FINNICK REALLY SUCKED AT CARDS, LIKE AWFUL. It was the evening after Finnick's first day of training, so they were celebrating by sitting at the table in the middle of the District Four suite and playing War while they ate ice cream and talked. She raised her eyebrows at him. "How do you think it went?"

"Pretty good. I learned a lot," he answered, and he groaned as she won the hand yet again. It was not even a strategy game. It was pure luck. She did not know how he was so bad at it.

She nodded. She was really glad that he was not completely failing. The Careers always targeted the weak ones first because they were easy targets and one less thing everyone had to worry about. They were a lot more careful with people that they knew were threats. "That's good. Did you make any allies?"

"Not yet, but I learned that I'm pretty good with weapons. Back in District Four, we did a lot with knives and spears, so I can handle those all right," he explained. She remembered that he probably fished a lot back home and that he would know how to do things. "What I'm really good with is a trident, but the instructors told me that it's not very likely that they'll have one in the arena. So, I'm trying to get better at other things."

"When do I get to see all of these cool skills? More importantly, when do the Gamemakers get to see them?" she asked with a chuckle. It was essential that the people creating the games saw how good he was. It would make for a very interested game if a fourteen-year-old started killing older people that had trained all of their lives. They might be inclined to give him an advantage.

He answered, "On Thursday before the interviews on Friday." The interviews might be the most essential part of the Games. Being charismatic and good with the crowd made people like you. If people in the Capitol liked you, that got you sponsors. People placing bets on you and rooting for you encouraged them to buy you things that you might need in the arena. Medicine and food was always helpful, no matter how much you thought that you wanted weapons.

"Do you know what you're going to show them?" she questioned. They only had so much time, so he was going to need to use it wisely and present all of the skills that he could so that he could get a high score on the Individual Assessment. High scores also helped with sponsors because it assured them that they were not spending all this money on a lost cause.

He thought about it for a second, but he seemed to have his answer already pretty prepped. He told her, "Well, I've got some moves with a spear, and I was going to show off some of the fishing snares I know."

"Nice," she responded, and he grinned once he knew that she approved of the plan, even though she was not his mentor or anything. He cared about her opinion more than anyone else's, despite the fact that she had no experience at all. He had been so focused on her that he had not even noticed the fact that he had no cards left until he reached to grab one and there was nothing there. He looked up at her in shock, and she giggled. "I think I won."

"You have to be cheating," he insisted because she had won the last three games, and he had yet to win one. There was no way his luck was that bad. If it was, he would be dead before the Games even freaking started.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully at his accusations as she shuffled the cards so that they could play again. They had time for a couple more games before they had to go to sleep. Everyone else was in bed, but Mags had told her to make sure they were not up past ten since he had things to do the next day. "It's War. There is no cheating. It's all luck."

"You're rigging the cards," he sighed, shaking his head. He lunged across the table to try and grab them, but she snatched them up just in time and held them out of his reach.

Her laugh was contagious as she responded, "I am not!"

《✵》

SHE HEADED BACK TO HER ROOM HALF AN HOUR BEFORE TEN. She was rooming with Amethyst who was sound asleep in her own bed on the other side of the room. Leia moved carefully throughout the room, getting ready for bed as quietly as she could. Since she was not an adult, she did not go all out and paint her entire face every day and where extravagant outfits, but she still had some makeup to take off.

However, as she was slipping into her evening gown, she jumped when she turned around to see Amethyst sitting up in her bed in the darkness. She was about to apologize for waking her, but the older girl spoke first. She warned, "Be careful."

"What?" Leia questioned. She was pretty sure that she had heard what the girl said, but she was not totally sure. She tilted her head and turned off the light in the bathroom as she stepped back into the bedroom.

Amethyst repeated, "Be careful."

"What do you mean?" the Calore girl questioned. What did she need to be careful about? She had not been doing anything dangerous or anything that could cause her any harm whatsoever. She had forgotten to put cleanser on her face, but she was tired. Plus, she had pretty good skin, so one night would not make a difference.

"He's a Tribute," the Calis woman clarified, and Leia realized that she was talking about Finnick and how close the two had gotten during the past couple of days. However, Amethyst was not saying it in a way that implied that it was gross for her to like a Tribute. She was saying that the odds were not ever in his favor when it came to the arena. "He's fourteen."

Leia groaned because she was sick and tired of everyone underestimating him because of his age. She was only fourteen, and she was a damn good makeup artist. There were tons of things that fourteen-year-olds could do, and why could winning not be one of them? Sure, no one under fifteen had ever won, but that did not mean it was impossible. "And that means he just automatically has no chance? No one has any faith in him. Everyone just thinks he's going to fail, that he's not going to make it ten seconds. He needs someone to believe in him. That's me. I believe in him."

"Then what?" Amethyst asked, looking up at the young girl that was pacing back and forth in front of her. Her words made Leia pause and turn toward her, waiting for her to explain. "Say he makes it. What happens then?"

"He goes back home," the Calore girl responded, and she was slowly realizing what the woman meant. That was not the point, though. She did not care if she saw Finnick again. She just wanted him to survive. Right? She thought she knew. Now, she was not so sure.

"Exactly. He goes back home, and you're never going to see him again," the older woman repeated. She had seen a lot of things in her time working with Tributes. They might think that they were the only Capitol person and Tribute to ever be friends, but they were wrong. It had happened before, and it never ended well. "So, be careful because you're gonna be heartbroken anyway."

Leia headed over to her bed, and she sighed, "At least he'll be alive."