I seemed to be the only competent one in the dining car of the train.

Maia seemed to be giddy with excitement. She talked to Vine, who was also thirteen. They knew each other from school and training.

Only one of them could come home.

I picked my way through a fruit salad as the train raced towards the Capitol.

"You two should go to bed," I said. "Enjoy sleep and warm beds while you have it."

"Is it true?" Vine asked me.

"Is what true?" I asked.

"That you know the President? Maia just told me."

"I know him, yes. Every Victor meets the President. Why does it matter?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter. It's just cool," Vine said.

"You should go to sleep," I said, smiling patronizingly.

"Can I sleep in your room?" Maia asked. There was a splatter of blood in the corner of her right eye. She must have missed it when she washed up.

"I don't see why not," I said. "Go get your pajamas."

I stood, leaving a half-full plate of fruit.

I walked the familiar path to the back of the train where the escorts' rooms were.

My door slid open and the lights illuminated. Just being in the room gave me nightmares. My fellow tribute, Price, had tried to kill me in a room just like this one before we had even gotten to the station. I managed to gouge his eye out before anyone heard us.

I opened the drawers and found a suitable nightgown. As soon as I had changed, Maia appeared, looking like a smaller version of me; same nightgown, same brown hair, brown eyes.

I got underneath the covers and she followed, snuggling up close to me.

"Are you scared?" I asked her. She rested her head on my shoulder. I licked my thumb and wiped the blood away from her eye.

"No," Maia said. "I've been training forever for this. I can't believe it's finally happening."

"Just focus on your training okay? Don't go boy-crazy over Vine."

"Eww!" she giggled. "I don't like him."

"It's a good strategy though," I said. "Act like you like him so he'll protect you. The crowds love lovebirds."

"He'll protect me anyways," she said. "We're Careers."

"Well, Careers starve too. Careers can die," I said. "And I like you better alive."

I poked her stomach. She laughed again.

She was so young.

She fell asleep quickly after that. My eyes stayed open, replaying the events from my own Games.

..........

It was difficult getting out of the Tribute Center at night, even as an escort. The guards were very picky about who went in and out.

Once I finally convinced them to let me go, I made the quick walk to the President's mansion.

I slipped in the Avox entrance. I knew all the hidden spots in the house, thanks to Cori.

There were guards everywhere but they didn't seem to hesitate at my presence; not even when I went in his bedroom.

We'd never slept together; he was traditional in that respect. But I knew his bedroom well enough to walk through it under the cover of darkness.

"Cori," I whispered. He woke almost immediately.

"Cassie, what are you doing here?" he asked. I couldn't see where he was.

"You have to help me," I begged.

"I know—"

"You—- you can't possible know," I said. I tried to hold back the tears. "It's my little sister."

"She has a shot—" I felt his hands on my arms. "—I asked the Gamemakers. They said she's their best candidate. All the other Careers are younger than her."

"Please, do something," I begged.

"All I can do is speak with sponsors. I'll do everything in my power to make sure she gets out alive but I can't have a scandal on my hands either."

"Scandal?"

"If it's discovered that I helped your sister and then suddenly we're engaged— what does that look like?"

I found his face in the darkness and took it in my hands. I tried to be gentle but I wanted to squeeze the life out of him.

"I can't lose my sister," I said.

"I don't want you to have to lose your sister," Cori said. "I hate this. The second I found out, I was trying to find a way out of it."

"The worst thing is, she's excited about it," I said. I instantly regretted my words.

One of his hands left my arm and suddenly a lamp on a bedside table was on, illuminated his concerned face.

"Don't be angry," I mumbled. I dropped my hands to my side.

"Angry? Cassie, I have some knowledge of what the Games do to the victors," he said. His face was grim. "I cannot lie and say I understand what you went through. But it is a— and I hate this word— necessary part of our society."

"I can't just cancel the Games," Cori continued. "I can only try and help your sister. And help you, however I can."

Did he really understand though? Was he just saying those things so I wouldn't run from him?

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," he said.

"Me too," I said.

"You'll stay here tonight," Cori decided.

"I should get back to the Tribute Center—"

"I'll have you there before breakfast," Cori said. "Just stay, okay? No strings attached. I just don't want you to go home in the state you're in."

"I'm fine," I lied.

"I'll call for someone to bring you a nightgown," Cori said. He pressed a button on the phone on his bedside, whispering something into it.

He sat me down on the bed, wrapping an arm around me.

"How was the chariot rides?" Cori asked. He began taking all of the bobby pins and hair clips out of my hair, setting them aside.

"It was fine," I said, my voice hollow and empty.

If Maia died. . .

"We don't have to talk if you don't want to," Cori said, not unkindly, but understandingly. I nodded.

There was a knock at the door. I heard it open then close seconds later.

I stood, knowing the nightgown had been delivered. Cori stood as well.

"Unzip me please," I said, pulling my hair to one side.

The white dress I had been wearing loosened.

I looked around for the nightgown. It was on the ornate chest at the foot of the bed, folded into a perfect square. I let the dress drop around me, hitting the floor. I stepped out of it and walked over to the chest.

I could feel Cori's eyes on me. I glanced behind me at him. His eyes looked greedy.

I put the nightgown on. It was short and sleeveless, like most of my daytime dresses.

"So there's nothing I can do to guarantee my sister's safety?" I asked, turning around. Cori was sitting back on the bed, looking slightly overwhelmed.

"You can only increase her chances," he said.

I sat beside him, stroking hair away from his face.

"Do you hate me?" he asked.

"I hate the Games," I said. "But you're not the Games, so no. I don't."

"You understand why they exist right?"

"I do," I said. It did make a small sort of sense, if you were into ruling through fear and punishment.

"You know I would take your sister out in a heartbeat."

"I know."

He pulled back the sheets of his bed, inviting me under them with him.

I did, resting my head and one hand on his chest. He was surprisingly fit. I drew little circles in the middle of his chest.

It took me an hour, but I fell asleep.

And for the first time since the Games, I had a different nightmare.