The sun dipped low in the sky, casting long shadows across the cobblestone streets of the Capitol, where laughter danced through the air like a fleeting whisper. Kyra stood at the grand door of the Snow residence, a bouquet clutched in her trembling hands.

The smell of jasmine and freshly cut lilies filled the air around her, mingling with the sharp bite of autumn. Snow's gifts had been overwhelming - silks, perfumes, glittering jewels - but it was the flowers that unsettled her the most. White roses, their petals immaculate, almost too perfect, as if hiding something rotten beneath their beauty. She traced her finger over one of the soft petals, a reminder of the proposition that loomed over her like a gathering storm.

An alliance sealed by marriage.

The word still made her pulse quicken. Kyra had long known that in the Capitol, marriages weren't just bonds of love, they were lifelines of survival. If she said yes, she'd be bound to one of the most influential families. But that wasn't why she hesitated.

Lucy Gray. The name tasted bitter on her lips, though she had never spoken it aloud to anyone. Rumors swirled in the Capitol about Coriolanus's mysterious connection to the girl from District 12 - the victor who had vanished. Snow's little songbird, the enigma at the center of his darkest rumors.

"Kyra," Coriolanus called from the parlor, his voice smooth, as if it could wash away her apprehensions. "I wasn't sure if you would come."

Kyra hesitated, the echo of her own footsteps unsettling against the marble floors, and then steeled herself to follow the sound. "You've been very persistent."

He chuckled, gesturing to a seat beside him. "Persistent? I prefer to think of it as determined."

"Of course you would," she said, stepping inside, trying to sound composed. She placed the bouquet on the desk, where it seemed to blend into the dark opulence of the room. "The gifts have been generous."

Snow smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "It's the least you deserve." His eyes flicked to the roses on the table. "I simply wanted to show my appreciation, to give you a taste of what life could be like - if you accepted."

She swallowed hard. This was it - the moment she'd known was coming, the moment she had been dreading. Her fingers tightened around the armrests, her nails digging into the soft fabric. "Before I give you my answer, Coriolanus," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "There's something I need from you."

Snow raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He leaned forward slowly, standing just close enough that she could feel the gravity of his presence, the weight of his ambition. "Anything."

"Tell me about Lucy Gray," she demanded, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. The name hung in the air, a specter between them, and she watched as Coriolanus's expression shifted - his facade momentarily cracking.

For a moment, the request hung in the air between them like a blade. His gaze hardened, the softness that had marked their previous conversations replaced by something sharper. "Lucy Gray?" he echoed, almost as if the name itself was an afterthought.

"Yes," Kyra said. "She won the Hunger Games, and then... nothing. She vanished from the Capitol, from history, as if she never existed. And you were... close to her, weren't you?"

He studied her for a moment, his gaze assessing. "Close is a matter of perspective. She was a victor, and like all victors, her time in the Capitol was fleeting," he said, his voice measured.

"That doesn't answer my question," She pressed. "There are rumors. Some say she ran away, others say she's dead. But no one seems to know the truth. And I can't help but wonder if you do."

"You want to talk about Lucy Gray?" he asked, his voice quiet but laced with something darker. "She was... a distraction. A mistake, if I'm honest. But that's all she was."

“I need more than that,” she said quietly. “If I’m to marry you, Coriolanus, I need to know who I’m marrying. What lengths you’re willing to go to. What sacrifices you’ve made... or will make.”

He turned to face her, his eyes colder now, calculating. "What exactly do you want me to say, Kyra? That I had feelings for her? That she was some great love of mine? She wasn't."

His words were clipped, defensive. But the more he spoke, the more the room seemed to close in on her, as though shadows lurked in every corner, waiting to consume her.

She took a breath, steadying herself. "What happened to her, Coriolanus?"

He didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was barely a whisper. "People who get too close to the truth don't often fare well in this world, Kyra. You should know that."

For the first time since she entered the room, Kyra felt true fear. The kind that gnawed at her insides, warning her of something she couldn't quite see but knew was coming. But she refused to back down. "Is that a threat?"

His smile returned, slow and practiced. "No, my dear. It's a promise."

Her throat tightened. The way he said it, so emotionless, so cold, made her skin crawl. She’d always thought there was something more to the story, some hidden truth. Now, standing in his house, she wondered if she truly wanted to know.

He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other as if to signal that the topic was of little consequence. But Kyra noticed the way his fingers tapped the armrest — a subtle, nervous tick. "Lucy Gray was… a spark, a wild thing that could never be controlled." He paused. "She was dangerous. And in this world, Kyra, dangerous things don't last long. They either burn out or they're snuffed out."

The finality in his tone was like the closing of a door, one that she wasn't sure she could open again. For a moment, she considered letting it go — letting Lucy Gray be a ghost in the past, something to be forgotten like so many tributes before her. But the nagging doubt inside her wouldn’t let up. Snow's gifts, his attention, his insistence on sweeping her into his world — it all felt too calculated, too conveniently timed.

"And what would happen to me?" she asked, her voice quieter now, her eyes locking onto his. "If I accept your proposal, if I marry you — would I burn out too? Would I be snuffed out, like her?"

Snow turned, his gaze pinning her in place. For the first time, the mask slipped, and she saw the darkness behind his charming façade — the ambition, the hunger, the coldness that would stop at nothing to win.

"You’re not like her," he said, his voice smooth but dangerous. "You’re smarter, more ambitious. You know how to navigate the Capitol, how to build alliances. But you’ll have to learn to play the game better than anyone else. With me, you could rule. But without me…" He let the sentence hang in the air, unfinished, its implications clear.

Before she could reply, he rose from his seat and stepped toward a nearby table, reaching into a velvet-lined box. The air thickened further, and Kyra held her breath, anticipation mingling with dread. He opened the box, revealing a glittering diamond ring, but to her, it didn't sparkle with promise. It gleamed with the weight of expectation, of shackles disguised as jewels. She stared at it, feeling her chest tighten.

"Will you accept my proposal?" he asked, his voice smooth yet edged with an unspoken threat, the weight of it pressing down on her like the unyielding grip of the Capitol itself.

In that moment, she felt the gravity of her choice. If she accepted, she might gain everything — but at the risk of losing herself. Just like Lucy Gray. Just like all the others who had gotten too close to Coriolanus Snow.

A chill ran through her as she considered her options. She had always wanted influence, always wanted to rise above the others in the Capitol. But now, staring into his eyes, she saw a glimpse of what that influence would cost.

But the allure of power was intoxicating. And so was he.

"Yes," she whispered, the weight of her choice hanging heavily in the room, an echo of chains clinking softly as she sealed her fate.

✶.ᐟ SELENA TALKS!  GOODBYE, LUCY GRAY, WE HARDLY KNEW YOU!!! honestly, this is my favorite chapter so far!! there's nothing i love more than a character haunting the narrative and no one does it like lucy gray </3

not much to say about this chapter except that i finished this at 3 am and therefore it's not edited yet. pls forgive any typos and grammatical errors, i am too lazy to revise it (:

anyways, thank you so so much for reading! your votes and comments truly mean the world to mean and i am very grateful! <3