.

I hadn't meant to—hadn't intended to use the storm within me. But the power burst free like a floodgate, and the crackling energy erupted from my body, arcing toward Cato. It hit him square in the chest.

The sound of the impact was deafening. Cato screamed, falling backward, his body convulsing as the electricity coursed through him. His muscles locked in place, and for a brief, horrifying moment, I thought I had killed him.

But the magic was still hungry. It didn't stop with him.

I stumbled back, my body shaking from the aftershocks of what I'd just unleashed. The storm raged around me, swirling in chaotic patterns. Glimmer screamed, her hand raised to shield herself from the oncoming winds, but it was too late. The elements had already chosen their target.

A gust of wind threw her to the ground, and the earth beneath her cracked open, jagged stones rising from the soil like claws reaching for her. She screamed in pain, struggling to free herself as the magic twisted tighter around her.

I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop any of it.

My tail lashed behind me in panic, the tips of my ears twitching erratically. The wind howled in my ears, the air thick with power, and I could feel my control slipping further. The magic inside me was furious, wild, and it wanted to destroy.

Peeta stepped forward, his face a mask of indecision. "Stop!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the storm. "You'll kill us all!"

I couldn't hear him. I couldn't hear anything except the roaring wind, the crackling fire in the sky, and the desperate cries of Glimmer as the earth continued to rise around her.

I couldn't stop it. I was losing myself.

I stumbled forward, my hands trembling as I tried to push the magic back, to reign it in. But the storm had a mind of its own, and I had lost the battle.

Peeta came closer, eyes wide, reaching for me. "Emerald, please! You have to stop—"

I didn't even see him reach for me before the power exploded outward again.

Everything went white.

When the light faded, the storm subsided. The wind died down, the crackling energy dissipated, and the ground became still. The clearing was silent except for the distant sounds of the forest, as if nothing had ever happened.

But I knew better.

Glimmer was still lying on the ground, her body twisted in an unnatural position, the earth's claws still holding her in place. She was breathing, but barely. And Cato—I couldn't see him.

I looked down at my hands, trembling with the remnants of the magic. The power had settled for now, but I could still feel it, pulsing within me, eager to escape.

I had survived. But at what cost?

Peeta stood a few feet away, his face pale as he stared at me, his expression unreadable.

And I realized, too late, that I had won—by barely holding on to what was left of myself. But for how long could I keep this up before I lost control completely?

I couldn't stop the storm within me. And that might be the thing that killed me in the end.